Barclay’s chairman loses cash to fraudster
January 19, 2008
There have been many instances of banks breaching security issues with regards to customer accounts and data over recent years, but according to one recent report Barclay’s Bank has surpassed all others by falling for a fraudulent scam that resulted in its own chairman becoming the victim of identity fraud. As a result of the incident the boss of Barclay’s has suffered losses amounting to £10,000 from his account. Read more
The gap between the North and South widens
January 19, 2008
According to recent data the difference between property prices in the North and the South of England is getting greater and greater, leaving an ever-widening gap when it comes to property prices in different parts of England. Recent figures indicate that the gap between property prices in the North of England and those in the South of England has widened by over £15,000. Read more
Some banks being unfair over savings rates
January 18, 2008
According to officials from the Nationwide some banks and building societies across the UK are luring customers, enticing them to save with them through offering tempting introductory interest rates, and are then failing to advise the customers when this introductory rate is about to come to an end, leaving the customer to experience a shock when he or she suddenly discovers that the interest being paid on saving is far lower than they imagined. Read more
The easiest way for homeowners to organise their finances
January 18, 2008
Anyone that has a large number of debts to juggle each month is likely to find financial management difficult, time consuming, and frustrating, with an increased chance of missing payments or making late repayments and risking the chance of future credit. Read more
Mortgage broker makes predictions for house prices and interest rates in 2008
January 17, 2008
Industry officials from the mortgage broker John Charcol have been making predictions with regards to house price movement and interest rate movement for the coming year. Many industry professionals have been speculating over how house prices will perform and what the Bank of England will do with interest rates over the course of the year, with the general consensus being that house prices will stagnate or fall slightly and the Bank of England will cut interest rates two or three times over the course of the year, taking both economic slowdown and rising inflation into account. Read more
LMS pleased over rollout of HIPs
January 17, 2008
The conveyance group LMS has recently stated that it is pleased that Home Information Packs have now been rolled out to all residential properties being marketed for sale across England and Wales, adding that the rollout should prove to be a positive move for those planning to purchase a property. Read more
Darling hits on energy price rises
January 17, 2008
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has become involved in the energy price rises being enforced by energy suppliers in the UK. Over the past year energy prices have been coming down following a fall in wholesale energy prices, and this followed a period of very high charges on gas and electricity usage in the UK, pushing many households into fuel poverty. Read more
Woman owes thousands after becoming victim of scam letters
January 17, 2008
A woman from the Derbyshire area has found herself in £30,000 worth of debt after falling victim to scam mail over a period of ten years. The elderly woman stated that she wanted to remain anonymous, and she has recently had to approach her son for help after realising just how much debt she was in. Read more
Are price comparison sites all they are cracked up to be?
January 17, 2008
The term price comparison site is something that we have all become used to over recent years, and the UK has seen a wide range of price comparison sites spring up over the last couple of years. The idea behind these sites is to enable consumers to compare prices on a range of services and products so that they can get the best deal possible, and many consumers have started using these sites for everything from loans and credit cards to utilities and insurance cover. But are price comparison sites really as effective as they make out? Read more
Bank of England decides to keep rate at 5.5%
January 16, 2008
Following the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting held last week, the Bank of England has decided to keep interest rates on hold at 5.5%. Interest rates fell from 5.75% to 5.5% in December in a move that was welcomed by both industry and consumers. This followed a series of five interest rate hikes of 0.25% each between August 2006 and July 2007, which saw many homeowners struggle to keep up with repayments on their mortgages and saw the level of repossessions in the UK rocket. Read more