Some cardholders could spend more than a lifetime paying their credit card debt

Concerns have been expressed recently that some credit card holders who are customers of the credit card giant Barclaycard could end up spending more than their lifetime trying to repay their credit card balance, after the credit card company announced that it was planning to reduce the minimum level of repayment that it was asking from its customers each month. Read more

Tags: company, month, best interests, Credit Cards, GBP, bill

Energy firm says bills may be cut early next year

One of the UK’s major energy suppliers has recently stated that it may be looking at cutting energy usage costs early next year if wholesale energy prices continue to fall. The price of crude oil fell earlier this year, and energy firms were slated by consumer campaign groups and officials by not responding to the drop in oil prices by cutting bills, but the energy firms said that the reason behind this was that the cost of wholesale energy was still high. Read more

Tags: watchdog, Mayo, cut, wholesale energy, step, wholesale energy prices

Memo indicated that banks told that bank charges are probably unfair

This year’s High Court test case into bank charges saw round one go to the Office of Fair Trading, with the regulatory body being given permission to assess banks# terms and conditions, including overdraft charges, for fairness. According to the contents of a leaked memo that was sent to senior staff members at RBS and Natwest the OFT has concluded that the charges applied by the UK’s leading banks are indeed unfair. Read more

Tags: test case, August, office of fair trading, bank charges, bill

Holidaying without insurance “incredibly irresponsible”

Going on an adventurous holiday and risking serious injury without travel insurance is “incredibly irresponsible”, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has said.

A recent survey for the Foreign Office revealed that 20 per cent of people aged over 55 took risks on holiday that they would not have taken at home.

Furthermore, it was found that almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of over 55-year-olds did not take out travel insurance for their last holiday.

Sean Tipton, press officer at the ABTA, said it is “extremely foolish” for people to travel uninsured, particularly on an adventurous holiday such as skiing.

By not taking out travel insurance, holidaymakers could save “£30 or £40″, but in the event of a serious accident they “run the risk of having to sell [their] house to pay the bill and travelling uninsured is just a very foolish thing to do to”, says Mr Tipton.

Tags: injury, home, risk, holiday, Skiing, bill, finance

Personal loan costs on the up

The worsening credit crisis is pushing up the cost of taking out a ce.co.uk/loans/” target=”_self”>loan, despite cuts in the Bank of England base rate.

Moneyfacts, a financial data provider, claims that the average rate on a three year £5,000 unsecured personal loan has risen by 1.7 per cent in the past year, adding an extra £300 to the bill.

Nearly a third of personal loans taken out in the past year were for debt consolidation. A quarter of those borrowers ran into further debt, and 85 per cent of all those taking out loans were not asked to pay off existing debts by their lenders.

Worryingly, 70 per cent of loan applicants were not asked for proof of income, according to price comparison service uSwitch.com.

Mike Naylor of uSwitch.com commented: “With more than 7,716 loan repayments being missed every day and record write-offs, you might think that lenders had learnt their lesson.”

Figures released by the Bank of England last week showed that new consumer credit rose by £2.4 billion in February, compared to an increase £900 million in January.

Tags: cent, comparison, credit, February, bill

Credit card holders could face 10,000% interest on one pence

Credit card holders who have one pence on the balance of their credit cards could face being charged up to 10,000 per cent interest.

US financial service providers Citibank, who own Egg the company who laid off 161,000 customers, announced it will increase the minimum interest charge for its 900,000 UK customers from 50p to £1 in May.

This means that a customer with one pence outstanding on their bill would be charged £1 – nearly 10,000 per cent interest.

Speaking to the Times, Sean Gardner of comparison firm Moneyexpert said: “Minimum interest charges are commonplace, although the details are typically hidden deep in the terms and conditions of your credit-card application.”

New figures from the Bank of England show that the average credit-card interest rate has increased to 17.67 per cent from 16.98 per cent a year ago.

Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Intelligent Finance and Egg, impose a minimum 50p charge for customers who pay interest on their bill.

Now Citigroup and Barclays charge a minimum of one pound.

Tags: Credit card, bill, firm, May, Intelligent Finance

Council tax expected to rise by 4%

Households in England and Wales are to face increasing strain as council tax bills are to go up by 4 per cent in the next financial year, according to the government.

Figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) revealed that the bill for an average household is expected to rise from £1,101 to £1,146.

Those in Band D will see the payment rise from £1,321 to £1,374 because of the increases, which the government says are the smallest there have been for 14 years.

Sir Simon Milton, the Local Government Association chairman, said that the increase would put council budgets under severe strain.

“Councils have been under a real financial squeeze during the annual struggle to keep bills down,” he said.

Sir Milton added: “The stark reality is that low council tax rises have come at a cost and many councils have had to make tough decisions on spending.”

Meanwhile, shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles said that cost of living since Labour has come into power has “gone through the roof”.

Tags: cent, association chairman, bill, Local Government, households, Communities and Local Government

Millions of Brits miss credit card payments

Approximately 5.5 million credit card customers missed payments in the last year according to research from Moneysupermarket.com.

The findings revealed that 13 per cent of spenders skipped a bill payment while credit card payments are the most likely to be missed with seven per cent going unpaid.

Steve Willey, head of credit cards at moneysupermarket.com, said: “Close to three million credit card holders will have paid out over £35 million between them in penalty fees.”

“But it is the damage to their credit rating that is more costly to them and to the other 2.5 million consumers who have missed payments elsewhere,” he added.

Credit card bills are the most likely debts to be missed by those aged 25, while the 25 and 34 age group also proved the worst at repaying with 12 per cent of respondents not keeping up to date.

The 18 to 24 age-group are most likely to miss mobile phone payments.

Meanwhile Moneysupermarket.com has also warned that specialist insurers can be the most expensive insurance agents.

Tags: Credit card holders, cellular telephone, Credit Cards, Steve Willey, percentage, bill, Mobile phone, group

Borrowing to continue despite credit crunch

Consumers will continue to keep borrow, despite the credit crunch and its potentially ill effects, claims a financial expert.

Colin Jackson, director of Baronworth Investment Services, has said borrowers “get into a spiral” which could result in debt being built up.

Many people are now using credit cards to pay off their mortgages which is “the most awful situation to be in”, according to Mr Jackson.

He added: “If you’re using your credit card because you haven’t got enough money at the end of the month to pay anyway then you’ll run up bill on your credit card and where do you go next? Another credit card.”

Mr Jackson also said that consumers are finding it “very tough” to put money aside due to rising costs of day-to-day living.

The latest debt statistics from Credit Action shows that total consumer credit lending to individuals in October 2007 was £222 billion.

This figure has increased by 5.8 per cent in the last 12 months.

Tags: end, Credit history, personal finance, crunch, awful situation, Credit Action

Student debt rises again

Student debt levels are being ramped up still further, a worrying new survey claims today.

Run in conjunction with high street bank Lloyds TSB, the Push annual survey says that those who started at university last year can expect to owe nearly £17,500 by the time they leave.

Even more worrying is the report’s claim that this year’s freshers face a £20,000 bill for studying.

Furthermore, while the national average student debt lies at £13,000, the £20,000 barrier has already been breached at nine elite campuses.

Catherine McGrath at Lloyds TSB said: “Students face higher levels of debt than ever before and with the added pressures of escalating house prices and increased competition for graduate jobs, it’s essential that they find ways to keep their student debt to a minimum.”

Johnny Rich at Push added: “This increase is not just another rise. Some students are facing real financial hardship. Even so, the advantages of having a degree still vastly outweigh the costs.”

The Push survey was the largest ever conducted on the subject of student finance.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted by its pollsters with over 2,000 students at 130 faculties around the UK.

Tags: finance, worrying, lloyds tsb, bill, survey

Council tax rises by 91% in 10 years

Increasing council tax bills are putting the squeeze on mortgage holders throughout the UK.

According to research by Halifax, the average council tax bill has risen by 91 per cent in the past ten years.

This huge increase is clearly going to cause trouble for many homeowners, particularly first-time buyers who may be struggling to keep up with mortgage payments anyway.

Halifax points out that the average annual bill currently sits at £1,078, almost double the £564 that most people paid in 1997-98.

The largest percentage rise has been seen in Monmouthshire, where council tax has increased by 184 per cent in the last decade.

People living in Richmond-upon-Thames pay the most council tax in Britain, with a bill of £1,665.

Halifax points out that the 91 per cent average increase is well above percentage rises in other areas, with average earnings goring by 51 per cent and the Retail Price Index growing by 31 per cent in the same time period.

“Council tax bills have increased significantly faster than either average earnings or retail prices over the past ten years,” said Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax.

“Bills diverge across the country. Growth rates over the last decade differ by a wide margin between billing authorities too.”

People considering getting a mortgage are advised to ensure that they have calculated their finances properly before signing up to ensure that they will have enough cash to pay for things such as council tax and household bills on top of their mortgage payments.

Tags: Business Finance, billing, trouble, bill, Local Government, increase, top, Subprime crisis background information

Storms boost insurance claims

Britain is currently being ravaged by severe storms and thousands of people have woken up to find damage to their homes and property.

Weather experts are already predicting that there is worse to come in 2007 and hundreds of millions of pounds will be spent on insurance claims.

However, Abbey is warning that 36 per cent of all homes in the country are not insured at all, meaning the owners will be forced to foot the bill should the worst happen.

Speaking in December, Prasad Shastri from Abbey gave homeowners a warning that has been vindicated in the early part of 2007.

“Already we have seen a significant increase in storm related claims within the last month and this is expected to continue into 2007,” he said.

“Worryingly many people do not protect their homes properly despite the severe costs that storm damage can cause.”

Research from Abbey shows that 620,000 insurance claims are made every year as a result of storm damage, with estimates that each individual claim is worth £522.

Weather experts have hinted that another round of storms may hit the UK as early as next week and homeowners are advised to check their insurance policies and ensure that they provide adequate cover.

Tags: significant increase, finance, home insurance, bill, Storm damage, abbey