Are you living a champagne lifestyle on beer money?
January 25, 2008
There comes a time in most people’s lives where they start spending over and above their means, and this is a habit that can quickly lead to serious financial problems and spiralling debt. In the current economic climate, and in light of the state of consumer debt levels in the UK, it has become increasingly important for consumers to ensure that they live within their means so that they can avoid financial problems and debt as much as possible. Read more
Politicians argue over Northern Rock
January 25, 2008
Politicians from all three main parties, and indeed the Prime Minister himself, have been arguing over the Northern Rock crisis, with blame and accusations being banded around. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has been accused of dithering about Northern Rock, with the leader of the Tory Party stating that Mr Brown did not take action quickly enough because he was busy planning a general election. Read more
Interest rate cuts called for by BCC
January 25, 2008
Following the Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates on hold for January, the British Chambers of Commerce has called for further modest interest rate cuts in order to avoid a marked slowdown in the economy. After the Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month the Bank announced that interest rates would be kept on hold at 5.5%, and this disappointed many consumers and industry bodies who had been expecting an interest rate cut. Read more
Making use of price comparison sites
January 24, 2008
Price comparison websites have become extremely popular across the UK over the past couple of years, and these sites have made it easier and more convenience for consumers all across the nation to save a huge amount of money on a variety of services. These price comparison sites are one of the many services that have been made hugely popular as a result of the booming popularity of the Internet, and millions of people now access these sites in order to save money and increase convenience. Read more
Stockbroker fined by financial regulator
January 24, 2008
A stockbroker in the UK has been fined by the Financial Services Authority after being found guilty of selling risk shares to elderly and inexperienced investors. The fine that the FSA was going to impose on the stockbroker was £1.5 million, but an offer of early settlement and the poor state of finances has seen this fine reduced to £250,000. The FSA has stated that the case is one of the worse that it has come across, and the broker was using hard sell and pressurised tactics to get vulnerable investors to purchase the risk shares. Read more
Debt advice campaign launched by Church of England
January 24, 2008
The Church of England is launching a campaign aimed at educating people to stay out of debt, and offering advice to those in debt. The campaign is called ‘A Matter of Life and Debt’ and aims to teach people not to buy what they cannot afford, or to offer practical and even biblical advice to those already in debt, with a view to increasing focus and understanding for those trying to get themselves out of the debt trap. Read more
Personal and banking details lost again
January 24, 2008
The Ministry of Defence has become the latest government agency to be found guilty of losing the personal and banking details of consumers. It is thought that the details of around 600,000 people may have been lost, and this includes personal information as well as details about bank accounts. The data related to people that had applied to join the Royal Navy, the Marines, or the RAF, and also included passport details and National Insurance numbers. Read more
Consumer wins critical illness claim
January 24, 2008
A woman who suffered a brain haemorrhage last year and had to have brain surgery performed has finally won her claim for a critical illness payout after the insurance company tried to convince her that she was not eligible to claim because she had failed to disclose vital information. The nurse, aged fifty five, had a critical illness policy with Abbey National, and this had been passed over to Phoenix as part of the sale of this part of the Abbey National business. Read more
Will banks start charging for current accounts?
January 23, 2008
Most banks in the UK offer a choice of bank accounts to suit different needs, and this includes basic bank accounts, current accounts, and premier accounts. The most popular of these is the current account, which is the type of account that the majority of people use to deal with their day to day financial transactions. Current accounts offer a range of facilities and services for banking customers, enabling them to smoothly manage their finances, and to both receive and pay out money. Read more
Buy to let mortgage lender reduces lending
January 23, 2008
Recently the Nationwide commercial division announced that it would be limiting its lending by not lending to new clients and not taking on broker referrals, focusing instead on existing borrowers. One official stated: “I am using market conditions to be very selective about the type of lending we do. There is an enormous appetite out there for borrowing, half of my competitors have disappeared and a lot of people are looking for finance.” Read more