Estimated energy bills can be inaccurate
Officials from a new consumer watchdog group have expressed concern that many consumers are receiving estimated energy bills that mean somewhere along the line they will end up paying more for their energy usage than they need to, netting the energy films more profit and leaving the consumer even more out of pocket. Read more
Tags: Physics, response, energy bills, oil, meter
Halifax launches new fixed-rate deal
August 3, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
Mortgage provider Halifax made its new 25-year fixed-rate deal available today.
This represents a response from lenders to Gordon Brown’s call for long-term fixed-rate mortgages as a way of alleviating home buyers being priced out of the market. Halifax’s new deal will lock in the holder’s interest rate until 2032.
The provider will be counting on customers gambling on further interest rate rises, as its rate of 6.39 per cent is much higher than the majority of variable rate deals, which are in line with the current base rate of 5.75 per cent.
A spokesman for Halifax said that the new mortgage “means homeowners can balance the security of a fixed interest rate with a range of flexible features built into the product”.
The provider added that it hoped to “radically change the consumer’s view of longer-term products”.
The Bank of England decided today to leave the base rate as it is for this month.
It has risen five times since last August, however, and most industry analysts predict further rises before the year is out.
Millions not claiming unfair charges
March 23, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Millions of people who have been stung by unfair bank charges are yet to claim their money back.
That is according to Which? after it carried out research that found almost two thirds of people have not even tried to get their hands on the money which is rightfully theirs.
Which? asked 2,200 consumers if they had attempted to claim the money back and many said they had not, however, of those who did, a massive 85 per cent said that they were successful.
The consumer champion reckons that this figure would be closer to 100 per cent if people were more persistent after initially being denied a reimbursement by their bank.
“Claiming back unfair bank charges is a simple process that won’t take up hours of your time,” claimed Emma Bandey, personal finance campaigner for Which?
“If your bank does not co-operate, you should refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as so far the banks have chosen to settle all cases referred to FOS.”
The most popular reason for not claiming back the charges is fear of what the bank’s reaction may be.
Many consumers are concerned that their bank may close their account and demand full repayment of any overdraft or loan.
A large number of those who have claimed their money back have not been pleased with their bank’s attitude.
In total, 25 per cent of those asked said that their bank was unhelpful and unresponsive with many having to chase them for a response.
