There has been a substantial increase in the number of people worried about their finances over the past six months and savings are the main area of concern. A survey by financial advice site unbiased.co.uk discovered that 47 per cent of British people are more concerned about their savings than they were six months ago. [...]
First-time buyers and homemovers are flocking to mortgage advisers, according to unbiased.co.uk. In the first six months of the year, the financial website recorded a 24% rise in consumers looking for advice from a whole of market mortgage broker, compared with a year earlier. The website, received over 45,000 enquiries, with potential first-time buyers leading [...]
Saving rather than borrowing has been the “major victim” of the credit crunch, according to new research published this week. The study by unbiased.co.uk found that savings levels dropped from £38.7 billion between April and June 2008 to £19.9 billion between July and September 2008 and haven’t recovered since. In the first three months of [...]
With the end of recession consumers are re-embracing the mantra “buy it now, pay for it later”. Brits are returning to their old habits of spend and borrow, indicating that the thrift of the recession may have been a short-lived fad. Figures from unbiased.co.uk show that at the end of 2009, consumers were borrowing 62p [...]
Savers are being urged to make full use of this year’s ISA allowance before the 5 April deadline. Unbiased.co.uk warned that Brits are set to unnecessarily spend £35 million on tax this year because they haven’t bothered to put their savings into an ISA. Research by the financial advice website found that 5.9 million adults [...]
Brits effectively spend 50 days earnings a year paying off interest on their debts, according to research by unbiased.co.uk. “As a nation we will spend the first 50 days of 2010 just to earn enough money to pay off the interest on our debts,” the financial advice site said. That means it took until Saturday [...]
Brits are handing over £144 million to the government in taxes they don’t need to pay by failing to put their savings in a tax-free account. Research by Unbiased.co.uk found £109 million is being wasted by 6.2 million savers who don’t keep their savings in a tax-free cash ISA account. Some 1.7 million shareholders are [...]
Britain’s level of debt increased again the second quarter of this year, with almost double the level of borrowing compared to the first quarter of 2009. Consumers borrowed £5.5 billion between April and June, nearly twice as much as the £2.9 billion borrowed between January and March, said financial advice site unbiased.co.uk. Savings levels grew [...]
A new report from professional advice website, Unbiased.co.uk, show mortgage enquiries from first-time buyers regaining ground, after a slight fall in June. The firm recorded a 43% increase in July, indicating that some of those aspiring to homeownership are convinced the UK housing market has bottomed out. Unbiased chief executive, David Elms, comments: “Many first-time [...]
Homeowners increasingly prefer to stick with a standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage rather than taking out a fixed-rate deal. Research by Unbiased.co.uk found 27% of homeowners are now on an SVR mortgage, compared with 23% earlier this year. A quarter of those on an SVR mortgage said they have no immediate plans to switch to [...]
New research from Unbiased.co.uk indicates that the majority of Britons are not expecting to see house prices rise during 2009. In a recent survey by the mortgage advice website, 58% of respondents said they were not anticipating an upturn this year, while 18% didn’t see any prospect of an improvement until at least 2011. Twenty-eight [...]
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. [...]
British workers can today start reducing their personal debt as it will have taken them until yesterday to pay back the interest. Personal debt is so high in Britain that it would take the whole country 83 working days - or 1st January to 25th March - just to fund the interest payments. Total debt [...]
Unions vote to accept public sector pension changes
Unions have agreed to proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), ending a long-running dispute with the government over the reforms. Members of Unison and Unite, two of the UK’s largest unions, voted in support of the reforms, with 84 per cent of Unite members voting to accept the changes and 90 per [...]
RBS could receive higher fine than Barclays for rate-rigging
The Royal Bank of Scotland could be more heavily involved in inter-bank rate fixing than Barclays, an MP has suggested. John Mann, a Labour MP on the Treasury select committee, speculated that RBS could receive a fine in excess of the £290 million incurred by Barclays, if the allegations prove true. A source from within [...]
Rich have benefited most from quantitative easing
The Bank of England has admitted in a new report that the richest 5 per cent of UK households have benefitted the most from its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The Bank launched the programme in March 2009, in an effort to revive economic growth. In total it has bought £375bn of government bonds, known as [...]
ABI calls for transparency over pension charges
A ‘protocol’ should be given to members of company and private pension schemes, giving clear information on charges, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says. The ABI’s call for pension charges to be made clearer comes prior to the introduction of automatic enrolment in autumn, when employers will be required to enrol workers in a [...]
Report tackles shortage of rented homes
With soaring demand for accommodation pushing rents to an all-time high, a new report suggests that rules on affordable homes should be relaxed to encourage the building of homes for rent. The average rent paid by private tenants in England and Wales reached £725 a month in July according to property group LSL. The government [...]
Police seize millionth uninsured vehicle
Police have seized the millionth uninsured vehicle, indicating the size of the problem of uninsured driving in the UK. The vehicle was seized in Birmingham, which is one of UK’s motor insurance evasion hotspots. According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Bordesley in Birmingham has now replaced the Barkerend area of Bradford as the place [...]
Mortgage fraud increases by 23 per cent
Information services company Experian has reported a 23 per cent increase in the number of people giving false information in order to obtain a mortgage. In the second quarter of this year, 39 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, compared with 32 in the 2011 second quarter. Lenders have tightened [...]
Government to crack down on hidden credit card charges
Tougher rules are to be brought in to protect consumers from hidden credit card charges and premium-rate phone calls to customer service departments. The Government has launched a consultation on how to implement the changes, which are required under a European Consumer Rights Directive and will apply to countries across the European Union. The new [...]
Which? report claims free banking is a myth
A new report by consumer group Which? highlights the high charges that can be applied to ‘free’ current accounts. While these accounts are free while in credit, charges can be applied if a customer goes overdrawn, especially if they do so without permission. Customers can also be charged for overseas transactions and for agreed overdrafts. [...]
Households more optimistic about their finances
Household finances are still deteriorating, but at a slower rate, according to the Markit household finance index. The index increased from 37.5 in July to 38.9 in August, with figures above 50 representing a positive change in household finances, and figures below 50 representing a negative change. The August figure represents the third consecutive monthly [...]
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