January mortgage lending down from December, still sets record

Average car insurance premium nears £1,000

Car insurance premiums increased in 2011, despite a fall in the third quarter of the year, the AA reports. Based on its ‘Shoparound’ price index, which takes the average of the three cheapest quotes from several insurance providers, the AA says that premiums have increased by 15.3% compared with a year ago. The average comprehensive [...]

Older people affected worst by inflation

This month’s official figures show that inflation has fallen from 4.8 per cent to 4.2 per cent but two new studies show that older age groups suffer the most from high inflation, and at 4.2 per cent it is still well above the government’s 2 per cent target. Saga’s monthly Price Index shows that since [...]

Nationwide re-launches 0% purchase credit card

Nationwide has re-launched its Select Visa credit card which offers 0%-on-purchases for 18 months – the longest period currently available on the market for a 0% deal. Cardholders also benefit from commission-free purchases while they are abroad and 0.5% cashback. Balance transfers are eligible for the 0% interest deal, but for 17 months rather than [...]

RBS Insurance firms fined for tampering with files

Insurance firms Direct Line and Churchill have been fined for making alterations to files before submitting them to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). In 2010 the regulator asked for 50 files to be submitted so that it could assess how the firms handled customers’ complaints. The request was part of an ongoing inquiry by the [...]

PPI complaints soar

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) from consumers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), increased by 57 per cent to 30,301 between October and December 2010, compared with the previous three months. PPI complaints now make up 54% of the FOS’s workload. The FOS, which only deals with PPI complaints that financial firms [...]

Which? calls for action on overdraft charges

Consumer group Which? is calling for unfair overdraft charges to be stopped after finding that charges are too complicated and impossible to compare. Which? asked a number of volunteers to calculate how much an unauthorised overdraft would cost at RBS-NatWest, HSBC/First Direct, Lloyds, Barclays, Halifax, Nationwide and Santander. The volunteers, who included a maths PHD [...]

Inflation falls to 4.2%

The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 4.2 per cent in December, from 4.8 per cent in November, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the third consecutive month that inflation has fallen and December’s figures represents the biggest monthly fall since April 2009. Inflation [...]

Property coming to market at record low levels

Despite record levels of search activity on its website this month, estate agency Rightmove reports that the number of new homes being put up for sale has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. More than 44 million property searches were carried out on Rightmove’s site during the first ten days of 2012, a 27% [...]

Online banking to become the norm by 2015

By 2015 bank customers will use digital banking more than they use branches according to ‘The New Digital Tipping Point’ report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The survey, of 3000 people in nine countries, suggests that customers are willing to pay up to £10 a month for online banking if they receive convenience and added-value services. These could [...]

One person per minute declared bankrupt

National money education charity Credit Action today revealed that one person is declared insolvent or bankrupt every 60 seconds during the working week. Based on statistics gathered in the third quarter of 2011, the charity estimates that 331 people are made insolvent or bankrupt every working day and 101 properties are repossessed every day. The [...]