British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S), has today announced pre-tax profits totalled £632.5 million for the 12 months to 27 March – a rise of 4.6% on the same period a year ago. UK like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new store openings, grew 0.9% over the 12-month period. Sales of general [...]
Over two million consumers complained to their bank during the second half of 2009, more than twice as many as during the first half of the year. Between July and December 2.65 million people made a complaint about a financial company, with 2.2 million of those directed at banks and building societies. The FSA said [...]
Senior managers of the UK’s high street banks have been labelled a “disgrace” for failing to take customer complaints seriously. The Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP) said the way banks handle customer complaints is “lamentable”. The comments came after a review by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) found that senior staff in the majority of [...]
Respected economic forecaster, Ernst & Young ITEM Club, sees the prospects for the UK’s economic recovery remaining poor this year, with output growth likely to be about 1%. In its latest “Outlook for Business” report, the firm’s analysts describe world output and trade as “recovering rapidly” and maintain their view that exports and other sources [...]
Confused.com has announced a new incentive to encourage consumers to switch energy providers using its price comparison service. Consumers who use the price comparison site to change providers for gas and electricity will be rewarded with up to £30 cashback. Site users will be given £15 for each fuel type they switch. Some energy providers [...]
The UK Payments Council has revealed that by 2015, cash payments will be used for fewer than half of all transactions. A 23-page report titled ‘The Way We Pay 2010’ by the Council found that card payments and cheque usage is rapidly declining, claiming “cash is king no more”. The report found that more than [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, today announced that sales grew 30% in the week to 3 April, compared with the same period a year ago. The renowned employee-owned department store said poor weather and the Easter holiday encouraged consumers to spend and provides evidence that the economic [...]
The Government-led crackdown on credit card companies is expected to save consumers around £300 million a year. The crackdown comes after the Government warned credit and store card firms to “clean up their act” after it launched a review of the industry in a consumer White Paper in July 2009. According to Prime Minister, Gordon [...]
Figures from the Bank of England today revealed that British consumers borrowed £500 million in January through credit cards, loans and overdrafts, once repayments were taken into account – the highest level since November 2008. According to the Bank, the increase was almost double the £265 million rise seen in the previous month December, and [...]
Operating profits at British Gas soared by 58% last year to £595 million, compared with £379 million in 2008. Its parent company Centrica said the figures beat the previous high of £573 million in 2007. While British Gas announced earlier this month it was reducing its gas prices by 7%, the results will no doubt [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank today announced that confidence among German firms has risen to its highest level in 18 months. The Business Climate Index rose for the tenth consecutive month from 94.6 in December to 95.8 in January – exceeding analysts expectations. In the meantime, business expectations, which form part of the index, increased [...]
Fashion and homewares chain Matalan has joined other major retailers by posting strong Christmas sales. The retailer, which is traditionally based in out-of-town locations, said like-for-like sales for the 13 week period ending 2 January grew 9.3%, with like-for-like sales for the five weeks over Christmas and the New Year up 13.7%. The chain, which [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, said like-for-like sales were up 12.7% in the five weeks to 2 January 2010 compared with a year ago. The figures will boost hopes that the economy is making a recovery as consumers begin to spend again. Furthermore, the renowned employee-owned department [...]
Figures published today show that people in the UK continue to repay debt as the incentive to save remains low in the current historically low interest rate environment. According to the Building Societies Association (BSA), its members withdrew more money than they saved for the ninth consecutive month in November. The BSA said there was [...]
Savvy consumers are afraid to apply for the best credit card deals in case the application leaves a black mark on their credit rating. This is the view of Toby Van Der Meer, managing director of money at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com. According the Van Der Meer, the credit rating system allows credit card companies [...]
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) said there is a growing increase in the number of consumers struggling with fuel debts. During April to September 2009, the CAB in England and Wales reported a 46% increase in the number of clients with fuel debts compared to the same period a year ago. David Harker, chief executive [...]
US retailers have been hit by the continuous tightening of purse strings due to rising unemployment. Furthermore, bad weather in June further dampened US retail sales, in particular summer clothes and seasonal items. According to the Goldman Sachs Retail Composite Index, overall the industry reported a fall of 6.7% in sales for the month of [...]
A series of measures to assist people facing difficulties with debt as well as the termination of credit card cheques are set to be unveiled by the Government. The Consumer White Paper is set to be launched by Consumer Affairs Minister, Kevin Brennan, at an event in London, held by consumer group Consumer Focus. According [...]
Kesa Electricals, the company that owns Comet, is predicting a challenging year ahead after the group reported a pre-tax loss of £81.8 million in the year to April, compared with a pre-tax profit of £128.8 million the previous year. The company, which also owns the Darty business in France, has been hit by the recession [...]
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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