Debt Talk

In this month's Debt Talk podcast with Ripon Ray, the subject is: 'Gambling and debt'. To navigate such a sensitive topic, he has experts from academia and gambling therapy. Prof John McAlaney from Bournemouth University speaks about the meaning of gambling, the different types of gambling activities in the UK and how the behaviour of gambling differs based on age and sex. He also explores the rol...

According to Shelter, a homelessness charity, there are 271,000 people recorded as homeless in England of which 123,000 children. To navigate this month’s Debt Talk podcast with Ripon Ray on: ‘ Debt, housing costs and homelessness ', expert panellists who specialise in the benefits system, policy and debt. Deven Ghelani, Founder and Director of Policy in Practice, spoke about the true meaning of h...

Mainstream lenders are here to stay. It does not mean we are not seeing a variety of lenders in the financial market. In this month's podcast on Debt Talk, Ripon Ray spoke about: 'Alternative lending & debt'. To navigate the subject, there were experts from financial inclusion and debt. Gareth Evens - Co-founder and director of the Financial Inclusion Centre - spoke about the variety of lender...

As we head towards another winter, the cost of electricity and gas will yet again be of concern for many households. Ripon Ray spoke with a savvy pensioner and a Fuel Poverty Action representative to address such an important issue on this Debt Talk podcast episode to explore the causes of the fuel crisis. Barry Duckett , a local pensioner in South London, spoke about the challenges he and many pe...

One in 422 adults entered insolvency between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. The economic factor is crucial in considering bankruptcy for many individuals, particularly when personal Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) and Debt Relief Orders (DRO) are concerned. In this episode of the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ‘DRO or IVA? That is really the question...’ Sara Williams , the founder...

There are 17.5 million people in financially vulnerable circumstances, one in three adults in the UK. Some of these vulnerabilities can be seen in the form of financial exclusion. In this episode, Ripon Ray discusses: ‘ The cost of financial exclusion’ . To navigate the Debt Talk podcast topic, panellists were from a financial inclusion funder, a debt crisis and money training social enterprise, a...

Do you know about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and, most importantly, AI within the financial services and debt sector? You will once you have listened to the 12th episode of the Debt Talk podcast. In this episode, Ripon Ray explored the subject with experts from academia, visionaries and tech gurus as they spoke about the actual workings of AI in the financial services and debt sector. Prof Carmi...

On this month's Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ' The welfare state, deficit budget and debt '. Trussell Trust, a network of food banks in the UK, gave out nearly 3 million emergency food parcels to people facing financial hardship, and it has noticed a 37% rise in accessing its service compared to the previous year. The question for this month's panellists is: have we moved away from suppo...

In this episode on the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored the link between mental health and debt and how being in debt can worsen your mental health. Minara Meghna Uddin shared her experience of domestic and economic abuse, which impacted her mental health where seeking to go for support and speaking out was not an option. Whilst coming out of her marriage with children to look after and the a...

In this month’s episode on the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ‘ Debt advice, MaPs and advisers’ . During the pandemic, free advice charities noticed a demand for debt advice. This demand had substantially increased during the cost of living crisis due to high inflation and people’s income not increasing simultaneously. Many debt advisers left the sector to join other sectors, such as the N...

During the cost of living crisis, the need for insolvency advice has been far greater than in the previous years as shown by Government’s data due to a rise in high inflation and change in consumer behaviour. In 2022 there has been a 56% increase in the number of companies going insolvent compared to 2021. In this episode of the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored the financial challenges faced...

In this month’s podcast on Debt Talk, Ripon Ray explored the current landscape for councils to recover council tax. Since the introduction of welfare reform over ten years ago, nearly every council in the UK expects some form of contribution from households regardless of whether many families were deemed too poor to pay prior to the introduction of the reform. At the same time, Britain has seen an...

As we start the new year, Debt Talk speaks about a subject fairly new to the debt sector. In this episode, Ripon Ray speaks about: ‘Crypto assets, gambling and debt’ . He had experts from a variety of sectors who gave an overview of the interlink between crypto assets, gambling and debt. Ismail Malik - Editor and Founder of Blockchain Lab - gave a clear analysis of the meaning of cryptocurrency an...

During a festive season in December’s episode of 2022 on Debt Talk podcast with your host, Ripon Ray, I spoke about: ‘Alternative lending and debt recovery' during the cost of living crisis. The average household credit card debt in the United Kingdom in 2022 is £2,100. If you include the mortgage, it is £63,000 per household. In this episode, I had three panelists: Helen Baron, Chair of London Ca...

On this month’s Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored structural health inequity, direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace, low income, and the inadequacy of the social security system to support minority communities. Patrick Vernon OBE explained how minority communities are more likely to be in precarious jobs; and since cuts in public services began over a decade ago, the financial pr...

In this episode, Debt Talk explores one of the most important subjects during the cost of living crisis: ‘Eat, heat or pay your rent. Already communities are stretched with their finances; they are skipping their meals to pay their rent or pay for fuel. Financial struggle has now become epidemic in low-income communities regardless of whether you are a worker, self-employed, pensioner or affected...

In this episode, Ripon Ray explored the journey of a domestic abuse sufferer which may resonate with the experience of many domestic abuse sufferers in Britain. Rosie Lyon FRSA vividly explains the trauma of being a victim of her abuser and how her experience carried on post-separation since her home was tied with her former partner. She was in financial ruin because she was not able to pay the mo...

Welcome to the first of many Debt Talk podcasts presented to you by Ripon Ray, a debt expert for over 10 years. In times of the cost of living crisis, discussing debt has become more important than ever. At the same time, changes in regulations and government policy, increase the cost of fuel and goods which result in people getting into debt. In this episode Ripon Ray speaks to Helen Lord , CEO o...