Fool.co.uk: House price standstill could ‘imprison’ first-time buyers

Many first-time buyers may fail to sell their home at a price high enough to cover their mortgages if house prices begin to fall.

Fool.co.uk states that people who have recently bought homes on 100 per cent mortgages could suffer from the evening out of house prices and that they have cause to be “concerned”.

Although 100 per cent mortgages are not a significant part of the market, the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that they are taken out by one in every 20 first-time buyers.

The website warned that these homeowners would suffer from even a small downturn in prices, leading them into negative equity.

However, David Kuo, head of finances at Fool.co.uk, advised: “They can tip the scale in their favour by ensuring that they choose repayment mortgages rather than the cheaper interest-only options. They should also overpay their mortgage as often as they can afford.”

Mr Kuo added that doing this would help them to chip away at their debt and give them more equity in their homes allowing them an improved choice of mortgage provider.

In the UK, house prices have seen a slowdown in recent weeks with borrowing costs still high and the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 5.75 per cent meaning the pressure on people repaying mortgages remains high

Tags: bank of england, negative equity, people repaying mortgages, market, chip, Mortgage loan, David Kuo

No more chip and pin for RBS credit cards

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is all set to introduce a new contactless credit card which uses radio waves to make payments.

All you have to do is touch the new credit card on terminals provided at participating outlets to pay for items under £10 – no pin is required.

Shops will start to use the new technology in September. RBS’ launch comes close on the heels of the new OnePulse credit card introduced by Barclays.

The OnePulse card works in the same way but can also function as an Oyster card, Barclays having signed a three-year exclusive deal with Transport For London.

The speedy nature of RBSs new credit card’s transactions was displayed after the company drove an AT & T Williams formula one car to a McDonalds drive through to buy a meal using the new technology this week.

Tags: chip, McDonalds, September, formula, The Royal Bank of Scotland, card, Credit Cards, chip and pin

Online banking fraud rises

More of us are falling victim to online banking fraud, with new figures showing a huge increase within the last 12 months.

Apacs, the UK payments association, says there was a 44 per cent rise in cases of online fraud between 2005 and 2006.

The organisation does reveal that credit card fraud has fallen by 47 per cent in the same period but is concerned that fraud over the net has grown from £23.2 million in 2005 to £33.5 million in 2006.

“Chip and pin has had a hugely positive effect on fraud losses over the counter in UK shops and stores, but we are seeing more fraud on transactions that do not use chip and pin, such as over the internet and phone, by mail order and abroad in countries that have not yet fully upgraded to chip and pin,” commented Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs.

Card and banking fraudsters have developed to keep up with the new security initiatives that are being introduced.

Although chip and pin has had a huge impact on protecting card holders, fraudsters now use technology that copies information from the card’s magnetic strip and create a new card which can be used in countries that do not have chip and pin.

People are being warned to be extremely careful with their cards by ensuring that they do not use an ATM which they think may have been tampered with. The message is: “If in doubt, keep it out”.

Tags: fraud, falling victim, Lebanese loop, new figures, online

Put credit card fraud into perspective

As Christmas approaches many consumers in the UK have started to worry about the risk of Internet fraud, and although buying gifts and other related items online has become hugely popular over the years many are still worried about the possibility of becoming the victims of credit card fraud. This worry is further reinforced through the various warnings that always come out at around this time of year, warning consumers to beware of credit card fraudsters.

However, some new advice has now been issued by a company that works to protect both retailers and consumers from this type of crime. The 3rd Man has advised consumers not to listen to ‘scaremongers’, and has urged retailers to put this type of criminal activity into perspective. The 3rd Man wants more emphasis put on the fact that by and large Internet shopping is safe, and this is because most reputable retailers use secure software to ensure that the consumer’s financial and personal data is not compromised.

Each year billions of pounds is spent on Internet shopping by consumers in the UK, but the many stories about the risk of online shopping and credit card fraud could result in a drop in consumer confidence. The 3rd Man does advise consumers to ensure that the site that they are using is a secure one, and providing that this is the case there should be no need to worry.

The CEO of the company stated: “Every day there is a story about fraudsters cheating their way into our pockets. The introduction of Chip and PIN has made a massive impact on fraud, reducing crime in stores. It has also persuaded many fraudsters to target ‘card not present’ environments such as Internet shopping, but equally many retailers have recognised this and put in place proper systems to combat the criminals. If people wish to shop on the Internet they should be confident that it is fundamentally safe. It is the safest way to shop!”

More Info:

• Identity Theft

Tags: bank, fraud, steal, chip, account, cash