50% of Brits don’t seek financial advice
June 20, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
More than half of people in the UK have never sought professional advice regarding their finances, a new study has revealed.
Research from Zurich has shown that 57 per cent of all Brits and 84 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 years old have never asked for financial advice.
Half of the people surveyed said that one of the reasons they have not approached anyone for advice about their money situation is that they feel is would not be of much value to them as they do not have a large disposable income.
Tony Solomon, director of Life Marketing at Zurich, said: “The sheer number of people walking blind into their financial decision-making presents a disturbing trend in society and an alarming picture for the future.”
Figures from Credit Action have revealed that the households pay an average interest of £3,790 each on their total debt every year.
Identity theft victims older than fraudsters
March 28, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
Consumers who are victims of identity theft are older than the fraudsters they are conned by, shows new research. 
Findings from CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, revealed that males in their 40s are the most likely to become victims of identity fraud than any other age group.
Peter Hurst, chief executive with CIFAS, said: “While our research into fraudsters revealed that the typical fraudster seems to be getting younger, this displays a quite different picture.”
He added that the CIFAS research shows that that the more tech-savvy, younger, sections of society are more aware of the need to protect their data, and therefore take greater care.
Those in their 40s, who may be seen as more resource rich and burden light compared with younger spenders, are supposedly a particular niche group to exploit, said the service.
Instances of identity theft are thought to be on the rise with nearly 30 per cent of Brits falling victim to identity theft within the last 3 years, according to a poll of UK credit professionals, by the Credit Show.
Consumer wellbeing ‘worsening’
January 24, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
Many consumers are facing increasing strain on their day-to-day living costs and spiralling levels of debt, according to research from financial experts. 
Findings from the Financial Reality Index from the Alliance Trust, which analyses factors underlying consumer wellbeing, has revealed its biggest fall in 18 months.
The index decreased by 10 per cent, from 88.6 in the previous quarter to 79.7 per cent in the fourth, one of the lowest levels in the study’s 11 year history.
Shona Dobbie, head of the Alliance Trust Research Centre, said: “Our measure of consumer wellbeing shows a worsening picture not only for household budgets, but for consumers’ net wealth and the economy as well.”
She added that, although consumer spending does not appear to have taken stock of the financial reality, “we expect consumer spending to slow further over the next year”.
Over spending for the past two years is supposedly to blame for the current pressures upon budgets with higher food and fuel prices and heavy levels of debt and mortgage payments.
Meanwhile research from the Alliance Trust has shown that the over-75s and under 30s suffer the worst rates of inflation.
What Is Material Fact And Why Is It So Important?
The Fact of the matter
The insurance business is full of words that seem like jargon, but the fact of the matter is that the words used often mean very precise things because these insurance policies are contracts. “Material Fact” is one expression that you are likely to come across. 
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