Can Northern Rock turn itself around?
April 26, 2008
Many people remain unconvinced with regards to whether the ailing and recently nationalised bank, Northern Rock, can turn itself around after the crisis that it went through last year, coupled with the global credit crunch that is affecting all financial markets. As the credit crunch took a hold in the UK last year, Northern Rock was forced to borrow billions from the Bank of England in order to fund its lending, but this loan quickly became public knowledge and this swiftly led to chaos for the bank. Read more
Huge premium hikes for drivers caught on phones
April 26, 2008
According to a recent report there is to be a huge rise in insurance premiums for drivers that are convicted of using their mobile phone whilst driving, with many set to see their premiums hiked up by a third if found guilty of this offence. The first company to increase the impact of this offence is Allianz Insurance, which will be treated the offence in the same way as careless driving. Read more
Kaupthing Edge remains at top of best buy tables
April 26, 2008
Following the base rate cut announced by the Bank of England earlier this week, one bank has announced that it will be leaving its savings interest rate on hold, so savers will not have to see the return on their savings reduced as a result of the rate cut. Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Edge, has been topping the best buy tables since it stormed into the UK market last year, and following the base rate cut in February it announced that it would be keeping its savings interest rate at 6.5%. Read more
Delay over bank charges verdict
April 26, 2008
According to a recent report the verdict over unfair bank charges, which were the subject of a test case in the High Court in January, has been delayed for a further three months. After the test case the presiding judge stated that he needed time to consider all of the facts and evidence before making a decision, and it was hoped that the decision would be delivered in April. However, reports state that the decision is being further delayed by three months, which means that the banks, consumers, and the Office of Fair Trading, which brought the case, will have to wait for the decision. Read more
Many plan to sell their home and rent property
April 24, 2008
According to a recent report many homeowners who are planning to sell their properties are planning no to get back on the property ladder just yet, opting instead to rent a home for a while to see what happens with house prices. There have been many different predictions with regards to what will happen with house prices over the next couple of years, with most indicating that house prices could fall significantly. This has resulted in more people trying to sell up whilst house prices are still high, and then waiting before purchasing again to give house prices a chance to fall. Read more
Card providers set to make a fortune of British travellers
April 24, 2008
Credit card companies and banks are set to make a fortune out of British holidaymakers over the course of this year, as a result of holidaymakers using their plastic abroad and clocking up a range of expensive fees and charges associated with credit and debit card transaction fees. In total card providers and banks are set to make £686 million in plastic card charges over the course of this year, as they continue to make huge charges for plastic card transactions made whilst abroad. Read more
Be careful with your plastic
April 23, 2008
Becoming the victim of some sort of fraudulent activity is something that many of us have become increasingly worried about over recent years, and with levels of plastic card fraud on the rise it has become more important than ever to try and protect ourselves as much as possible. Of course, there are some situations that we have not control over, such as banks and other agencies losing our personal and financial data, putting us at increased risk of becoming the victims of identity fraud and theft. However, when it comes to the safety of your plastic you can exercise some simple common sense in order to increase safety. Read more
Improved warranty cover offered by Nationwide
April 23, 2008
The Nationwide Building Society has recently announced some changes to the warranty cover that it offers on its credit cards, which official state will benefit consumers by offering them a greater level of protection on a larger number of products. The extended warranty insurance will be offered free of charge on its credit cards, and consumers will be able to enjoy the increased level of protection in a range of additional items. Read more
Retirement could be a long way off for some older consumers
April 22, 2008
A shocking and disturbing recent report has revealed that many of Britain’s older generation who are now nearing retirement age could find that they are not able to afford to retire when the time comes, leaving many having to work well into their seventies in order to repay debt and avoid struggling financially in what should be their golden years. It is estimated that today’s consumers who are in their late fifties and early sixties have debts amounting to four time the amount that the same age group had ten years ago, and this has seriously affected their ability to be able to retire at the traditional age. Read more
Consumers want convenience over troublesome safety procedures when shopping online
April 22, 2008
Recent research that has been carried out by the Abbey has shown that when it comes to the prevention of online plastic card fraud, or Card Not Present fraud, consumers seem to be more concerned over how convenient it will be to shop online than having to mess around with complicated security measures to try and protect their safety when shopping online. Read more