ABI gives advice on making compensations claims easier

People wishing to protect their luggage whilst travelling should make a note of what is in their bags and keep receipts to make it easier to claim compensation, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

A spokesman for ABI said that people should consider whether they need to take valuable items with them and ensure that they label their property “inside and out”.

Malcolm Tarling said that while he does not expect people to “have the receipt for a pair of ten-year-old jeans, but you should keep receipts for something you bought recently, especially if you are going abroad”.

Following the recent luggage fiasco at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 when at least 20,000 bags were mislaid, a number of travel insurers have decided to exclude baggage loss and delays for those flying out of Terminal 5 from new insurance policies.

The director of Go Travel Insurance Andy Taylor said that the reaction sent a message to travellers that insurers are only interested in their premiums and not their claims, reported travelbite.co.uk.

Tags: Go Travel Insurance, receipt, spokesman, tarling, ten-year-old jeans, Financial economics

Downturn for house price growth

House price growth finally changed direction for the first time since October 2005, as property prices began to fall in many areas of the country, the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has revealed.

With higher interest rates and market volatility, demand continued to weaken throughout August, particularly in the West Midlands, the north-west and East Anglia.

During the month, 1.8 per cent more chartered surveyors reported falls rather than rises in house prices, although London has yet to be affected by the credit market situation and continues to show the strongest growth in England.

Ian Perry, a spokesman for Rics, said: “Potential house buyers have become far more cautious as they wait and see what affect interest rate rises will have on household finances. Affordability is at its most stretched in over a decade and many will worry that rising mortgage repayments will prove a step too far.

“The market will soften further, going into the autumn, reducing some impetus from those that have been chasing a rapidly moving target.”

According to a recent report from the National Association of Estate Agents, the introduction of Home Information Packs (Hip) for three-bedroom properties is likely to lead to a similar decline in the number of these properties on the market as that which was seen after the introduction of the four-bedroom Hip.

Tags: spokesman, interest, growth, home, house price, three-bedroom properties, month, Chartered Surveyors

Halifax launches new fixed-rate deal

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.

Tags: range, consumer, response, month, longer-term products, spokesman

Text message banking makes balance checking easier

New banking systems using mobile phones are helping in the fight against debt, it was claimed this week.

First Direct said that its more recently introduced services such as mobile phone and internet banking were proving popular with customers.

According to the company’s own figures, almost 400,000 of its 1.2 million clients use the text message service, with about 2.6 million messages sent out every month.

Customers can set up alerts for when they become overdrawn or when their salaries are paid, as well as using the service to check their balance.

Spokesman for the company Rob Skinner said that the service helps customers “manage their money a little better”.

“The mobile phone is something which we carry around with us, it’s almost a remote control for our lives”, he added.

However, Mr Skinner maintained that telephone banking remains popular with some First Direct customers, who “still like to speak to a real person at the end of the phone.

“Ultimately it’s up to the customer to choose the method which suits them best.”

Tags: fight, IPhone, phone, mobile banking, Electronic commerce, Telecommunications, week

Pay as you go credit card

A prepay credit card is being trialled in Liverpool as the UK tries to tackle the problem of personal debt.

The Bread card, which is provided by Maestro, allows holders to put money onto it in much the same way that you top up a mobile phone.

Purchases can be made on the card, while money can also be withdrawn from ATMs. The key difference, however, is that you cannot get into debt or incur charges because the card will only let you spend what you have topped up.

The card is designed to help those who cannot get a bank account because they have previously handled their finances badly, are foreign nationals or are UK nationals travelling abroad.

“This card will give people the chance to rebuild their credit rating, which is great for those who get into a bit of a mess during their teens and early 20s,” said a spokesman for Bread.

“With such a big focus on Liverpool as the capital of culture, Bread thought the card would be perfect to launch in a city which seems to be growing more rapidly than any other in the UK.”

The scheme is set to begin in March or April and will run for around six months.

Tags: personal finance, Payment systems, foreign nationals, six months, spokesman