Banks make huge profits from overdraft fees

A recent report has suggested that banks are making huge profits from the controversial overdraft fees, which have been in the financial headlines lately having been at the centre of a high court test case with regards to their fairness, with some banks charging close to £40 per fee even though the cost to the bank is often just a few pounds. Read more

Tags: Insurance, overdrafts, centre, conclusion, court test, cut, interest, overdraft limits

Supermarkets cut fuel prices

Consumers in the UK have been hit with soaring petrol prices over recent months, with the cost of oil per barrel rocketing and higher petrol costs putting additional strain on already struggling household finances. Households have also had to cope with increased food prices, higher borrowing costs, and hiked up bills, all of which have left many unable to stretch their month budgets as far as they need to. Read more

Tags: uk, oil company bp, uk families, recent peak, fuel prices, households, time, cost

Inflation levels hit 11 year high

June saw inflation levels rise to an eleven year high of 3.8% as a result of soaring food and petrol prices, according to recent reports. The rate of inflation for May had already hit highs of 3.3%, resulting in the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, having to write to the chancellor, Alistair Darling, to explain why inflation had soared so high and what would be done to bring it back down. However, the situation is now even worse, with inflation nearly double the government’s 2% target. Read more

Tags: member voting, governor, committee meeting, Everyone, recent additions, way, inflation, gordon brown

Interest rate stays at 5%

Following the July Monetary Policy Committee meeting last week it has been announced that the base interest rate is to remain on hold at 5%. The Bank of England cut the base rate three times since December, taking it from 5.75% to 5%. However, since May the base rate has remained static after inflation levels soared to 3.3%, which is way over the 2% target set by the government. Read more

Tags: uk factories, light, row, economy, Gross domestic product, meeting, inflation, interest rates

Fully comprehensive insurance is no longer fully comp

Motorists in the UK have always enjoyed a choice of insurance policies to match their needs and their pockets, and those able to afford higher premiums and who want increased protection have often opted for fully comprehensive insurance cover, which provides the highest level of protection and cover. However, according to a recent report fully comprehensive cover has been modified and changed so much over recent years that it is now fully comprehensive in name only, and consumers are often not getting the protection that they may think they are. Read more

Tags: Vehicle insurance, Financial services, car insurance, arrangement fees, party, comprehensive insurance, insurance policies, motorists

Price of oil and food could remain high for some years

Consumers have been given a stark warning over the past couple of weeks, with officials stating that the cost of food and oil in the UK could remain high for years, which means that household finances will continue to remain strained. The warning came in a report from the government, with officials from the Treasury warning that shortage of supplies couples with growth in both population and world economy could result in many years of higher oil and food prices. Read more

Tags: uk, holidays, higher borrowing costs, credit, Brits Food prices, higher bills, whilst, today

Survey shown AA low down in breakdown rankings

Many people class the AA as a household name when it comes to breakdown services, and many may think that the AA provides one of the best breakdown services. However, according to a recent survey the AA actually came pretty low down the list in terms of its breakdown services, with a survey that involved interviewing over 32,000 drivers showing that the motoring giant only came eleventh. Read more

Tags: breakdown cover, interest, motoring giant, bottom of the list, family, RAC, line, Reorganization

Holidays still important to Brits

According to a recent report holidays are still important to Brits despite the fact that the global credit crunch has impacted heavily on household finances. In fact, the report suggests that many people would actually rather cut back on every day goods and luxuries than have to give up their yearly holiday, even though many are suffering from really strained household finances. Read more

Tags: smoking, holidays, way, Household, repercussions, food, arrangement fees, conscious travellers

Food prices continue to soar

A recent report has shown that food prices are continuing to soar and add further pressure to already strained household finances, with food inflation thought to have gone up by around 7% in the space of a year. It is thought that the rate of inflation could rise even higher as a result of the increase in food prices, and many households are finding it harder and harder to keep up with costs, with living costs going up so sharply. Read more

Tags: basket, arrangement, weekly shopping basket, utility bills, recent report, way, shopping basket, shopping

Banks need to reduce their mortgage arrangement fees

At a time when borrowing has become increasingly expensive, and when household finances have become tighter and tighter due to the global credit crunch, higher bills, increasing living costs, and higher petrol prices, the UK’s mortgage lenders have decided to deal borrowers another blow by hiking up mortgage arrangement fees, making it even more difficult for the average struggling consumers to take out a mortgage or remortgage. In fact, in the current climate some poor consumers could find themselves facing fees of thousands of pounds to remortgage or take out a mortgage, making the whole process impossible for some who simply cannot cope with that sort of fee. Read more

Tags: UK's financial regulator, fsa, current climate, matter, council of mortgage lenders, Mortgages, issue

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