Competition Commission to investigate car insurance market

UK economic growth forecast cut to 0.1%

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has reduced its estimate for growth in the UK’s economy. in its quarterly economic forecast. The BBC has reduced its forecast, from growth of 0.6 per cent in 2012 to just 0.1 per cent. The UK economy contracted by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter and the BCC [...]

Agreement reached over council pensions

After months of talks, employers and trade unions have agreed to introduce career-average pension schemes for all 1.6 million local authority employees. The proposed new scheme, known as LGPS 2014, would start in 2014 as the name suggests. It would require higher paid staff to contribute significantly more to their pension than they do at [...]

Tenants spending half their wages on rent

Rent accounts for a half of income for a third of UK tenants, with the average UK rent now reaching £745.97 per month. New figures from Rightmove suggest that the average tenant spends 38 per cent of their wages on rent and this figure increases to 40 per cent in the South East and London. [...]

Limit on contactless payments increases

Tomorrow will see the limit on contactless payments increase from £15 to £20, bringing the UK in line with the 25 euro limit in the eurozone. The technology is growing in popularity in the UK as more retailers provide contactless payment terminals in their stores. Fifty-five UK retailers now accept contactless payments, including McDonalds, Greggs, [...]

Competition Commission to investigate car insurance market

Concerns over “dysfunctional” business practices have led the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to refer the private motor insurance market to the Competition Commission. A report by the OFT suggests that artificially high charges could be causing car insurance premiums to increase unnecessarily. The problem centres around the referral fees which car hire and repair [...]

Credit card lending contracted in April

Credit card lending contracted in April, representing the fourth time it has contracted in the past six months and suggesting that consumer confidence remains low. Repayments exceeded new borrowing by £118m last month, marking the biggest monthly contraction since August 2006, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. Other types of personal [...]

Payday Bank’s ‘Jubilee loan’ slated by debt campaigners

Payday Bank’s blog article suggesting that a payday loan would be good way of funding Jubilee parties, has been called ‘irresponsible’ by debt charities. The article, which was written by a contracted third party, said: “If you want to boost your Jubilee spending pot, a same day loan could provide the cash you need.” It [...]

House prices fell in April

Land Registry figures confirm that house prices fell last month, after surveys by the Halifax, Nationwide and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors all reported a decline. The Land Registry said that the price of houses in England and Wales fell by 0.3% in April, with the average house price falling to £160,417. The decline [...]

Workers will start to feel better off this year

British workers will start to benefit from lower inflation and taxes this year, ending the year £482 better off than they were in 2011, according to a new report. The Ernst & Young ITEM Club suggests that inflation could fall to two per cent by the end of the year, as long as oil prices [...]

Banks to publicise protection schemes for savers

Banks, building societies and credit unions will have to display information in branches, clearly telling customers how much of their savings are covered by a compensation scheme. Savings in UK banks and some foreign banks are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The scheme covers savings up to the value of £85,000. It [...]