Number of JSA claimants soars

According to recent figures the number of people that are now seeking Jobseeker’s Allowance has soared, going up to 1.64 million in January. This reflected an increase of 23,500. Read more

Tags: uk, unemployment, failure, Employment law, time, summer

Energy bills need to fall in line with oil prices

Officials from a consumer watchdog group have become involved in a row over energy prices, after insisting that the price of energy usage needs to be falling in line with crude oil prices. Since the summer the price of a barrel of crude oil has plummeted by around 50%, but energy prices have gone up twice this year and not come back down. Energy giants have said that the price of wholesale energy is still high, hence the price of usage has not come down. Read more

Tags: energy prices, Minister Mike O'Brien, consumer, July, summer

Are sellers becoming more realistic about house prices?

There are indications that many homeowners that are looking to sell their homes are becoming more realistic about the value of their homes, which has been reflected in a stark drop in property asking prices in the London area. Property prices have been falling for some months now, but some of the asking prices on properties indicated that many were refusing to acknowledge that their properties were falling in value. Read more

Tags: peak, summer, credit, availability, house prices, new transport links, defeat, house sales

2007 ended with lower lending levels from banks

A recent report has shown that there was a significantly lower level of lending to households from banks in the UK during the fourth quarter of last year. The information was released by the Bank of England, and officials from the Bank of England have put the drop in lending levels down to a number of different factors. The data came from the Bank of England’s Quarterly Credit Conditions Survey result. Read more

Tags: higher inter-bank charges, end, lenders rejecting applications, global slowdown, interest rtae, summer, interest

Summer tennis may see ‘more home insurance claims’

Home insurance claims involving broken windows may increase in the run-up to the Wimbledon tennis championships, it is claimed.

The number of claims made in June last year for broken windows and other glass breakages was almost a fifth higher than the number of claims made in January of the same year, according to the Halifax.

People in Birmingham and Solihull made more home insurance claims in 2007 than anyone else for incidents involving broken glass, the data suggests.

Head of underwriting for Halifax Home Insurance David Rochester said that there is often an increase in these types of claims during the summer months.

He commented: “We’d advise any budding Murrays and Sharapovas to take care when playing ball sports close to home, and check they are insured for accidental damage should a mishap occur.”

Separate research revealed last week by Tesco personal finance suggests that messing around or horseplay results in damage worth £325 million to British homes each year.

Tags: personal finance, underwriting, tennis, solihull, Insurance, summer

Don’t take your gadgets travelling if you ‘can’t bear’ to lose them

Backpackers heading off for their summer holidays have been warned by Lonely Planet that they should not take expensive technological gadgets with them if they “can’t bear to lose [them]“.

Tom Hall, travel editor at Lonely Planet, commented that although holidaymakers are increasingly packing their iPods, cameras and mobile phones when going abroad, they should not do so if they are afraid of losing them.

Mr Hall noted that the trend towards taking expensive devices on holiday highlights the importance of having the right travel insurance policy.

“There are very good reasons why people might want to take all of those items with them but I think that it once again underlines the need for people to have travel insurance,” he commented.

In related news, esure has advised travellers to check the small print on their insurance documents if they are planning an adventurous holiday to make sure they provide proper cover in the event of an accident.

Tags: summer, Insurance, Esure, MerchantCircle, summer holidays, Planet, print, editor

Garden goodies ‘attract thieves’

People in the UK should ensure that the contents of their gardens are adequately insured as opportunistic thieves may be tempted to help themselves.

That is according to John Potter, the director of Saga, who has advised Britons to check that their policies cover items like garden furniture.

“Even the more modest garden furniture sets can cost hundreds and whilst many policies, like Saga’s, do provide cover as standard it is important for people to check to ensure their cover truly reflects the value of their set,” he said.

Research from the Target Group Index showed recently that more than a million people in the UK spend £150 each year just on plants.

“Add to that the cost of a barbecue, patio heater, garden ornaments, garden furniture sets and even bird tables and bird baths and the cost of a garden can soon run into thousands,” Mr Potter added.

A recent report from Halifax warned that during the summer months, many homeowners risk invalidating their home insurance by leaving windows open.

Tags: risk, furniture sets, Index, summer, bird tables, group, plants, Insurance

Consumers advised to save for Christmas

Despite the fact summer has just arrived, consumers are being urged to start thinking about Christmas and begin to save now.

While most people will be considering what summer clothes to add to their wardrobe, Fool.co.uk suggests that people should in fact already be putting money aside to provide themselves with a healthy spending pot by the time the festive season approaches.

We are now well into the second half of the year and there are only around 130 shopping days left before Christmas.

However, most consumers are not saving anything for the festive period despite the fact that we spend more at that time of year than at any other point in the calendar.

And it’s not just presents, with a host of celebratory events meaning we spend huge sums on food and drink, whether at home or at bars and restaurants, during the Christmas period.

As a result the New Year often sees a significant increase in people suffering debt problems, meaning it is important to begin saving now to avoid the post-Christmas blues being combined with hefty credit card bills.

Tags: shopping, Opinions, debt, summer, anything, period, huge sums

Holidaymakers pay extra in credit card fees

British holidaymakers will pay up to £258 million in fees over the summer as their credit card companies charge them for making transactions abroad, a new study has found.

According to the report from the Post Office, Britons will collectively spend around £9.4 billion, though many are unaware that they will incur extra costs for borrowing while overseas.

Of those people questioned, nearly half said that they had no idea that such extra charges would apply, while 37 per cent believed that their lender did not levy an additional fee, despite research showing that the vast majority of firms charge on average 2.75 per cent per transaction made.

In addition, 26 per cent of people admitted to failing to budget for their holidays before they went away, meaning that they left themselves vulnerable to having to borrow and get into debt.
“We are now four times more likely to spend on plastic abroad than 10 years ago,” said the PO’s Gary Fitton.
“It’s shocking not only to see how much people are being penalised to use their cards on holiday, but how few are aware of this.”
The findings come soon after the UK payments association Apacs revealed that fraud committed abroad on UK-issued cards totaled £118.2 million last year, an increase of £36 million.

Tags: finance, apacs, United Kingdom, plastic, london, summer, idea, fee

House prices still rising

House prices have continued to accelerate, with the latest figures showing a rise for the 18th consecutive month.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has published housing market survey and it makes for bad reading for first-time buyers.

Statistics shows that new buyer enquiries fell for the fifth consecutive month in April and the decline is taking place at a faster rate.

Rics says that this is down to the latest round of interest rate rises which helped to make more homes unaffordable.

“Last week’s interest rate hike may not be the last as the housing market has not slowed as quickly as expected given the initial round of rate rises,” commented Ian Perry from Rics.

“With prices buoyant and conditions still tight, another rate rise later in the summer looks likely.”

Things look set to get worst for first-time buyers as the introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) in June may force some sellers to take their properties of the market.

Currently, the housing market is benefiting from increased supply as people try to avoid having to fork out for a Hip and prices still continue to rise.

“The fear of paying the upfront buying costs of Hips has pushed more property onto the market,” said Mr Perry. “This will continue throughout May but conditions should tighten if Hips goes ahead on June 1st as sellers withdraw from the market.”

Tags: Home Information Packs, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, round, faster rate.Rics, price, summer, fear, house