At least a million have their bank charge claims frozen

According to recently released figures at least one million consumers have their bank charge claims frozen, as the appeals relating to the original High Court decision continue. Read more

Tags: decision, original ruling, bank charges, office of fair trading, bank claims, firm legal beagles, fair, banks

Appeals Court throws out bank charges appeal

Since the start of 2008 the High Court has been dealing with a battle between the Office of Fair Trading and the UK’s banking industry over the controversial issue of bank charges for unauthorised overdraft use, returned direct debits, and bounced cheques. Read more

Tags: GBP, decision, Bank charge, Appellate court, office of fair trading, bank charges appeal, appeals court, year

Banks find out that their charges are most likely unfair

Over the past couple of years the bank charges applied to accounts by banks have been at the centre of controversy, with some banks charging close to £40 per fee when the customer went over their overdraft limits and for returned direct debits and bounced cheques. Officials from the Office of Fair Trading were concerned because the charges were far too high, because they did not in any way reflect the costs incurred by the bank, which amounted to just a few pounds. Read more

Tags: bank charges, oft, office, Law Crime, test case, rbs, memo, decision

Mortgage borrowers urged to “think carefully”

Following the Bank of England’s decision to keep the base rate of interest on hold, one expert has advised borrowers to consider the possible downsides of taking out a variable-rate mortgage.

Mark Blackwell, director of intermediary sales at Alliance & Leicester, said that while those with variable-rate mortgages may have “benefited” from the rate cut announced last month, further rate reductions may not be so forthcoming.

According to Mr Blackwell, under present conditions borrowers ought to “think carefully” about the negative aspects of “locking” into a variable-rate product, particularly as the Bank may choose to tackle rising inflation with a rate hike.

“Fixed-rate products continue to remain a wise choice for first time buyers, people moving house or refinancing,” he said.

As 1.4 million borrowers are likely to come to the end of their fixed-rate deals this year, a similar product may “help to manage the impact of higher monthly payments”, he added.

The Bank chose to maintain the base rate at 5.25 per cent yesterday, having reduced from 5.5 per cent a month earlier.

Tags: base rate, decision, yesterday, mortgage, base, director, people moving house

Look to remortgage in advance

With conditions within the financial markets currently volatile, one expert has suggested that homeowners looking to remortgage ought to review their options months before their existing deal runs out.

Ray Boulger of John Charcol said that lenders are choosing to change their mortgage rates “increasingly quickly” and most new rates tend to be “higher than the ones they replace”.

The expert advised borrowers wanting to remortgage to “investigate their options as much as six or seven months before their current deal ends, because some mortgage offers are valid for six months, although others only last three months”.

Mr Boulger also suggested that people seeking to buy a new home ought to speak to a broker first to find out what mortgages are currently available, given increasingly tighter lending criteria.

Commenting on the decision taken by the Bank of England to keep the base rate of interest at 5.25 per cent, David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, said that the news will be “disappointing” for homeowners.

Tags: advance, head, tighter lending, decision, homeowners, finance

Bank has a ‘difficult’ decision to make in slow economy

With inflation rates expected to “creep up over the course of next year” the Bank of England has to make a “difficult decision about interest rates”, according to industry experts.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that the combination of inflationary pressure at a time when the economy is slowing will force the Bank to make a decision on what action to take.

Lai Wha Co, principal economist for the CBI, said: “On the one hand it’s monitoring how sharply the economy might slow, but on the other hand it has to weigh up the concerns about inflationary risk.”

She added that if inflation was to rise more markedly than the market forecast then the Bank’s members may be constrained.

The cuts in interest rates that some consumers were hoping for may not be delivered Ms Co concluded.

The CBI has predicted that inflation will rise during 2008 due to the higher price of oil, gas and food.

Tags: decision, industry experts, time, hand, Monetary Policy Committee, interest rate, economist

Court still allowing consumers to sue over bank charges

The row over unlawful and unfair bank charges has been raging for some time, and many bank customers have managed to reclaim past charged for exceeding the overdraft limit and for returned cheques and direct debits – some going back up to six years – after UK financial regulators stated that the fees were unjust and unfair last year. Finally, earlier this year, regulators and banks decided that a test case was needed in order to determine whether or not the charges were fair.

In the meantime courts and judges were advised that pending cases filed by bank customers that were trying to reclaim their charges could be put on hold until after the test case had gone ahead in order to make a decision easier. However, despite this many consumers are continuing to successful sue their banks, which indicates that many courts and judges are continuing to let these actions to through.

One claimant who won nearly £3000 stated that her case was only heard as a result of the bank not turning up to defend itself. She stated: “When it was my turn, I found out that there was nobody from Abbey to deal with my case and went in to face the judge alone. She told me that as Abbey hadn’t turned up to defend against me, she would be finding in my favour, but had Abbey turned up, she would have granted a stay, as that was what they were all doing until after the test case.”

Apart from in Wales, and in Devon and Cornwall, where a blanket stay of outstanding cases has been granted, courts and judges can make their own decisions, and many are doing this on a case by case basis according to some officials.

• Claimants strike back at banks

Tom Smith
29th September 2007

Tags: bank charges, blanket stay, decision, september 2007 court, bank customers, Banking, fee

New gambling laws labelled “bad for good causes”

TV gambling advertisements, which are to become legal later in the year, could have a knock-on effect on charitable donations through damage done to National Lottery sales.

Various financial experts have already advised on the effect that the adverts might have on the UK’s mounting debt problem.

In a letter to the Guardian, Council for the Advancement of Arts, Recreation and Education Denis Vaughan said that “the decision to loosen up the regulation on advertising for gambling is a regrettable one, most of all for the National Lottery”.

Just last week, financial advisors Chase De Vere labelled the UK’s debt problem as being “worse than ever”, with more and more borrowing unsustainable amounts through unsecured loans and credit cards.

The new gaming legislation comes into effect later in the year. Reforms to the existing legislation have proved controversial, and widespread public resistance has already provided the impetus to Gordon Brown’s dropping of plans to build a new supercasino in Manchester.

Tags: new gaming, guardian, week, Manchester, decision, UK's debt problem

Mortgage fees soar

In an increasingly competitive industry, mortgage purchasers might be being tricked into paying massive fees by deceptive advertising, a financial service website reports today.

According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, lenders have increased their fees by over 600 per cent in the last two years, with no difference in the amount of work being done by them to sell the house.

A common technique by lenders to artificially enhance their position in mortgage ‘league tables’ is to switch their own charge to the arrangement fee, thereby making them appear to be able to highlight a lower general interest rate.

Therefore customers – who naturally tend to focus on the headline interest rate as a guide to their decision – pay more than the advertising suggests, a situation which a spokesperson for the website today termed “objectionable”.

Mortgage brokers advise prospective buyers to include the range of payments, including lender’s fees, rather than just focussing in on the interest rate.

Tags: work, decision, mortgage brokers, business, technique, headline, arrangement fee, interest rate mortgage

Compare Credit Cards – UK Credit Card Comparison

When looking for credit cards it is important to compare a range of cards to ensure that you find the right card for your needs.

There are many different credit cards to select from, offering everything from special interest rates or 0% interest to cash back and rewards. You can enjoy getting the best deals on a range of top credit cards when you take the time to run some comparisons, and this can be easily done online. Whether you are looking to conduct balance transfers or make purchases or whether you want to accrue rewards you will find a vast choice of cards to suit most needs.

For those wishing to transfer their balance from existing credit cards onto a 0% balance transfer card there is plenty of choice available. When you compare a range of credit cards you can find cards that offer the longest interest free periods on balance transfers, which will give you even more time to pay off your debt without incurring interest charges.

When it comes to finding the perfect credit card for purchases you can compare a range of cards that offer low interest rates and some that offer an interest free period on new purchases. These cards are ideal for those that want to make purchases on their credit cards, and wish to spread the repayments and pay minimal or no interest.

For those that tend to repay their balance in full each month rewards credit cards and cash back credit cards can be very effective, and you can find the best rewards cards by taking some time to compare different credit cards from a range of card issuers. You will find some great deals on many of the top rewards based credit cards and cash back credit cards online, and you can make comparisons quickly and easily.

Because the interest rates, benefits, and terms and conditions on credit cards can vary so widely it is important to make comparisons in order to increase the chances of finding the best card for your needs. Thanks to the power of the Internet you can now carry out these comparisons quickly and conveniently from the comfort of your own home.

Once you have compared a variety of credit cards and found the best one for your needs, you can also make your application online and in many cases you will receive an instant decision in principle on your application.

Tags: credit card comparison, free periods, cash back credit cards, Credit Cards, everything, balance transfers, decision, compare credit cards