Record numbers having to take on part time work

Recent figures have shown that record numbers of people in the UK have had to take on part time work through the recession as a result of being unable to get any full time employment. Whilst the rising number of people taking on part time work has helped to bring unemployment figures down for many of these workers the hours that they are working are not bringing in adequate income to continue keeping on top of their bills, rent or mortgage, and financial commitments. Read more

Tags: Types of unemployment, economics, office, recessions, part time work

Government should give ‘proper insurance’ to soldiers

Service men and women who are fighting abroad should be provided with “some kind of proper insurance” by the government, the investment director of Buckles Investment Services has said.

Richard Eling of the independent financial advisory said that people engaged in the war effort should not have to seek their own insurance cover when going abroad with the army and that the government should pay for their policies.

“It’s a bit rich to send someone to Iraq on £18,000 a year and then ask them to pay for their own insurance cover,” Mr Eling commented.

A total of 176 British soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war in Iraq.

Mr Eling has said that many soldiers who were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan and used the private insurance company Pax have not had everything covered by their subsequent claims that they thought would be included when they bought the insurance policy.

Tags: service, total, everything, war in iraq, army, Richard Eling, Financial economics, effort

Change your lifestyle to get good credit report, advises expert

People who have had their credit card applications turned down should re-evaluate their lifestyles and have a close look at their finances, Fool.co.uk has said.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, said that people are often refused credit because they have too much debt compared to their income or because they have previously defaulted on credit card or other payments.

Earlier this month, MoneyExpert.com reported that 18,000 credit card applications are being refused every day and one in 14 people (seven per cent of the population) have had a credit card application rejected in the last six months – a total of 3.24 million applications.

According to a new survey by Citizens Advice, record numbers of people are seeking help with financial difficulties and many are struggling to pay their essential household bills.

“People need to re-evaluate their own lifestyles at the moment, have a look at their own finances and if someone turns you down for a credit card then ask yourself: ‘Why?’ The answer is in your credit report,” says Mr Kuo.

Tags: Credit counseling, home, advice, moment, Mr Kuo, lifestyles, total, answer

Possession insurance more common than life insurance

More Britons insure their possessions than their own life, according to recent research from Legal & General.

A full 66 per cent of those surveyed said they had house insurance, but just 41 per cent said that they had taken out life insurance, the survey found.

Additionally, while 22 per cent of respondents reported having insurance for their mobile phones, 17 per cent had critical illness cover.

Bonnie Burns, Legal & General’s protection product marketing director said: “The nation’s priorities seem misguided, with people more worried about losing their mobile than about how they would cope financially if they had a critical illness.

“We all know that it is difficult to face up to our own mortality, but when insuring possessions is prioritised above insuring lives, then something has to be done.”

In 2005-06, a total of 212 workers were killed in accidents, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Tags: percentage, legal, total, mobile phones, Financial services, business

Banks threaten to close accounts as charge row escalates

Account holders who have complained at seemingly excessive bank charges have been threatened with having their accounts shut down.

A study from This is Money, revealed by the website yesterday, showed that over one in eight of those who have tried to reclaim excessive bank fees have been subjected to the threat.

Extra charging by banks is a hugely controversial subject with British consumers. It was revealed last week that a total of £200 million has been paid back by banks so far this year, as customers assert their rights.

This is Money also claimed at the time that around 500 claims a day were being received at some banks, necessitating extra staff being brought in.

Regarding the latest controversy, chief executive of the Banking Code Standards Board Roger Skinner told the website: “Banks are allowed to close down accounts for commercial reasons. But they must also treat fairly any customers who are experiencing financial difficulties.”

According to the Banking Code, to which the banks in question are signatories, customers must be dealt with fairly when in financial difficulty.

Industry watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) extended its investigation into bank charges earlier this year. It is slated to report back in the autumn.

Tags: total, staff, fair, threat.Extra charging, excessive bank charges, financial difficulty.Industry watchdog, latest controversy

Britons underestimate debt levels

People might owe twice as much as they think they do, eyecatching new research from Mintel claims.

Using Bank of England figures, it found that Britons owe a total of £100 billion more than they are aware of, with each person on an average of £10,300.

However, their average estimate of debt was around half this figure at £5,251. The situation was likened by the market researcher to customers “burying their heads in the sand”.

Furthermore, a total of just one in five polled said that they worried about their debt level.

Finance analyst at Mintel Toby Clark said that Britons are “wildly under-estimating the amount of money they owe on credit cards and loans.

“Without a detailed understanding of exactly how much they owe and what rates they are paying, it is easy to see how the situation could spiral out of control”, he added.

Less surprisingly, Mintel also found that debt problems were far more acute in lower-income households, with unsecured loans being taken out to meet the costs of everyday living:

As an example of this, the report stated that around 11 per cent of those on low incomes used loans to pay for basic phone bills, compared to just 4 per cent of higher earners.

Tags: total, income households, living, sand, everyday living, unsecured loans, phone, Mintel

Brits hide billions in the home

Millions of Brits are storing billions of pounds in their homes and missing out on the benefits of banking.

That is according to Virgin Money, which says we have a combined £3.5 billion worth of cash stashed away.

The firm has labelled it the ‘biscuit tin bank’ and says that we should all take that money and put it into a bank account as quickly as possible.

With the money just sitting in our homes, Virgin points out that we are missing out on interest which would be earned if it was in a bank account.

The £3.5 billion would earn a combined total of £174 million in interest every year if it was in an account and, based on future interest rates, our cash is set to lose £200 million in spending power by 2010.

Virgin discovered that 15 per cent of Brits have up to £1,000 in their home, while two per cent have around £5,000.

It may seem crazy to keep this amount of cash in the house but apparently we have our reasons.

Despite the massive risks associated, such as theft, six per cent say they keep the money in the house to hide it from their partner, four per cent do not trust banks and one per cent want to keep it tax-free.

Tags: The, Virgin, Banks and Institutions, power, cent, total, future interest rates, trust banks

FTBs surprised by first-year costs

Many people who take out a mortgage for the first time are surprised to find that the first year in their new home is a real financial strain.

According to Yorkshire Bank, a large number of first-time buyers (FTBs) fail to budget for a number of outgoings and soon find themselves living on very little money.

The bank claims that 44 per cent of FTBs completely forget to budget for legal fees, stamp duty and a property survey.

A further eight per cent do not put any cash aside for the cost of moving, while unexpected costs, such as damaged or broken appliances, are also not accounted for.

“It is too easy to quickly move on to thoughts of redecorating and building a new conservatory as soon as the offer is accepted, failing to factor in all the costs of a new home,” commented Gary Lumby, head of retail at Yorkshire Bank.

“Overlooking costs such as surveys and stamp duty is asking for trouble when, as our survey suggests, there are likely to be less predictable expenses as well.”

Yorkshire Bank’s research found that the majority of people do put money aside for redecorating when they move into a new home.

A total of 76 per cent of home owners fit a new kitchen and bathroom within the first year of moving into a property and this is another cost that FTBs must consider.

Tags: total, well."yorkshire bank research, stamp duty, FTBs, trouble

£6.1bn cost of holiday cancellations

British holidaymakers lost a combined total of £6.1 billion last summer because they had to cancel their trips.

Figures released by More Than show that millions of people lost out financially because they did not have travel insurance.

People were forced to pay for travel and accommodation which they had booked despite never actually making it to their destination.

Travel insurance is a key element to any holiday and can at least help to prevent a bad situation from getting any worse.

More Than says that 26 per cent of travel claims it dealt with last year were for cancellation of holidays, something the firm believes is positive news.

“It’s encouraging that holidaymakers are catching on to the importance of travel insurance, but many still don’t realise that by purchasing their policies late, they miss out on valuable cancellation cover,” commented Keira Clarke, head of travel insurance at More Than.

“We encourage travellers to arrange their insurance at the same time as they book their break, to ensure they’ll be covered if anything goes wrong before the trip.”

According to More Than, the average travel insurance claim for cancellation of a holiday stood at around £856 last year.

Tags: travel insurance.People, firm, accommodation, total, Travellers