Could some consumers in Europe end up paying more for their broadband?

A paper will shortly be published by the Centre for European Policy Studies that may damn the current approach by European Leaders to broadband internet access and their increasing “net neutrality” friendliness. The principle of looking to stop excessive restrictions to the access of broadband is currently what is known as Net Neutrality. In essence, no restrictions of access to any services (traffic management) or content and equal access for everyone would make a truly neutral network.
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Tags: Leaders, internet connection, music video, basic packages, traffic, hand, broadband, GBP

Food prices could go up again due to harvest

Over the past year consumers have had a lot of rising costs to cope with, ranging from bills and energy prices through to petrol and food. In fact, inflation on food as been one of the most marked rises that consumers have had to put up with, and many households – especially those that have children and larger families – have seen the cost of their weekly or monthly shop rocket. Read more

Tags: possible fresh rise, shop rocket, crop, baked goods, household finances, harvest, hand, food prices

2.5 million accounts hit as banks tighten finances

New research has revealed that over 2.5 million credit card customers were either charged a fee, had their credit limits reduced or their accounts closed as banks tried to recover money lost through debts and penalty fees.

Of the customers affected by the new moves, only 16 per cent missed more than one monthly repayment or went over their credit limit in the past year, the study by uSwitch.com has found.

Simeon Linstead, head of personal finance at the company, said that banks should not close accounts, reduce credit limits or adopt annual or monthly fees without giving their customers a reason for doing so.

“We’re not against credit cards providers curbing consumers’ spending if their debts are genuinely getting out of hand,” commented Mr Linstead.

However, he added that credit card companies that “make changes to customers’ accounts must be completely open about how and why they have selected those customers.”

Controversial bank charges are set to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.

Tags: monthly fees, 5 million, hand, penalty, Credit counseling, Credit Cards

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

New graduate deals from RBS

This year’s set of graduates are being offered £2,000 interest-free by the Royal Bank of Scotland so that the pressure is off somewhat during their first three years of work.

Nicknamed the Graduate Royalties offer, it consists of two distinct options. Graduates can either go for a three-year interest-free stepped overdraft facility of up to £2,000 or the aforementioned interest-free loan.

“Many graduates feel under financial pressure after leaving university, so to help in easing that pressure, we have a great team of advisers on hand in our branches,” said Katie Cassidy from the bank’s graduate banking department.

“They can talk to graduates about any concerns they may have with the financial transition from studying to finding employment.”

Other perks that come with the account include a 25 per cent dining discount at over 450 restaurants in the UK, commission-free travel money and ten per cent off selected holidays.

Tags: hand, employment, Business Partnership, restaurants, rbs, work

Are money worries written in the stars?

The time of year in which you are born may be affecting your banking skills and how good you are at managing your finances.

According to Credit Expert, our star signs could determine our financial futures and have huge effects on our personal lives as a result.

Research from the firm has found that Scorpios become so concerned with money problems that they are more likely than any other sign to split from their partner over financial worries.

Cancerians, on the other hand, have the least rows about money but this is likely to be down to the fact that 17 per cent regularly lie to their partners about how much they spend.

The most honest signs when it comes to finances are Capricorns and Arians, while the most confident about their credit rating are people born under the sign of the Taurus.

“Regardless of whether you take astrology seriously, the survey shows that there are a lot of people with great concerns about their spending and borrowing,” said Jim Hodgkins from Credit Expert.

“Instead of looking to horoscopes for solutions to their financial problems, they’d be better off looking at their credit reports.

“Your credit history is part of your financial CV and if it doesn’t reflect your current status, lenders may be less inclined to offer you credit in the future,” he added.

If you are unsure of your credit rating it may be worth finding out so that you know exactly where you stand and can correct any wrong information that may be held against your name.

Tags: expert, personal lives, financial worries.Cancerians, cent, hand, wrong information

Law firms hired to retrieve bank charges

Many consumers are turning to ‘no win, no fee’ legal firms to help them claim back unfair penalty charges from their banks.

As more and more people put pressure on their bank to refund the charges, some people are turning to lawyers because they apparently lack the confidence or time to deal with the situation themselves.

The downside of this is that the typical legal firm is taking around 25 per cent of the money which is refunded, reports the BBC.

The firms claim that they are providing a service to consumers, despite the fact that information on how to make a successful claim is freely available.

“If you are confident and have that kind of personality, then you can win it back yourself,” said Philip MacDonald from Phoenix Financial Recovery.

“However we think there’s a reasonable niche market of people who don’t want to have to issue a court summons or deal with it, and would rather have someone to hold their hand through the process.”

Despite Mr MacDonald’s claims, many industry figures say that there is simply no need for people to give away a quarter of their winnings to a law firm.

“There’s no reason to use a claim handling firm for bank charges,” said a spokeswoman for Which?

“They have no extra powers or persuasive abilities and we’ve heard of some firms taking between 20 per cent and 40 per cent as fees.”

Tags: law, Business Finance, services, process."despite mr macdonald, penalty charges, court summons, hand, industry figures

How much will home insurance cost me?

Well that depends on a wide host of factors, as every persons quote is tailored to their home and their circumstances. Insurance is never ‘one size fits all’ as different circumstances present differing risk sizes. For more on insurance ‘risk assessment’ please see our other articles. Read more

Tags: home insurance cover, hand, home insurance cost, home contents insurance, mortar, home insurance premiums