Latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show a rise in the number of homes sold in the UK during May. Transactions involving properties worth over £40,000 increased by 7% last month to 62,000 and were at their highest since October 2008. However, they remained significantly below levels seen at the height of the [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has embarked on a new campaign in order to get millions of pounds of unpaid tax from offshore bank accounts and has used the 2009 Budget to introduce the new “offshore disclosure opportunity” which will run until March 2010. It is an invitation to people with offshore accounts to disclose [...]
A government scheme designed to reduce the tax burden on British businesses has proved a success, helping over 60,000 firms deal with cash-flow problems. The Business Payment Support Service (BPSS), announced last November in the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report, provides a fast-track service for businesses who need more time to pay their tax bills. These businesses [...]
The extent of the slowdown in the UK housing market is amply illustrated by latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which receives notification of all residential property transactions with a value of over £40,000. According to HMRC, a mere 59,000 residential properties changed hands in September. The figure is at its lowest since [...]
HM Revenue & Customs has reported that the number of homes sold in the UK fell to 62,000 in August, a 60% year-on-year decline. The figure sits alongside latest data from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), which announced yesterday that mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to 21,086 in August, down 63% on August 2007 [...]
Monthly residential property statistics published by the Government will not be appearing in August because errors have come to light. Under stamp duty requirements, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is advised of completed UK property transactions where values are £40,000 and above. The latest update on house sales was scheduled to be published on 21st [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been adding up its stamp duty receipts and has concluded that the number of house sales in the UK fell by 13% in May, compared with April. The month’s sales totalled around 100,000 while in April, the figure stood at 115,000. Transactions were 37% down on May of 2007 [...]
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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