The monthly round-up of news, guidance, legislation, and case law from Shelter's Specialist Debt Advice Service.
Guidance and news
CPAG Fuel Rights Handbook 20th Edition
The CPAG Fuel Rights Handbook 20th Edition has been published and is also available online for free thanks to funding from the Indigo Trust.
CPAG Fuel Rights Handbook 20th Edition online
Advising rent guarantors
A new article by Alexa Walker explains how to advise a guarantor who has been asked to pay a tenant’s rent debt, what information to gather, and the process and risks involved in raising a dispute in court. This article complements the legal reference material on Shelter Legal.
How to advise rent guarantors article
Challenging guarantor agreements on Shelter Legal
Announcement of successful bids for national services
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has announced the successful bidders for national debt advice services in England:
National debt advice services (telephone and webchat) - Gregory Pennington Limited, Citizens Advice, Money Advice Trust
Business debt advice - Money Advice Trust
DRO Hubs - Gregory Pennington Limited, Citizens Advice
MaPS expects to see a 65% increase in capacity and that, by year three, these services will have the capacity to support more than 650,000 people.
MaPS announcement awarding contracts for debt advice services
Changes to advertising policy for debt services
MaPS has announced changes to Google’s debt services advertising policy in the UK meaning that from 6 December 2022, only organisations holding an FCA licence for ‘debt counselling’ and ‘debt adjusting’ will be allowed to advertise debt services on Google.
Insolvency Practitioners will no longer be able to advertise debt services. Google states that “the policy update also allows advertisers that are included on the FCA Financial Services Register as ‘exempt professional firms’ or recognised investment exchanges to be verified as UK FCA authorised advertisers”.
The Citizens Advice Expert Advice Team has sought clarification from the FCA on whether Insolvency Practitioners who are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) might still be able to advertise following the changes.
MaPS announcement on the changes to advertising policy
Google announcement confirming the start date for changes to take effect
Citizens Advice Expert Advice Team discuss a possible loophole
End of enforcement agent COVID arrangements for evictions
The government guides to understanding the possession process have now been amended to remove reference to enforcement agents not evicting when there is evidence of COVID in the household. Defendants now need to make an application to suspend the warrant if COVID might be a reason to delay the eviction.
Understanding the possession action process: guidance for landlords and tenants
Amigo lending on a pilot basis
The FCA has sent a letter to Amigo Loans allowing it to start lending again, on a pilot basis. The FCA expects Amigo to deliver good consumer outcomes and said the pilot should enable the firm to test its updated procedures in a “controlled environment”.
Ombudsman News
Ombudsman News Issue 174 has been published. In this edition, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) discusses its latest complaints data including complaints about claims management companies.
FCA Financial Lives Survey published
The FCA has published its Financial Lives Survey, which was carried out between February and June 2022. The full findings will be published in early 2023. Amongst various findings, some of the key statistics are:
one in four UK adults is in financial difficulty
over four million people have missed bills or loan payments in at least three of the six months before the survey took place
12% of people in the North East and 10% in the North West are in financial difficulty, while 6% of people in the South East and South West are in the same position
FCA Financial Lives Survey key statistics
Legislation
Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR)
The 149th Practice Direction (PD) update was published on 19 July 2022 and came into force on 1 October 2022. The full copy is 178 pages long. Amongst the many changes made to the CPR, debt advisers should be aware of the following changes, including:
CPR 2 – 4, CPR 7 – 8 amended to simplify and condense these rules
CPR 6 drafting changes made
CPR 12 with drafting corrections
CPR 15 (defence and reply) and CPR 24 (summary judgment) with a revised wording on defence and reply, to clarify filing a defence
CPR PD 49C replaces CPR PD 7B (the Consumer Credit Act procedure used for issuing return of goods orders and Unfair Relationships claims)
149th PD Making document (PDF)
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022
Case law
Find debt case summaries by topic on Shelter Legal.
The DWP's third-party deductions guidance is unlawful
A benefit claimant must be given the opportunity to make representations and provide information before it makes a third party deduction (TPD) decision. Failure to do this would be in breach of the obligation of fairness. The DWP's TPD scheme guidance must make this clear.
Timson, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions