The high cost of car insurance premiums has prompted an investigation into the market amid concerns that it is dysfunctional and not working well for motorists. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred the private motor insurance market to the Competition Commission because if believes that the way the market is structured is pushing [...]
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 [...]
Airport operator BAA has been ordered to sell Stansted Airport and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, it has been confirmed. BAA, which is majority-owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, has been under investigation by the Competition Commission since 2007. In its final ruling, the Commission said the sale of the airports was fully justified and the sale [...]
Banking giant Lloyds has confirmed it will no longer sell the controversial payment protection insurance (PPI). Lloyds Banking Group, which is 41% owned by the taxpayer, is the first bank to drop PPI sales and the decision will apply to customers of all its brands including the Halifax, Bank of Scotland and the Cheltenham & [...]
The Competition Commission is pressing ahead with its proposal to ban the sale of the controversial payment protection insurance (PPI). Under a PPI policy, an agreed sum of money is paid out each month to fully cover, or cover a percentage of the payment due on your mortgage or loan if you are unable to [...]
A report, which is due to be published next month, reveals that 2 million customers have been sold potentially worthless payment protection insurance (PPI). The policies cover monthly payments for goods, services or loans during illness and redundancy. Over the last 5 years, 6 million have signed up for the deals but the Office of [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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