Debt and money policy research

Open letter to the Chancellor on Buy Now Pay Later regulation

18 July 2023

Citizens Advice and a coalition of debt advice and consumer advocacy charities wrote to the Chancellor urging him to regulate Buy Now Pay Later firms.

Priced out of debt relief: How upfront insolvency fees keep people stuck in debt purgatory

31 March 2023

People who can’t repay their debts have to pay upfront fees to access debt write-off options like a debt relief order (£90) or bankruptcy (£680). This isn’t affordable and it’s leaving people trapped in debt.

Bailiffs behaving badly: stories from the frontline

22 March 2023

New research shows that a third of people contacted by bailiffs during the cost-of-living crisis have experienced bailiffs breaking the rules.

Set up to fail: How the broken IVA market is failing people in debt distress

28 February 2023

To stop people going into unsuitable IVAs, the government needs to bring advice delivered by IVA firms under the FCA’s regulation, in line with other debt advice.

Evening the Odds

31 January 2022

Online gambling is a growing market. So why isn’t regulation keeping up to protect customers? We need default safety settings – here’s why.

Buy now, pay later: what happens if you can’t pay later?

02 September 2021

Problems in the buy now pay later (BNPL) customer journey are leaving users being referred to debt collectors - but they aren’t being warned about this risk at the checkout.

Buy Now...Pain Later?

22 April 2021

Millions of people have used a buy now pay later product in the last year - but the customer journey needs to be better designed to protect people from harm and stop people from slipping into problems

Unavoidable debt: Coronavirus council tax debt

27 January 2021

Coronavirus has pushed millions into financial hardship. The pandemic and the restrictions put in place to control it, have had a dramatic impact on household finances. Many people have been made redundant, furloughed, become too ill to work or have taken time off to care for a loved one. Nearly 1 in 3 households have lost income because of coronavirus, meaning people are struggling to pay bills and are falling into debt. Council tax is one of the bills that people have been struggling with the most. We estimate that over 3.5 million people are currently behind on council tax.

Lockdown debts: estimating the size of lockdown arrears

30 October 2020

We estimate that households are facing £1.6 billion in household bill arrears built up during the pandemic.

Citizens Advice response to the Cabinet Office: Fairness in government debt management

28 October 2020

Our response to the Cabinet Office call for evidence on government debt collection practice.

New restrictions, missing protections

20 October 2020

Millions of people now face new coronavirus restrictions on the way they live and work but do not have equivalent protections from the financial hardships that come with them.

Life on less than zero

13 October 2020

In this report we show the impact of coronavirus on the finances of people we help with debt. We outline measures that the Government should take to avoid a national household debt crisis and support the UK’s longer-term economic recovery.

Excess debts - who has fallen behind on their household bills due to coronavirus?

08 September 2020

An estimated 6 million people have fallen behind on their household bills as a result of coronavirus, many of whom will struggle to repay their coronavirus debts. The government must step in with financial support.

1.3 million households have fallen behind on council tax due to coronavirus

25 June 2020

An estimated 1.3 million people have fallen behind on council tax due to coronavirus. Policy change is needed now so that people who have helped the country control coronavirus aren’t pushed further into debt by court proceedings and the use of bailiffs.