Brokers have noticed a rising trend on mortgage rates and are blaming it on the current crisis in the eurozone. Woolwich, Halifax and Santander, Nationwide, ING and the Chelsea Building Society have all increased tracker mortgage rates recently, reversing this summer’s trend for rates to become more competitive. The Chelsea Building Society has increased the [...]
Homeowners on tracker mortgages will be “hit like a rock” when interests rates rise, a financial expert warned this week. David Kuo, director of the Motley Fool financial news website, Fool.co.uk, said “prudent” customers should continue making monthly repayments at the same level as they were before interest rates plummeted. By maintaining repayment levels mortgage [...]
Many homeowners on a tracker mortgage are failing to take advantage of historically low interest rates by not making mortgage overpayments, research by Unbiased.co.uk has discovered. More than half (56%) of UK consumers on a tracker mortgage are missing out on potentially taking years off their mortgage term by keeping extra cash in their pockets. [...]
Savers looking to make the most of their money should consider offsetting savings against their mortgage, uSwitch.com said this week. Offsetting savings against a mortgage can provide more lucrative returns in the current environment of low interest rates, the price comparison website claimed. Research by the group found that nearly two million homeowners are thinking [...]
Nationwide has announced interest rate cuts on a number of its fixed-rate mortgages, and has launched a new range of tracker mortgages. From February 17, new fixed-rate mortgage customers at the building society will be able to sign up for deals 0.2% lower than current rates. The lower rates will also be available on remortgages [...]
Homeowners should use the Bank of England’s recent rate cuts as an opportunity to overpay on mortgage payments, according to banking group HSBC. Thousands of pounds worth of interest can be saved by tracker customers if they choose to overpay, HSBC said. Tracker mortgages follow the Bank of England base rate. Consumers holding a tracker [...]
Tracker mortgages are becoming increasingly hard to find following the Bank of England’s aggressive attack on the base rate of interest. Market statistics show that in the last year, the number of tracker mortgage products available has dropped by over 700, from 763 to 45. This is expected to decline further next year with additional [...]
Following yesterday’s interest rate cut from 4.5% to 3%, there were concerns that lenders would not pass on the rate cut to customers. However, earlier today the chief executives of Britain’s top banks were summoned to Downing Street to meet with Chancellor Alistair Darling, where he demanded that they pass on the rate cut 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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