Consumers can earn money for trading in old appliances

Earlier this year the UK government brought in the car scrappage scheme, which enables those with vehicles that were at least ten years old to get up to £2000 towards a new car for scrapping their old one. Read more

Tags: trade ins, Consortium, fridge freezer, success, scrappage, old appliances, official, trading

OFT wants review of bank accounts market

The government watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, has been calling for a review of the bank account system in the UK, claiming that consumers are often getting a raw deal because arrangement that are currently in existence when it comes to the eight billion pound bank account market were simply not adequate. The OFT went on to state that banks were not clear enough about the charges that were applied to customers’ accounts, which makes things confusing for accountholders. Read more

Tags: bank accounts, bank fees, year, number, trading, rocket

2.5 million accounts hit as banks tighten finances

New research has revealed that over 2.5 million credit card customers were either charged a fee, had their credit limits reduced or their accounts closed as banks tried to recover money lost through debts and penalty fees.

Of the customers affected by the new moves, only 16 per cent missed more than one monthly repayment or went over their credit limit in the past year, the study by uSwitch.com has found.

Simeon Linstead, head of personal finance at the company, said that banks should not close accounts, reduce credit limits or adopt annual or monthly fees without giving their customers a reason for doing so.

“We’re not against credit cards providers curbing consumers’ spending if their debts are genuinely getting out of hand,” commented Mr Linstead.

However, he added that credit card companies that “make changes to customers’ accounts must be completely open about how and why they have selected those customers.”

Controversial bank charges are set to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.

Tags: 5 million, penalty, monthly fees, credit limits, Credit counseling, hand, trading, Credit Cards

People urged to fight unfair credit records

Credit card users are being urged by the Consumer Action Group to fight what they see as unfair bank charges, particularly if they have caused their credit ratings to suffer.

The organisation says people get “black marks” on their credit records if they go overdrawn and can even have their reputation destroyed if the bank defaults them in an extreme situation.

In this case, people are affected for a minimum of six years for defaults as little as £5. They may have difficulty in getting credit or have to pay a higher rate and may not be able to buy a home.

The Office of Fair Trading recently won the right to investigate whether banks are making excessive overdraft charges.

Marc Gander, founder of the Consumer Action Group, says if banks have unfairly charged their customers, it is not just the refunds they should be liable for but also the associated problems, such as a bad credit record.

Tags: unfair credit records, Marc Gander, extreme situation, higher rate, Business Finance

Credit cards can provide ‘additional protection’ against online fraud

Paying for goods worth over £100 with a credit card can provide consumers with additional protection against potential ID fraud say industry experts.

A spokesperson for Consumer Direct said: “They [consumers] can get additional protection under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which makes credit card companies jointly and equally liable. It gives you extra consumer protection.”

He also advised consumers to look out for a padlock symbol on a webpage or the ‘https’ in the website title to show that the site is secure.

Customers should also maintain their security software to afford themselves more online protection and check their bank and credit card statements regularly.

In a recent review of 77 websites of financial firms the Financial Services Authority (FSA) found that a quarter of them “failed to present information in a fair, clear and not misleading way”.

The Office of Fair Trading said earlier this year that the UK internet shopping market is estimated to be worth over £21.4 billion.

Tags: security, Fair Trading, credit, Consumer Direct, credit card statements, security software, Business Finance, trading

Bank charge test case may be dropped

According to a recent report the Office of Fair Trading is considering dropping the test case over bank charges, which was planned for next year.

The test case was designed to make a final determination over bank charges following months of controversy and rows between banks and consumers. The battle started after campaigners and regulators branded the charges, applied for exceeding overdraft limits, bounding cheques, and returned direct debits, unlawful and unfair.

Officials from the Office of Fair Trading have confirmed that there is a chance that the test case will be dropped, but this will only happen if it is in the best interests of the consumer.

Officials stated that they may consider dropping the test case if banks decide to cut their charges to a level that makes them fair to consumers. Lloyds TSB has already cut its charges, but many experts state that it has not cut them enough.

One OFT official stated: “If we do our own financial analysis, and they come in with a number that is lower than our analysis would suggest is an unfair charge, there is no need for the court case to go forward. We will be looking out for what is the best outcome for the consumer.”

However, the banks are arguing that their bank charges have nothing to do with the OFT, and that officials have no power over their bank charges. The OFT is due to review charges to come up with a figure that it believes is fair.

If the test case does go ahead, many experts think that free banking could come to an end in the UK and that banks will start charging monthly fees for having a current account to recoup losses from bank charges.

Tom Smith
16th October 2007

Tags: test, oft, fees, claim, case, court, fair, drop

Bank charges investigation to be widened by Office of Fair Trading

The investigation into illegal and unlawful charges imposed by banks has been going on for some time, with regulatory bodies in the UK looking into the amounts that banks have been charging customers that exceed their overdraft limit or in cases where cheques bounce or direct debits are returned. Read more

Tags: banks, bank charges going, trading, office of fair trading, consumers

NI bankers may get interest-free overdrafts

People who do their banking in Northern Ireland (NI) may soon benefit from interest-free overdrafts.

That is after a report released by the Competition Commission which has been looking at ways of increasing competition and lowering charges in the NI personal current account market.

A list of “proposed final remedies” has been published by the commission and one of them is to force banks to give customers interest-free overdrafts.

Some banks in the province have admitted that the charges they impose on some customers are not directly derived from costs and it has also been found that many are being subjected to charges which are not present elsewhere in the UK.

All of this was discovered by the Office of Fair Trading two years ago and now the commission has come up with its remedies.

Among the ideas are calls for the provision of easy-to-understand descriptions of account services, clear explanations about charges and increased amounts of information on statements.

The Competition Commission would also like to see customers being provided with an annual breakdown of charges and interest charged, an annual reminder that they have the right to close or switch their current account and improvements to the switching process.

Tags: trading, office, provision, competition, Competition Commission, payment protection insurance, reminder, government

Capital One agrees to PPI fine

credit card company Capital One has agreed to pay a fine to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over its sale of payment protection insurance (PPI).

The firm has reached a settlement with the authority following its investigation into the whole PPI market.

Capital One says that it has been working proactively with the FSA to ensure that its sales and administration in relation to PPI is brought up to standard.

The card company admits that there were problems in the past but says that it has now rectified these and was able to reach a settlement with the FSA because of the work it had put into addressing the authority’s concerns.

“Capital One values its relationship with its four million customers,” said Sanjiv Yajnik, chief executive officer at Capital One.

“We consistently review our policies and practices and had made a number of significant improvements prior to the FSA’s investigation.

“The FSA has recognised that Capital One co-operated fully throughout the investigation,” he added.

The firm agreed to a fine of £175,000 and it follows the announcement by the Office of Fair Trading earlier this month that the PPI market will be referred to the Competition Commission for further investigation.

If you are considering taking out PPI on any money you are borrowing it is worth while shopping around for the best deal that suits your needs.

Tags: ppi market, trading, proactively, fair, relation, commission, executive

PPI market faces scrutiny

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has decided to refer the UK payment protection insurance (PPI) market to the Competition Commission (CC).

A public consultation was held following an original proposition by the OFT for the referral back in October.

Businesses, consumer organisations and trade associations were asked to give their views on the market and the responses confirmed the OFT’s prior concerns.

“Our examination of the evidence presented to date gives us reasonable grounds to suspect that there are features of this market which restrict competition to the detriment of consumers,” said John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT.

“Despite some evidence of a degree of consumer satisfaction with aspects of the product, the evidence as a whole suggests consumers get a poor deal.”

The organisation says that the CC can now carry out a thorough investigation of the market, offering the chance for a solution to be reached.

The Financial Services Authority is currently working to remedy some of the problems present in the market in terms of selling practices. However, the OFT feels that this alone will not fix the current problems.

Those of you considering a loan may find that you are better off getting PPI, but should shop around for the best deal.

Tags: consumers, evidence, trading, public consultation, detriment

The Pros And Cons Of Payment Protection Insurance

Lenders are always eager to convince borrowers to protect their repayments for loans, credit cards, store cards, mortgages and other financial products. And they have a point. People in the UK are saving less and borrowing more, with a high rate of debt. Read more

Tags: policy, cards, Loans, ppi, fair, cover, office, Insurance, Mortgages, trading