Consumer credit data held by credit reference and other organisations have become an essential part of the financial market, both in lending and borrowing and debt collection to make the financial sector sustainable. In this month’s Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray discussed a crucial topic: ‘Credit Ratings & Debt.’ To navigate the essential subject, he has representatives from two major global credit reference agencies - Experian and Equifax, the Registry Trust, which holds data on a money judgement, and the debt collection and purchaser trade body representative - Credit Services Association.

James Jones from Experian spoke about its origin and current role in the financial services market. He explained the parameters in which credit reference agencies are data holders and how the agency gets information from lenders to make their data up-to-date and accurate for legitimate interest. He explored how the profiles of individuals are formed based on data collected and ways they develop credit scores based on algorithms. He also explained how the work of the credit credit reference agencies is regulated by the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Craig Tebbutt from Equifax UK, outlined how they obtain information on court judgements and Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and what remedies are available to consumers when there are data collection and information accuracy disputes. He emphasised the importance of checking credit reports frequently and contacting the agencies when the data is inaccurate. He then explained where technological development and innovation lie from the product development perspective within personal finance and debt.

Chris Dick from the Registry Trust explained the difference between the data held by a credit reference agency and the trust. He distinguished how criminal court judgements are different from money judgments. When there are disputes and issues related to the data it holds, the data will go back to the courts or relevant judges concerned for correction. He also explained how innovation was developed from the data captured by the organisation.

Chris Leslie from the debt collections and purchasers trade body Credit Services Association explained the types of information their members would receive from the initial credit and how they would use the data from the credit reference agencies to identify individuals and their financial resilience to pay. Depending on consumer behaviour, a purchaser would act appropriately, check their affordability and explore income maximisation. When consumers have assets such as a mortgage or avoid paying, the purchaser may take legal action as a last resort to recover the outstanding balance.

My panel members also provided TOP TIPS to Debt Talk listeners either to improve their credit ratings or find ways to resolve their debt problems if they have defaulted.

The following podcast is on Debt Talk, which is on ‘council tax debt and imprisonment’.

January is a month of cold weather, dark mornings, and possible failure in our New Year resolutions, which combine to create a perfect recipe for ‘January Blues’. To understand the cause of such blues, Debt Talk host Ripon Ray invited three guests from the mental and debt, financial inclusion, and open banking sectors.

Charlene Marks, Head of Mental Health & Money Advice at Mental Health UK, confessed that there is a genuine reason for feeling gloomy this month: our finances have taken a beating during the festive period and the New Year. She explained that there is a commercial reason for calling it and it is linked with travel agents utilising the period to encourage the sale of travel abroad. There are vulnerable communities seeking advice from her organisation, and many alike are impacted by severe mental health, depression, bipolar disorder and other mental health issues and debt are intertwined, as she explained eloquently.

Gareth Evans, founder of Cash Perks, sees this period as a new period of opportunity. He developed a product that helps transfer funds to anyone in the UK via SMS message and allows cash instantly without needing a card or bank account if they are financially struggling. But the question for him is where to look when you need support. Local councils are a great point of start with since his product assists many councils in transferring funds to struggling communities, either if they are suffering from January Blues or otherwise.

Tope Akande, co-founder of Bucks Trybe, a product designed for immigrants in the UK, emphasised that marginalised communities and young British adults are excluded from mainstream lending. He states that building their credit record by addressing non-conventional transactions—such as the Bank of 'Mums and Dads'—with open banking would assist communities with a better future in the financial market and access to credit.

Debt Talk panel members have also provided TOP TIPS listeners to think of strategies to ease the pressure of January Blues.

My next podcast is on: 'Credit ratings whilst indebted’.

As we head towards this winter and people begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas festive period, lenders start to lend more than in other periods of time and customers borrow more; many no doubt will also suffer in silence due to the changes in winter fuel payment introduced by the current government. The subject for this month on the Debt Talk podcast is: 'Christmas festive worries'. To navigate the subject with Ripon Ray, there are two distinguished guests: Michael Agmoh-Davison, who is one of the organizers for the Unite the Trade Union, and Alison Berry, the debt coach lead for Christian Against Poverty.

Michael Agmoh-Davison explained the current state of poverty in his community in Northern England and as a trade union representative for Unite the Union. He also described why his union decided to challenge the current government's decision not to assess the impact the change would have on pensioners and communities with disabilities in court. He also shared the importance of campaign work, which is needed beyond judicial review to protect the interests of communities in financial hardship.

Alison Berry challenged the myth that most clients that Christian Against Poverty supports are about overspending but are actually about borrowing to mitigate their deficit budget, either keep their roof over their heads or keeping their home warm. This winter will be even more challenging for pensioners since it is the first winter, and many will need winter fuel payments.

My panel members also provided Debt Talk listeners with TOP TIPS to assist communities who may struggle this winter and need advice and support when budgets are challenging.

The next Debt Talk podcast is on ‘January Blues’. If you want to speak about a topic of your choice related to the theme of the podcast, you can get in touch with Ripon Ray here: ripon.ray@yourdoctordebt.com