National money education charity Credit Action today revealed that one person is declared insolvent or bankrupt every 60 seconds during the working week. Based on statistics gathered in the third quarter of 2011, the charity estimates that 331 people are made insolvent or bankrupt every working day and 101 properties are repossessed every day. The [...]
New government legislation on credit card debt does not go nearly far enough, the director of a financial management charity has claimed. Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said new laws that stop credit card providers increasing interest rates and limits on credit cards are merely “a baby step in the right direction”. Prime Minister [...]
The stranglehold of debt on UK consumers is likely to continue for a “long time”, an industry expert has claimed. Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said the financial crisis has left a rising number of people struggling to keep up with loan and credit card repayments. Increasing unemployment has become “a real source of [...]
Students are racking up crippling debts because they’re not being taught the difference between student loans and other forms of credit, a financial education charity warned this week. Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said because it’s “basically impossible” to get into difficulties with student loans, students are given the message that it’s fine to [...]
Britain’s mountain of debt continues to grow, with the average adult now owing 132% of their typical earnings. Collectively, UK consumers owe £1.459 trillion, Credit Action revealed this week, equivalent to £30,480 per person. Personal debt on credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, and unsecured loans is also on the rise, increasing to £4,860 per person [...]
Research from price comparison service, uSwitch.com, has found that while Payday loans may offer quick and easy cash, they are one of the most expensive forms of loans in the UK, with some APRs of up to 9889.3%. According to uSwitch.com, a consumer taking out a payday loan of £750 could end up owing £1,687.50 [...]
Better debt management could save Brits up to £20 billion, according to price comparison site uSwitch.com. With total personal debt across the nation at £1.45 trillion, borrowers in the UK pay out £98 billion in interest every year. New research by uSwitch found that debt consolidation would save the UK £20 billion in interest payments, [...]
Credit Action is claiming that Northern Rock’s level of repossessions is twice that of its rivals. The debt charity is calling on the Treasury to intervene and insist that the nationalised lender responds more sympathetically to borrowers who fall behind with their mortgage repayments. It would like the bank to introduce mortgage payment holidays to [...]
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, [...]
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