The Treasury and Lloyds senior executives could be sued over the controversial takeover of HBOS, which took place at the height of the financial crisis. An investor group called Lloyds Action Now, which was established a year ago, claimed investors were lured into voting for the takeover, while not being provided with all the relevant [...]
Accountancy firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) has been criticised in a 2,200-page report over the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and could face legal action as a result. The report has accused E&Y of negligence, while senior management at the bank were said to be involved in “lazy accounting gimmicks” to conceal the fact that the [...]
The Unite union has been unsuccessful in its High Court action against British Airways (BA) to stop the airline from imposing cost-cutting measures. The union claimed it was not properly consulted on the measures, which include a pay freeze and a switch to part-time working for 3,000 staff. BA cabin crew had been set to [...]
Consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has announced it is to abandon plans to take further legal action against banks regarding unauthorised overdraft charges. At the end of last month, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the banks over the fairness of the charges. The test case originally commenced in July 2007 [...]
A group of 222 homeowners trapped in shared appreciation mortgages (SAMS) have begun a new stage in their fight for compensation by sending out a letter before legal action to Barclays and HBOS (now part of Lloyds Banking Group). SAMS are a form of equity release sold by Barclays and HBOS during the late 1990s, [...]
Northern Rock mortgage borrowers will not all receive the full benefit of last week’s cut in the base rate. The nationalised lender’s tracker rate customers will see the full 1% reduction but for those on its standard variable rate (SVR) the reduction will be 0.5% taking the rate down to 5.34%, from 1st January. Mortgage [...]
Ron Sandler, who was appointed by the Government to revive Northern Rock, said solid progress has been made against the business plan. The Bank of England loan facilities are reducing and the balance sheet is contracting as a result of planned mortgage redemptions, added Mr Sandler. Mr Sandler’s strategy is to reduce the mortgage book. [...]
The Government took Northern Rock into public ownership on February 22 and shareholders were believed not to be in favour of the nationalisation and have since been threatening legal action. The UK Shareholder’s Association (UKSA) (acting on behalf of the Northern Rock’s shareholders) believes that the UK Government confiscated the shares even though there was [...]
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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