Following a review, City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced financial advisers must hold accreditation if they want to provide independent or restricted advice from the start of 2013. The FSA said retail investment advisers will need to possess a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS) if they want to give independent or restricted [...]
Banking giant Barclays has received a fine of £7.7 million – imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over poor investment advice. The City Watchdog has also ordered the bank to compensate up to £60 million to customers of two investment funds. The bank has apologised for the failures and said it will “put things [...]
Nine out of ten leading mortgage products are available direct from lenders, moneysupermarket.com has reported. The comparison website suggests that the financial turmoil of the last couple of years has turned the UK mortgage market on its head and that the days when mortgage brokers had the pick of the best deals are gone. The [...]
Three-quarters of mortgage holders don’t know how an interest rate rise of 1% would affect their monthly outgoings, according to new research from the Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB). The study also found that over half of home owners questioned expect rates to change in the next nine months, although one in seven had no [...]
Small businesses with a conscience can get advice on ethical issues from sustainability to socially responsible finance at the British Library’s Green and Ethical Month. Events throughout May at the London-based library will include seminars, workshops and drop-in sessions led by eco-experts. The events have been organised by successful green and ethical entrepreneurs. “Green and [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today found that poor advice is still being given to people switching pension funds. The findings come after a major review of the sector conducted by the FSA in 2008. The City Watchdog has raised concerns about the advice being given and, as a result, is to take enforcement [...]
A report published by the Public Accounts Committee has branded the management of the Government’s debt advice strategy a “complete failure.” Six years ago, the Government introduced a strategy aimed at improving the support to, and cutting the number of people who struggle with unmanageable debt. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills shares responsibility [...]
Leeds-based independent financial advice company, Park Row Associates, has failed to give suitable advice, according to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and has therefore been ordered to pay compensation to customers. The City Watchdog has established that customers of Park Row Associates were at risk of receiving unsuitable advice about all of its financial products. [...]
New research from Shelter suggests that in the past year, up to one million UK households have used credit cards to pay the mortgage or rent. According to the housing charity, the findings present a disturbing picture of up to a million people taking “desperate measures” to keep the roofs over their heads. The highest [...]
Businesses must get ready to make the most of an upturn in the economy, Lloyds TSB has advised. The bank said businesses that are prepared for economic recovery will thrive when the upturn begins. Although there is no certainty when recovery will begin, firms that do not plan could fall into the trap of overtrading, [...]
Abbey Mortgages is advising potential first-time buyers who are currently renting to take their first step onto the property ladder. The bank’s research shows that first-time buyers could collectively save up to a massive £1 billion if they acted now and bought their own home. According to Abbey, 1.61 million Britons said they were looking [...]
The recession has made people think before they spend, according to financial advice site Moneynet.co.uk. Andrew Hagger, Moneynet.co.uk spokesperson, said since the credit crunch consumers are being smarter with their money. He made the comment after the Office for National Statistics revealed the household savings ratio increased to 5.6% in the second quarter of this [...]
Credit card holders can make “staggering” savings by paying off more than the minimum repayment each month, Confused.com claimed this week. A credit card debt of £5,000 could take up to 36 years to pay off for consumers paying the minimum repayment, the price comparison site said. Paying back an extra £10 per month would [...]
Interest rates on savings accounts are “highly inflated” at the moment because banks and building societies are desperate for deposits, a price comparison site said this week. Financial providers are offering average bonus rates of 1.93% on savings accounts, compared to 0.71% two years ago, moneysupermarket.com said. Savers should invest now to avoid disappointment, the [...]
Homeowners under threat of repossession and tenants on the brink of eviction have a new resource available at www.direct.gov.uk. The site now contains articles and videos prepared by the Ministry of Justice, aimed at informing people with both mortgage and rent arrears. The advice addresses a wide range of problems and is suitable for those [...]
Householders have been advised that paying for energy bills by direct debit is the cheapest option. Price comparison site uSwitch.com issued the advice after it discovered a 7.3% drop in the number of people choosing to pay by direct debit. The number of customers signing up for fixed monthly direct debit payments when changing their [...]
Homeowners on tracker mortgages will be “hit like a rock” when interests rates rise, a financial expert warned this week. David Kuo, director of the Motley Fool financial news website, Fool.co.uk, said “prudent” customers should continue making monthly repayments at the same level as they were before interest rates plummeted. By maintaining repayment levels mortgage [...]
Consumers looking to alleviate the financial blues should seek advice from a certified and impartial source, a debt solutions group warned this week. Derek Oakley, head insolvency practitioner at Debt Free Direct, said financial advice is best sought from advisers who have “achieved the Debt Standard”. There can be “dramatic variations in the quality” of [...]
Which? has been investigating equity release advisers only to find that two-thirds failed to pass benchmarks for good advice. Researchers working for the consumer group visited 40 advisers, 12 of whom specialised in equity release. A disappointing five from this group passed the Which? test, compared with eight of the 28 independent financial advisers surveyed. [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
