Exercising safety when shopping online

As many people will already know the Internet is home to a myriad of bargain covering a vast range of products and services. Whilst many consumers make the majority of their purchases via the Internet there are others that refuse to shop online because they are fearful about things such as security breaches and card fraud. Read more

Tags: online shopping, clone site, internet, Website, Internet shopping sites, Paypal

Refuse jobs attracting applications in the hundreds

With unemployment levels rising in the UK, and many people finding themselves with a sudden loss of income in what has become a very difficult financial climate, it has been reported that even the most menial of positions are now attracting job applications in the hundreds from desperate people that will take any job in order to get an income. One job for a binman recently attracted nearly two hundred and forty applications from unemployed people desperate to start earning money again. Read more

Tags: job losses, desperate people, Labour, Website, uk, unemployment

Have you been seeking advice on child benefit?

For many people the subject of child benefit can be quite complicated, and as parents we don’t want to miss out on valuable benefit for our children, especially in the current financial climate. Whilst there is plenty of advice and information available relating to child benefit some consumers may have decided to use a helpline that was set up to answer queries about this benefit. The helpline is called Child Benefit Information, and is run by a twenty four year old businessman. Read more

Tags: Website, regulator, official, benefit, child benefit, credibility officials, thing, information

Norwich Union pulls out from comparison sites

Insurance giant Norwich Union has recently announced that it is pulling out of placing deals on price comparison sites. Many insurance providers allow their deals and packages to be viewed on one of a range of price comparison sites that have come into play over the past couple of years. A large number of consumers use these sites to see at a glance whether they can cut the cost of cover or to find the most competitive insurance deals. Read more

Tags: price comparison sites, norwich union, insurance giant, Website, leading insurance, uswitch, use, move

Expats should have “a realistic financial plan,” says expert

Expatriates should ideally have a “realistic financial plan in place” and take into consideration the cost of the move before relocating, says expatriate and international lifestyle magazine Shelter Offshore.

Director Rhiannon Davies warns that the biggest reason that people “fail to make a go of a new life abroad” is due to financial problems.

A recent survey by NatWest found that the average wage for expatriates working abroad is currently £67,000 compared to the UK average of £47,000, with the United Arab Emirates ranking as the top location in terms of expat earnings.

“Getting financial advice before you go is a good idea,” commented Ms Davies, adding that people who are relocating abroad should seek financial advice since “certain expats can take good advantage of the wealth of offshore savings and investment schemes that there are available”.

Tags: expert, director, expatriate, GBP, united arab emirates, good idea, ms davies

Credit unions offer more controlled borrowing

Credit unions can offer a more controlled borrowing system compared with other financial institution claims the Church of England.

The institution said that many financial organisations are in place to make money and although some are more sympathetic than others, the main goal is to make a profit.

However, credit unions supposedly differ as they allow consumers to borrow in line with their ability to save which creates sensible boundaries within the borrowing system.

“A credit union is not just there to make a profit; it’s there to serve people, to help people borrow money…its more controlled,” said a spokesperson.

If a credit union does make any profit out of lending, then “quite often” it will re-distribute this amongst it’s membership.

Recently the Church has set up the life and debt matters section on their website which it speaks on the rising problem of debt and financial strain.

It was launched at the beginning of the year and offers a “post Christmas debt check” and “three action steps” to better finances.

Tags: ability, money, life and debt, boundaries, Business Finance, borrowing system, Website, beginning

Northern Rock causes saver caution

Savers are being far more cautious with the money that they put into savings following the recent credit squeeze and subsequent Northern Rock scare, price comparison site Peopleschampion.com has revealed.

Conducting polls of people standing in the queues outside Northern Rock, the website found that customers were taking their savings to larger institutions such as the clearing banks – Lloyds TSB, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Halifax and Bank of Scotland (HBOS).

This is in spite of the fact that the Bank of England has assured savers that their money is 100 per cent guaranteed in the event of a bank collapse. The savers that were surveyed were unanimous in their stance: safety now comes before higher interest rates.

Jim Spowart, a spokesman for the website, said: “Many people – especially older people – are being much more cautious with their money. They have been bitten first by the pension crisis, and now Northern Rock, so instead of going instinctively for the highest return, they are looking more at safer havens where they know their money is secure.”

According to Simon Ward, a top economist at asset management firm New Star, the Bank of England’s last resort support to Northern Rock may well have amounted to as much as £2.9 billion.

Tags: scare, rock, savers, Many people, Website, pension crisis, scotland, clearing banks

Consolidators ‘trapped in debt cycle’

New research released by price comparison website moneysupermarket.com has revealed that many people who use debt consolidation services immediately start accumulating new debt on top of their consolidated loan.

Already over a quarter of the population (28 per cent) has taken out a loan to amalgamate all of their existing borrowings into a single, more manageable, monthly repayment schedule.

But the worrying new survey shows that instead of borrowers using consolidation as an opportunity to lift themselves out of debt, a majority (66 per cent) are continuing to sink deeper into the red.

Among consolidators, at least five per cent have gone on to take out another loan while 12 per cent are making use of their high-interest-rate overdraft facility. Some 28 per cent use their credit card as an extra source of credit and 21 per cent admit to doing a mixture of all of the above.

Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at moneysupermarket.com, said: “Debt has become the common curse of modern times. People need to be careful that the ease of getting credit doesn’t catch them out – it can soon spiral into a debt sentence.”

Statistics compiled by Credit Action show that total UK personal debt at the end of July 2007 stood at £1,355 billion. Every day more than 300 people in the UK are declared insolvent or bankrupt.

Tags: monthly repayment schedule.But, Website, Credit Action, July, curse

Card companies spark debt fears with repayment reductions

Minimum repayment levels of some leading credit cards are set to be reduced.

Cards providers have heavily advertised the reductions recently.

However, many in the industry are criticising the new offers, saying that the card providers might be exacerbating the UK’s debt problem.

To take an example from today’s Minimum Repayment Index from price comparison website uSwitch, M&S is reducing its repayment level from three per cent to 2.5 per cent, which might well appeal most to the ’spend today and worry tomorrow’ consumers who are currently racking up debts.

Barclaycard has also recently announced that its rate will be cut from 2.5 per cent to 2.25 per cent.

Lowest of all are lenders such as Bank of Scotland and Egg, who offer a tiny two per cent repayment rate.

Research released by Alliance & Leicester last week showed that the overall level of debt in the UK stands at an enormous £1.3 trillion, with those on lower incomes being particularly badly hit.

Tags: today, uswitch, lower incomes, debt, Financial services, Website, Index, debts

Hips lead to property boom

The introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) has led to an increase in the number of properties on the market.

Property website Rightmove has revealed that the number of homes on the market swelled by ten per cent in June as homeowners scrambled to avoid the August 1st deadline.

The site says that around 200,000 new homes were put on the market in June, signalling the largest monthly stock rise for nearly three years.

Rightmove says that the increase is undoubtedly related to the introduction of Hips which will initially affect homes with four or more bedrooms.

“The rush to beat the impending Hips deadline appears to have attracted some poorly motivated sellers to the market,” commented Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove.

“They are chancing their arm at some fairly bullish prices considering there is now a lot of property up for sale.

“Their main motivation will have been to save some money avoiding a Hip, rather than being realistic on price because they had seen a property they desperately wanted to buy,” he added.

Mr Shipside went on to point out that those who have put their home on the market in order to save cash by not getting a Hip may have actually cost themselves money.

He said that with the market currently flooded, many homeowners are being forced to drop the price of their home to make a sale.

Tags: hips, property boom, homeowners, cash, deadline.The site, Website, market.property website rightmove, motivation