Loans to first-time buyers down 10%

Mortgage market improving for first time buyers

The number of first time buyers increased significantly last year as more high loan to value (LTV) mortgages became available, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from e.surv chartered surveyors. The number of mortgages advanced at an LTV of 85% or more increased by 32 per cent to 57,301 in 2011 compared with 43,379 in [...]

Wonga causes outrage by targeting students

Payday loan company Wonga has removed an article from its website which suggested that students should take out a payday loan rather than a Student Loan. The article suggested that student loans, which charge around 5 per cent, encouraged students to live beyond their means. With Wonga charging around 4,000 per cent for its loans, [...]

MPs call for action over whiplash claims

Car insurance costs are spiralling and claims for whiplash injuries are one of the main causes, according to a new report by MPs, launched today. Although the number of road accident casualties has fallen by 23 per cent in the past six years, the number of motor insurance injury claims has grown by 70 per [...]

70% of websites break EU credit rules

A pan-European investigation carried out in September 2011 revealed that 70 per cent of websites offering credit cards, loans and finance are failing to meet EU standards. The investigation, which followed a large number of customer complaints, looked at 562 websites across the 27 member states and found that 393 of the sites were failing [...]

AA reveals surge in motor insurance claims

Stormy weather caused the number of car insurance claims to shoot up by 28% in the first five days of the New Year, the AA has revealed. Many parts of the UK suffered winds of up to 90mph resulting in thousands of pounds worth of damage to vehicles. Cars were hit by an array of [...]

Pensions hit by low annuity rates

People who retire this year will be £3,000 worse off than those who retired four years ago because factors such as the credit crunch, the recession and the eurozone crisis have pushed down annuity rates to a record low. Annuity rates fell by eight per cent in 2011, which was the fourth consecutive year of [...]

UK faces stagnation but may escape recession

Britain’s economy stagnated in the final quarter of 2011 and is “very likely” to contract in the first half of 2012 according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The euro zone debt crisis caused the economy to stagnate in 2011 and it has failed to improve this year, with the survey suggesting that one [...]

Unrealistic house prices hamper market

Although more new houses were put up for sale in December, transactions were hampered by sellers asking too high a price for their properties, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). December saw the number of houses put up for sale increase for the third month in a row, especially in London where [...]

Post Office launches reward saver account

The Post Office has strengthened its range of savings products with a reward saver account offering 3 per cent interest and a notice period of only 30 days. If savers make a withdrawal without giving 30 days notice, they will lose 30 days interest on the amount withdrawn. The interest rate includes a 1.25% bonus [...]

Doorstep lenders lose 1.4 million customer records

Financial Services Limited and Shopacheck, which are both part of the Cattles Group, are writing to 1.4 million customers, warning them that back-up storage tapes containing their personal details have been lost. The storage tapes contained the names, addresses and payment histories of 600,000 customers and the names and addresses of another 800,000. They also [...]