Increased driving costs causing consumers to cut back
May 19, 2008
Over recent months rising living costs, mortgage costs, and tighter credit conditions have resulted in an increasing number of households having to find different ways to try and cut back on their outgoings in order to keep afloat financially. Whilst many people have cut back on non-essential costs such as going out, subscriptions, buying clothes, and shopping, many others have had to try and cut back on other costs, and this includes the cost of keeping their vehicle on the road. Read more
Make sure you’re not paying too much on your bills
May 19, 2008
A recent report has highlighted how many people could be paying way over the odds on their bills as a result of errors made by firms. With many people already struggling with their finances and trying to cope with increasing payments and bills this sort of problem could make things worse for many more people, resulting in increased strains on household finances. Officials have stated that in some cases higher bills could be due to error as well as inflation. Read more
Co-op shelves two year mortgage
May 19, 2008
Over recent months many lenders have decided to take a variety of mortgage products off the shelves due to lack of funding or lack of supply compared to demand. In a recent announcement the Cooperative Bank stated that it was taking its popular two year mortgages off the shelves for now, as it was unable to keep up with demand. Many banks and lenders have suffered difficulties in securing finance for their mortgage lending operations due to the credit crunch, and this has affected their ability to keep up with demand. Read more
£20 billion worth of unsecured loans handed out without adequate checks
May 19, 2008
According to a recent report £20 billion worth of unsecured loans has been handed out over the past year without adequate checks being carried out with regards to the income of the borrower. The report indicates that many lenders have not been asking for proof of income from the borrower before agreeing these loans, despite the tighter credit conditions that are supposed to have come into play as a result of the ongoing global credit crunch. Read more
Many cardholders missing out on their rewards
May 16, 2008
A recent report has highlighted how many rewards based credit card holders are missing out on their rewards by failing to claim. These credit cards have become very popular over recent years, with many consumers that repay their credit card balances in full each month deciding to try and cash in and claim back rewards such as retail rewards, loyalty points, cash back, air miles, travel rewards, and gift voucher from credit card providers. However, many are missing out by not claiming their rewards. Read more
Kaupthing leaves rates on hold for second time
May 16, 2008
Since bursting into the UK market last year the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Edge, has been trying to build up its customer base, and like many other financial newcomers to the UK market has tried to achieve this by offering impressive and competitive rates on interest on savings. Over recent months the savings account from Kaupthing Edge has enjoy a top position on the best buy tables, and it has managed to retain this position even after the Bank of England cut interest rates earlier this year. Read more
BSA claims building societies are not struggling like other lenders
May 16, 2008
Over recent months a number of building societies across the UK have reported that they have had to cut back on lending levels, restrict who they will lend to by changing their criteria, and withdraw various mortgage products from the market in light of the global credit crunch. Whilst building societies generally fund their mortgage lending from savers’ deposits rather than via securing funds on the wholesale money markets like banks, the reports suggested that smaller building societies had still not managed to escape the full effects of the credit crunch. Read more
Interest rate cuts do not stop lenders from hiking up borrowing rates
May 15, 2008
A recent report has shown that the recent base rate cuts applied by the Bank of England have done nothing to stop some lenders from hiking up their borrowing costs and interest rates, which means that many consumers are still having to pay through the nose for their borrowing despite the three base rate cuts since December. In the last few months the Bank of England has cut the base rate from 5.75% to 5% with three 0.25% rate cuts. Read more
Expert comments on Halifax All-in-One card
May 15, 2008
The Halifax has recently announced the launch of its All-in-One card, where consumers can enjoy ten months interest free credit on both balance transfer and purchases made on the card. Sean Gardner from MoneyExpert.com said that whilst the card may prove attractive to many consumers looking for 0% on both purchases and balance transfers, some people with good credit may be able to get a better deal. Read more
Customer details lost by high street bank
May 15, 2008
One of the UK’s leading high street banks, HSBC, recently admitted that it had lost the personal details of around 370,000 customers, after a disc went missing. The bank faced an investigation by the Financial Services Authority after it admitted to losing the information. The disc was being sent to reinsurance offices via an external courier in March when it went missing. The bank admitted the loss to the Financial Services Authority. Read more