UK 2009 Budget Urging the Country to Go Green

If you have an aging vehicle, you can profit from the recent announcement in the 2009 Budget. The government is promising a bounty of £2000 to any UK resident who chooses to scrap an older vehicle and purchase a newer model. This scheme, which is modelled after a similar one in Germany, will target cars that are nine years old or more. Read more

Tags: march car sales down, prospect, interested buyers, effort, car sales

Graduates ’shouldn’t have any trouble getting credit’ despite economic turmoil

Despite tighter lending conditions created by the global credit crunch, graduates should not have any trouble in getting credit, one financial expert has claimed.

Moneyfacts said that lenders consider different factors when dealing with graduates as they are viewed as customers worth attracting despite the debt they will have taken on at university.

Because of this, graduates typically enjoy low rates and high borrowing on their loans, which is unlikely to change this year, she advised.

Samantha Owens, head of credit cards and loans at Moneyfacts, said: “We don’t see any market contraction for graduates, and they shouldn’t be concerned about ridiculously high rates, or trouble getting any credit.”

She added that as a graduate is seen as a “good prospect in the long run”, these accounts are to remain static.

According to debt charity Credit Action, average graduate debt in the UK has dropped for the first time in six years.

Graduates who leave university with debt now owe on average £12,363, a decrease of £889 (six per cent) on 2006.

Tags: average graduate debt, financial expert, trouble, graduate, action, university, cent, prospect

50+ landlords warned over tax

The number of people aged over 50 who own a buy-to-let property is set to surge in the coming year.

That is according to over-50s expert Saga, which believes we will see a 24 per cent rise in the number of older buy-to-let owners.

As a result, it is urging people to take advice on tax and make sure they are properly declaring their rental income.

It also urges over-50s to ensure that they are taking full advantage of the tax relief that is available to them.

“It is no surprise that over-50s own the majority of second and rental properties in the UK, however, as more and more decide to follow this route, it is important that they understand the tax implications that rental income will have,” commented Andrew Goodsell, chief executive of Saga.

Landlords have until June 22nd to declare underpayments in their tax to HM Revenue and Customs and this will lead to a 90 per cent reduction in the penalty charged.

Buy-to-let owners are being warned that they should urgently seek advice or else face the prospect of having to pay a full charge.

Tags: HM Revenue and Customs, penalty, over-50s expert saga, tax relief, rental properties

Delay in bank charges decision from OFT

The Office of Fair Trading has announced a decision to delay the decision with regards to what can be construed as a fair bank charge for those that default on their current accounts. Many experts were expecting a decision from the Office of Fair Trading this month, but the OFT has now stated that the decision will be left until the end of the this year, as further investigation in bank charges is required before any conclusion can be reached.

The decision by the OFT is good news for some people that are waiting to make a claim for unfair and unjustified charges, as it buys them extra time to make their claims without the level of their claim being affected by the OFT decision. The OFT has confirmed that an announcement about the further investigations in to these banks charges will be made around the end of April of this year.

Once a decision has been reached with regards to what is deemed to be a fair charge for those exceeding their overdraft limits and defaulting on their current account in others ways, future claimants will probably only be able to reclaim the difference between what they were originally charged and the amount that is deemed fair by the Office of Fair Trading, so this gives customers extra time to reclaim the full amount for which they were charged. On the other hand, this delay spells bad news for those that were looking to get lower fees from banks in the future.

One thing that has been worrying a number of consumers and experts in the field is the prospect of banks introducing account fees on current accounts if the charges are dramatically reduced in a bid to try and recoup costs.

Tom Smith
23/4/07

Tags: Consumer Direct, Bad news, prospect, delay, consumer protection, bank, overdraft, end