Warning for women over store cards

Christmas is fast approaching and many High Street retailers will have geared up to try and get women to take out store cards when they go into the shop to buy an outfit for the festive season. Many women every year take out store cards, as shop sales staff make them sound enticing by offering customers money off their purchase right away.

Many of the popular High Street retailers have a big push on store cards at this time of the year, but these cards come with very high rates of interest, with some charging almost 30 percent interest. This means that a debt as small as £500 could take over a decade to repay if the cardholder only pays the minimum repayment each month, as the bulk of the repayment will be swallowed up in interest.

Store cards are said to be one of the most expensive forms of borrowing, but despite this there are around 12.9 million of them in circulation, with around £2.2 billion spent on them. The number of single women struggling to repay store card debt is three times higher than the number of single men, and women are now being urged to think twice before taking out and spending on a store card this year.

An official from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau said: ‘There is a problem with the way store cards are sold. Targeting young women at the till means customers are usually more focused on the discount for their purchase than the terms and conditions of the credit.’

Another finance industry official added: ‘Customers who repay only the minimum amount on store cards could end up paying twice the price and still be repaying the debt in a decade’s time. Do not touch store cards unless you can afford to pay off the balance in full every month.’

Tags: expensive forms, finance industry official, advice, way, sales

Getting ready for the January sales

With Christmas almost upon us many people will be getting ready for the big day, and will be busy wrapping gifts, sorting out Christmas dinner, and organising visits to and from relatives. Read more

Tags: Seasons, Christmas and holiday season, sales, january sales, discounts

Get ready for sale time

Whilst many of us may still be thinking about the forthcoming Christmas and New Year period, which is fast approaching, there are also many people that will be thinking ahead to the January sales, which are always popular amongst savvy shoppers in the UK. Read more

Tags: christmas, full swing, weekend, sales, discounts, thrifty consumers, money saving, fever

Success for sale and rent back tenants

A couple who got involved in a sale and rent back scheme after selling their home to a sale and rent back company which then stopped making the mortgage repayments on the property have enjoyed victory recently, when courts decided that they could continue living at the property. Read more

Tags: financial, mortgage, sales, victory, abuse, sale and rent back, homeowners

January sales start early on the High Street

With Christmas well on its way and consumer spending levels still low due to tight financial conditions, many major retailers on the High Street have started their January sales early by slashing the prices of their goods in the hope that it will boost spending amongst consumers. Retailers are slashing prices by up to 75 percent in some cases, hoping that their bargain prices will pull in customers and reduce the risk of shattered profits over what is expected to be a bleak Christmas in terms of spending. Read more

Tags: retail, recession, industry, festive season, sales

August retail sales levels cause surprise

According to recent reports industry officials were pleasantly surprised recently when data showed that there had been an unexpected surge in retail sales levels for the month of August. The rise in retail sales levels was not a huge one, but many industry experts had been expecting sales levels to fall by around 0.5%, so the increase of 1.2% in high street sales came as good news. The figures came from the Office for National Statistics. Read more

Tags: Marketing and Advertising, street, school period, retail sales, consumer

UK business confidence affected by credit crunch

A recent report has shown how business confidence levels across the UK have been affected by the effects of the credit crunch that was sparked in the sub-prime sector of the United States.

The credit crunch made its way across the Atlantic and took effect in the UK and in other countries around the world back in August, and since this time the levels of optimism and confidence amongst businesses in the UK have fallen significantly according to recent figures.

The figures were revealed in the quarterly Business Opinion Survey released by the Institute of Directors in the UK. According to the figures on the reports around a quarter of company bosses were optimistic and confidence about business prospects at the beginning of August before the effects of the credit crunch took hold in the UK. However, more recent figures indicate that this level has now dropped to just 4%, reflecting the adverse effect that the credit crunch has had in terms of UK business confidence.

Around 15% of company bosses stated that the credit crunch had affected sales and performance for their business. Back in August around 77% of company bosses said that their business was performing well rather than badly, but even this has dropped to around 73%. A spokesman from the Institute of Directors stated: “This is a pretty gloomy survey, with the decline in business confidence worrying.”

He also added: “Thankfully, actual business performance remains high. Across the whole economy there is a real divide between the actual impact of the financial crisis to date and expectations of what it might bring in the future. The key question now is whether optimism will bounce back because, if it doesn’t, business investment could be hammered.”

Tom Smith
19th November 2007

Tags: economy, confidence, business, sales, concern

Middle classes fiddle insurance claims

Although many of us are led to believe that fraudulent activities are usually conducted by those from lower income families, a recent report has suggested that many illegal activities in this field are actually committed by middle classes, particularly fraud such as inflated insurance claims.

The results from the survey suggested that a high number of middle class policyholders inflated insurance claims in order to improve their homes or simply to get back at the insurance companies for having to pay high premiums.

The survey was conducting using nearly 2000 respondents from across England and Wales. The report was compiled by Professor Susanne Karstedt and Dr Stephen Farrall of Keele University. Although other types of ‘white collar crime’ were also highlighted in the report, one of the significant types of crime that middle classes admitted to was fiddling insurance claims.

One official stated: ‘Politicians from across the political spectrum regularly claim that most crime is committed by a hard core of offenders, largely drawn from low-income groups. This research demonstrates that volume crime is far more widespread, with the middle class being responsible for a wide range of illegal activities. The reasons for this are complex, and relate to the fundamental social changes in British society over the past 30 years.’

One professor involved with the study added: ‘Contempt for the law is as widespread in the centre of society as it is assumed to be rampant at the margins and among specific marginal groups. Anti-social behaviour by the few is mirrored by anti-civil behaviour by the many. Neither greed nor need can explain why respectable citizens cheat on insurance claims or in second-hand sales, and do not hesitate to discuss their exploits with friends in pubs.’

Tom Smith
15th July 2007

Tags: Insurance, working, sales, middle, home, class, premiums, house

Choose credit cards over store cards this Christmas

If you are planning to spread the cost of Christmas and the New Year there are a number of options available to you. For many people, particularly those lured into shops when the January sales come around, the temptation to take out a store card is irresistible, with retail employees throwing what sounds like offers in to encourage the consumers to apply for the store card. However, consumers should think carefully about whether a store card is worth it before making a commitment and spending money on such cards.

A store card can only be used in one shop or a certain chain of stores, and is therefore of no use to you if you want to pay for other items in other shops and stores. Store cards also typically have very high interest rates, so even though you might be offered a small discount on your purchases for using the store card you will more than make up for this in terms of the interest that you will pay for the privilege of using the card. With stores cards you don’t get special offers such as interest free periods, so you will be stuck with paying interest on any balance that you have on the card.

A more sensible solution for those planning to splurge out in the January sales is to get hold of a good credit card in plenty of time – one that offers an interest free period on purchases giving you time to repay the balance without having to pay interest. Even if you end up with a credit card that does not offer an interest free period, or where the interest free period expires before the balance has been repaid, you will still pay a lower interest rate than most store cards charge, and you have the added advantage of being able to use the card in other stores.

There are some advantages to taking out a store card, such as discounts on certain lines and products, but in order to really benefit from this type of deal you need to be the type of consumer that pays off the full balance on the store card each month, thus avoiding the extortionate interest charges that will otherwise be incurred. 

Tags: charge, sales, rates, store, credit, cost