This latest announcement of record recovery figures will only further enhance the growing reputation of Federal and goes very much against the grain of current trends within the British Debt Collection collection industry.

A spokesman for Federal Management said “The continued expansion of our services has allowed us to implement new strategies and focus on maximising the recovery of debts for our clients” He continued “We have also changed the criteria of the types of Debt we will collect and the industry sectors we cater for”

2012 saw the rapid emergence of Frontline Collections who have also boasted record figures for the first quarter of 2013. Frontline Collections are a Private & Consumer Debt Collection Agency who work in partnership with Federal Management.

The spokesman continued “We expect to continue this level of success through the year as we are due to enter into new partnerships with well known corporate entities over the next couple of months. We expect this will have a direct impact on our collection figures for the remainder of this year”

“We have also increased our number of International Partnerships directly impacting on the International Debt Collection Services we offer”

Federal Management have increased their International Debt Collection client base and are also reported to represent the UK interests for companies all over the world.

Debt Collection firm announces 18% rise in Collection figures is a post from: Federal Management

A bankrupt has been handed a 12-month prison sentence after he was found guilty of removing money from accounts and failing to disclose funds to the Insolvency Service.

Michael Gerald Sheehy of Exeter pleaded guilty to three counts of removing money from his accounts and one count of failing to inform the official receiver of the Insolvency Service that he still had money in a bank account.

He prevented the funds being used either to pay taxes he owed or to repay his benefits debt.

When Sheehy was being pursued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for unpaid tax and by the Department for Work and Pensions for an overpayment of pension tax credits, he took £25,300 from his estate, without using any of it to pay off his debts.

Sheehy was declared bankrupt on 31 August 2010 with a debt of £58,128.97 but he did not disclose to the official receiver that he still had money in a bank account, despite being told to do so.

He had removed a further £12,300 by the time the official receiver had discovered his “secret” account.

Following an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), he was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court to 12 months imprisonment on each count to run concurrently.

Liam Mannall, deputy chief investigation officer from BIS, said: “Mr Sheehy took money which should have remained available to service his debts. He later also failed to inform the official receiver of money held by him which he subsequently removed from his account.

“The sentence should serve as a reminder to those considering such actions that the consequences are severe. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will pursue and prosecute those who flout insolvency law by denying creditors access to payment for debts due.”

Bankrupt Man sent to prison for Debt evasion is a post from: Federal Management

The Financial Services Authority said the banks will conduct a review of small business accounts to determine the extent of the mis-selling, which dates back to 2001.

As many as 40,000 so-called interest rate swaps could have been mis-sold to small businesses in the latest scandal to hit the banking industry.

The regulator has already forced banks to pay more than £10bn in compensation and admin costs following the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, and is conducting an inquiry into the full extent of the Libor interest rate setting crisis.

MPs and peers on the Banking Standards Commission attacked banks yesterday for maintaining sky-high bonus payments to senior staff, despite the succession of mis-selling scandals that have cost customers billions of pounds and undermined the industry’s reputation.

Lord Lawson, a former chancellor of the exchequer, said on the BBCs Newsnight programme that it had become obvious from the commission’s review that banks in the years before the financial crash had generating most of their profits from products designed to help clients avoid tax.

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna welcomed the ruling, which he said underlined the need to reform the industry. “The degree to which swap mis-selling to SMEs was found to have occurred underlines the need for a cultural change in the banks,” he said.

The FSA said it found that, in the 173 test cases examined in the study, more than 90% of sales did not comply with at least one or more regulatory requirements.

Three of Britain’s biggest banks – Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland – have already set aside about £630m to cover the cost of potential mis-selling claims, and the upcoming round of annual results will reveal the latest provisions in the industry. Lloyds has yet to make a statement on potential costs.

Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, Co-operative Bank, and Santander will hear in the next couple of weeks whether they must also conduct reviews.

The FSA said a significant proportion of the cases will result in compensation being due to the customer.

The products were supposed to protect firms against rising interest rates and were marketed as low-cost protection against rising interest rates, often as a condition of a business loan. But left them facing huge bills if rates fell. Firms also faced hefty penalties to get out of the deals, which many said they were not told about.

Banks have been working with the FSA to begin the compensation process and have launched pilot reviews of some 200 alleged cases to assess if mis-selling took place and potential compensation.

Martin Wheatley, chief executive designate of the Financial Conduct Authority, which will take over from the FSA later this year, said: “This marks significant progress in our review of these products. We believe that our work will ensure a fair and reasonable outcome for small and unsophisticated businesses.

“Small businesses will now see the result of the review as the banks look at their individual cases. Where redress is due, businesses will be put back into the position they should have been without the mis-sale. But it is important to remember that this review is firmly focused on the particular circumstances of each sale. These will determine whether there were failings in the sales process and, if so, whether redress is due.”

Banks hit by fresh mis-selling scandal is a post from: Federal Management

Our operating Hours over the Christmas Period will be

24th December: 9am – 1.30pm

Christmas Day & Boxing Day: Closed

Thursday 28th December: 9am – 5pm

Friday 29th December: 9am – 5pm

Monday 31st December: Closed

We will re-open as normal on Wednesday 2nd January 2013 at 8.30am 

Christmas & New Year Opening Hours is a post from: Federal Management

He told the CBI’s annual conference the UK needed to do more to drive exports to fast-growing countries.

To help do this he said the government was continuing to focus on raising the number of skilled engineers.

He highlighted grant schemes to encourage firms to take on apprentices.

“In the UK we have had a difficult time, but there are some reassuring figures on job creation, falling unemployment and business start-ups,” Mr Cable said.

“If the more upbeat mood in business is to be sustained, there has to be a clear pathway resumed, and then sustained growth out of the financial crisis.”

Apprentices

Mr Cable said other work the government was doing to help boost the numbers of young engineers included its University Technical Colleges scheme, under which up to 24 new colleges are being set up by 2014 to provide about 20,000 14 to 19-year-olds with training in a number of engineering, science and technical disciplines.

He also highlighted the See Inside Manufacturing campaign, which shows young people around some of the UK’s largest industrial companies.

Regarding the number of apprentices, Mr Cable said those part-funded by the government had increased to more than one million in the last two years, growth of 60%.

Earlier, CBI president Sir Roger Carr also told the conference he wanted to see the UK focus more on exporting, “not just to China and India, but Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia and, of course, South America”.

UK Businesses more upbeat is a post from: Federal Management

Data released by Creditsafe said firms in Scotland have a 7% higher average credit rating than those in England and Wales.  It rated companies north of the border as having a “good” level of creditworthiness while those in the rest of Britain are ranked as “creditworthy”.

According to the company’s figures, Scottish businesses have an average credit rating of 55, compared to a rating of 52 for England and Wales.  Creditsafe’s ratings are a predictor of potential business insolvency and indicate the risk associated with trading with an enterprise.

The figures showed the biggest gap was in the health and other community services sector, where Scotland scored 59 while England and Wales had a rating of 54.

 David Knowles, business development director at Creditsafe, said: “There is a lot of debate at the moment as to whether an independent Scotland would be good for its businesses or not.

“This research shows that Scottish companies, on the whole, have a higher level of creditworthiness and have a lower chance of entering insolvency than their counterparts in England and Wales.

“However, this does not necessarily mean Scottish companies would be better off going it alone. There is a huge amount of inter-connectivity between companies all across the UK.”

Business Insolvencies lower in Scotland is a post from: Federal Management

 Complaint Commissioner Sir Anthony Holland has instructed the FSA to pay an unnamed complainant a total of £500 after recognising that “it does not appear that the FSA has provided you with the level of service a member of the industry and/or public would expect”.

 According to the complainant, the regulator failed to tell a debt collection agency that all fines had been paid following resolution of Upper Tribunal proceedings requiring the complainant to pay £2,762.10.

 The regulator recognised its failings and proposed a payment to the complainant of £50 for the trouble. It later increased this to £150 following complaints by the firm.

 Sir Anthony said: “Although the FSA upheld your subsequent complaint, and accepted that there had been errors, as it had failed to notify the debt collection agency that your fees had been paid, you were unhappy with the financial award of £50 the FSA had made to you, as you felt this was ‘derisory’.”

The adviser instead sent an invoice for £2,950 to the regulator, making up what it claimed to be the average PI award plus a charge for an hourly rate plus VAT. When the FSA still did not notify the debt collection agency of its error, the complainant sent a second similar invoice.

 Although the Complaints Commissioner did not agree that the £5,900 invoiced for was an appropriate award on the basis that the FSA is statutorily exempt from liability in negligence, he did require the FSA to increase its proposed payment to £500.

FSA in compensation payout is a post from: Federal Management

Government scrap Insolvency reforms is a post from: Federal Management

0.08% of the business population became insolvent in June, a small improvement on 0.09% in the previous month.

SMEs with between 1-100 employees were the only group to see improvements in their insolvency rates.

Those businesses with 101 or more employees overall experienced an increase in the rate of insolvencies. Firms with 101-500 employees experienced a 0.16% failure rate, compared to 0.08% in June last year.

Max Firth, Managing Director, Experian Business Information Services, UK&I said:

“Although the overall figures for June show a fairly stable environment at the moment led by smaller firms, the higher insolvency rate at the top end of the business world will have an impact on the supply chain.

“Many smaller suppliers, unless they have a good credit management process in place, will find themselves short of a major customer and left with unpaid bills.  They will need to move quickly to fill the gap in their customer base.

“When taking on new business, it is vital they start to monitor the health of both customers and suppliers. They can be forewarned of any issues and be in a better position to deal with the impact of another business’s failure.”

Across the UK’s five biggest industries, the leisure and construction sectors saw the biggest improvements. Particularly for firms in the leisure sector, this is the third consecutive month of falling insolvencies. Business insolvencies have fallen slightly in June, according to Experian’s latest Business Insolvency Trends report.

0.08% of the business population became insolvent in June, a small improvement on 0.09% in the previous month.

SMEs with between 1-100 employees were the only group to see improvements in their insolvency rates.

Those businesses with 101 or more employees overall experienced an increase in the rate of insolvencies. Firms with 101-500 employees experienced a 0.16% failure rate, compared to 0.08% in June last year.

Max Firth, Managing Director, Experian Business Information Services, UK&I said:

“Although the overall figures for June show a fairly stable environment at the moment led by smaller firms, the higher insolvency rate at the top end of the business world will have an impact on the supply chain.”

“Many smaller suppliers, unless they have a good credit management process in place, will find themselves short of a major customer and left with unpaid bills.  They will need to move quickly to fill the gap in their customer base.”

“When taking on new business, it is vital they start to monitor the health of both customers and suppliers. They can be forewarned of any issues and be in a better position to deal with the impact of another business’s failure.”

Across the UK’s five biggest industries, the leisure and construction sectors saw the biggest improvements. Particularly for firms in the leisure sector, this is the third consecutive month of falling insolvencies.

Commercial Insolvency levels Improve is a post from: Federal Management

Illinois’ Attorney General Lisa Madigan has attacked the revival of the ‘debtors’ prisons’ – something most people associate with Dickens novels. ’Too many people have been thrown in jail simply because they’re too poor to pay their debts,’ Madigan said. ‘We cannot allow these illegal abuses to continue.‘

The United States abolished debtors’ prisons in the 1830s, but more than a third of states allow borrowers who can’t or won’t pay their debts to be jailed.

The Wall Street Journal has flagged up an increasing number of debt-related incarceration, with the debts ranging from bills for health care services to credit card and car loans. In Missouri, the state constitution outlaws imprisoning someone for unpaid debts.

Despite this, sly payday lenders are putting people behind bars by getting a judgement in civil court, which summons them to appear for a ‘examination’ or review of their financial assets.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, if they fail to show for the examination the creditor can ask for a ‘body attachment’ which is effectively a warrant for the person’s arrest. The police then haul them in jail where they remain until there’s a court hearing or they pay the bond – which is usually set at the amount of the original debt.

Illinois passed a bill in July which requires two ‘pay and appear’ court notices to be sent before a debtor can be arrested.  ’It is outrageous to think in this day and age that creditors are manipulating the courts, even threatening jail time, to extract whatever they could from people who could least afford to pay,’ Madigan said. ’This law corrects that gross oversight and puts a stop to throwing people in jail for being poor while still allowing fair debt collection when people have the means to pay their debts.’

USA sees the return of Debtor prisons is a post from: Federal Management