Saving money on foreign currency

Whilst the traditional summer holiday period is now over there may be many people that are planning a winter break. For those that do not have children and do not have to take holidays at certain times of the year it is often cheaper and more relaxing to go away out of the typical summer months, and there are still some great places to go to get winter sun without the crowds.

Anyone that is thinking of going away over the colder months will need to get their finances sorted, and this includes ensuring that they have the currency that they need for when they go. These days there are many different ways in which to get foreign currency for your holiday, and it is important to try and get the most for your pound so that you have plenty of spending money whilst away.

There are now many ways in which you can get commission free foreign currency but the amount that you get per pound can vary depending on where you go. Often those with packaged bank accounts may find that they are able to get special deals on their foreign currency so it is always worth checking with your own bank to see what they can do for you.

The Internet provides a very effective way of finding the best deals on foreign currency as you can compare and browse the different rates paid from the comfort of your own home, and you can place your order online once you have decided which is the best deal for your needs. If you want the money delivered to your door you can often order it for delivery the next day if your order in time, but there is usually a delivery charge for this, although it will come by special delivery for your safety.

It is also advisable to purchase a combination of foreign currency and traveller cheques, especially if you are going away for more than a few days. Having traveller’s cheques will provide you with additional security in case your money goes missing, as you can get these replaced quickly and easily in most cases.

Some people leave getting their foreign currency until they get to the airport but this can be a costly mistake. If you want to collect it at the airport some foreign currency providers can arrange this, so you can order and pay in advance and collect when you get to your departure airport.

Tags: airport, Numismatics, foreign currency, money, finance, Currency

Charities Get Only A Small Percentage of Charity Christmas Cards

With Christmas just around the corner many consumers in the UK will be looking to buy charity based Christmas cards, which allow them to not only get the Christmas cards that they need for the festive season but also to give to a worthy cause without any real effort having to be put in. Read more

Tags: charity christmas cards, generous, case, charirty donations, card deals

Property prices to be higher at end of this year than the last

It has been predicted that at the end of this year house prices will be higher than they were at the end of last year, with many industry experts expecting a slight rebound in both the property market and the economy. Read more

Tags: case, bank, property prices, Chartered Surveyors, housing market, market, concern

UK 2009 Budget Urging the Country to Go Green

If you have an aging vehicle, you can profit from the recent announcement in the 2009 Budget. The government is promising a bounty of £2000 to any UK resident who chooses to scrap an older vehicle and purchase a newer model. This scheme, which is modelled after a similar one in Germany, will target cars that are nine years old or more. Read more

Tags: interested buyers, prospect, effort, march car sales down, case, 2009 budget, car sales

Musicians unable to get cover from insurance firm advertised by Iggy Pop

Over recent weeks many people have seen the new advertisement being run by a major insurance company featuring a the well known and iconic rock star, Iggy Pop Read more

Tags: customer services operator, run, well, musician insurance, musician, standards

Why is home insurance so important at this time of year?

Many people have valuable and expensive items in their homes at all times of the year, but at this time of the year most people have additional valuables in their homes, having stashed loads of expensive gifts for loved ones and also having received gifts from friends and family. Having a good home insurance policy in place is important at the best of times, but at this time of year when the value of items in your home tends to go up you need to make sure that you have adequate home insurance in place to protect your valuables against loss, damage, or theft. Read more

Tags: fire, home insurance, side, flooding, financial losses, valuable items, case, check

Tips on saving money this Christmas

After a particularly difficult year financially many families will be trying to cut back on the cost of Christmas this year, and with consumer spending levels already having fallen most retailers are well aware that they will need to take action in order to get consumer spending levels up and keep their profits up at the same time. The recent VAT cut of 2.5 percent may go a little way towards making this a more affordable Christmas, but the difference this small cut will make is negligible, and it is really up to the individual to try and take action to keep costs as low as possible. Read more

Tags: case, financial climate, different retailers, time, Another way, christmas, vat cut, Business Finance

Government takes steps to help homeowners

The government has recently taken steps to try and help homeowners by changing court protocols in order to make it more difficult for lenders to take court action without taking other steps first in cases where homeowners have fallen behind with mortgage repayments.

It is hoped that this will help to reduce repossession levels, and lenders will be expected to follow guidelines and take a number of other steps before taking court action. The lenders will need to demonstrate that they have taken the necessary steps if the case does end up in the courts. Read more

Tags: value, government help, number, housing minister, case, climate, Council, mortgage help

The collapse of the Icelandic banks – how it’s affected us

Earlier this month the already chaotic financial markets were thrown into even more turmoil with the Icelandic banking collapse. Consumers, businesses, and charities were horrified to learn about the collapse, and many feared that they would lose their money. In some cases it seems that they may have been right to think that. Over the past couple of years many businesses, authorities, charities, and consumers have been rushing to Icelandic banks to invest their savings, with accounts such as Icesave and Kaupthing Edge offering high interest rates on savings in order to attract new customers.

However, the joy of these savers, who thought that they were making huge returns on their money, was to be short lived. Read more

Tags: UK branches, month, case, Icelandic banks, period

‘Be open’ with your car hire company

Tourists travelling abroad this summer and planning on renting a car should be honest with the hire company, particularly if they are thinking of doing anything “slightly out of the ordinary” such as driving across the border to another country.

Neil Greig, the director of the IAM motoring trust, has said that drivers taking their hire car into another country risk invalidating their car insurance.

However, he noted that this is not always the case and holidaymakers can safely drive from Spain to Gibraltar without negating their insurance.

“It is always worth checking the fine print because if you do end up having an accident you may not have breakdown cover [or] you may not have insurance cover if you actually damage the vehicle,” Mr Greig warned.

According to Which? people are often unaware that there is often a large excess, sometimes more than £1,000, when hiring a car abroad.

Tags: tourists, case, breakdown, border, United States, vehicle, Insurance, breakdown cover

Insurance switching gains momentum

There has been a marked increase in insurance switching, an industry expert has said.

According to MoneyExpert.com, the car and home insurance markets have seen a dramatic rise in people changing policy.

In the last six months, insurance customers for these sectors have abandoned in excess of 9.2 million uncompetitive policies.

The website’s Switching Index shows that, in the same period ten per cent have switched home insurance policy while 15 per cent have changed motor insurance policy.

In total, 9.27 million policies have been swapped in the last six months, which represents a staggering increase of 1.6 million from the previous quarter this year.

Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: “The good news is there are plenty of excellent offers out there and many product sectors are incredibly competitive – insurance being a prime example.

“It will almost certainly be the case that everyone can save money by switching and we would urge consumers to continue to seek out the best deals.”

Tags: insurance policy, Financial services, economics, home insurance, case, momentum, home insurance markets, best deals

BIBA: Christmas holidaymakers should insure valuables and gifts

People planning to travel during the festive season have been urged to be extra careful to insure all of their valuables, including Christmas gifts.

According to the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), holidaymakers should ensure they have adequate cover, especially as doing so is unlikely to break the bank.

However, Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive for BIBA, expanded on the point saying: “What you might have already is, under your home insurance, a personal possessions extension.

“In which case, you’re going to get a much higher limit under your home insurance than you are on any travel product, but also you don’t have to then have that section of the travel insurance policy.”

Research carried out on behalf of Halifax Travel Insurance last year showed that a staggering 2.5 million people leave Britain at Christmas taking with them £727 million worth of presents.

Furthermore, it found, average personal baggage claims go up by an impressive 48 per cent from its annual average of between £560 and £830.

Tags: holidaymakers, case, season, baggage, personal possessions

Bank charge test case may be dropped

According to a recent report the Office of Fair Trading is considering dropping the test case over bank charges, which was planned for next year.

The test case was designed to make a final determination over bank charges following months of controversy and rows between banks and consumers. The battle started after campaigners and regulators branded the charges, applied for exceeding overdraft limits, bounding cheques, and returned direct debits, unlawful and unfair.

Officials from the Office of Fair Trading have confirmed that there is a chance that the test case will be dropped, but this will only happen if it is in the best interests of the consumer.

Officials stated that they may consider dropping the test case if banks decide to cut their charges to a level that makes them fair to consumers. Lloyds TSB has already cut its charges, but many experts state that it has not cut them enough.

One OFT official stated: “If we do our own financial analysis, and they come in with a number that is lower than our analysis would suggest is an unfair charge, there is no need for the court case to go forward. We will be looking out for what is the best outcome for the consumer.”

However, the banks are arguing that their bank charges have nothing to do with the OFT, and that officials have no power over their bank charges. The OFT is due to review charges to come up with a figure that it believes is fair.

If the test case does go ahead, many experts think that free banking could come to an end in the UK and that banks will start charging monthly fees for having a current account to recoup losses from bank charges.

Tom Smith
16th October 2007

Tags: charges, bank, fees, case, legal, drop, trading, oft

Consider financial ombudsman over bank charges

In the ongoing disputes relating to bank charges Lloyds TSB recently became the first bank to win a court case against a customer that was trying to reclaim bank charges that had been imposed for exceeding the overdraft limit on the account, and for returned cheques and direct debits.

And is seems that this unprecedented case has started to put some consumers off from trying to reclaim charges from their banks. However, experts advise that there is another route available.

This is Money has advised consumers that if they don’t feel confident about taking their bank to court of reclaiming bank charged they can simply go through the Financial Ombudsman Service. This is a free service, so consumers will have nothing to lose by taking their complaints to the ombudsman. And if, at the end of the day, the consumer does not agree with the financial ombudsman’s decision he or she can still take the case to court.

This is Money also warns that this cannot be done the other way around. So if a consumer takes the bank to court, and the judge rules in favour of the bank, the consumer cannot then take the complaint to the financial ombudsman because the judge’s ruling has to be the final one. So, anyone having trouble getting bank charges back from their bank should consider complaining to the FOS before taking the case to court.

Even banks are now using the Lloyds RSB case to try and make consumers feel as though this is a definitive decision, but this is not the case.

One FOS spokesman stated: ‘We are seeing letters from banks suggesting the Birmingham case is definitive. This is usually happening at local branch level. Often when we raise it at a senior level, head office agrees that the letters are wrong and stop any more going out.’

Tom Smith
10th June 2007

Tags: ombudsman, fines, case, judge, court, charges

Interest rates frozen

The Bank of England has decided to freeze interest rates at 5.5 per cent.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) made the decision following a quarter point rise in May and after four rate rises since August 2006.

Industry figures had widely predicted the move as it was thought that the MPC would want to wait and see what effect the last rise had.

Despite the decision being good news for those with loans, mortgages and credit cards, borrowers are being warned that further rate rises are likely in the near future.

“The majority of economists are calling for a rise in July but if we need another increase it would be more logical for the MPC to wait until the next quarterly inflation report in August before making that decision,” said Ray Boulger from mortgage advisor John Charcol.

“With the total previous rise of one per cent looking like it is doing the trick, I believe the MPC will want more time to see if this is indeed the case.”

This sentiment has been supported by a number of figures, with research firm Global Insight also predicting another rate rise in August.

“We believe that the MPC is likely to act by August at the latest to try to stamp out the significant upside risks to longer-term price stability,” said Howard Archer from the firm.

Tags: inflation, rate, bank of england, case, longer-term price stability, interest, Insight

Banks warned by judge over unreasonable behaviour

A judge in the UK has issued a warning to banks in relation to unreasonable behaviour in cases where consumers try to claim back charges that have been deemed unlawful and unfair.

Many consumers in the UK have made claims for bank charges going back up to six years, and although in all cases but one the claims have been successful a number of banks have been acting in a manner deemed unreasonable, using retaliatory measured such as account closures to get back at the consumer.

And another tactic being used by some banks is the pretence that they will be defending claims in court, when in actual fact they have no intention of doing this at all.

It is this tactic that is being objected to by the High Court judge, David Mackie, who claims that the banks are wasting court time and resources with this pretence. He further stated that he was looking into awarding damages against the banks if they continued to do this in instances where a consumer has filed a claim in court.

The London Mercantile Court has had hundreds of these bank charge cases referred through lower courts this year, and the hope is that at some point one of the cases will be heard, producing a test decision.

Judge Mackie stated: “If the banks had won, many fewer customers would have sued. If the banks had lost, the claims would have been much easier to sort out than they are now.”

With banks deciding to settle the claim at the last minute before a case is heard, the likelihood of a test decision is a slim one.

Judge Mackie added: “On the face of things each case raises serious issues which the court would permit to proceed to trial. But this is fantasy because, at least for the moment, we all know that there will be no trial.”

Tom Smith
30th May 2007

Tags: charges, court, lose, reclaim, account

Bank charge firms to be investigated

On the back of current investigations that are being carried out into the charges applied to customers’ accounts by banks in the UK by regulatory bodies, a further investigation will now be carried out into the various firms that have sprung up claiming to be able to help consumers to recover these charges – for a fee.

Regulators will now be looking into and scrutinizing these firms amidst fears that many consumers may be wasting their money on paying unnecessary fees for a task that they can carry out themselves free of charge, other than paying for copy statements.

UK regulators have been looking into unfair and unlawful charges that have been charged to customers’ accounts by banks for some months, and as a result of this many consumers have managed to claim back charges and fees going back up to six years, which in some cases has amounted to thousands. However, in light of the increasing number of people attempting to claim back fees from their banks a number of companies have sprung up with offers of assistance in exchange for fees.

These companies will now be investigated by the Ministry of Justice, and amongst the practices that will be looked into by the ministry is cold calling, where company representatives phone up consumers to try and talk them into letting them help claim back charges. However, consumers can just as easily do this themselves for the cost of a duplicate statement, and without having to pay any further charges.

In a recent case Lloyds Bank won a case where a man had tried to make a claim for his charges, and this was the first case to be won by a bank in relation to these charges. In other cases banks have failed to justify the charges, and consumers have been able to reclaim them. 

Tom Smith
24th May 2007

Tags: unfair, costs, reclaim, penalties, won

Consumer pressure mounts for bank fee refunds

The consumer campaign to reclaim the fees banks charge when a cheque bounces or customers exceed their overdraft limit was given fresh impetus this week when barrister Tom Brennan took his bank, NatWest, to court.

Mr Brennan, who is 30 and newly qualified, has said he would be putting his personal finances on the line by suing NatWest for alleged injustice, abuse of power and unlawful conduct.

His case is in its early stages as he seeks permission from the City of London County Court to sue the bank.

But it could become an important test-case for other consumers as well as improving awareness of the issue.

Mr Brennan’s case rests on his claim that the charges are “unfair because they do not reflect the actual loss to the defendant”.

To charge a customer £38 when a payment bounces is, he argues, “egregiously invidious” because it is disproportionate to the administrative cost to the bank.

Millions of people have now written to their banks to demand that penalty charges be refunded immediately.

Tags: Banking, Law Crime, fees banks, case, Business Finance, alleged injustice, limit

Insurance for the Critically Ill

Many people unfortunately become ill at some point in their life with a sickness that turns critical and need constant treatment on a daily basis. Life insurance is a popular product but it is actually more likely that an individual will contract a “critical illness” than die. Medical treatments, either at the hospital or in home, can be very expensive to have privately, but the unnoticed cost is the loss of earnings of a breadwinner, and the incidental expense of travelling to hospitals, childcare etc. Read more

Tags: life insurance, case, basis, critical illnesses, protection, illnesses, critically ill, breadwinner

£12m pad

At a time of ever-increasing house prices it is perhaps no surprise that a London apartment has just been registered as one of the most expensive properties ever.

A three-bedroom luxury apartment in London’s Belgravia has been snapped up by foreign buyers for a whopping £12 million.

That means every square foot in the apartment is worth £3,000, making it one of the most expensive properties ever, according to estate agent WA Ellis.

The owners are getting all the luxurious comforts you would expect for such a large figure, with a marble master bedroom and a 52-inch plasma TV included.

The main reason for the huge price tag however, is a simple case of demand heavily outweighing supply.

“Everyone wants to come here and most of it is City-fuelled,” Daniel Wiggin from WA Ellis told the Press Association.

“Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Chelsea seem to be among the most popular areas that they want to live in and we have an immense lack of stock – a shortage of supply and a vast amount of demand.”

Tags: case, city, agent wa ellis.the, luxury apartment, knightsbridge, chelsea, master, pad

Bad Credit Loans

Getting it bad…

A lot of things have change over the years: none more so than the English language. Today’s teenagers are prone to use all sorts of words that have been invented either as a result of texting or simply to as a result of them wanting to adopt a form of language as their own. Read more

Tags: personal loans, bad credit history, Englishman, case, debt, new loan