Progress with PPI not fast enough

Senior officials from the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, have said that progress is not being made quickly enough in the crackdown on the mis-selling of PPI. Payment Protection Insurance has been at the centre of investigations and controversy for some time after investigations revealed that it was commonly mis-sold by lenders and providers. Read more

Tags: payment protection insurance, relation, controversy, fsa, consumers, Insurance, mystery, lenders

Cameron’s attacks over tax cuts

The leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, has issues warnings in relation to the Labour Party’s economic plans, stating that the plans will result in taxes rocketing in the future. It is thought that the tax cuts that are being put forward by the government will be partly funded by an increase on taxes for those earning over £150,000, where a new 45 pence tax bracket is to be brought in. Read more

Tags: relation, pre, conservatives, United States, tax cuts, david cameron, Tax cut, giveaways

Defaqto: ‘2yrs of free banking left’

The end of free banking could be upon us within just two years, according to leading research firm Defaqto.

According to the company, the backlash from increased pressure on banks to reduce penalty charges could see consumers being charged a tariff for their bank accounts.

Defaqto says that this could rear its head as either a monthly fee or a pay-as-you-go system, which would see customers charged in relation to how often they use their account.

Any system like the latter could leave vulnerable people in a worse situation than they are currently in, especially if additional charges are added for the processing of things like cheques or discounts are offered to those using other bank services.

The UK has enjoyed free banking for 23 years, but Defaqto warns that the banks have to make up the money in some way.

“I will be very surprised if free banking is universally available in two years time,” said David Black, head of banking at Defaqto.

“The first major provider to introduce charges for all customers is going to take a lot of flak but it is likely that the majority of the main providers will then follow the lead.

“I would then expect to see a significant increase in account switching as well as many people closing their secondary accounts,” he added.

The UK is currently internationally unique in not charging customers for current accounts.

Tags: provider, relation, flak, free banking, leading research

Capital One agrees to PPI fine

credit card company Capital One has agreed to pay a fine to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over its sale of payment protection insurance (PPI).

The firm has reached a settlement with the authority following its investigation into the whole PPI market.

Capital One says that it has been working proactively with the FSA to ensure that its sales and administration in relation to PPI is brought up to standard.

The card company admits that there were problems in the past but says that it has now rectified these and was able to reach a settlement with the FSA because of the work it had put into addressing the authority’s concerns.

“Capital One values its relationship with its four million customers,” said Sanjiv Yajnik, chief executive officer at Capital One.

“We consistently review our policies and practices and had made a number of significant improvements prior to the FSA’s investigation.

“The FSA has recognised that Capital One co-operated fully throughout the investigation,” he added.

The firm agreed to a fine of £175,000 and it follows the announcement by the Office of Fair Trading earlier this month that the PPI market will be referred to the Competition Commission for further investigation.

If you are considering taking out PPI on any money you are borrowing it is worth while shopping around for the best deal that suits your needs.

Tags: ppi market, authority, relation, executive, commission, fair, proactively, trading