Customers want to see more financial products at the supermarket
April 15, 2008
According to the results of a recent survey customers in the UK are eager to see a wide range of financial products being made available from their local supermarkets, as many feel that the supermarket can offer far better service and far better value for money on these services and products compared to traditional banks. Many supermarket giants, such as Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s, already offer a range of financial products and services such as insurance, loans, savings, and most popularly credit cards. Read more
Consumers plan to cut back on interest payments with balance transfer cards
April 14, 2008
A recent survey has revealed that many consumers in the UK are planning to try and avoid paying interest over the coming months by transferring their balances off high interest credit cards onto 0% balance transfer cards. These balance transfer credit cards have become increasingly popular over recent years, and have enabled those with high balances on high interest cards to avoid paying interest for a generous period of time. Recent research shows that millions of people in the UK are planning to go through this process over the coming months in order to save some of the money that they would otherwise spend on interest. Read more
Building societies start to feel the effects of the credit squeeze
April 14, 2008
Since the global credit crunch took a hold in the UK in the late summer of 2007, banks and larger lenders have made radical changes to their lending, and this has come about as a result of these lenders finding it increasingly difficult to get finance on the wholesale markets in order to fund their lending. The mortgage sector has suffered significantly since the onset of the credit crunch, and rather than vying for business mortgage lenders are doing their best to close the doors on new lending as they try and cope with their own financial situations. Read more
Billions to be spent by Brits abroad this year
April 13, 2008
Brits are set to spend a fortune abroad with the use of their plastic over the coming year, and according to recent reports around £23 billion will be spent on British plastic cards abroad. This invariably means that card providers and banks will be raking in the cash as a result of the various fees, charges, and interest charges that are levied on card transactions abroad, and some consumers could end up paying a fortune in various foreign transaction fees. Read more
There could be good news for savers
April 13, 2008
According to a recent report there could be some good news in store for savers who have been concerned about the safety of their savings following the Northern Rock crisis last year, when many pulled their savings from the bank amidst fears that the bank was going to collapse. At this time only the first £2000 of savers’ money was guaranteed by a 100% guarantee from the government, so understandably many people with larger amounts in savings were concerned. This resulted in nearly £2 billion being taken out of savings from Northern Rock in just a few days. Read more
There may be future difficulties for credit card customers whose limits were cut
April 13, 2008
A recent report has suggested that many credit customers who have recently had their credit limits slashed by their card provider could end up experiencing a range of problems in the future, making it difficult for them to get finance as a result of being so close to their credit limits. Many credit card customers have recently found that their credit limit were slashed to just £100 above their existing balance, and the card companies did not even inform them that they were cutting their credit limits.
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Scottish and Southern raises prices
April 13, 2008
Earlier this year, when the other five major energy suppliers hikes up their energy usage prices, Scottish and Southern Energy promised that it would keep prices on hold until the end of March. Although the firm lived up to its promise that time has now come around, and the last of the six major energy suppliers in the UK has now announced that it will be increasing its gas and electricity usage costs from April. Read more
ICICI tumbles on best buy tables
April 12, 2008
Having enjoyed a high position on the best buy tables for some time, the Indian bank, ICICI, which stormed into the UK markets recently has now decided to reduce the interest rate paid on its HiSave account following the Bank of England’s most recent interest rate cut in February. The bank did not announce its decision to cut the rate for some time following the announcement of the base rate cut, but has now confirmed that the rate on the account is being dropped to 6.16%, which is a cut of 0.25% in line with the base rate cut. Read more
Difficult retirement for those in their thirties
April 12, 2008
Many consumers in their twenties and thirties give little or no time to the thought of how they will fund their retirements, and a recent report has shown that those in their thirties could be heading towards a very bleak retirement due to lack of money fuelled by frivolous spending and failure to put any money aside for their futures. Hundreds of younger people were polled in a survey for the Skipton Building Society, and the result showed a worrying trend amongst consumers in their thirties. Read more
Millions of consumer plan to cut back on spending
April 12, 2008
According to a recent report millions of consumers are set to decrease their spending levels over the course of this year, as many struggle with their finances as a result of the ongoing global credit crunch. Over the coming twelve months around 57% of us are expected to slash our spending levels, equating to around one in six people, according to officials from MoneyExpert, which carried out the research. Read more