The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning people to steer clear of scam loan companies that take upfront fees but fail to provide credit, or offer unsuitable credit alternatives. The watchdog has seen a 50% year-on-year rise in complaints about loan scams, particularly credit applications that involve upfront fees sent through money transfer companies. [...]
Consumer group Which? is concerned about surcharges imposed on to consumers who pay by debit or credit cards. It has therefore asked the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate the matter - which sees retailers, local authorities, estate agents and cinemas all impose the charges. However, the “worst offenders” are said to be budget [...]
Following an investigation into Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), savers with a cash ISA should find it quicker to switch their money to a different provider. The 90-day investigation, conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), came after Consumer Focus warned that cash ISAs are depriving savers of £3 billion in interest each year. The [...]
From 2 December, Lloyds TSB will reduce the overdraft fees on its current accounts. The move comes just a month after the new coalition Government said it would introduce measures that will see an end to “unfair” bank charges, as well as excessive interest rates on credit cards. The banking industry was successful in a [...]
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 84% state-owned, has been fined £28.6 million by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after admitting breaches of competition law. RBS confessed to passing on loan pricing information to its rival Barclays and the OFT began its investigation after receiving a tip-off from Barclays. According to the [...]
Consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has today revealed UK banks may soon be offering customers the ability to opt out of unarranged overdraft facilities. Should the procedure be put in place, it would mean consumers would avoid hefty fees if they slipped into the red. The announcement comes as the OFT took [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is recommending a “shake-up” of the way in which most Britons sell their homes, including new legislation that encourages innovation in the estate agency market. Following a study of the home-buying and selling process, the watchdog concludes: “The housing market remains dominated by traditional estate agents with weak competition [...]
The planned merger between mobile phone giants, T-Mobile UK and Orange, is set to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT said the merger “threatens significantly to affect competition in mobile telecommunications in the UK”. At the time of the proposed merger in September, the two phone giants said a deal [...]
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 [...]
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the banks over the fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges. The legal battle, which has been ongoing since July 2007, came as a devastating blow to consumer groups who have been campaigning for many years about the charges, which they deem to be unfair. Since the ruling, [...]
The Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of the banks over the fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges. The legal battle, which has been ongoing since July 2007, will come as a devastating blow to consumer groups who have been campaigning for many years about the charges, which they deem to be unfair. However, Lord [...]
The ongoing legal battle between seven high street banks and one building society could reach a conclusion today. The Supreme Court will decide whether the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has the power to assess whether or not bank charges are fair. The case, which has been ongoing for more than two years, could see [...]
The ongoing legal battle between eight high street banks and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over unauthorised overdraft charges might actually reach a conclusion next week. Wednesday 25 November is the date that has been set for the Supreme Court to decide whether the OFT has the power to assess whether or not bank [...]
An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found that consumers struggle to understand current account charges, as well as interest rates and overdraft fees. As a result, new measures from 2011 will see banks make it easier for consumers to understand their costs and charges, as well as making the switching process easier. [...]
Consumer advice sites Moneyfacts and uSwitch.com have reacted with cynicism to the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) decision to lower overdraft fees. RBS and sister bank NatWest cut unauthorised overdraft fees in half to £15 earlier this week. Charges for bounced cheques were reduced from £38 to £5. The changes come ahead of a ruling [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 70% owned by the Government, has slashed its overdraft charges - ahead of the decision by the Supreme Court over whether or not the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can regulate these charges. The changes, which come into effect on October 1, will also affect NatWest customers and [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched an online version of its register of dodgy estate agents. Firm’s listed have been given warnings or been banned from estate agency work and the list can be viewed at www.oft.gov.uk/estateagentregister The register can be browsed alphabetically or by date and also provides information on how to [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has declared that “time is up” for vehicle matching rogue traders who cost UK consumers an estimated £3 million a year. Last year, Consumer Direct, OFT’s advice service, received 1,600 complaints about vehicle matching scams, although the real number of victims is believed to be far higher. Victims are [...]
A report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has revealed that the new Faster Payments service is not as efficient as it could be. The Faster Payments service was launched to speed up the time taken for electronic bank payments to clear but the report revealed that the service is only running at 69% [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has shut down thirteen websites for misleading consumers. The watchdog said these debt management companies, which have not been named, are using website addresses similar to non-profit organisations and are deliberately misleading customers. Ray Watson, OFT credit director, said “We believe they are misleading consumers by holding themselves out [...]
European equities markets were higher Tuesday as banks came back from big declines on Monday, helped by a statement from Societe Generale’s (Euronext: GLE) CEO that his bank is healthy. The FTSE 100 was up 0.87 percent to 5,174.25 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 0.27 percent to 10,011, with banks the best performers [...]
Rics: Housing market remains in the doldrums
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today reported that the UK housing market remained weak in August with house prices falling further. According to the Institution, homeowners remain reluctant to put their properties up for sale, while buyers continue to struggle to secure a mortgage and remain uncertain about the economic climate. The [...]
CML: Mortgage lending edges higher in July
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
UK inflation edges higher in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% last month from July’s rate of 4.4%. However, the figure was in line with analysts’ expectations. Higher inflation continues to be led by rising food costs but the main reason behind last month’s rise was a 5.1% [...]
Fresnillo down on silver prices
European equities markets were lower Monday on the possibility that Greece could default soon and on speculation that Moody’s Investors Service could cut its rating on several big banks with holdings tied to Greece. The FTSE 100 was down 1.63 percent to 5,129.62 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.65 percent to 9,983.75 as [...]
IFS warns of tough times for UK households
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that households will be squeezed for the next decade as they suffer from the harsh spending cuts introduced by the Government. It said households are suffering one of the worst attacks on their finances since the Second World War and that the impact of [...]
ICB final report recommends ring-fencing
The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
Tullow Oil leads 100 in London
European equities markets were significantly lower Friday on an increased possibility that Greece could default on its debt as soon as this weekend, raising the concern level over the European region’s debt problems and ratcheting up worries that the economic recovery is faltering. Additionally, markets reacted to the resignation of European Central Bank board member [...]
SMMT: UK car sales rise in August
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed UK car sales saw their first rise in 14 months in August. According to the trade body, car sales rose by 7.3% in August compared with the same month in 2010, with sales of smaller cars rising by more than 30%. The Ford Fiesta remained [...]
Factory gate inflation higher than expected in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices held steady in August – remaining at the highest annual rate since October 2008. According to the ONS, output prices (factory gate) annual inflation for all manufactured products held steady at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1% in August. The figures were [...]
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