British Gas has today reported a sharp rise in profits due to an increase in gas usage during the icy conditions experienced earlier this year. Its parent company Centrica said operating profits totalled £585 million for the first half of 2010 – a massive 98% rise on the same period a year earlier. The company, [...]
Santander is attempting to lure new customers into opening a premium current account with an introductory special offer. New customers opening a Premier 50 Current Account at Alliance & Leicester or a Reward Bank Account at Abbey will pay account fees of just £5 per month for the first three months. After this introductory period, [...]
Direct Line Home Insurance is offering new customers 50% off contents insurance policies until 30 September 2009. New customers can take advantage of the offer as a single policy, or alongside buildings insurance. The insurer said it decided on the price cut to help people with the cost of summer living. “There are always unexpected [...]
Savers are signing up for the Albion Cheque instant access account at Leeds Building Society (LBS) in record numbers. LBS said the account, which pays interest at up to 2.5%, has seen a significant uplift in the number of new customers signing up, as well as in the account balance of current customers. “We have [...]
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) yesterday re-launched its Premier Regular Saver account. The account pays interest at 7% pa gross/AER, and is designed to encourage people to put aside a fixed amount each month. “The Premier Regular Saver is a great way for people to kick-start a savings habit,” said Gillian Almond, A&L’s current accounts manager. [...]
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) is offering £100 to new customers opening a current account. The Santander-owned bank said the offer will be available for four weeks from Thursday 30 April to new customers opening a Premier Current Account or a Premier 50 Current Account. “This is only available for a few weeks, so grab it [...]
Direct Line has unveiled a pet insurance special offer designed to attract new customers. Customers buying pet insurance from Direct Line for the first time will receive 12 months cover for the price of ten. Direct Line also pointed out that in 2008 the average pet owner paid £715 in vet fees when their pet [...]
Direct Line has announced that it is offering twelve months home insurance for the price of ten. All new customers taking out a policy in March and April will be eligible for the offer. Direct Line said they decided to release the offer now after a survey discovered January and February are the UK’s least [...]
Tesco has launched an array of car insurance special offers for the coming month – the time of year when motorists typically look to renew their policy. Clubcard customers who buy Tesco car insurance before 1 April will receive a £50 Tesco gift voucher to spend in store. In addition, online customers buying a breakdown [...]
Sainsbury’s Home Insurance has announced a range of discounts for new home insurance customers called the ’30-30-30′ deal. The supermarket bank is offering 25% discount to anyone purchasing home contents insurance before 30 June. Customers purchasing contents insurance together with buildings insurance will receive an additional 5% discount, bringing the total discount to 30%. These [...]
Two of the UK’s biggest home insurance providers, Aviva (Norwich Union) and More Than, are offering free contents insurance to new buildings insurance customers. Aviva’s offer gives up to £50,000 free contents cover to customers buying buildings and contents insurance together. The offer is available on all new policies, provided that customers have not made [...]
Insurance firm Liverpool Victoria (LV=) has scrapped a restriction that prevents home-owners from claiming unemployment cover during the first 60 days of a policy. LV=’s Mortgage & Lifestyle Protection plan offers policy holders cover for mortgage payments and living expenses in the event of an accident, sickness, or unemployment. The policy pays out until the [...]
With financial worries plaguing the nation, Direct Line is offering new customers a recession-busting 50% discount on home contents insurance. The insurance provider said economic slowdown is making it difficult for many households to keep up with expenses. In a recent survey by Direct Line, 22% of respondents thought it acceptable to default on a [...]
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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