Banks urged to provide services to those that are excluded

A group consisting of charities and local groups is urging banks to extend their services to those that are currently excluded from a wide range of banking services, such as current accounts, basic bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and overdrafts. Read more

Tags: Payday loan, overdraft, interest rates, Credit card, quarter, bank accounts, Credit Cards, priority

Consumers in debt advised to maintain important insurances

As many homeowners’ fixed-rate mortgage deals expire this year and living expenses rise, leading debt management provider EuroDebt is advising individuals to maintain their insurance policies when tightening their budgets.

More than three million home owners may be forced to make higher mortgage repayments of anywhere between £30 and £300 each month as their fixed-rate deals come to the end and a number of banks continue to up their rates.

Kevin Still, director at EuroDebt, said: “The problem is that as soon as people start falling behind on their payments they look for the easiest way out,” according to Introducer Today.

However, he advised individuals against neglecting payments on items which they do not consider a priority, such as household contents insurance, life insurance, medical insurance and critical illness and payment protection policies.

Additional financial pressures may stem from increasing living costs, including a rise in council tax charges and home fuel prices.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, commented yesterday that he believes it will be “later rather than sooner” before credit conditions improve.

Tags: management, Financial economics, Introducer, policies.Additional financial pressures, David Kuo

Association supports government plan regarding unclaimed assets

The government in the UK has recently proposed an initiative in relation to unclaimed banking assets, and the British Banker’s Association has confirmed that the banking industry is backing this initiative.

The banking industry has been finalising technical details relating to the initiative with the cooperation of the government, and consumers are being given priority so that they can reclaim their money whenever they want to.
The Chief Executive of the BBA, Angela Knight, stated: ‘The banking industry has been in a detailed discussion with the Government since the 2005 Pre-Budget Report on the introduction of an unclaimed assets scheme for bank and building society accounts with the aim of getting the technical detail right on their initiative.

All along our priority has been the protection of the right of customers to reclaim their monies at any time.  A key element of the approach proposed within the consultation paper therefore is that even after the transfer of their ‘unclaimed assets’ individuals will retain the right to reclaim their monies via their bank or building society as at present.’

According to the BBA banks will continue to effectively deal with customers to minimize on the number of claims that have to be moved over to a central account and to minimise on inconvenience. The regulations mean that any unclaimed assets will them be moved into a central fund after fifteen years if no claim has been made.

At present there are hundreds of millions of pounds in UK banks that remains unclaimed, and it is thought that every year tens of millions more may be left unclaimed. Authorities also plan a consultation later this year to decide upon distribution of unclaimed funds.

Tom Smith
25th April 2007

Tags: Angela Knight, government plan, approach, United Kingdom, inconvenience, priority, initiative, building society accounts

FSA launches payment insurance crackdown

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is launching a crackdown on the payment protection insurance industry.

FSA officials have expressed concern that some consumers may not be getting the best deal and the group intends to investigate.

Mystery shoppers will put firms to the test, with those who fail being reprimanded.

“Improving sales standards in the payment protection insurance market remains a key priority for us and we see it as an indicator of whether firms are treating their customers fairly,” said FSA managing director Clive Briault.

“Customers should come away from the sale having been given the best possible chance of understanding that payment protection insurance is almost always optional, what the policy will and will not cover, and how much it costs.”

Around 200 firms will come under scrutiny as part of the crackdown, with a number of companies having already been put under the microscope.

In total, ten of those have been “referred to enforcement” and some have been hit with heavy fines.

Tags: best possible chance, heavy fines, business, priority, protection insurance market, barclays, Managing director, consumers