Half of mortgages now have percentage fees

It has been revealed that in the current difficult mortgage market around half of all mortgages now have percentage fees attached to them, according to a recent report. Read more

Tags: mortgage percentage fees, half, borrowers, spiral, 49 percent, mortgage focus, mortgage fees, Mortgages

Banks filing further appeal over bank charges

The battle between the UK’s High Street banks and the Office of Fair Trading over bank charges has been raging for some time, and has been longer than most people imagined. Read more

Tags: office of fair trading, appeals court, bank charges, baks, watchdog authorisation, Fair Trading, half, industry

Credit crunch results in loss of sleep for many

A recent report has suggested that the effects of the ongoing global credit crunch is resulting in many of us losing sleep through worries over our finances and our futures. Read more

Tags: credit crunch, worse nights, group, finanicial stress, age, half, heating bills, credit

Credit crunch really affecting 18-34s

According to a recent report one of the groups that is most suffering as a result of the ongoing global credit crunch is the 18034s age group, which some industry officials have referred to as the Ipod Generation. Over half of this group is thought to have debts of over £10,000, not including mortgages, and nearly a third have no form of savings whatsoever, putting them at increased risk of really feeling the pinch. Read more

Tags: recent report, chartered accountant, credit crunch, half, financial services practitioners, iTunes, Hardware, broke britain

Is it cheaper to be on the road now compared to twenty years ago?

Ask any driver and they will most likely tell you that the cost of keeping their vehicle on the road is extortionate. The cost of petrol is a major contributory factor, with petrol prices having rocketed by an incredible amount over recent months. The cost of insuring a vehicle has also gone up considerably, and many pay hundreds of pounds even for the most basic cover on their vehicle these days. Add to this the cost of buying a vehicle in the first place and the cost of servicing, MOTs, tax, and repairs, and you could find yourself shelling out a fortune each year to be on the road. Read more

Tags: victim, factor, savings, households, worrying, half, wheel, motorists

Impact on Northern Rock could have been softened

In a recent report the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Callum McCarthy, has stated that the impact on stricken lender Northern Rock could have been softened had consumers been made more aware of the savings guarantee that was in place from the government. Mr McCarthy stated that many consumers had not been aware of the savings guarantee that was in place, and had they been more aware of this it could have made a big difference to the level of trouble that Northern Rock found itself in. Read more

Tags: government, nose, fsa, bank of england, half

Singles ’spending more than couples’

Singletons are flashing more cash than those in relationships, a new study has revealed.

Research conducted by Legal & General has shown that six per cent more Britons managed to make some savings during April than was the case in the same month 2007.

However, six out of ten of the people still in the mood to spend their hard-earned cash on entertainment and fun are single, which Legal & General suggests is not surprising.

Julia Clayworth, the organisation’s wealth management head of marketing, commented that the findings show it is not “all gloom and doom” for Britons.

“It is reassuring that people’s saving habits are gradually changing despite the reported economic downturn and that they are still managing to have some fun as well,” she added.

A recent study by egg warned that just half of all workers in the UK could manage for four months on their existing savings, despite this being the average length of time people are out of work following redundancy.

Tags: Legal & General, April, Relationships, surprising.julia clayworth, britons, average length, half

Debtors should not “hide the problems”

People facing serious financial difficulties should not try to “hide the problems” or assume that they can solve them themselves by using their credit cards even more, says an expert.

A recent report has found that 400,000 people took out new solutions for unsecured debt in 2007, with over half (58 per cent) deciding to refinance or remortgage.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, has advised people to ask their lenders for help to try to solve the initial problem of having borrowed too much money, which they cannot repay in the time period stipulated by the lender.

A possible solution is to extend the length of a mortgage which will lower monthly repayments making it more affordable in the short-term and giving the borrower “breathing space,” although the total amount to be repaid will be higher.

However Mr Kuo advises against taking out secured and unsecured loans, since they may compound the problem.

“Sometimes people are a little misguided about how they solve their problems and they try and throw money at them,” Mr Kuo concluded.

As debt problems increase for many people and lenders tighten their criteria, a survey has found that 18,000 applications for credit cards are being rejected each day, according to MoneyExpert.com.

Tags: space, money, possible solution, expert, half, David Kuo, time, breathing space

Ofgem figures show consumers are using “their buying power”

Data from Ofgem showing that over five million energy customers have switched supplier in the past year is a sign that customers are using “their buying power”, according to a consumer advisory service.

Which? said that energy customers need to keep looking out for the best deal as there are significant price differences between companies.

Siobhan, Parker from Switch with Which? said: “The fact that 5 million people switched last year shows that consumers are using their buying power and taking their business elsewhere if they’re not on the best tariff.”

She added that there are still improvements to be made as the research showed that nearly half of UK households have never changed supplier while even those who have already switched may find that new tariffs could offer further savings.

Figures released showed that 5.1 million consumers transferred their business to a different company in an attempt to find a cheaper deal.

This is the highest number of switchers for five years, said the body.

Tags: Green electricity in the United Kingdom, body, supplier, attempt, half, ofgem

Up to £68bn needed to cover school holiday accidents in the home

Parents may have to pay up to £68 billion each year to cover damages to their homes incurred from children being off from school, new research shows.

According to findings from Abbey, almost three quarters of families in the UK have had at least one household item damaged by a child in the past ten years with the average cost being £140.61 each time an accident occurs.

Lloyd Wilson, head of Abbey Insurance, said: “School holidays are prime time for breakages so parents be warned.”

“Although it can be expected that children will clumsily damage household items, the cost of replacing damaged goods can come as a nasty shock,” he added.

The research showed that more than half of 16-18 year olds have apparently damaged electronic equipment, the highest percentage across all age groups.

Meanwhile, the average annual premiums for car and home insurance in those in Islington in North London are the highest in the country according to a study conducted by actuarial consultancy EMB.

Tags: three quarters, Lloyd Wilson, home insurance, EMB, islington, half, prime time, electronic equipment

Female savers set to miss out on Isa benefits, say experts

Many female consumers are not preparing for their financial future with 20 million set to miss out on investing in the individual savings accounts (Isas), one financial expert has claimed.

According to new research from the Co-operative Bank, two thirds of women in the UK are without an Isa.

Of the third that do hold one, less than a third intend to invest ahead of this season’s deadline in comparison to more than a half of male spenders who possess one.

Scott McPhail, savings product manager at the Co-operative Bank, said that financial planning is essential for women and not a maybe.

“Women can often retire earlier, and live longer than men, but many are simply not making enough provision for their futures and are failing to take advantage of tax-free savings,” he said.

Despite this, the research showed that women are more likely to be concerned about the state of their finances than men.

Meanwhile, the Association of Investment Companies has warned consumers to take care in researching the various Isa products on offer before making a purchase.

Tags: advantage, United Kingdom, future, new research, male spenders, bank

Remortgaging is ‘very popular’

Remortgaging has become ‘very popular’ in the last few years, according to a spokesperson for independent mortgage adviser Charcol.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, said: “The average life of a mortgage now is only three and a half years. And the reason it is so low is that a lot of people do remortgage frequently.”

He advised that those who are considering remortgaging need to examine their arrangements approximately three months before they reach the end of their current deal.

The key consideration to look at when remortgaging is how much such a deal will cost over the entire duration of the mortgage period, said Mr Boulger.

“The most important thing is to make sure the new mortgage you take out is affordable,” he concluded.

In November of this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that remortgaging and other lending was at £11.1 billion in September.

This figure was higher than the £11 billion of lending in August and the £10 million in September of last year.

Tags: mortgage lenders, figure, mortgage adviser, spokesperson for independent mortgage adviser Charcol, adviser, consideration, half, remortgaging

Hints and Tips on Remortgaging

Over the past year or so many people in the UK have decided to remortgage as a result of rising interest rates and decreasing affordability. In order to avoid the implications of missed and late repayments due to lack of affordability homeowners have flocked to secure a better deal elsewhere, with some looking for a lower interest rate and others looking for increased financial stability by switching from a variable rate deal to a fixed rate deal. Read more

Tags: rate mortgage deals, fixed rate mortgage deals, remortgages, late repayments, cheap fixed rate

Savers missing out on tax breaks

Almost half of all British adults are knowingly paying too much tax, but refuse to do anything about it, Britannia has claimed.

New research from building society revealed that 48 per cent of UK adults have never had an ISA account and are failing to make the most of tax free savings.

Of those without an account, Britannia was shocked to discover that as many as 30 per cent did not even know what an ISA is.

“Our research reveals that there are many misconceptions about ISAs and people just don’t understand how they work,” said Neville Richardson, Britannia Group chief executive.

“It’s a shame that many of those who are saving are unnecessarily being taxed twice – firstly on their income and then again on their savings. This means 48 per cent of adults are financially worse off by missing out on tax free returns on their savings.”

Customers can open an ISA at any point during the year and are allowed to save £3,000 in cash and invest £4,000 into stocks and shares every year without paying any tax.

As of the beginning of the next financial year (2008/09), adults will be able to save up to £3,600 in tax-free cash and £7,200 in tax-free stocks and shares every year.

Tags: savers, shame, Britannia Group, neville, income, half, anything, percentage

Brits are fretting about their finances

People in the UK are deeply concerned about their finances, a new study has shown.

Research from Alliance & Leicester indicates that 3.4 million Britons consider their finances to be their biggest worry – with 18 per cent fretting about cash on a daily basis.

Despite this, around half of those questioned admitted that they had not thought about whether changing their bank would provide them with a better deal.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study revealed that Brits tend to worry more about their cash at certain times of the year. Half said Christmas was a stressful time financially and 40 per cent admitted to thinking about their finances before a holiday.

“Money is obviously a topic at the forefront of most people’s minds,” explained Andy Bayes, head of current accounts at Alliance & Leicester.

“Regardless of whether money worries stem from managing day to day finances or finding the money in the run up to special times of the year, it’s crucial people check that their bank account is working hard for them.

“Considering the time people spend worrying about money, and the lengths some will go to find more, it’s surprising to see that so many customers still remain faithful to the same bank they have been with for years, which pays very little in credit interest.”

Research from Lloyds TSB indicates that 36 per cent of people from the UK plan to sort their finances out this autumn.

Tags: christmas, britons, credit interest, bank account, biggest worry

Five-figure debts as young homebuyers load up credit cards

Young homebuyers are piling on debts onto their credit cards as they struggle to pay their mortgages, a debt charity said yesterday.

Figures from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) show that those who have bought homes under the age of 25 have over two-thirds more debt than their counterparts who rent, quite separate from mortgage payments.

The charity’s quarterly Debt Dashboard study, which surveyed 73,000 of the CCCS’ client records, shows that people who use their helplines who rent owe on average £12,113.

This figure soars to £20,290 among homebuyers.

CCCS chairman Malcolm Hurlston said: “There is a danger in young people getting on the housing ladder before they are ready financially.

“Before taking out a mortgage the under 25s should make sure they can still afford to live and not rely on credit to plug the gaps.”

The charity also revealed that unsecured personal loans accounted for more than half of the total debt recorded by young people who have come to them for help.

Tags: Social Issues, client, half, young homebuyers load, helplines, help, soars, Unsecured Personal Loans

Hips earnings ’sliced in half’

Pack providers have cut the earning potential of home inspectors implementing the new Home Information Packs (Hips), it has been claimed.

Interviewed on BBC Two’s Working Lunch, home inspector Alyson Cadd said that her potential earnings could now have been halved, thanks to meddling by high street providers.

“The pack providers… have now basically driven themselves between us and our clients, which would have been the estate agents or even the self-seller, the seller of the property, we now have the pack providers and these panels that we have to contact.”

She added that providers were “not just taking the commission or a cut; they’re actually taking half our fee in many cases, certainly the larger pack providers which really seem to have cornered the market with a lot of people”.

Hips, sometimes known as seller’s packs, will become mandatory for sales of homes with four bedrooms or more in England and Wales on August 1st, before being extended to cover all properties over the next year.

Ms Cadd also strongly criticised the delays to the scheme, which was originally to have been implemented across the country earlier this year.

Describing herself as “angry and stunned” by the hold up, she said that she knew of people who had given up jobs to become home inspectors in time for the original start date who had been left badly out of pocket as a result.

Tags: Home Information Pack, half, pocket, inspector alyson cadd, property, start, bbc, earnings

Homeowners warned about fixed-rate deadline

Mortgage holders are being encouraged to plan ahead if they are due to reach the end of their fixed-rate deals in the coming months.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says that around 1.3 million people took out a fixed-rate deal in 2005, while a further 1.5 million did the same in 2006.

Most would have had just a one or two-year period of paying a fixed rate and the CML is warning that borrowers must be prepared to start paying increased levels of interest.

According to the CML, the average borrower will face a rate increase of between 0.75 per cent and 1.5 per cent.

This could potentially have a devastating effect on many homeowners and, although the Bank of England has chosen to freeze interest rates at 5.5 per cent in June, rates are likely to increase further in the coming months.

“While today’s [June 7th's] decision not to raise rates is welcome, there is no cause for complacency. More than two million borrowers over the next year and a half will reach the end of fixed-rate deals, and will face the prospect of higher mortgage payments,” commented Michael Coogan, director general at the CML.

“For most people, the scale of the increase will be manageable. But it makes sense for borrowers whose fixed-rates will end soon to start planning ahead now and to recognise that their monthly costs will be higher in the future.

“Anyone who thinks they may face financial difficulties should talk to their lender at an early stage to see what steps can be taken to improve their situation,” he added.

Tags: rates, recognise, increase, mortgage, end, financial difficulties, rate deals

FTBs benefit from landlords selling up

First-time buyers (FTBs) in the UK are benefiting from a trend which is seeing landlords selling their properties.

Statistics from Alliance and Leicester show that buy-to-let mortgage holders are beginning to sell some of their properties, with most making big profits.

According to the firm, ten per cent of landlords sold one property in the last two years, while 42 per cent of FTBs snapped up a landlord-owned house.

Head of specialist mortgages at Alliance and Leicester, Jeremy Claridge, is pleased that FTBs are taking their chance to get onto the property ladder.

“It is heartening to see that first time buyers are benefiting the most from the sale of buy-to-let properties with nearly half having bought from a landlord,” he said.

“With many believing the boom in buy-to-let has priced first time buyers out of the property market, the research highlights it is not all doom and gloom for first-time buyers. Instead, they are the group gaining the most.”

A quarter of landlords who sold their property in the last two years made a return of more than 30 per cent, with only two per cent reporting a loss.

This bodes well for the future of the buy-to-let market as does the fact that 29 per cent of landlord-owned properties sold since 2005 went to existing or new landlords.

Tags: cent, Head of specialist, loss, United Kingdom, landlord, benefit, group

Speeding youngsters

Many youngsters in Britain have risked their lives by getting into a car with a speeding driver.

Research by Co-operative Insurance (CIS) and road charity Brake has found that as many as two thirds of people aged between 15 and 25 have been a passenger in a speeding vehicle.

Of these, more than half admitted that they did not ask the driver to slow down despite being aware of the associated risks.

In total, 4,500 youngsters were asked to complete the survey and it was revealed that 65 per cent had been in a car which was driven at 40mph in a 30mph zone or at 70mph on a rural road.

The findings have led to increased calls for changes to be made to the way in which people are taught to drive.

“Now is the time for the government to take action and tackle the problem of risk-taking young drivers,” demanded Jools Townsend from Brake.

“Too many people have died due to a deadly combination of inexperience and recklessness among many young drivers. More will die if positive steps are not taken immediately to educate young people and reform the learning to drive process.

“The government has a duty to society to ensure every young person gets an education in road safety and introduce a more structured system of training and testing novices,” she added.

Young drivers are often forced to pay higher car insurance premiums than other road users as statistics show that they more likely to be involved in an accident.

Tags: half, testing, zone, Road traffic safety, safety

Consumers using bonuses to ‘pay off’ mortgage

Almost one in ten diligent Britons are using their annual bonus to pay off chunks of their mortgage, new research carried out by Birmingham and Midshires shows.

Figures released by the financial provider indicate that Britons are proving to be particularly savvy when using their bonuses, with nearly two-fifths having saved all or most of their bonus over the past year.

With regard to their mortgage, people from the Midlands and Wales are found to be the most financially astute, with nearly two-thirds paying off their mortgage.

In total, Britons collected more than £24 billion in bonuses last year, with the average employee receiving £1,758 from grateful employees, allowing many to invest in other avenues than their mortgage.

While some saved their payouts, over one in ten splashed their hard-earned cash on holidays and electrical items.

Jason Robinson, director of savings operations for Birmingham Midshires, said: “It’s easy to be tempted to splurge when we get paid a bonus so the fact that more than half are using their extra cash sensibly is great news.

“You don’t need a huge amount to save or invest so lucky bonus recipients should try to find a healthy balance between rewarding themselves for a year of hard work and squirreling their cash away,” he added.

Tags: holidays, jason robinson, new research, half, two thirds, Wales, Birmingham Midshires