Homeowners struggling with mortgage repayments can be shy in talking about their difficulties, despite pleas from lenders and debt charities to seek help and advice early. According to research from the Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP), 41% of those having difficulty paying their home loans struggle on unaided, even though seven out of eight borrowers [...]
Savvy savers should invest as much as possible in their individual savings account (ISA) to maximise their interest payments for the year, Abbey Savings said this week. Last year, only a third of savers earned the maximum possible interest by depositing all their savings in a lump sum at the beginning of the tax year. [...]
Savers disillusioned by low-interest rates should spread their tax-free ISA allowance across bonds and income-funds, Virgin Money said this week. With the Bank of England’s base rate at an all time low, Cash ISA interest rates offer meagre returns, hitting an average of 0.96% at the end of February. Meanwhile, the ongoing volatility of the [...]
Independent financial advisors (IFAs) should make pension reviews a priority and, if possible, conduct them ahead of schedule, Zurich said this week. Good pension planning is vital following the economic crisis, Zurich said, and advisers should encourage their clients to undertake pension reviews now in light of the credit crunch. Many people saving for retirement [...]
Motorists looking to renew their insurance policy should shop around for the best deal available, esure said this week. The insurance provider said consumers should ‘spring clean’ their insurance policy by using a price comparison website, providing an accurate estimate of the insured car’s mileage, raising voluntary excess, and paying off premiums in a single [...]
With the average British household debt rising by £6.30 every day, Fairinvestment.co.uk is urging people to make sorting out their finances a priority. The price comparison website offers a free debt management service, which it claims could help people who have made a New Year’s resolution to get out of debt. According to the site, [...]
As a result of steep increases in the cost of energy and food and rising unemployment, the number of people struggling with debts has surged over the last 12 months. The Government-funded National Debtline said the number of calls increased from around 16,000 a month a year ago to 23,000 in November. According to Paul [...]
The latest Pulse survey from Sage (UK) Ltd has revealed that accountants continue to be the most trusted source for business advice with 35% agreeing that accountants are the first port of call for advice. Last year‘s survey also revealed that independent business leaders ranked accountants as the most valuable counsel. The survey was commissioned [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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