Insured patients being charged hundreds of pounds more for cover

A recent report has claimed that patients with insurance cover are being charges hundreds of pounds more for treatment by a private hospital chain simply because they have insurance. Read more

Tags: private hospitals, increase, charities, patient, position, transparency, insured patients

More help for elderly required in recession

It has been reported that more help is needed for elderly people in the UK during the recession, with charities for the elderly claiming that there are a number of measures that could help to make the lives of suffering pensioners easier. Read more

Tags: elderly, charities, pensioners, charity, Help the Aged

Local authorities have lost hundreds of millions of pounds

News about the failure of Icelandic banks that have recently collapsed has been dominating the headlines, and the government has confirmed that local authorities have invested a total of over £840 million with these Icelandic banks. This has caused outrage amongst consumers, but government officials have said that councils were not being reckless with the cash by investing it in these Icelandic banks. Read more

Tags: charities, advice, government, LGA, recklessness

Green mortgage sales to remain ’static’ in the wake of the credit crunch

It is unlikely that lenders will begin to offer green mortgage products in the near future following the effects of the credit crunch, one financial expert has claimed.

Moneyfacts said that there has been no big change in the number of lenders offering the products over the past four or five months.

However, Darren Cook, head of mortgages for Moneyfacts, said that there is still a demand for the products in the marketplace.

“But the lenders that are in [that market] are generally motivated by social responsibility; it’s due to their company ethics that they supply these products,” he said.

Because of this the firm say that lenders who are already dealing in this sector will have a tendency to stay.

At present only five lenders offer green mortgage products: the Co-operative Bank, Ecology Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough, Giraffe and The Hanley Economic Building Society.

The criteria of these products range from planting 40 trees for every green mortgage taken out to donations to carbon offsetting charities.

Tags: Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, Darren Cook, credit crunch, tendency, big change, Co-operative, charities, The Co-operative Bank