Brits will be charged millions on card transactions whilst on holiday
April 21, 2008
Brits that are planning to jet off abroad on their holidays this year will most likely be taking their credit and debit cards along to purchase items or withdraw cash, and this is good news for banks and card providers because it means that they will be netting millions in profits from their customers. According to a recent report debit card holder are set to be charged around £318 million in fees over the course of this year for debit card transactions and withdrawals abroad, whilst credit card customers are set to pay around £368 million. Read more
Spreading the cost of your family holiday
April 21, 2008
At this time of the year many families start thinking about booking up their family holidays, but before they can take the plunge they need to ensure that they have the cash to make the booking. Family holidays can be very expensive depending on where you are going, and in many cases you may not have all of the cash that you need upfront. However, there are a number of ways in which you can try and spread the cost of your holiday so that the financial impact is not too severe. Read more
Lower Fines For Uninsured Drivers
April 19, 2008
Courts have come under fire recently after it was revealed that the fines imposed on drivers that have no insurance have actually fallen over the years. According to the report there has been a drop of over 20% in the amount that uninsured drivers are fined since the Labour Party came into power in 1997. Home Office figures show that the average fine imposed on an uninsured driver in 1997 was £224 but in 2005 the average fine had fallen to £177. Read more
BoE faced pressure to cut interest rates
April 19, 2008
With house price growth having fallen to its lowest level in twelve years, and with gloomy predictions about plummeting house prices over the next couple of years, the Bank of England has been facing increasing pressures over cutting interest rates, despite the fact that rates have already been cut a number of times since December. The Nationwide Building Society recently reported that house prices were only 1.1% higher than at the same time last year, and were showing the smallest increase since 1996. Read more
UK consumers against monthly banking fees
April 18, 2008
The results of a recent survey carried out in the UK has revealed that customers in the UK would prefer to pay charges and penalties on going overdrawn with their current account rather than having a set monthly fee applied to their accounts. There has been a great deal of controversy over bank charges, which are applied for exceeding the overdraft limit, and also for returned cheques and direct debits, and many consumers have been claiming back these fees going back up to six years after regulators labelled them unfair and unlawful last year. Read more
Brits can now buy travel cards from Barclays
April 18, 2008
One of the concerns of so many Brits taking summer vacations in other countries is how best to carry their money safely. Some vacationers depend on cash and traveller’s cheques, while others rely on using credit cards and debit cards. However, there are risks associated with all of these, especially when it comes to using plastic abroad. Barclays has come up with a safer alternative for using money abroad that is safe along with being easy and convenient to use. Read more
Online shoppers are looking for convenience rather than long winded security measures
April 17, 2008
A recent report has shown that many online shoppers are more concerned about making quick and easy online transactions with their credit and debit cards than they are about time consuming security procedures. The report suggests that around 69% of consumers like to shop online using their plastic cards, but many may be at risk of becoming victims of fraud if they do not make the most of security measures that are being introduced by various banks. Read more
House hunting season gets off to a slow start
April 17, 2008
Industry experts have reported that the spring house hunting season this year has got off to a very slow start, as the effects of the credit crunch continue to bite, and potential buyers struggle with trying to raise the money that they need to purchase a property. The global credit crunch has impacted heavily in the housing and mortgage sectors, and the additional predictions that house prices are going to fall over the next two years is also affecting consumer interest in purchasing a property. Read more
Some may be covered for damage resulting from networking parties
April 16, 2008
Over the last couple of years there has been a rising interest in social networking sites, which have become especially popular amongst teenagers who want to try and make new friends both in the local area and around the world. However, whilst these sites enable users to chat and make friends, there have also been concerns raised about things such as how easy it can be for people to find out your personal details, and even where you live, which could lead to a myriad of problems. Read more
Building societies feeling effects of credit crunch
April 16, 2008
The global credit crunch that swept across the UK last summer has taken its toll in al financial sectors, and as a result of the credit squeeze, many lenders have had to alter their lending criteria and cut back on their lending levels and have made significant changes to their lending criteria. Many banks have found that getting finance on the wholesale money markets has become extremely difficult and expensive, and because of this they have had to tighten up on who they will lend to, how much they can lend, and how much they charge for borrowing. Read more