Debt Reckoning

The balance between driving economic growth through reduced regulation and securing consumer protection is a discussion we've frequently had on the podcast. So it was great to take our arguments to the biggest debt advice event of the year, and have them in front of a live audience, together with a panel of experts. Recorded live at the IMA's annual conference at the Lowry Hotel, Mancheste...

Antonio and Andy are back with the Greater Manchester Money Advice Group. Our panelists Cecilia Torsney (Royal Borough of Greenwich) and Tim Nelson (GMMAG) join a room full of debt advisers to talk about the most pressing issues affecting them and their clients. In this episode, we consider the changing role of the debt adviser - have we lost our client-centred approach? Do we need to be more adve...

What happens when the Internet's only debt advice podcast records an episode in front of a virtual room full of debt advisers? Thanks to our friends at Greater Manchester Money Advice Group, we found out. Antonio and Andy are joined by Cecilia Torsney of RB Greenwich and Tim Nelson of GMMAG to discuss a variety of debt advice-related topics, as suggested by GMMAG members. In Part 1 of our disc...

Happy New Year, listeners! With 2025 in the books, we look ahead (with customary optimism) to 2026 by discussing the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA)'s campaign to introduce a statutory duty for local authorities to ensure access to social welfare advice. Daphne Hall, NAWRA Vice Chair, joins Antonio and Andy to explain why this is needed, what it might mean for local and...

It's been a while since we last put out an episode - and lots has been happening in that time. Antonio and Andy run through a few topical items that have been going on since our last Debt Reckon, including the FCA's motor finance compensation scheme, a newsworthy intervention from the Enforcement Conduct Board and potential changes to the remit of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Useful li...

It's summertime, which means only one thing - the government will be undertaking some debt-related consultations. This year, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have obliged, with a fresh look at the administration and enforcement of council tax, an issue that is always close to the hearts of debt advisers. In this episode, Antonio and Andy take a closer look at the governmen...

Dealing with enforcement agents is part of every debt adviser's working life, and most advisers would agree that the sector is under-regulated and in need of reform. Since 2023, the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) has operated a voluntary scheme where it accredits and supervises participating enforcement agencies. So how effective has this regime been, and what developments should we expect in...

The Financial Conduct Authority, who set the rules and guidance governing most forms of debt advice, have launched their new five-year strategy for 2025-30, explaining how they'll support economic growth and help consumers navigate their financial lives. Aside from the inevitable promise of technological advances, and a doubling down on the view that Consumer Duty is the answer to everything, an e...

The rising price of gas and electricity has caused some of the biggest issues seen by debt advisers over the last few years, with people experiencing increasing levels of unmanageable debt. Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, has proposed a number of interventions to try and address the issue - including a scheme to write off up to £1 billion of unpaid energy bills. But what do debt advisers really...

Happy New Year, listeners! With 2024 consigned to the history books, we look back at a year in debt advice with a quiz covering all the important developments in the last year, and a (surprisingly optimistic) look ahead to the next. Can Antonio re-establish his credentials as our resident Money Advice Specialist, or will his notoriously bad memory get the better of him? Useful links: Seculink v Fo...

IVAs are by far the most common form of personal insolvency, with high-profile advertising and promotion helping them to outstrip other solutions. But does this mean that everyone who enters an IVA receives a good service? New research from the Insolvency Service highlights the problems in the 'take-on' process for IVAs, from bad advice at the outset to poor treatment of customer vulnerability. In...

Debts owed to the public sector, including local authorities, are one of the bigger issues facing debt advisers and their clients, with reports of aggressive collection practices and poor approaches to vulnerability. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute's new report In the public interest? provides new evidence about the extent of these problems. Antonio and Andy are delighted to welco...

Antonio and Andy are joined once more by Luke Oliver of Shelter's Specialist Debt Advice Service, to continue our discussion of the Debt Respite Scheme (a.k.a. breathing space) and the court decisions that have shaped it. Topics of discussion include: the interaction between breathing space and bankruptcy proceedings, the inclusion of mortgage debts in breathing space, evidence requirements fo...

The Debt Respite Scheme, commonly known as 'breathing space,' has been in place for over three years, and has been the subject of numerous court judgments in that time. But what is the overall impact of those cases? Have they served to strengthen the scheme, or undermine it? Andy and Antonio are joined by Luke Oliver of the Specialist Debt Advice Service at Shelter for the first part of th...

The UK general election is upon us, slightly earlier than anticipated, which means it's time to have a really good Debt Reckon about what the next government should change about the world of debt and debt advice. Andy has been speaking to delegates at the IMA Conference, asking them what one change they would make to Make Advice Great Again (don't abbreviate that). In this episode, he and...

Antonio and Andy look ahead to the IMA Conference, which takes place on Wednesday 12th June at the Rep Theatre in Birmingham. Book your place on the IMA website: https://www.i-m-a.org.uk/other-services/ima-conference/ Topics of discussion: The FCA consumer duty, forthcoming changes to debt relief orders, how to solve the problem of energy debt and another interesting item of case law. Links: Chang...

Andy and Antonio introduce Debt Reckoning, the podcast of the Institute of Money Advisers. In this episode, we discuss the recently-concluded Money and Pensions Service consultation into their future strategy for debt advice. We then move on to the weird world of Freemen-on-the-Land, and some recent case law that might change the way we advise on council tax... or not. Links: MaPS consultation on...