Finance News from Loans4.co.uk http://www.loans4.co.uk/finance_loan_industry_news.php 2010-03-22T12:59:54+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk http://www.loans4.co.uk.net/images/Loans4Small.jpg text/html 2010-03-22T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=801-First_time_buyers_still_need_to_find_substantial_deposit There have been a number of reports in circulation recently claiming that the number of mortgage deals on the market aimed towards first time buyers has increased, and figures have shown that there are now around four hundred deals available for those with a deposit of 15 percent, which is now considered relatively low considering lenders have been asking for huge deposits from borrowers. However, whilst the number of mortgage products that accept a deposit of 15 percent may have increased figures have shown that the average first time buyer will still need to find around £50,000 in order to get a mortgage and get onto the property ladder. For many first time buyers finding this sort of money will prove impossible, and this means that many are still frozen out of the property market. Whilst an easing of mortgage restrictions and an increase in mortgage products should in theory have made it easier for the many first time buyers that have been struggling to get onto the property ladder over the past couple of years, the amount that is required by way of a deposit based on property prices and lending criteria means that for many this is a dream that is still out of reach. The deposit was calculated based on the latest affordability and house price index from FindaProperty.com, and officials from the firm said that the gap between the amount of deposit that first time buyers needed to raise and the amount that they could borrow had narrowed. A survey was carried out showing that around 50 percent of first time buyers that were polled said that it was not being able to afford monthly repayment that stood in their way of homeownership but the amount of deposit that they needed to raise. One industry official said that house prices were starting to show an upwards trend, and this could mean that first time buyers would find it increasingly difficult to raise the deposit that they needed in order to buy their own homes. He added that at present there were around 12 percent fewer entry level homes on the market than there were twelve months ago. text/html 2010-03-19T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=800-Mortgage_lending_activity_to_be_unstable_over_coming_months A report has been released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, suggesting that over the coming months mortgage lending activity in the UK is likely to be unstable and will continue to fluctuate. This comes after figures were released showing that after a particularly slow start to the year mortgage lending levels increased in February. The figures showed that mortgage lending levels increased by around 6 percent in February compared to January, with the value of mortgage lending for the months coming at an estimated £9.2 billion. The slowdown in January was not unexpected, as it is a common trend due to seasonal factors, but the extent of the slowdown was more severe than usual as a result of the end of the stamp duty holiday and the cold weather. Lenders have now announced that lending activity is likely to be uneven over the next few months, which means that figures and mortgage lending levels could fluctuate from one month to another. The level of mortgage lending for February of this year is said to be significantly lower than the average seen in February of last year, and reflected a 6 percent drop compared to the same month in 2009. An economist from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that figures suggested that activity in the property market is still at low levels and that mortgage lending remained weak. He added that the end of the stamp duty holiday had pushed lending levels to lower than normal levels in January, and this explained the unusual increase seen this February. The CML also said that whilst confidence in the UK economy is expected to grow, failure to tackle the fiscal deficit could slow down recovery of the economy to some extent. The agency said that combined with a squeeze on banks' and building societies' mortgage funding this would most likely mean an uneven market over the coming months. A spokesperson for the CML went on to state that there were expectations of fluctuations in property prices as well as activity and lending levels over the coming months, and this was the result of short term weakness and distortion in the market. text/html 2010-03-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=799-OFT_calls_for_customers_to_opt_out_of_overdrafts The Office of Fair Trading has apparently called for consumers in the UK to be able to opt out of bank overdrafts, stating that banks need to provide customers with the option of taking one of these ‘opt out’ account so that they can reduce the risk of running up debt and incurring charges. The recommendation comes as part of a package of measures that has been proposed by the watchdog. One of the main reasons that the OFT wants accounts that will enable consumers to opt out of the overdraft facility is because it means that if consumers try to make transactions that would take them over their limit the transaction would be refused, and this would mean that the accountholder did not get into debt and did not incur costly bank charges. The OFT recently revealed its recommendations with regards to bank charges, with the opt out bank accounts being one of the measures recommended for consumers that do not want arranged overdrafts and want to try and avoid overdraft fees and charges. The OFT also made recommendations relating to providing more choice for consumers when it came to charging structures. The recommendations from the OFT included calls to bring the charges relating to overdrafts down, but the watchdog revealed that these charges had already been falling to some degree. Following the High Court battle between the OFT and the banking industry relating to overdraft charges – which the OFT ultimately lost – the average fee for unauthorised overdraft use has dropped from £30 to £22. Whilst the OFT had to admit defeat in relation to the High Court battle with the banks, officials from the agency have said that its investigation into the current accounts market has already resulted in significant changes that could lead to continued improvement for consumers. The agency said that it had found that some banks had already made improvements to the way in which customers were charged and the amounts that they were being charged, and that these changes had been welcomed by consumers and campaign groups. text/html 2010-03-17T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=798-More_protection_in_place_for_UK_credit_card_users Following calls for consumers that use credit cards in the UK to be offered greater protection from rising debts a number of new proposals have been brought in this week, although the protection provided is not as great as many had hoped that it would be. The measures have been put into place after the government made proposals that were met with a lengthy document from the credit card industry defending the methods that it used. Under the new proposals credit card users will be given a period of sixty days within which to reject changes in interest rates that the provider makes on their existing credit card debt. Consumers will also be able to opt out of credit card interest increases applied to their accounts. Original proposals had included increasing the minimum repayment that credit card users would have to pay on their debts to help them to repay the debt more quickly, but this proposal has been dropped and borrowers will need to continue making the minimum repayment requested by their individual lenders. However, there have been changes made for new account holders, whereby their credit card providers will have to charge them a minimum repayment that covers at least the interest, fees, and charges, plus 1 percent of anything spent on the card. The Consumer Minister, Kevin Brennan, said that there had been concerns amongst consumers that they may not be able to afford repayments of the minimum repayment was increased too much, and that this could be a particular problem for those with several different credit cards. The final agreement to changes within the credit card industry has been formed out of a combination of the government’s original proposals and proposals put forward by lenders themselves. The changes are set to come into force at the start of next year, and some of the changes will include ensuring that the most expensive credit card debt is paid off first, banning credit limit increases for those that are struggling financially, and providing consumers with more freedom to reject or opt out of credit card interest increases. Consumers that decide to reject any increases in the credit card interest rate on their existing debts within the sixty day period will have to then close their accounts, but reasonable time must be given to them by the credit card provider to allow them to pay off the balance on their cards. text/html 2010-03-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=797-Millions_of_pounds_in_refunds_still_with_taxman As many people will be only too aware the taxman never seems too willing to wait around when money is owed to the tax office by consumers. However, according to a recent report the tax office is currently sitting on millions of pounds in refunds that are owed to consumers in the UK. Accusations have now been made against the tax office of deliberately sitting on money that is meant to have been refunded to consumers. A national newspaper reported that there was evidence of many tax refunds being delayed, both in terms of general claims for tax refunds and with regards to settlement cheques that had already been agreed. There have even been accusations that the tax office may be sitting on these payments because of its own financial problems. One accountant said that his firm was finding it very difficult to get any tax refunds out of the tax office, even in cases where they had been agreed, and that the taxman was finding any excuse to just sit on the money. He said that the greater the amount of money the more difficult it was to get it from the tax office, and that the delays were costing consumers money and accountants time. The accountant added that the tax office seemed to have the attitude that once money was in its bank account it belonged to them but that in fact much of it legally belonged to people that were waiting on refunds. He said that he wasn’t sure whether the problems were occurring due to sheer incompetence or deliberate strategy on the part of the tax office. According to reports delays are caused by the tax office insisting on carrying out a string of additional security checks, which many believe are unnecessary and are simply delay tactics. The problems with delayed refunds were highlighted in a report last summer, after which the tax office promised to make improvements to its refunds procedure. However, according to reports little has changed and huge delays are still being experienced on a widespread basis. text/html 2010-03-15T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=796-Online_shoppers_warned_about_clicking_on_links These days, with so many people having access to broadband in the home, more and more of us are doing all sorts of shopping online, from buying specialist products and gifts to purchasing the weekly or monthly groceries. Many people are now confident about using websites to shop and are happy to enter their credit card details in the knowledge that they are using a secure site. And in most cases people don't think twice about clicking on another link on the website that they are on if there is something of interest, such as a special deal or offer. However, a warning has been issued by the Information Commission urging online shoppers to be careful about clicking on links even if they are using a secure site. This is because the links are sometimes for special deals and offers from companies that charge a fee for the service or product, but often the consumer fails to realise that there is a charge and thinks that they are getting a free trial or product. Even if the consumer does not enter any card details when clicking on the link there is a chance that the original website, if they have made a purchase and entered their card details into that site, will pass the payment card details onto the other company. Consumer may then find that money is taken from their accounts for a product or service that they thought they were getting for free or on a free trial basis. One customer explained that she made a purchase from a website and then clicked on a link for a free thirty day trial of another service. As she had not given any card details to the second company she did not expect any money to be taken after the thirty day free trial. However, the original website passed her card details on, and subsequently she found that money was taken from her account when the free trial period ended. The Information Commission said that whilst companies and website had a responsibility to make it clear that they passed on card details and that money may be taken from the customer's account, consumers also needed to be vigilant and check the small print before clicking on any links. text/html 2010-03-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=795-Repossessions_could_increase_due_to_rate_increases_and_property_price_falls The financial regulator in the UK, the Financial Services Authority, has warned recently that there could be a further surge in repossessions in the UK in the event that interest rates increase or property prices fall significantly. The FSA has warned that shock interest rate increases or property price falls could see millions of families put at risk of losing their homes. Over the past couple of years concerns over repossession levels have been soaring, and the government has been putting various measures into place to ensure that repossession action is used as a last resort by the banks in the UK. Whilst the situation has eased off as a result of improvements in the property market and the rock bottom base interest rate, which has been at an all time low of just 0.5 percent for a year, the FSA is concerned that this could quickly be reversed of interest rates surge or property prices start to fall again. Officials from the FSA have said that the families that are most at risk are those that have failed to pay off their debts, and could therefore be hard hit in terms of their finances if interest rates go up or property prices fall. Many young professionals who took out mortgage loans that were many times their income in order to get onto the property ladder could find themselves in risk of losing their homes, as could those that have been living beyond their means through the use of loans and credit cards. Many middle class families could find their income slashed and their finances deeply affected by any increase in interest rates, a further house price crash, or from rising unemployment. Many may find that this leads to them being unable to keep on top of their mortgage repayments, and this could eventually result in them losing their homes and could push repossession figures back up. The warning comes after it was revealed that millions of people that are desperate for credit have been applying for credit cards, with some charging interest rates of an astonishing 60 percent. These are amongst the groups that are most likely to suffer in the event that their finances are affected by interest rates, house prices, and job losses. text/html 2010-03-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=794-FSA_issues_warning_on_packaged_bank_accounts The UK's financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, has issued a warning over packages bank accounts, which are accounts that major UK banks offer under different names. With packages bank accounts customers are charged a monthly banking fee in exchange for a package of benefits bolted onto their current account. Some of the benefits include commission free travel money, travel insurance, pet insurance, vehicle breakdown cover, preferential overdraft and loan rates, and more. However, the FSA is warning that many of these packages bank accounts may have been mis-sold to customers, and that many may not be getting value for money on the accounts. It is estimated that 15 percent of adults already have these packages accounts, but many of these may be paying more for having a packaged bank account than they would pay for the individual services that they actually use out of the benefits offered with the accounts. For example, many of those that take out packaged current accounts with their banks will only every use one or two of the benefits that come with the account and therefore may be paying far more each year for having a packaged account than they would pay if they had a standard free current account and simply paid for the one or two services that they use on the open market. The FSA said that whilst some consumers may benefit from having a packaged bank account many may find that they are not benefitting at all financially from having one of these accounts. Moreover, the FSA expressed concern that some of the benefits that came with the packaged accounts, such as insurance cover, may not provide adequate levels of cover in the same way that insurance purchased individually would provide. The warning was issued in the Financial Risk Outlook for 2010 published by the FSA. With the recession only just over and the effects of the credit crunch still wreaking havoc in the financial sector there are concerns that some banks may try and increase revenue by pushing services such as packaged accounts. The FSA has said that the increased push on such products could results in more people that do not fully understand the terms and benefits of the service agreeing to sign up even though they will not really benefit. text/html 2010-03-10T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=793-Savers_being_penalised_through_rock_bottom_base_rate The recent news that the Bank of England base interest rate was to remain at its all time low level of 0.5 percent for the twelfth month in a row will have been welcomed by millions of borrowers across the country, many of whom will be relieved to hear that their borrowing costs are not going to soar as a result of rising interest rates. However, the same cannot be said of the savers in the country, who are said to outweigh borrowers by seven to one. According to recent reports millions of savers have suffered financial losses over the past year leaving the average saver around £600 worse off over the course of the year. Campaign groups claim that savers have been hit with the worst returns on their finances in history, and the decision to keep the base rate on hold yet again would add to their misery. Research has shown that there are now no instant access accounts that offer savers interest that beats inflation, and to make matter worse some industry experts are stating that the base rate cuts have not actually helped the economy as much as had been hoped. The campaign group Saver our Savers has now stepped in and expressed its concern over the way in which savers are suffering and will continue to suffer for the foreseeable future. Save our Savers is concerned that many of the savers in Great Britain are pensioners, and many of them rely on the interest from their life savings to get by financially. A spokesperson for the group said that savings interest rates were 'pitiful' and that the group along with savers felt betrayed and angry. He said that since the global credit crunch frustration amongst savers had turned into anger. The group also went on to state that whilst it was not savers that had caused the collapse of the financial systems it was once again savers that were being penalised , with many watching their savings dwindle away and others unable to make their finances stretch far enough because of the lack of interest being paid on their money. text/html 2010-03-09T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=792-Failure_to_return_faulty_goods_costing_Brits_a_fortune Millions of people in the UK go out shopping or get online to purchase goods only to find that they are faulty when we get them home or when they are delivered. However, a recent report has shown that an alarming number of us fail to take any action about the fact that the goods are faulty, and for one of a number of reasons we just keep the goods in the home even though they may be faulty to the point where they cannot be used. A poll was carried out by the Department of Business showed that every year the faulty goods cost the average consumer £78 a year, and over the course of the average lifetime this works out to a massive £5000. There are a number of reasons why people are thought to be failing to return faulty goods, and this includes being too nervous or worried to return the goods, feeling intimidated about making returns, or feeling embarrassed. The poll that was carried out by the Department of Business found that over 50 percent of respondents had at least one faulty item at home that they had failed to return to the retailer. The results of the research showed that smaller, lower value items were most likely to be kept by consumers rather than being returned. The most complained about items with regards to faults were second hand cars. The survey involved polling three thousand people, and in a breakdown of the results it was shown that men were more likely to lose more money by failing to return faulty goods compared to women. Then average annual loss for men as a result of failure to return these goods was £89 whereas for women the average annual loss was £71. The research formed part of a campaign that is aimed at educating shoppers about their rights. The Consumer Minister Kevin Brennan said that it was important that consumers did not lose out financially simply because they were not aware of their rights. He added that it was important for consumers to learn more about their rights so that they could be confident about returning faulty goods. text/html 2010-03-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=791-Home_ownership_numbers_set_to_fall The Council of Mortgage Lenders has recently released a report indicating that the number of people in the UK that own their own homes is set to decline over the coming years. A number of factors have stood in the way of consumers owning their own properties over recent years, and according to the CML this will be reflected in the declining number of owned homes across the nation. Since 2005 homeownership number have been in decline according to government figures, and in 2008-2009 the number of owned homes in England came to just under 68 percent. This was the lowest level of homeownership since the 1980s based on statistics, and the situation could continue to get worse based on the CML report. A number of factors are likely to affect homeownership numbers according to the CML, and this includes a rationing of mortgages as well as a lack of new homes. A spokesperson from the CML said that appeared that the lack of availability of homes and mortgage finances would be difficult to avoid for the foreseeable future. The CML went on to state that first time buyers would continue to face challenges when it came to the deposit levels that lenders were demanding, and that this would contribute to the falling level of homeownership. Whilst some lenders have reduced deposit demand slightly many first time buyers are still struggling to raise the required funds due to lack of savings. Further data was recently revealed in the English Housing Survey, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The data showed that in 2005 homeownership numbers stood at a peak of 14,791,000. However, by 2008-2009 there had been a drop of 170,000, taking homeownership numbers to 14,621,000. Figures also showed that there had been a sharp increase in the number of people that were privately renting their homes, with numbers rising from just over two million back in 2001 to more than three million in 2008-2009. Again, this increase has been attributed to the mortgage rationing that has been taking place since the onset of the global financial crisis. text/html 2010-03-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=790-Acceleration_of_new_car_sales_in_February Although the end of the government's car scrappage scheme is now imminent the motor industry still appears to be benefitting from the scheme, although this may change in the second half of this year when the scheme is no longer in operation. According to figures new car sales increased again in February, with new registrations for the month coming in at 68,686. This figure reflected an increase of 26.4 percent compared to registrations seen in February of 2009, when the motor industry was suffering a real downturn. Car sales had plunged in the early part of 2009 with the recession still in full swing and the effects of the ongoing financial crisis still affecting consumers' finances and abilities to make big ticket purchases. As a result of plunging sales the government launched the car scrappage scheme, where drivers were able to get £2000 off a new car if they scrapped their old cars providing they had owned the old car for at least twelve month and the vehicle was at least ten years old. The scheme quickly became a hit, and the motor industry started to see sales increase again as drivers rushed to take advantage of the scheme before the money ran dry. The figures for this February are impressive compared to the same period last year, but the effects that the financial crisis and the recession have had on the motor industry are evidence when the figures are compared to average sales levels for the months of February between 1999 and 2009, with sales being 12.2 percent below the average for that particular month over this period. This year nearly 20 percent of car sales for the month of February were down to the car scrappage scheme according to the Society of Motor manufacturers and Traders. Prior to the scheme being launched motor sales and demand had been falling for fifteen consecutive months. However, as a result of the scheme there have now been eight consecutive months of growth in the industry and this is expected to continue for some time. text/html 2010-03-04T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=789-Base_rate_stays_on_hold_for_twelfth_month The Bank of England has announced today that the base interest rate is to remain on hold at 0.5 percent. The news comes following the earlier Monetary Policy Committee meeting, and marks the twelfth consecutive month that the base interest rate has been at 0.5 percent, which is the lowest level it has ever been in the history of the Bank of England, which spans well over three hundred years. With the UK having only recently come out of recession, and with the growth that brought the country out of recession being so slight, the decision to keep the base rate on hold was widely expected by industry experts. Many economists had predicted that the base rate would be kept on hold because the risk of damaging the fragile economy in the UK by increasing interest rates was too high. There was no surprise in the central bank's decision not to pump any more money into the economy through its quantitative easing scheme. The bank of England has pumped £200 billion into the economy through the QE scheme so far, but indicated last month that it would be put on hold for the moment whilst authorities took stock of what positive effects the scheme had resulted in so far. It had been estimated that the economy grew by 0.1 percent in the final three months of last year, which brought the nation out of recession. Many had been concerned over the low level of growth, with worries that this could result in a double dip recession. However, official figures have now revealed that the actual growth for the final quarter of 2009 was 0.3 percent. Despite actual growth for the final quarter being greater than the growth that had been estimated there are still concerns that further economic growth is by no means guaranteed and the economy in the UK is still very fragile. This, combined with other factors, will have impacted on the decision of the Bank of England and the Monetary Policy Committee to keep the base rate on hold. text/html 2010-03-03T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=788-Contactless_credit_cards_can_be_used_to_make_higher_value_purchases Over the past eighteen months a number of banks and payment card providers have launched contactless credit and debit cards, and these are cards that can be used to make purchases without the cardholder having to enter any PIN or provide a signature for the purchase. The cards work by placing them close to specialist sensors installed by retailers, and the money is then debited from the account of the cardholder. Many consumers have taken to these contactless payment cards because they allow greater freedom, ease, and flexibility. They also speed things up for both the consumer and the retailer when it comes to dealing with transactions. However, in order to reduce the risk of fraud using contactless credit and debit cards the maximum transaction limit placed on the cards was £10. It has now been decided that the maximum spend limits for transactions made on these contactless cards is to be increased slightly, and is going up from £10 to £15. Whilst the increase is not huge, it does offer consumers the opportunity to make higher value purchases without the need to enter a PIN or sign a receipt, and it brings the maximum limit closer to that used in the Eurozone with contactless credit cards, which is 25 Euros at present. The decision to increase the spend limit on these contactless credit cards was made following a request from the payment card giants Visa and Mastercard. The banking industry has agreed to the increased limits, which means that cardholders will be able to enjoy greater choice and flexibility when making purchases on their contactless credit cards. The cards have already proven popular amongst consumers, and it is thought that by the end of this year around one in seven consumers will have a contactless credit card. The move to increase the limits on these cards has been welcomed by the banking industry, and one official from Barclays stated that consumers would find using the cards even more convenient as a result of the limit increase. He added that the increase could result in more retailers taking on this technology, which was important because contactless technology was the future of making payments. text/html 2010-03-02T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=787-Hundreds_of_thousands_working_weekly_overtime_for_no_pay It has been revealed in a recent report that hundreds of thousands of people have been working overtime on a weekly basis but receiving no pay for the extra work that they have been doing. The report suggests that almost nine hundred thousand workers may be putting in more than ten hours of overtime each week without getting paid for it. The data comes from the annual survey of working hours, which was released late last week by the TUC. The figures suggested that the average number of hours that many workers were putting in without pay came to around eighteen. The report from the TUC also showed the professions in which workers were most likely to do unpaid overtime. It showed that those most likely to do this were lawyers and teacher, with 20 percent of people in these professions putting in around seventeen hours a week extra without pay. The TUC stated that compared to the previous year the number of people that put in unpaid overtime in 2009 went up by a massive fourteen thousand. The report showed that 25 percent of public sector employees did unpaid overtime last year, with the amount of unpaid overtime carried out by these employees amounting to nearly £9 billion value. This compared to one in six employees in the private sector doing overtime for nothing. The research also showed that the group most likely to work unpaid overtime were single females. The TUC said that whilst there had been an increase in the number of people that were classed as under-employed – which refers to those that wish to work more hours but can't do so due to restrictions such as cutbacks by their employer – the amount of unpaid overtime being worked had risen. Nearly three million workers are thought to want more hours or want full time work rather than part time work. It is thought that many workers may be putting in overtime without pay because they do not want to risk losing their jobs, and with companies still reeling from the recession many workers are doing what they can to help out. text/html 2010-03-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=786-UK_claims_management_company_under_investigation It has been claimed in recent reports that one of the biggest claims management companies in the UK is under investigation by the Ministry of Justice, although the company has denied that it is under investigation. It has been reported that the Ministry of Justice is investigating Cartel Client Review. The company deals with trying to get the debts of consumers written off by finding mistakes in the credit agreements that are issued by lenders when the borrower takes the finance out. According to reports the decision to launch an investigation into the company was made following a number of complaints that were made by consumers. Cartel charges customers £495 by way of an upfront fee to help them to escape their debts, and customers have been told that their debts will be resolved within 6-12 months. However, customers have complained that they have been waiting two years in some cases and still nothing has been resolved. Some customers claim to have paid hundreds or even thousands of pounds to the company in order to get their loans and credit cards written off or to get compensation on their mortgages. One woman claims she paid £500 to the company and was told she stood to get thousands of pounds in compensation on her mortgages. She was told that this would take between 3 and 9 months to resolve, but two years later she is still waiting. This is despite the fact that she was told that if there was no success in getting compensation she would get all of her upfront fee back apart from £10. It appears that a number of customers have found themselves in similar situations with Cartel despite the fact that the company's terms and conditions state that the upfront fee is refunded if the claim is not successful. Representatives from Cartel have stated that there has never been an issue with refunds, and the only reason that there have been some delays is because the company has been waiting on judgements in court. It was also found that once cases had initially been assessed by Cartel they were passed on to a firm of solicitors to deal with. The cases were colour coded based on the likelihood of success, with green coded ones being ones that were very unlikely to succeed when it came to making a claim. One worker from the solicitors where the cases were sent has now revealed that 99.9 percent of the cases that were passed on to them were coded green, which meant that the claim was pretty much certain to fail. text/html 2010-02-26T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=785-Banks_receive_most_complaints_in_financial_services_sector The UK's banking industry has again received the most complaints out of all financial service sectors, with some of the best known high street banks receiving the highest number of complaints. Between July and December of last year the Financial Ombudsman Service received just over eighty two thousand complaints, and over half of these complaints related to High Street banking giants. The total number of complaints received by the financial ombudsman had increased by one fifth compared to the first half of last year. The High Street bank that received the most complaints in the last half of 2009 was banking giant Lloyds Banking Group. Figures that were released this week showed that Lloyds Banking Group received over twenty thousand complaints in this period, of which nearly half related to Lloyds TSB and over seven thousand related to the Bank of Scotland, which forms part of the Lloyds Banking Group. Another High Street bank that saw the complaints flooding into the financial ombudsman was Barclays, which received nearly eleven thousand complaints. The Royal Bank of Scotland received just over seven thousand complaints, Spanish owned Abbey received nearly five thousand complaints, and HSBC received just under four thousand complaints. Officials have been quick to point out that whilst these banking giants did see complaints flooding in, and did make up a large proportion of overall financial complaints collectively, the size of these banks had to be taken into account, as the number of complaints reflected the size of the organisations. Figures were also released in relation to the number of complaints that were upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). In the case of Barclays Bank the FOS upheld 65 percent of complaints that were made against the bank. Overall 53 percent of complaints against the banking industry were upheld by the FOS, and this reflected a slight fall from the 59 percent that were upheld in the first half of last year. A spokesperson from the FOS said that the level of complaints and the number of cases that were upheld showed that banks still needed to do a lot of work to ensure the satisfaction of their customers. text/html 2010-02-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=784-Customers_to_be_repaid_record_amount_by_financial_advice_company It has been reported that a financial advice company has been ordered to repay record amounts after a range of failings by the company were identified. The Leeds based independent financial advice company, called Park Row, is being forced to make repayments to customers amounting to an estimated £7.8 million. Then firm has been ordered to make repayments to customers by the UK's financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, which conducted an investigation and found that the company had acted recklessly in failing to ensure that customers were receiving accurate and proper advice with regards to a variety of financial products and services, including pensions, investments, and mortgages. The failings were found to have taken place over a two year period, during which the company is said to have had around twenty four thousand customers. According to the FSA customers who sought advice from Park Row, which is now said to be winding down, were at risk of receiving the wrong advice with regards to many different areas of finance. The errors that were looked into by the FSA are said to have occurred between January of 2007 and January of 2009. It is claimed that during this period advisors from Park Row were giving consumers financial advice based on the level of commission that they would receive rather than on how suitable the various products were for the consumer. During the two year period when the catalogue of errors occurred the company is said to have accumulated fees and commissions in excess of £10 million. The company was also found to have failed to take action to put these problems right, even though the problems are said to have been highlighted to officials from Park Row on a number of occasions. Many customers may now be entitled to refunds, and an external examiner will be contacting those that may have received unsuitable or biased advice from Park Row. It is thought that many of those that may have been affected did not even realise that there was a problem with the company and that they had received unsuitable advice. text/html 2010-02-24T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=783-Households_waiting_longer_to_get_onto_property_ladder A comprehensive study of English homes has revealed that families are now waiting longer to get onto the property ladder than they would have been three years ago. The study was carried out by the Department of Communities and Local Government. The agency said that families are now being forced to wait much longer than they would have waited just several years ago if they wished to get onto the property ladder. The data showed that over the course of the next couple of years only 24 percent of households that were currently privately renting expected to be able to get onto the property ladder. Just several years ago this figure stood at 34 percent, which indicates that the number of privately renting families that expect to be able to purchase their own home in the next two years has fallen by 10 percent. The property market has been volatile since the onset of the global credit crunch and the house price crash seen in 2007, and whilst there have been certain signs of recovery in the market officials believe that there are still problems that are reflected through market movement such as a sharp increase in property renting. The study showed that around 42 percent of households thought that they would be waiting for more than five years to get onto the property ladder. The number of owner occupiers in England has also fallen as a result of a rising number of renters being unable to purchase their own home, and this has fallen from 14.8 million in 2005 to 14.6 million for the 2008-2009 period. Despite the difficulties in getting onto the property ladder the majority of families that are renting homes are looking to make a property purchase at some point in the future, even if this is not something that they are able to do in the near future. Around 59 percent of families that were renting homes were found to be hoping for the right opportunity to come along that would enable them to purchase their own homes, and said that renting was only a temporary measure until they were able to make such a purchase. text/html 2010-02-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=782-Former_government_advisor_slates_credit_card_rates Over recent years the level by which the interest rates charged on credit cards has increased has a great deal of concern amongst campaign groups, industry groups, and consumers. Several years ago a clampdown resulted in credit card companies seeing the charges that they made for late or missed payments being capped, and this had real impact on their profits. Over the past couple of years many struggling consumers have been shocked to see their credit card interest rates increased, and campaign groups have done their best to get this issue addressed. However, it has recently been revealed that credit card interest rates are now at their highest in twelve years, which is extremely bad news for borrowers that have been adversely affected by the recession and may already be struggling to keep on top of their finances. Whilst the Bank of England base rate has been at its lowest level ever, at 0.5 percent, for nearly a year the rates on credit cards have continued to increase, leaving an astonishing gap between the base interest rate and the average credit card rate. As a result of this situation a former government advisor has now called for an investigation to be carried out to look into the massive profits that credit cards are making as a result of the widening gap between their interest rates and the base interest rate. The former advisor that is calling for an investigation to be carried out is Ros Altmann, who has stated that the current average interest rate of 18 percent that is being charged by credit card firms is far too high. Altmann claims that the level of the gap between the base interest rate and the average credit card interest rate could be cause for regulators to look into the charges being applied by credit card firms and to subsequently oversee these interest rate charges. Credit card firms have tried to defend the high level of interest that they are charging by claiming that this is a necessity because of the high level of defaults from credit card borrowers. The claim that they have had to write off huge losses resulting from these defaults and have had to use higher interest rates amongst other things to try and claw back some of this lost revenue. text/html 2010-02-22T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=781-Petrol_prices_stagnant_despite_wholesale_cuts The rising cost of petrol is yet another thing that has been adding to the financial strain that many households have been feeling over recent months, and for many the high cost of petrol has made it very difficult for them to afford to run their vehicles. There are now concerns that over the past month the cost of wholesale petrol has fallen but the cost of petrol on the forecourts has remained stagnant. The data comes from the motoring organisation the AA, with officials from the group stating that whilst the wholesale price of petrol had fallen by around two pence per litre the cost of petrol on the forecourts had remained static at around £1.12 per litre. The AA said that in the past the supermarket giants had been known to take a lead on price cuts when wholesale prices fell, but in this case they had been slow to react to the changes. The AA also warned that drivers could be facing an upward trend in petrol prices over the long term. The group said that in some supermarkets the price of petrol had now fallen to below £1.10 per litre but in some service stations the price was more than ten pence per litre more than this. The average cost of diesel stands at £1.14 per litre. However, the AA data showed that once petrol or diesel prices exceeded £1.10 per litre drivers' tolerance over fuel prices seemed to disappear. The cost of petrol and diesel does vary from one area to another, according to the AA data. The report from the AA showed that the lowest petrol and diesel prices were to be found in Yorkshire and Humberside, but motorists in Northern Ireland faced the highest costs when it came to petrol and diesel prices. The AA also said that the high prices that were being charged by some petrol stations meant that drivers were more likely to carefully consider where they bought their fuel so that they could minimise in the cost of filling up their tank. In January the rate of inflation soared to 3.5 percent, which was way above the government target of 2 percent, and it is thought that soaring petrol prices were a contributory factor to the increase in inflation. text/html 2010-02-19T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=780-Stamp_duty_changes_affect_January_lending_levels Figures have been released showing that there was a sharp fall in mortgage lending in the UK for the month of January, and many believe that this is as a result of the changes to stamp duty that took place at the start of the year. Compared with December of last year gross mortgage lending for the month fell by 32 percent, dropping to £9.1 billion. The figures were released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. It is thought that the reason for the sharp drop in mortgage lending for last month was because of the mad rush to purchase property in the final months of last year, where people were keen to complete their property purchases before the end of the year before the stamp duty rules changed. Despite many officials believing that this was the main reason behind the drop in mortgage lending this January, the figures also showed that mortgage lending was 21 percent lower than in January of last year and was at its lowest monthly level since February 2000. Lenders said that whilst it was usual to see a seasonal drop in mortgage lending for the month of January the drop for this January was sharper than usual. The CML believes that this is down to a lull seen after the changes to stamp duty. The government changed the threshold on stamp duty during the recession, enabling those buying properties up to the value of £175,000 to avoid paying stamp duty. However, this temporary suspension expired at the end of 2009, and the threshold for stamp duty exemption has now dropped back down to its standard level of £125,000. A spokesperson from the CML said that mortgage activity for the month of January had been heavily influenced by changes to the stamp duty threshold, and had resulted in a larger than usual dip in mortgage lending. Other officials have said that despite the fall in mortgage lending for last month the market as a whole was in far better shape than it was a year ago, with mortgage lending restriction more relaxed, the property market in a more positive position, and a greater choice of mortgage products being made available by lenders. text/html 2010-02-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=779-Impressive_increase_seen_in_property_asking_prices A leading property industry website has reported that there has been an impressive increase in asking prices seen on properties in England and Wales in the past year following a turbulent period where property prices crashed leaving many facing negative equity. Asking prices are now said to have seen their biggest monthly increase since April of 2007, which was prior to the credit crunch and the burst of the property bubble, which occurred later on that same year. In February of this year property asking prices are said to have increased by 3.2 percent compared to January according to Right Move. This means that property asking prices in England and Wales are now 6.1 percent higher than they were this time last year based on these figures. In February the average asking price for properties in England and Wales came in at £229,398. Asking prices in London saw particularly impressive growth, with a rise of 5 percent compared to January, taking the average asking price in London to £427,987. Officials from Right Move said that this took average asking prices in the area to a higher level than they were at when the property market peaked in 2007, and compared to this time last year property asking prices in London had soared by 10.3 percent. Despite the good news with regards to the increase in property asking prices Right Move said that it was unlikely that this situation would be sustainable. Officials from the property company said that the amount of house purchase finances that was available following the credit crunch and recession would make it difficult to sustain these higher asking prices. The Commercial Director of the website, Miles Shipside, said that when it came to the availability of mortgage finance the current climate was more in line with the 1970s and 1980s, where mortgage availability was restricted, than with more recent years, where getting finance became relatively easy until the credit crunch swept the nation. He added that if the number of properties coming onto the market continued to increase then the limited number of buyers would make it difficult for higher house prices to be sustained. text/html 2010-02-17T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=778-UK_inflation_rate_rises_to_3.5_percent In its fastest annual rise in the past fourteen months the rate of inflation in the UK has soared to 3.5 percent for the month of January, accelerating from its December level of 2.9 percent. The target rate of inflation set by the government is 2 percent, so the new inflation rate is well above the government's target even though it is claimed that the increase should only be temporary. Higher petrol prices and the increase in VAT are thought to be driving factors behind the increase in Consumer Price Index inflation (CPI), and Retail Price Index inflation (RPI) increase from 2.4 percent in December to 3.7 percent. The sharp increase in inflation levels means that the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has had to write a letter of explanation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, as is routine procedure when the rate of inflation rises more than 1 percent above the government's target. King stated in his letter to Darling that the increase in inflation was a temporary one, and Darling responded that the outlook for inflation remained uncertain because the nation was still recovering from its 'deepest downturn in modern times'. A number of factors have been attributed to the sharp increase in the rate of inflation, and one of the main drivers is thought to be the increase in VAT, which came in at the start of the year. Vat was reduce from 17.5 percent to 15 percent last year by the government in order to help boost the economy, but this temporary reduction came to an end on the first day of this year, when it increased back up to its original level of 17.5 percent. Increasing transport and fuel costs are also thought to have driven inflation upwards, and according to reports even the cold snap seen last month had an effect as it increased the price of some vegetables. There had already been a warning from the Bank of England that the inflation rate could rise to this level but it has predicted that it will fall back to its target of 2 percent later in the year. text/html 2010-02-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=777-Boiler_scrappage_applicants_need_to_act_quickly It has been revealed that the popularity of the boiler scrappage scheme that was launched by the government has been so great that there are only limited funds left in the pot. This means that anyone that is planning to apply for the boiler scrappage scheme will have to act quickly in order to avoid missing out, as otherwise the kitty may run dry. Reports are warning those that are looking to replace their old boilers that there are now only seventy thousand of the money off vouchers left, with 44 percent of the vouchers having been taken in the very first month of the scheme. The vouchers offer eligible consumers £400 off the cost of a new replacement boiler, and the household can then continue to benefit from the energy saving features that come with new boilers. Figures have been released by the Energy Saving Trust and have indicated that so far nearly fifty five thousand households have benefited from the money off vouchers from the boiler scrappage scheme. However, there are thought to be around 3.5 million households in the UK with G rate boilers, which offer the lowest energy efficiency, but scheme funding means that at present only 125,000 of them will be able to get money off a replacement boiler. This means that only 4 percent of those that have boilers with poor energy efficiency in the UK will be able to get their hands on a voucher, and with nearly half of them having already been taken those that are still considering replacing their old boiler will need to act quickly. The Energy Saving Trust has said that those that switch their G rated boilers to the most energy efficient ones could see the cost of their energy bills plunge by around 25 percent, offering savings of around £235 a year. In the first month of the scheme being launched there were around 400,000 enquiries from interested parties, so the Energy Saving Trust – which is running the scheme for the government – is aware of the huge interest that is being shown in the scheme. text/html 2010-02-15T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=776-Change_in_stamp_duty_saw_increase_in_December_home_loans The Council of Mortgage Lenders has confirmed recently that there was a rush in the number of home loans being taken out in December of last year, resulting from the change in stamp duty, which took place from the start of this year. Stamp duty on properties between £125,000 and £175,000 was suspended by the government in order to try and boost affordability for first time buyers. However, this suspension came to an end at the end of 2009. Officials from the CML have said that as a result of the changes that were due to take place with regards to stamp duty there was a rush on home loans during the month of December last year. Compared to November of last year the number of home loans for December had increased by 23 percent. The increase compared to December of the previous year was even higher, coming in at a whopping 90 percent. The number of home loans that were made to first time buyers increased to 24,900, which was the highest level since November 2007 and reflected an increase of 26 percent compared to November. The total number of home loans made for the month of December came in at 62,800. The CML also confirmed that 55 percent of home loans that were made during the month were made for properties that were under £175,000 in value, which meant that they were exempt from stamp duty. This was an increase from the 51 percent seen in November. The CML went on to state that the figures indicated that many people had been rushing to complete their property purchases in November so that they would not be stung on stamp duty for properties between £125,000 and £175,000. All properties that are under the value of £125,000 are already exempt from stamp duty. The figures showed that in areas where the average property value was below £175,000 the number of transactions in the property market increased by just over 10 percent. However, when looking at the number of home loans made over the course of 2009 as a whole the figures were not much higher than those seen the previous year. text/html 2010-02-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=775-Many_elderly_will_be_hit_with_tax_code_blunders It was recently reported that the systems used by HM Revenue & Customs to work out tax codes had been resulting in many incorrect tax codes being sent out to people, many of whom may have paid far too much tax as a result. It has now been found that amongst the groups to suffer because of these tax code problems are pensioners, many of whom are being issued with the wrong tax code costing them hundreds of pounds a year or more. Over the next few weeks HMRC will be sending out around twenty five million tax codes, and reports claim that many of these, including ones issues to pensioners, may be wrong. An assessment carried out by the Low Income Tax Reform Group has found that there are a number of common errors that are being made by the system, which is why so many people could be affected. One of the problems that have been identified with the tax coding is married couples allowance, which of often being missed out. It should be applied when either the husband or wife is aged seventy five or over, and if it is missed off it could be costing the couple around £700 a year. The personal allowances that consumers are entitled too have also been missed off in some cases or are incorrect, resulting in too much tax being paid. Another problem involves pensioners underpaying tax, and this is the result of coding notices that are issued not taking into account any state pension that is being received. Other allowances such as those for being people may have been missed off by the HMRC systems, and in many cases the figure for other income is incorrect. Another group being urged to check their tax codes is those that have changed jobs recently, as the computer system may not recognise that they have changed jobs and may be taxing them on having two jobs. According to the tax office the problems have occurred due to the amalgamation of twenty computer systems into one, which may have resulted in historical data being transferred over and being treated as up to date information. text/html 2010-02-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=774-January_weather_caused_drop_in_activity Over recent months there has been some encouraging news in relation to the property market in the UK, and after around two years of problems and turbulence it finally appeared that things were looking up. There was increased interest in properties from first time buyers and buy to let landlords, an increase in the number of properties coming onto the market, and there have been a series of house price increases. However, it spears that the market may have suffered a slight setback as a result of the cold weather that was seen in January of this year, with figures showing that there was a drop in both buying and selling transactions over the course of the month. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors stated that the cold weather that was seen during the month was responsible for the drop in the level of transactions in the property market. The good news is that the institute does not expect this slight dip in property market activity to get any worse or even to last, and as the weather in the UK starts to pick up over the coming weeks it is likely that there will be further improvement in the property market. Industry experts have marked improvements in the property market for around six months following the severe slump that was seen over the previous two years. Surveyors from RICS said that with the worst snowfall in decades hitting the UK several weeks ago many property sellers were put off from putting their property on the market. Similarly many would be buyers wisely decided not to venture out to look for properties, and these factors led to the drop in transactions. RICS stated that the cold snap had resulted in a significant impact on both buyers and sellers, but added that a spring bounce was likely to be around the corner which would see activity in the sector increase. Despite the fall in property transactions for the month of January house price movement continued to show encouraging signs, with 32 percent more surveyors reporting a rise rather than a fall when it came to property prices. text/html 2010-02-10T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=773-Millions_of_pounds_still_lying_in_dormant_accounts A recent report has shown how millions of pounds have been left festering in dormant bank accounts across the UK, and the owners of the money could risk losing it if they fail to take action and re-claim their accounts. Despite the credit crisis and the recession, it appears that many consumers have put money into bank or building society savings accounts only to forget that they have the accounts. It is estimated that over £500 million has been left in dormant accounts, and officials have said that consumers need to take fast action to reclaim these accounts otherwise they could lose their cash. The Treasury is set to seize more than £500 million of the cash that is lying in these accounts this summer, and it has announced that plans to get the money transferred are well underway. The money that is left unclaimed in these dormant accounts is moved into a Central Reclaim Fund, and any money that is left over after people have made their claims is then donated to worth causes. Whilst consumers might find that their cash in transferred into the central fund before they realise that they have a dormant account, and whilst some may even find that their money has been given to a worthy cause, it has been made clear that they can reclaim their cash at any time in the future. The definition of a dormant account is one where the customer has failed to make contact or make any transactions for fifteen years or more. Because of the length of time that may have lapsed since the saver made any contact with the bank or building society with regards to the account many will have forgotten that they have the accounts at all, and some may never realise that their money has been transferred or donated. The £500 million that is said to be lying in dormant savings accounts does not include £450 million that has been left in dormant accounts with National Savings & Investments. Consumers are now being urged to try and remember whether they may have an account that has been lying dormant for the last fifteen years, and to contact the relevant bank or building society. text/html 2010-02-09T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=772-Good_news_for_British_Gas_customers After a very turbulent couple of years in terms of finances there is finally some good news for some energy customers, after energy giant British Gas announced that it is cutting bills for its customers by 7 percent. The news will be welcomed by the many consumers who have been struggling to cope with their financial problems having been hit by the global credit crisis and the recession. The average cut of 7 percent in British Gas bills is set to come into effect immediately according to reports, so consumers can start benefiting straight away from the price cuts. Around eight million households are set to benefit from the price cuts, with the average consumer set to save around £55 a year according to officials from British Gas. Over the past twelve months the energy giant has implemented a number of price cuts, and this latest one will be the third price cut that it has introduced in the past year. The move comes amidst fierce criticism that energy companies have faced as a result of failing to pass on the price cuts from wholesale energy prices. Wholesale energy prices were cut in February of last year, but energy customers have been forced to continue paying higher prices because of the failure of energy firms to pass on the price cuts. The recent cold snap has also increased concerns over more vulnerable people being unable to afford to heat their homes adequately, and the move by British Gas is likely to be welcomed by industry groups as well as consumers. An official from the energy firm said that British Gas was aware of how many households were struggling to make their budgets stretch as far as they needed to, and that the firm was also aware of how worried many households were about the amount that they would have to pay for their energy usage during the recent cold weather. The firm added that the price cuts would help customers to cope more easily with the cost of their fuel bills. text/html 2010-02-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=771-Tax_code_errors_could_cost_consumers_thousands It has been claimed that some consumers could end up paying thousands of pounds more than they need to for their tax as a result of errors that have been made with their tax code. The errors that have been made with the 2010/2011 tax codes could mean that some taxpayers end up paying way over the odds when it comes to their tax bill, and many may fail to realise that they are paying more than they have to, as they will not be aware that their tax code is incorrect. Industry experts have stated that measures that have been put into place to try and streamline the tax system have actually resulted in many people being hit with incorrect tax codes, and this has resulted in people having to pay way more than they are due to in the form of income tax. This comes after HM Revenue and Customs conducted an overhaul of its systems last year. However, despite the fact that the purpose of the system overhaul carried out by HM Revenue and Customs, which was designed to improve the system, the measure appears to have simply made things more difficult by issuing people with the wrong tax codes, resulting in many people not getting the tax free allowance that they should be entitled to. A spokesperson for the Institute of Chartered Accountants stated that there was clearly outdated information on the files of HMRC and this was affecting the tax codes that people were being issued with. She added that 'if you put garbage in then you get garbage out' casting further doubt on the abilities of the tax system in the UK. The people that are thought to be most at risk are those that that have changed their details or changed their jobs in the past twelve months. Some people are said to have been sent tax codes for jobs that they left several years earlier, showing how flawed the whole system is. Consumers are being warned to look out for letters on the tax code that include BR or Do, as these are said to indicate that there is no tax free allowance attached to the income. text/html 2010-02-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=770-Debt_advice_agencies_struggling_to_cope_with_demand It has been revealed that the personal debt mountain in the UK has now reached £1.46 trillion, and following a very turbulent couple of years in terms of finances many households are now struggling to cope with the debt that they have found themselves in. Many have had to turn to professional agencies and charities for help and advice, but according to a recent report these charities and agencies are now also struggling to cope with the demand for debt advice and assistance. Figures show that in the space of one year there has been an increase of 30 percent in the number of people that are looking for help and advice from debt professional, with the need to help being fuelled by the recession, which has left many people on a lower income and struggling to keep on top of repayment. The credit drought has also played its part, leaving many unable to get finance such as consolidation loans to try and reduce their monthly outgoings. According to reports some consumers are having to wait six weeks or more to get the advice that they need, and there are even some that are being turned away for advice and assistance. This is because some debt advice agencies are having to turn consumers down when they come looking for advice simply because their waiting lists are now so long. In the meantime industry experts have warned that over the course of this year around 150,000 people could become insolvent, reflecting an increase of 15 percent compared to last year. One industry official said that whilst job losses had played their part in the crisis this was not necessarily the main reason for many people struggling to repay their debts. Often consumers were struggling because they had lost bonuses or overtime that they had come to rely on, and this had impacted heavily on their ability to make repayments on their debts. The lack of funding for advice agencies means that there is a shortage of counsellors to offer assistance to cash strapped consumers. However, the government pledged to invest £143 million into providing additional debt advice between 2004 and 2011 so that free face to face advice can be made available for struggling consumers. text/html 2010-02-04T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=769-Interest_rates_on_hold,_and_QE_not_to_be_extended The Bank of England has announced today that the base interest rate is to be kept on hold for the eleventh month in a row. The announcement was made following today's Monetary Policy Committee meeting, and many economists and industry officials were not surprised to learn that the base interest rate was being kept at its record low of 0.5 percent, where it has been since March of last year. The decision to keep the base rate on hold comes just a week or so after official figures revealed that the UK had finally managed to pull itself out of recession, albeit by the skin of its teeth with growth of just 0.1 percent recorded in the final quarter of last year. Many officials believe that it will be later this year when the Bank of England starts to increase the base interest rate again, and some have predicted that it could be towards the middle of next year. One of the reasons why many analysts believe that the base rate will remain at its lowest level in over three hundred years for some time to come is because of the low level of growth seen in the economy in the final quarter of last year. Industry experts have said that this has resulted in the UK only just making it out of recession, and there are fears that the slightest reversal could result in the UK becoming the victim of a double dip recession. In addition to announcing that the base rate was to remain on hold the Bank of England has also announced that it will not be extending the quantitative easing programme. The £200 billion that was put aside for the programme has now been spent, and there are no plans to extend this any further for the foreseeable future. However, the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has said that the situation will be carefully monitored, and there was scope for further cash injections into the economy at some point in the future should the need arise. The governor also spoke about the rate of inflation, and said that it was likely that inflation would rise above 3 percent for a while, which is significantly higher than the government's 2 percent target. However, he added that in the medium term it should return to target. text/html 2010-02-03T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=768-Increase_reported_in_demand_for_credit Over the past twelve months there have been a number of reports that have highlighted how the level of demand for consumer credit has been falling, with the credit crisis and the recession putting consumers on red alert when it came to borrowing money and getting into debt. However, it seems that this trend has now reversed, and the demand for credit seems to be growing. December saw an increase in consumer borrowing, much of which was the result of increased credit card borrowing according to figures from the Bank of England. Over the course of the month the level of consumer borrowing increased by £52 million, with many people borrowing on their credit cards over the month of December in the run up to Christmas. The figures for December showed that the amount borrowed on credit cards, loans, and overdrafts came in at more than the amount that had been repaid on consumer debt for the first time since June of last year. For the five months leading up to December the amount being repaid on consumer debt had been outweighing the amount that was being borrowed by consumers, but the Bank of England figures showed that this trend was reversed in December. Credit card borrowing was found to be the main driver behind the increase in consumer borrowing for the month of December, with the amount being borrowed on credit cards for the month increasing by £195 million. Loan and overdraft borrowing for the month remained subdued, however, with repayments on this type of borrowing continuing to outstrip borrowing. It is thought that much of the increase in credit card spending may have been down to the impending increase in VAT rates, which were due to increase at the start of January. In addition to this the festive season would have contributed to the increase in credit card spending, with many people using their plastic to make their purchases for Christmas and the New Year. One economist said that the factors that contributed to the increase in consumer spending meant that there could be a relapse for this month. text/html 2010-02-02T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=767-Healthy_outlook_predicted_for_house_prices_in_UK A recent report has predicted that house price growth in the UK will gain momentum over the next few years, and property prices could increase by 20 percent by 2013. The prediction was made by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, which has revised previous forecasts that it made as a result of an increase in mortgage availability and an improvement in mortgage lending levels. Officials from the CEBR have predicted that over the course of this year property prices will increase by around 6 percent, and by the end of 2013 they may have leapt by 20 percent. The report did acknowledge that in 2011 property price increases could be curbed as a result of cut in public sector spending and rising unemployment, but also claimed that in the following years property prices would be driven up as a result of a shortage of homes. Within three years the CEBR expects the average house price to increase from £167,000 to around £210,000. Just over one month ago the group predicted that over the course of this year property prices could increase by between 2 and 4 percent, but given the increase in mortgage approvals and availability this has now been upwardly revised to 6 percent for the year. One of the official that was involved in the report said that many industry officials had already been surprised by the fact that property prices had already increased by around 10 percent since they reached their lows. However, he added that it was easy to see why property prices had suddenly increased in this way given the shortage of new properties on the market, the increase in the level of mortgage lending, the record low interest rates that had been seen over the past ten months, and the slower than expected increase in unemployment. He went on to state that it would be these factors that that would continue to push up property prices over the course of this year, although the price increases are expected to be more modest than they have been over the past six months. In its report the CEBR also predicted that the base interest rate would remain at its all time low level of just 0.5 percent until around the middle of 2011. text/html 2010-02-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=766-HMRC_warns_consumers_over_tax_refund_scam Officials from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have issued a warning for consumers who may have received an email claiming that they are due a tax refund. The scam has been identified previously, but with this being the time of year when tax refunds have been submitted online there are fears that a rising number of people could fall for the scam, resulting in them being defrauded of money. The phishing scam has seen fraudsters emailing tens of thousands of people informing them that they are entitled to a refund on their tax. The email asks the consumers to complete an online form including their bank or credit card details. With many consumers having only recently submitted their online tax returns many may believe that the revenue service has calculated that they are indeed entitled to a refund, but this is not the case and the emails are simply part of a huge scam designed to gain access to consumers' bank and credit card accounts. Not only do those that fall victim to the scam find their bank accounts and credit card accounts being cleared but in some cases they could also find their details have been sold on to third parties, putting them at further risk of fraud and identity theft. HMRC has confirmed that it never contacts consumers by email with regards to tax refunds, and would only do this by post. Therefore anyone that received one of these phishing emails is advised not to respond to it. HMRC has also stated that those that do receive these emails should forward them on to HMRC for investigation rather than deleting them. Officials have said that they should also be mindful that no official contact regarding tax refunds would be made by telephone or via an outside agency either, so caution should always be exercised when there is any contact regarding a refund other than an official HMRC letter by post. There is concern that the number of emails that are being sent could see an upsurge following the 31st January online tax return submission deadline, as this is when many people will be waiting for news about genuine tax refunds. text/html 2010-01-29T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=765-Car_insurance_costs_being_hiked_due_to_compensation_culture A report from the AA has claimed that the cost of car insurance is on the rise as a result of the compensation culture that has become so rife in the UK. Officials from the AA said that this compensation culture was at least partly responsible for the increases in car insurance premiums that have been seen over the past year. The motoring group said that as a result of the many advertisements that were now being aired by law firms encouraging consumers to make claims for personal injuries such claims were becoming 'increasingly embedded in British culture'. Over recent years these advertisements have been regularly aired on television and radio resulting in a surge of claims being made by consumers for personal injuries. Figures from the AA have shown that last year the average cost of comprehensive car insurance increased by 18.7 percent to over £1000. This was the largest increase seen since records began back in 1994. In the last three months of 2009 comprehensive car insurance costs surged by 7.2 percent according to the AA's British Insurance Premium Index. The price increases have affected even the cheapest premiums, which showed an increase of around 11.3 percent taking the cost to £613. The final quarter of last year also saw the average cost of third party, fire, and theft insurance cover increase, with premiums rising by 8.9 percent to just over £1250. Even with the cheapest premiums there had been an increase of 13.9 percent, taking the cost to £788. The AA said that the premium increases had come at a time when insurance firms were struggling financially as a result of having to pay out on the rising number of personal injury claims that were flooding in. The group said that as a result of the law firms' advertisements consumers were claiming for even minor injuries that they would probably not have bothered with in the past. The AA also said that that this was something that was becoming increasingly embedded in our culture, and was feeding back to insurance premiums. text/html 2010-01-28T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=764-Food_and_petrol_prices_soaring With the government's temporary VAT cut having come to an end at the start of this year many consumers were expecting the price of goods such as food and petrol to increase slightly. The level of VAT was cut by 2.5 percent last year taking it from 17.5 percent to 15 percent. This move was aimed at helping the economy to get back on its feet and easing the financial strain that consumers and businesses were feeling through the recession. The VAT level has now been increased back up to 17.5 percent, and prices of goods and services have increased accordingly. According to reports many supermarkets had made promises of huge January price cuts to help shoppers in terms of affordability, but the price of both food and petrol is said to have soared leaving consumers facing spiralling costs that will continue to impact on their finances. Some have suggested that the increase in VAT has given supermarkets and other retailers the opportunity to increase prices by a significant level with the prices in some cases having increased by far more than the 2.5 percent by which VAT has increased. The Daily Mail Cost of Living Index showed that the cost of food essentials has soared compared to last January and the price of unleaded petrol is now almost 30 percent higher than it was this time last year. There are concerns that supermarkets may have given up on cost cutting despite promises of bargain deals that would be available in January. An experiment was carried out where a basket of thirty seven essential supermarket items was put together and the price compared to the cost of the same items a year ago. This showed that there had been an increase of 7.5 percent compared to last year, which equates to nearly £400 a year extra for the average family spending £100 a week on shopping. The price increases on food and petrol are causing particular concern because there is still evidence that workers in the private sector will face further pay freezes and pay cuts over the course of this year, which will have an even greater impact on affordability for consumers. text/html 2010-01-27T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=763-UK_finally_pulls_out_of_recession Official figures that were released on Tuesday have shown that the UK has finally exited recession, following in the footsteps of other major economies. Whilst the news will be welcomed by the nation officials have warned that growth was minimal and this means that the good news could quickly come to an end. The data showed that the economy had indeed grown over the last quarter of 2009. However, the growth in the economy was much weaker than had been expected, with a paltry growth level of just 0.1 percent. Prior to this the economy had been in negative growth for six consecutive quarters, making the longest and deepest recession seen since records began. There had been expectations that the UK would exit recession in the third quarter of last year, but shock figures that were released late last year revealed that in fact the UK was lagging behind other major economies and had remained in recession at that time. These latest figures, which have finally confirmed Britain's emergence from the recession, were released by the Office for National Statistics. A number of signs of economic recovery have been seen over recent months, from falling unemployment levels to increased property sales levels and better than expected profits for High Street retailers over the festive season. Whilst the recovery was slow the UK has at last joined other major economies including Japan, the United States, France, and Germany in escaping the grip of the recession. However, some officials are now warning people to err on the side of caution, stating that the minimal growth level that has finally dragged the nation out of recession could be too insignificant to result in sustainability, and this could result in a double dip recession where the economy is plunged back into recession after just about managing to claw itself out. One economist said that Britain had just about crossed the line in coming out of recession, adding that the growth figures had been well below the expectations of analysts. Another economist added that growth and GDP figures were a blow for anyone that had hoped that the UK would be able to completely free itself from the grip of this latest recession. text/html 2010-01-26T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=762-Treasury_steps_in_over_cheque_controversy It was recently announced by the banking industry that there were plans to abolish the use of cheques, and the industry was hoping to phase out cheque use by around 2018. However, this revelation caused a lot of controversy, with many groups and consumers stating that they could be left high and dry without any cheque facilities. The banks tried to alleviate the upset that was caused by the announcement of phasing out cheques by stating that they would ensure that there was a suitable alternative in place for use by those that had become accustomed to using cheques or needed to use cheques to make payments. However, no details of what that alternative might be were given by the banking industry. It has now been reported that the Treasury has decided to step in and intervene with the process following the outcry. Ministers have said that they do not want the banking industry to reach any decision with regards to the abolition of cheque usage until the banks have found an effective alternative for consumers and businesses to use. The announcement was made by the banking industry in December of last year, and immediately sparked concerns amongst many people. Many were concerned that particular groups of people may be affected far more than others, such as older people that had become used to using cheques over the decades and those that did not have credit or debit card access. The Treasury has now demanded that the banks do not stop the use of cheques until a firm and effective alternative has been found, and the banking industry has agreed to this. The banks are set to consult on a regular basis with the Treasury's Financial Inclusion Taskforce with regards to the issue. A Treasury spokesperson stated that ministers were aware of the popularity of cheques with many people and they were concerned that the sudden abolition of cheques could adversely affect those that relied on them to make payments. The UK Payments Council has said that it will ensure that new options are available to consumers so that cheques will no longer be required by the time that they are abolished in 2018. text/html 2010-01-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=761-Two_year_high_for_property_sales_in_December There have been further signs of recovery in the UK property market after official figures showed that property sales levels in December of last year reached their highest in two years There is no doubt that over the past couple of years the property market has been through a very bumpy ride, and the repercussions of the turbulence that has been seen in the property market are still taking their toll. Over the past couple of years the nation has seen property price plummet, property sales levels plunge, and the availability of mortgage loans become increasingly restricted, all of which have had an adverse effect on the property sector in the UK. However, there have been a number of signs of improvement in the property market over recent months, and the latest sign of recovery has come with figures that have been released by HM Revenue & Customs. The figures from HMRC have shown that in December of last year the number of property sales reached the highest level seen in two years, which will come as further encouraging news for the property sector. The data indicated that in December 2009 the number of property sales completed for properties over the value of £40,000 came in at 104,000. This was said to be the first time since December of 2007 that property sales have exceeded the 100,000 mark. The lowest point seen in terms of transaction completions was seen in January of last year, when the property market was going through a particularly tough time. That month saw property sales reach only a paltry 41,000, which was the lowest level since records began in 1977. Despite the encouraging data from HMRC many industry experts are still predicting that this year will see property sales levels remain stable rather than continue to increase. Mortgage availability has improved to some degree, but it is still very tough for many people, such as first time buyers, to get the finance that they need to purchase a home due to restricted availability and high deposit levels that lenders are demanding. text/html 2010-01-22T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=760-Supermarket_aims_to_save_consumers_money_and_cut_back_on_food_waste A leading UK supermarket is hoping to not only cut costs for consumers when it comes to their shopping but also hoping to cut back on food waste, which is an issue that has caused a lot of concern over the past couple of years. Tesco is soon to launch a 'buy one get one free' offer with a difference, which could cut back on people having to waste food yet still enable them to save money on the products that they buy regularly. The first of the Tesco deals, which are known as 'Buy One Get One Free – Later' deals, is set to be launched this week, with others being introduced over time. The traditional 'buy one get one free' deals have become very popular with shoppers, particularly in the current financial climate, but these deals can pose a problem in that consumers do not get the chance to use the second product in some cases before its date expires. This has contributed to food wastage, and means that the consumer doesn't get to benefit from the offer because the free item goes to waste. The big difference with the Tesco 'buy one get one free' deal is that the consumer can purchase the product but can get the free one at a later date, which means that it won't go to waste and the consumer still gets to benefit from the savings. It is generally perishable items that create the problem with 'buy one get one free offers' and the Tesco offer means that consumers are less likely to have food going off in the fridge. Over the next couple of weeks shoppers that go to Tesco will be able to take advantage of 'buy one get one free' offers on perishables such as fruit and other foods and can either choose to take the free item right away in the usual way or can take the freebie the following week when they actually need it. A spokesperson from Tesco said that whilst consumers were keen on 'buy one get one free' offers many of them – particularly those in smaller households – often did not have time to use the second item before it went past its best. She said that the new deal would ensure that customers had the increased flexibility to take the item when they needed it rather than risking it going off before they could use it. text/html 2010-01-21T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=759-Unemployment_falls_for_first_time_since_2008 There has been some good news for the UK recently following the release of official figures that have shown that the level of unemployment in the UK has fallen for the first time since 2008. The unexpected fall in unemployment figures occurred in the three months to November of last year, with unemployment numbers standing at 2.46 million reflecting a drop of seven thousand compared to the previous three months. The fall in the number of unemployed means that the series of unemployment level increases that have been seen over the past eighteen months has been broken and the news will be welcomed by many people and industry groups. However, there have been warnings from government officials that the level of unemployment could start to increase again over the course of this year. The Office for National Statistics has said that the percentage of unemployed had fallen from 7.9 percent last month to 7.8 percent for this month. There has also been a drop in the number of people that are claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, which dropped to just over 1.6 million in December, reflecting a drop of over fifteen thousand over the month. This also came as good news, as industry experts had predicted that there would be a drop of just 2500. The three month period to November of last year also saw a fall in the level of unemployment amongst those aged between sixteen and twenty four, with numbers falling from 943,000 to 927,000. However, whilst the figures appear to be encouraging it is thought that the fall in unemployment overall is due to a rising number of people taking on part time work to tide them over in the current climate. The number of people working part time increased by 99,000 for the quarter, and this took the total number of people in part time employment to a record high of 7.71 million. Many of those that were working part time had only taken on part time work because they were not able to find a full time job. text/html 2010-01-20T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=758-Seasonal_dip_seen_in_mortgage_lending_levels The Council of Mortgage Lenders has recently released figures suggesting that there has been a seasonal dip in mortgage lending levels for the month of November 2009. However, despite the drop in mortgage loans for the months lending levels were still found to be far higher than they were in the same period in the previous year. According to the data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders the number of mortgage loans handed out for property purchases in November was around 4 percent lower than the previous month, coming in at around 53,000. However, on the upside the number of mortgage loans for November was around 66 percent higher than the figure for November of 2008. Officials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders indicated that first time buyers were still having a tough time getting onto the property ladder, with many still having to put down a minimum of 25 percent of the property value by way of a deposit. However, the organisation also said that the percentage of income that homeowners were having to allocate to their mortgage repayments was at its lowest in around five years thanks to the low base interest rate, which has now been at an all time low of just 0.5 percent for the past ten months. A spokesperson from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that it was encouraging to see that mortgage interest payments were now more affordable for both homeowners and new buyers. He said that mortgages were becoming more affordable, and repayments on mortgage loans had plummeted for many homeowners as a result of the low base interest rate. He added, however, that the market would continue to feel the strain for the foreseeable future as a result of the hefty deposits that lenders were still demanding from borrowers. The CML data indicated a slowdown in the property market, and this backs up another recent report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, which indicated that the pace of house price increases had started to slow down in December. text/html 2010-01-19T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=757-Modest_recovery_for_manufacturers_this_year It has been predicted that the UK manufacturing sector will see a modest level of recovery over the course of this year. The prediction was made by the manufacturers' organisation EEF. The organisation carried out a survey amongst manufacturers and found that the average growth expectation within the sector was only 1.2 percent for this year, rising to 3.4 percent for next year. The EEF also predicted that there would be growth of around 0.9 percent this year for the economy as a whole. An economist from the organisation said that this modest level of recovery meant that the future for Britain remains uncertain. He added that the outlook was also variable for different manufacturing sectors. He said that although some had already been through the worst of the recession others still had difficult times ahead of them. The EEF went on to state that 2010 was set to be another very challenging year for manufacturing and the economy as a whole, and that companies would continue to seek stability from policy makers. This comes just after the National Institute for Economic and Social Research reported that the nation had probably come out of recession during the fourth quarter of last year, although this is still to be confirmed when official figures are released within the next couple of weeks. The EEF is said to have surveyed more than six hundred manufacturing companies across the company in order to collect the data with regards to growth expectations for this year. The results of the survey suggested that the manufacturing sector as a whole was still very cautious, and that firms within the sector did not have high expectations for recovery for this year despite the fact that the country is supposed to have come out of recession. Recently the British Retails Consortium also reported that the retail industry was set to face another very tough year in 2010, and like the EEF has predicted that the retail sector will see little if any growth during the course of this year as consumers continue to rein in their spending. text/html 2010-01-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=756-Shops_introduce_sneaky_price_increases_following_VAT_increase Most people were expecting prices in shops to go up after Christmas as a result of the level of VAT rising from 15 percent to 17.5 percent on 1st January this year. The government reduced the VAT rate to 15 percent last year in order to try and get the economy back on its feet, but this was only a temporary measure and the VAT rate was increased back to its original level of 17.5 percent at the start of this year. However, there is evidence that some supermarkets are exploiting this VAT increase according to a recent report, which some said to be hiking up prices on various product by more than the level of the VAT increase. An analysis of the various supermarkets was carried out recently, and the results found that the price on thousands of items had been increased disproportionately, with the price increase being higher than the VAT increase. Around twelve and a half thousand products were looked at in total as part of the study, and out of these the prices on over one third had been increased disproportionately by retailers. This sneaky tactic will cause problems for the many struggling shoppers who already face having to cope with the debts that they accrued over Christmas and the VAT increase. The research was carried out by Brand View on behalf of The Grocer magazine, and according to the report from the researchers a number of the major supermarket giants were found to have increased prices on some products by more than the sales tax increase, including Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury's. One industry official said that this deceit dispelled any hopes of special January deals from supermarkets, stating that it was a case of 'of lies, damned lies, and VAT-related statistics.' The researchers said that the government is set to make billions of pounds from the additional 2.5 percent that has been added back on to VAT. They also said that with the majority of products supermarkets had increased prices in proportion with the VAT increase, but with around four and a half thousand products the price increase was higher than 2.5 percent. text/html 2010-01-15T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=755-Credit_card_rate_hikes_hit_shoppers Earlier this month the Bank of England announced that for the tenth month in a row the base interest rate was to remain at its all time low of just 0.5 percent. However, despite this credit card firms have continued to increase their interest rates, and according to recent reports these interest rate hikes are set to hit shoppers hard as they struggle to pay off the debt that they have accrued over the Christmas period. Figures have shown that the gap between the base interest rate and the average amount of interest being charged on credit cards is now at its highest level on record, with the average rate of interest on credit cards rising from 15.89 percent to 16.28 percent in December. It is thought that around nine million Brits used their credit cards to fund their Christmas spending, and the hike in interest rates will create difficulties for many of these people when it comes to repayments. Many people have also been using their credit cards to make payments on their mortgages or rental properties over recent months, and the hike in interest rates will also cause problems for many of these consumers. Just before Christmas one major credit card provider, Capital One, was said to have increased its average rate of interest by up to 7 percent in some cases, with some of its customers seeing their interest rates pushed to nearly 40 percent. According to officials the average rate of interest charges on credit cards is now at its highest since September 2006, with banks making huge profits as a result of the rate increases. Many are angered by the credit card rate increases given that the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, stated last year that he would be talking such unfair practices by credit card providers and would ensure a 'new responsible approach to lending'. Over recent months many industry experts have urged consumers to ensure that they contact their credit card provider if their interest rate is hiked up to demand an explanation, and to state that they want to rate reverted in the event that there is no reasonable explanation. However, those that do not persuade their lenders to reduce the rate again should look at switching to a new provider that offers a lower rate of interest. text/html 2010-01-14T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=754-Good_news_following_worst_year_of_recession_in_nearly_nine_decades Having sunk to levels that resulted in the worst year of recession in nearly nine decades it has emerged that Britain officially came out of recession in the final quarter of last year. Many will welcome the news that Britain has moved out of recession following a particularly difficult year, but officials have said that the end of the recession came only after Britain had seen its worse year of recession since 1921. Figures were released by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, and the date showed that in the final quarter of 2009 UK gross domestic product increased by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter. However, despite this increase the economy overall shrank by 4.8 percent over the course of the year, which was the steepest fall in eighty eight years. The fall was greater than at any time during the Great Depression, reflecting the severity of the most recent recession seen in Britain. It is thought that the lowest point of the recent recession was seen in March of this year according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, but officials from the group have said that there are now clear signs of recovery emerging. The end of the recession has come later than many had expected, as many experts had predicted that, like other major economies, Britain would come out of recession in the third quarter of last year, but this did not happen. The Office for National Statistics is set to release official figures that will confirm that the nation is out of recession in the next two weeks. Many people will be wary of getting too confident about the recession being over given what happened in the third quarter of last year, when official figures showed that the economy had actually shrunk further despite prediction that the country would come out of recession. Despite signs of recovery in the economy many consumers also remain concerned about the financial climate and the effects of the recession, and as a result of this consumer spending is set to remain subdued leaving retailers facing another challenging year in 2010. text/html 2010-01-13T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=753-Charity_concerned_over_mortgage_repayments_made_by_credit_card A leading homeless charity has expressed concern over the number of people that are now making their mortgage repayments through the use of their credit cards. According to officials from the charity Shelter around one million people across the UK are using their credit cards to make payments on their mortgage or to pay their monthly rent. The charity is concerned that at some point these consumers will find that they no longer have credit to rely on, and will not only find themselves up to their necks in credit card debt but will also find that they no longer have any means of making payments on their mortgage or rent. This could then lead to a rise in mortgage and rent defaults, and could ultimately end up with many of these people having their homes repossessed or being evicted by their landlords. Overall the number of homeowners and tenants that are using their credit cards to make repayments on mortgages and rent represents around 6 percent of homes in the UK. The charity said that whilst the majority of tenants and homeowners that had found themselves in this situation were working class there were also some middle class professionals that were turning to credit cards to meet their mortgage or rent payments. The survey that was carried out by Shelter involved polling over two thousand people, and officials from the charity said that they were shocked by the figures. The charity is now urging those that are struggling to make payments on their mortgage or rent to seek expert advice as they could otherwise find themselves in huge amounts of credit card debt and could still end up losing their home or being evicted. A spokesperson from Shelter said that credit cards were not the answer for those that were struggling with their mortgage or rent payments, and that it was vital that these people sought advice from debt advice charities and experts rather than turning to their credit cards. She added that a rising number of people using their credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent were at risk of becoming homeless. text/html 2010-01-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=752-Harman_wants_retirement_age_to_be_scrapped The deputy leader of the Labour party, Harriet Harman, has stated recently that she wants to see the retirement age in the UK scrapped, giving older people the right to continue working into their seventies or even their eighties should they wish to do so. Under the radical new proposals from Harman older people would not only be given the choice over whether they retired but would also be free to make other requests from their employers, as the new proposals would give them more rights and greater control. Harman said that there is a myth that once a person reached the age of sixty five they are 'past it' and this is a myth that she wants to dispel through the introduction of new regulations. Under the new ruled those that wished to retire could still claim the state pension from the standard retirement age, but those that did not want to retire could not be forced to do so by their employer. The new proposals may also allow those that reach the official retirement age but wish to continue working to ask for part time hours, flexible working hours, or even the facility to work from home. Any changes in the law would also cover those that may have signed contracts to say that they will retire at the standard retirement age. Miss Harman said that at present companies are not obliged to agree to requests from workers to continue working once they reach retirement age, but the new rules would change this by giving older people more rights legally. Many companies, industry groups, and business leaders have insisted that some sort of cut off point is needed with regards to age, and Miss Harman's plans to scrap the retirement age altogether will come as a shock to many of them. Many will also be concerned over the greater rights to flexible working hours that older people will be given, and whilst employers can turn the request down there will only be eight reasons for refusal. Harman stated that she understood the concerns of worried employers, but added that the age of a person generally had no bearing on their ability, and this was why change was needed. text/html 2010-01-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=751-Payments_Council_to_crack_down_on_slow_banks The UK Payments Council (APACS) has recently advised consumers in the UK to switch their bank account if their existing bank does not process faster payments. Officials from the Payments Council have said that if a customer's bank does not allow them to move money on the same day between accounts with different banks then they should look for an alternative bank that does offer this facility. According to the council some banks can still take up to three days to transfer money between accounts in different banks, and this is something that the Payments Council has said that it is determined to crack down on. The council said that it plans to take 'a harder line' with banks that are still taking days to electronically transfer money between accounts. Nationwide, which is one of the slowest at present according to reports, said that making the faster transfers was proving more difficult than it had anticipated. One Nationwide customer said that he felt cheated by the fact that it was taking so long to transfer money, stating that he was effectively losing out on three day's worth of interest when moving money around. Sandra Quinn from the Payments Council said that she sympathised with the many customers that were feeling the frustration of being unable to do something as simple as transfer money from one bank to another on the same day. She added that there were banks that were able to do this, and those that were getting really annoyed over the fact that their bank did not do this should consider moving their bank account. Customers have been complaining for years about the fact that when they transferred money it disappeared for several days before arriving at its destination. In response to complaints about this the Faster Payment system was launched in 2008. However, the deadline for implementing the new system was the end of 2008, and many banks failed to meet this deadline. Many banks have said that the reason for delays over implementing the Faster Payments system is that they have to exercise caution over the risk of fraud. text/html 2010-01-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=750-Mortgage_rates_increase_despite_base_rate_ After being announced this week that the base interest rate was being held at its record low of 0.5 percent for the tenth month in a row, this news was welcomed by many homeowners and industry groups. However, a recent report has shown that although the base rate has been at this all time low since March of last year a number of mortgage lenders have been increasing their mortgage interest rates on Standard Variable Rate mortgages. The report claims that around eight building societies have increased their standard variable rate mortgage rates even though there has been no upward movement in the base rate, and this is resulting in homeowners paying up to £1400 a year extra on their mortgages. Many customers are now going for the SVR because it is often the cheapest option, and this is also the mortgage that people move onto when their special deals such as fixed rate deals come to an end. The fact that some lenders have been increasing their SVR rates throughout the base rate freeze means that many borrowers are being stung with higher payments. There are around five and a half million homeowners that are on mortgages that are linked to lenders' SVRs, so the higher payments could affect a rising number of borrowers as more and more lenders increase their SVR rates. Some officials believe that since a handful of lenders have already increased their SVR rates more are likely to follow, which means that more and more borrowers could end up paying more on their mortgage repayments even if the Bank of England continues to keep the base interest rate on hold, as it is expected to do for some time to come. One industry expert said that the momentum to increase interest rates seemed to be 'gathering pace' amongst lenders, and added that now that some lenders had taken this step it was likely that others would follow. In the meantime an economic advisor to Deloitte said that he thought the Bank of England should cut the base rate to 0 percent, adding that he believed that the base rate would stand at 1 percent or lower for at least the next five years. text/html 2010-01-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=749-Base_rate_remains_unchanged The base interest rate has remained unchanged for yet another month, with the Bank of England confirming that it will remain at its all time low of 0.5 percent following the January Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The base rate has been at this record low since last March, and many industry experts were not surprised at the decision to keep the rate at 0.5 percent to kick off the New Year. Many economists have predicted that the Bank of England will continue to keep the base rate on hold at 0.5 percent for the foreseeable future in a bid to try and revive the UK economy. The current base rate is the lowest it has ever been in the history of the Bank of England, which spans over three centuries. Whilst the UK is thought to have come out of recession in the final quarter of last year the economy is still very fragile, and it is hoped that keeping the interest rate at this low level could speed up recovery of the economy. It was also announced after the latest MPC meeting that the quantitative easing programme would be maintained at £200 billion. Members of the MPC said that the programme would continue to be reviewed, and that it would take another month to complete. One economist said that the MPC had some challenging times ahead, as members would need to decide on how long to keep the base rate at record lows as well as whether to extend the QE programme next month. He said that the decision to keep the base rate at 0.5 percent for January did not come as any surprise, and that policy makers would now have to start making tough decisions with regards to the future of the base rate over the coming months. Manufacturing bodies have welcomed the news of the base rate freeze, stating that whilst the economy seemed to be recovering to some degree the sustainability and strength of the recovery was in doubt. An official from the manufacturing group EEF said that the MPC was right to keep the base rate on hold until the economic picture became clearer. text/html 2010-01-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=748-Mortgage_approvals_up_but_borrowers_continue_to_repay_unsecured_debt Figures have shown that the number of mortgage approvals for the month of November showed another increase, but that at the same time the level of unsecured debt amongst consumers fell during the same month as more and more people strived to reduce their unsecured debt levels as much as possible. In the run up to Christmas many people traditionally get themselves into more debt with purchases through credit cards and loans, but this year saw people struggling to pay off their debts in light of the unfavourable financial and economic conditions. With over 60,500 mortgages approved for the month the number of mortgage approvals was said to be at its highest since March 2008. However, whilst mortgage lending continued to rise the level of consumers credit continued to fall, dropping for the fifth consecutive month according to Bank of England figures. The current climate has led an increasing number of people to try and rid themselves of their unsecured debt as much as possible, leading to more money being paid back on this type of borrowing than is being borrowed. With Christmas just around the corner there was an increase in credit card spending for the month of November. However, when the money repaid on other unsecured finance was taken into account the amount that was repaid by consumers for the month on unsecured credit outstripped the amount borrowed. With consumers being increasingly cautious about borrowing due to the financial climate they ended up repaying around £376 million more than they borrowed for the month of November according to the Bank of England figures. Industry experts have said that the drop in unsecured credit amongst consumers has shown how the recession has affected the borrowing habits of consumers, with many afraid to take out credit for larger purchases such as cars as a result of insecurity over jobs and financial difficulties. In the twelve months to November consumers are said to have repaid a collective £7.85 billion on their unsecured debts. The poor returns being offered on savings, stemming from the base rate which is still at an all time low of 0.5 percent, has also resulted in fewer people putting any spare cash into savings and instead using them to make larger repayments on high interest credit cards and loans, thus further impacting on the amount of money being repaid on unsecured debts. text/html 2010-01-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=747-Picture_still_looks_bleak_for_first_time_buyers_in_2010 Although we have now entered a New Year and many people may be hoping to make a fresh start in 2010 by doing things such as getting onto the property ladder reports have claimed that things will continue to be very difficult this year for the many people that are still striving to become homeowners. Despite some encouraging signs and measures designed to help those wishing to get onto the property ladder there are still many hurdles that will get in the way for first time buyers. Industry experts have claimed in a recent report that first time buyers are going to continue struggling to get a mortgage loan and get onto the property ladder this year, despite rock bottom interest rates, more affordable house prices, and the fact that they would generally be in a better position to do so. One mortgage broker from London & County said that it was likely that mortgage conditions would remain extremely challenging for most first time buyers. He added that the choice of mortgage loans for first time buyers had actually started to improve towards the end of last year, but stated that it was still likely that in order to get the better deals and rates first time buyers would still need to be able to raise at least 15 percent of the property value by way of a deposit. He added that first time buyers that were not able to raise a deposit of at least 15 percent of the property value would find themselves with a far poorer choice of mortgage products and would be penalised with higher rates on interest on their borrowing. In addition to having to put down a higher deposit for the better deals first time buyers will also no longer have the stamp duty holiday on properties between £125,000 and £175,000 which also means shelling out extra cash. Until the end of last year the threshold for stamp duty exemption had been extended to £175,000 whereas previously it had been £125,000 – the level it has now come back down to. He added that there were still no lenders that were prepared to offer 100 percent mortgages to first time buyers, and only one that would currently consider a 95 percent mortgage for those that had only a 5 percent deposit. He added that a bigger deposit could make a huge difference to the repayments that first time buyers would need to make, and therefore it was important for them to try and put down as high a deposit as possible in order to get the better deals. text/html 2010-01-04T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=746-Partial_victory_for_banks_over_credit_card_debts Banks have recently been awarded another case in their favour after a High Court Judge ruled partially in their favour with regards to test cases that were being heard relating to credit card debts that consumers have been trying to escape. The test cases were referred to the High Court to determine whether consumers could escape their credit card debts over the failure of banks or lenders to provide the original credit agreement under the terms of the Consumer Credit Act. However, the judge from the High Court in Manchester has stated that while the lender would have to be able to produce a credit agreement it would not have to be the original and could be a 'reconstituted'. This means that if the original credit agreement has been lost or destroyed the loan or debt can still be enforced legally. Many claims management companies have been putting together thousands of cases relying on the original document having to be produced, and as a result of the ruling all of these cases may be affected. According to reports many banks have difficulties in producing original credit agreements and loan documents, and one bank is said to have destroyed all of its old credit agreements. Under the Consumer Credit Act lenders must provide borrowers with a copy of their loan or credit agreement within twelve days of request. Claims management firms have been using the failure of banks to produce these documents to try and get their clients out of debt by claiming that the debt cannot be enforced. Six test cases were examined by the High Court judge in order to reach a decision, and he stated that whilst consumers had a right to see a copy of the loan agreement or contract this should be for informational purposes and to check the state of their account rather than to check and see whether the agreement was initially executed properly. He said that the creditor could fulfil its responsibility by providing a reconstituted version of the agreement, albeit from other sources, rather than having to produce the original agreement. text/html 2009-12-31T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=745-Motorists_will_pay_for_the_government's_debts After the last turbulent couple of years where the word 'bailout' has been the buzz word for the government the level of public debt has rocketed, with taxpayer's money being used to bail out banks, try and boost the economy, and for whatever other purpose the Labour government sees fit. However, the government now has a responsibility to try and reduce this public debt, and one of the ways in which it will do this appears to be through sharp increases in petrol prices. In fact, according to a recent report motorists in the UK have been warned to prepare themselves for rocketing fuel prices, and there are suggestions that the price of petrol could go up by a massive fifteen pence per litre, which would take the price of petrol to its highest level on record. If petrol prices do go up by this amount then the cost of a litre of unleaded petrol will rocket from £1.08 to £1.23. It is thought that there will be an increase of five pence per litre of petrol in the spring of next year, and this will be the first increase to hit motorists. In the autumn a further petrol price increase of five pence per litre is expected, which means that the government will have pushed prices up by ten pence per litre in order to bring in more money from fuel tax and try and tackle the astonishing national debt. As well as the petrol price increases from the government motorists will also face increases relating to market conditions, and this could amount to a further five pence per litre. In total this could amount to a crippling fifteen pence on a litre of petrol, which in the current economic climate could leave many drivers facing real problems. The figures have come from the Petrol Retailers' Association, and there are concerns that the tight profit margins that will arise from this situation could result in many petrol forecourts having to close altogether. In July of least year petrol price peaked at nearly £1.20 per litre as the cost per barrel soared, but as a result of the UK's national debt it seems that the previous record could be beaten in 2010. text/html 2009-12-30T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=744-Government_addresses_repossession_related_loophole The Labour government has announced that it is to look at closing a legal loophole that has allowed lenders to repossess peoples' homes without the matter having to go to court first. The government recently announced its plans to address this legal loophole, and this comes just after campaign groups and charities highlighted the problem following a repossession case last year. In the repossession case the judge ruled in favour of the lender, which was GMAC-RFC, and as a result of the loophole struggling homeowners who had missed two repayments on their mortgage were at risk of being immediately repossessed without further action. The government has now stated that the move will prevent unscrupulous lenders from taking advantage of the loophole. A consultation has been taking place over the past eight weeks with regards to the repossession loophole, and the decision has been made by the Ministry of Justice. Last year GMAC-RFC took possession of a property after the homeowner fell into arrears, and this sparked concern and campaigns from charities. In the case the lender never had to go to court to get a repossession order but simply evicted the borrower for living in the property against the rules of the buy to let mortgage. Whilst the borrower claimed that his human rights had been violated the judge ruled in favour of the lender. In October of this year, however, the same lender was fined nearly £3 million for the mistreatment of borrowers that fell into mortgage arrears. The lender was accused by the Financial Services Authority of being too quick to repossess properties and of applying unfair charges on the accounts of those that fell behind with their mortgage repayments. Bridget Prentice, the Justice Ministers, spoke about the new proposals, and she said that under existing law lenders were able to sell or repossess a property without the agreement of the borrower or the courts, but that closing this legal loophole would mean that 'rogue lenders' were not able to use this loophole to their advantage. text/html 2009-12-29T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=743-High_Street_enjoys_huge_success_on_Boxing_Day With the gloomy year that most people have had in terms of their finances, and with the recession having taken its toll on many households across the country, most people would not have been surprised to see the High Streets around the country half empty on Boxing Day despite the launch of the traditional post Christmas sales. However, according to figures the situation was quite the opposite, with millions of people pouring out of their homes on Boxing Day morning to hit the sales and try and pick up a bargain. In fact, retail analysts have stated that this year Boxing Day attracted the highest number of shoppers since records began, with around twelve million people thought to have hit the sales just twenty four hours after Christmas Day. According to Experian the number shoppers that flooded out onto the streets on Boxing Day this year was around 20 percent higher than the number seen on Boxing Day last year, and it is clear that despite the difficult financial year that many have suffered and the recession that has gripped the UK shoppers are still keen to get out there and get their hands on a bargain. The success of the Boxing Day sales has been put down to a number of factors. One explanation that has been given is that Boxing Day fell on a weekend this year, which may have resulted in a higher number of people being able to get out there and hit the shops. Another factor that has been attributed to the high number of sales shoppers is the VAT increase, which is due to take place on 1st January, and which many people may have been hoping to avoid by getting their bargains before that date. Whilst the success of the High Street sales has bee described as 'remarkable' this year the British Retail Consortium has made it clear that High Street retailers should not get too complacent, as tough times still lie ahead for the coming year. The BRC carried out a survey in which 80 percent of retailers said that sales were unlikely to improve in 2010 compared to 2009. text/html 2009-12-28T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=742-Some_retailers_will_not_add_VAT_rise_at_start_of_January Many consumers have rushed out over the last couple of days to get their hands on big ticket items in the sales before the VAT increase kicks in next week. VAT was reduced from 17.5 percent to 15 percent by the government last year in order to increase affordability for consumers and to help boost the economy. However, it was made clear that this was only a temporary measure, and the VAT level is set to return to its former 17.5 percent as of 1st January 2010. However, whilst the VAT level will return officially to 17.5 percent as of this date some retailers have said that they will not be applying the VAT increases until the end of January, giving customers more time to get their hands on bargains and helping bring more customers through retailers' doors. A number of major retailers have decided that they will not be increasing VAT levels just yet, and this includes stores such as Argos and Curry's. Another big name retailer, John Lewis, has decided to delay the VAT increase until the end of the month, and with regards to its clothing range supermarket giant Asda said that it will be increasing VAT only as and when its spring range of clothing starts to arrive over the course of the month. The delay in applying the VAT increase by some retailers will give shoppers a little more breathing space and more time to pick up the bargains that they are after. Pubs had been told that they needed to start applying the VAT increases from the stroke of midnight on 1st January, but have now been told that they have until 6am on New Year's Day to apply the new pricing. Some retailers have said that they will apply the increased VAT from New Year's Day, as they believe that by doing so consumers that are considering buying big ticket items will do so sooner rather than later. A number of industry experts have expressed concern about VAT being increased again, stating that this could damage consumer confidence after what has already been a difficult year and ahead of what is expected to be another challenging one. text/html 2009-12-26T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=741-Sales_may_not_be_as_good_this_year Whilst many shoppers may now be heading off to the sales or planning a trip to the shops for the popular January sales reports have suggested that the sales may not be anywhere as good as they were last year for a number of reasons. First of all retailers last year found themselves with a lot of surplus stock because the recession hit after they had ordered supplies, leaving them with a lot of stock to get rid of after Christmas. However, this year retailers are said to have been more careful with their ordering and this means that they won't have the same level of surplus supplies to get rid of. Another reason for the lack of bargains in this year's sales is that in order to get people through the doors prior to Christmas many retailers decided to slash prices before the big day rather than waiting until afterwards, which means that many of the bargains will already have gone, leaving less stock for retailers to reduce prices on for the sales. However, officials have said that despite this some shoppers may still be tempted to buy higher priced items over the next few days because VAT goes back up to 17.5 percent from 15 percent from the 1st January 2010. Many people may be waiting until the January sales begin in order to try and get the best prices on goods such as washing machines, beds, sofas, and other more expensive items, but the cost of these items could be pushed back up as a result of the increase in VAT, which could counteract some of the reduction from the sale price. Consumers are therefore being warned to act quickly if they are planning to buy items such as these in order to benefit from the best savings. Some have suggested that those looking for bargains in the post-Christmas sales are a year too late, and that the scale of the sales this year will be nowhere near as big as it was last year when retailers had a lot of extra stock to get rid of and so were holding massive clearance sales. Many stores started their January sales before Christmas, and in many cases the sales were started online with retailers determined to cash in on the growing popularity of online shopping. text/html 2009-12-24T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=740-Companies_fined_nearly_£35_million_by_FSA_in_2009 Recently released figures have shown that over the course of this year companies have been fined nearly £35 million by the UK's financial regulator the Financial Services Authority. The FSA has been trying to crackdown on various practices and breaches of regulations over the past couple of years, and hefty fines that are imposed on companies found to be breaching regulations are part of its punishment. Over the course of 2009 companies were fined a total of £34.8 million in fines collectively by the FSA according to reports. One law firm, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, has said that the amount that the FSA has made in fines this year is a massive 53 percent higher than the amount that it made from fines in 2008. At the same time the number of firms that these fines have been imposed against are said to have fallen from fifty in 2008 to thirty nine in 2009. The fact that the FSA has made more from the fines that it has imposed on companies coupled with the fact that fewer companies have faced these fines suggests that the fines from the FSA have been bigger and more damaging to companies this year than they were last year. Figures show that the average fine per company for this year was £891,000, and this reflected an increase of 93 percent compared to 2008, when the average fine was £453,000. A spokesman from a leading law firm said that it appeared that the FSA was looking to increase the amount that it was fining companies for breach of regulations, but that this continued action could results in firms in the financial sector becoming 'scared of their own shadow'. He said that the action that was being taken by the FSA also led to higher expenses for these firms, as it meant that they had to keep spending money on checking their compliance systems to ensure that they were adhering to regulations in the strictest sense. He also said that the FSA appeared to be taking action by imposing personal fines on managers and other senior personnel from companies as well as on the actual firm itself, suggesting that the FSA is determined to take a more aggressive approach when it comes to dealing with breaches of regulations. text/html 2009-12-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=739-OFT_drops_bank_charge_investigation UK watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, has decided to drop its investigation into bank charges after several years of battling with the banking industry over the fairness of these charges. The decision comes not long after the Supreme Court overturned a High Court ruling, stating that the OFT could not use the unfair contract regulations in order to determine whether bank charges were fair. The move will come as a huge disappointment to campaign groups and the many consumers who are still waiting on bank charge refunds, which were put on hold in 2007 after it was decided that the matter would have to be taken to the High Court. It is now likely that more than one million pending claims that had been frozen will be rejected by the banking industry. The OFT has confirmed its decision to drop the case into bank charges, but has stated that it is still very concerned about the way in which banks operate their current accounts. Officials from the OFT said that a number of changes had to be made in the interests of consumers that were using the banking system. However, the group has confirmed that it will not be looking at any other route to try and tackle bank charges. In a statement the OFT said that it had concluded that were it to try and look at other ways of tackling bank charges the likelihood was that there would be little change of success given the banks' victory in the original case. However, the group did indicate that it would be looking at ways to make bank charges fairer in the future through negotiations with banks. The OFT also said that whilst any talks with the banking industry would be on a purely voluntary basis it would consider approaching the government to change relevant laws if the banking industry refused to give any cooperation. This move was also supported by the Treasury, and one Treasury official said: "We're working towards a voluntary agreement with the banks, but we don't rule out further action if this doesn't deliver the kind of changes we expect to see." text/html 2009-12-22T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=738-Retail_spending_online_to_treble_over_next_decade It has been reported that retail spending online is set to treble over the next ten years, with a study indicating that the Internet will account for one in every five pounds of retail spending by 2020. With broadband connections becoming more accessible and prices for broadband services becoming more and more affordable for households many people have started to use the Internet more for a range of purposes, and this includes making purchases without even having to leave their homes. Consumers now buy all sorts of items online, from household goods and furniture to entertainment, clothes, and groceries. Electrical items and entertainment are particularly popular purchases online, and it is in areas such as this that retail sales online are expected to see the biggest increase. A survey was carried out by the retail research group Verdict, which was carrying out the study on behalf of online retail giant eBay. The results of the study suggested that by 2020 online retail spending could triple to a massive £67 billion in Britain, and this compares to the £21 billion worth of retail spending online for this year. This will naturally affect High Street spending, which is set to fall from £265 billion to £247 billion. It is thought that for the first time more people will be buying items such as electrical items and books online than in High Street stores by 2020. Online spending on electrical items is set to reach around £10 billion by 2020, and this will compare to the estimated £9.2 billion spend on electrical goods on the High Street. Experts also expect to see massive increases in the online sale of clothing, footwear, health and beauty products, and a variety of other product types over the next decade. An official from Verdict said that it was vital that High Street shops did not underestimate the strength of the internet when it came to retail sales, and did not ignore the threat that was being posed by the expected huge boom in retail sales over the coming years. text/html 2009-12-21T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=737-First_time_buyers_drop_to_lowest_level_in_a_year The number of first time buyers that purchased homes in November is said to have fallen to its lowest level in the space of a year according to one industry group. The figures were released by the National Association of Estate Agents, with officials from the group stating that the proportion of first time buyers for the month of November was at its lowest this year. The figures from the National Association of Estate Agents showed that 19 percent of buyers in November were first time buyers, and this reflected a drop of 3 percent compared to October of this year. It was also the smallest proportion of first time buyers since November of last year. The association believes that this low figure is partly to do with the fact that lenders are still being tough on first time buyers when it comes to deposit levels and interest rates, and many are still unable to afford to get onto the property ladder despite the base rate being at an all time low of just 0.5 percent. However, in May of this year around 45 percent of agreed sales were to first time buyers, showing that the situation has actually declined despite measures being taken by the government to improve lending to groups such as first time buyers. The low figure may also be down to seasonal factors and the fact that there are fewer properties coming up for sale on the market at this time of the year. There are concerns, however, that the number of first time buyers getting onto the property ladder may continue falling as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announcing that the stamp duty holiday is definitely coming to an end at the end of this year. Industry experts are concerned that this will lead to a rising number of first time buyers at the lower end of the scale being unable to afford to buy, thus causing a profound impact on the first time buyer market. The President of the National Association of Estate Agents, Gary Smith, said that measures such as the stamp duty holiday should never be simply cut off suddenly but should be phased out gradually, as otherwise the impact that this can have can be catastrophic. text/html 2009-12-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=736-Tens_of_thousands_of_customers_trying_to_leave_Halifax Tens of thousands of outraged Halifax customers are trying to leave the bank and take their custom to a rival bank according to a recent report. The customers that are looking to change their current account are furious over changes that the Halifax has made to the way that it imposes charges on overdrafts, which will now be done on a daily basis for those that are not in credit. It is estimated that around seventy thousand customers that are with Halifax have applied to try and open current accounts with rival providers. Officials have said that other banks, including HSBC, Abbey, and the Nationwide Building Society have all seen a mass influx of applications from consumers who are determined to take their custom elsewhere in light of the new charging system that the Halifax is bringing in. With the new system the Halifax, which is 43 percent state owned, will charge customers that are using their authorised overdraft one pound a day for the privilege. The news is even worse for those that use an unauthorised overdraft, as they will pay five pounds a day in overdraft charges. The changes were announced in October, and even at that time many customers said that they would leave the Halifax and head to another bank. The changes could mean that those with relatively small borrowing facilities in the form of overdrafts could end up paying hundreds of pounds a year for the use of the facility. Whilst one industry professional has said that the Halifax has probably lost around seventy thousand customers as a result of the changes, many have said that the figure could actually be far higher than this because many people may have closed second accounts with the Halifax and not bothered opening another one to replace it. It is thought that many of the customers have taken action to switch accounts in the past couple of weeks, which is when the new charging structure came into play. Figures have suggested that more than 50 percent of customers in the UK that are now switching accounts are from the Halifax. text/html 2009-12-17T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=735-Charities_concerned_over_property_repossessions A report has recently been released by charities and has claimed that lenders in the UK are failing to look at all other options before taking repossession action in around one third of cases. The report expressed concerns over banks in many cases failing to take all possible measures to help homeowners to stay in their homes. Legally banks are obliged to exhaust all other possibilities before turning to repossession action, but the report went on the claim that courts are often failing to take steps to ensure that banks are following the set protocol. The report was put together by several charities, including Advice UK, the Citizen's Advice Bureau, and the homeless charity Shelter. The charities also highlighted the fact that there were some measures that had been put into place to help struggling homeowners, and these had been having a positive effect. The report also pointed out that the record low base interest rate, which still stands at 0.5 percent, was helping struggling homeowners to cope and keep hold of their homes in many cases. However, the report also said that measures that were in place to help homeowners needed to be strengthened in order to make them more effective. The charity report further claimed that court action seemed to be taken earlier by sub-prime lenders than by general lenders, and that lower income households were most at risk of losing their homes through repossession. Amongst the most common reasons for homeowners falling into arrears with their mortgage repayments job losses and reduction of household income. There are some schemes that have been put into place by the government to help people that are struggling with mortgage repayments in the current climate, such as the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme. This is available to homeowners with mortgages of up to £200,000, but the scheme does take around thirteen weeks to kick in. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has downwardly revised its forecast for repossession numbers recently, and now predicts that there will be around 48,000 repossessions this year, which was revised down from an original forecast of 75,000. text/html 2009-12-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=734-Shops_cut_prices_to_four_year_low Many consumers could find themselves in for a bargain Christmas this year, with shops in the UK said to have slashed prices in the run up to Christmas, before most people have even started thinking about the January sales. According to reports shops have now cut prices to a four year low, as they try and get consumers through the doors amidst what has become a very difficult financial climate. Many retailers have been running one or two day sales, with bargains that are available from their online shops as well as their High Street shops. Many others have been offering three for two deals in order to get more custom, whereas others have simply slashed the price of a wide variety of goods. With many consumers looking for a bargain this year in order to reduce their costs the early sales will come as great news. The sales should also prove to be good news for the retailers, as it means that there is more chance of getting customers through the doors and could help to improve their profits following what has been a difficult year. There is also stiffer competition between the supermarket giants such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, and Morrison’s, and this could result in the cost of food and drink being lowered as consumers fill their trolleys with goodies ready for the festive season. A spokesperson for the retail analyst FootFall said that with consumers being extra careful about their spending this year it had become essential for retailers to ensure that they were being competitive when it came to pricing. There has been a 0.8 percent rise in High Street activity as a result of the sales according to figures, and officials have said that the measures that many retailers have taken to reduce prices and generate increase sales seem to be working. The British Retail Consortium also said that a combination of the cold weather and High Street promotions had resulted in increased sales on the High Streets and online over recent weeks. text/html 2009-12-15T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=733-Petrol_price_war_started_by_supermarkets There are many different things that have adversely affected consumers' finances over the past couple of years, one of which has been the soaring price of petrol. With the price of petrol have soared many consumers have found it increasingly difficult to cope with motoring costs, especially in the current financial climate. However, there is some good news for drivers in the run up to Christmas, as it has been revealed that two of Britain's supermarket giants have sparked a price war, which means that consumers could soon be enjoying lower petrol prices as others start to bring prices down to compete. Asda and Tesco, the two retail giants, have both stated that they are passing on cuts in oil prices to consumers at the pumps by cutting the cost of petrol by up to three pence per litre. With the average petrol price coming in at nearly £1.09 per litre the news of the price cuts will be welcomed by drivers and industry groups. However, the motoring group, AA, has said that whilst the cut in petrol prices was a welcome one the price cuts could have come far sooner rather than just a couple of weeks before Christmas. There may also be further bad new on the horizon for drivers, as the AA has also stated that whilst petrol prices will come down for a few weeks the VAT rise that is expected in January is set to make petrol prices increase again, so consumers will not benefit from the price cuts for long. An official from Asda said that the supermarket giant wanted to help its customers make their cash go that little bit further, adding that cutting petrol prices in the run up to Christmas would help customers to save a little money. Tesco also said that it was committed to helping its customers, adding that the petrol price cuts at this time of the year would help millions of drivers that were going to be travelling over the festive season. However, the AA has said that the supermarkets have held out as long as possible before cutting their petrol prices, adding that the price cuts could have come weeks ago but the supermarket giants had been too slow to take action. text/html 2009-12-14T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=732-Increase_in_pocket_money_this_year It has been reported that the amount of pocket money received by the average child these days has increased by an average eleven pence per week. The figures showed that the average amount of pocket money relieved per week by children in the UK was £6.24 per week. Officials have said that despite the recession and the worrying financial climate kids are now receiving slightly more pocket money each week. In 2008 the average weekly amount of pocket money that was being received by UK children was £6.13 per week, so the current figure reflects a slight increase on this amount. A survey was carried out on over twelve hundred children in order to compile the figures, and the children that were polled were aged between eight and fifteen years of age. The survey was carried out by the High Street bank the Halifax. The data indicated that on overage boys received around one pound more than girls each week in the form of pocket money. The survey also showed that around one third of children saved at least some of their pocket money each week, which goes some way towards showing how savvy children are becoming when it comes to saving money. The research also showed that children aged between twelve and fifteen years of age received around £7.44 per week in pocket money whereas those aged between eight and eleven years of age received an average £4.80 per week. Kids in the south west of England were found to be receiving less pocket money than other kids of their age in different areas according to the report. In London kids were receiving the most amount of pocket money, with the average amount received being about £10.79 per week. Kids in the north east of England also did well, with the average amount being received each week coming in at £6.86. Many children have also said that they want to learn more about saving money, and one official said: "It's great to see that so many children are saving and actively seeking to learn more about it. This hopefully will instil a firm foundation of a healthy savings habit." text/html 2009-12-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=731-Concerns_over_how_much_each_household_will_pay_to_rebuild_public_finances With the global credit crisis, the near collapse of the banking system, and the recession all having hit hard over the past couple of years the UK's public purse has taken a massive hit to put it mildly, and the nation now faces a national debt of nearly £1.5 trillion according to reports. With the nation debt level at its highest level ever during peacetime it is little wonder that the Labour government is keen to start reining in this debt but there are concerns amongst many industry groups and officials with regards to how much this is going to cost households in the UK. One recent report has claimed that trying to rebuild public finances is likely to cost each family in the UK around £2400 a year for around eight years. The claims has been made by a number of leading economists, who have also said that trying to rebuild public finances will also involve radical spending cuts by the government. Data analysed from the pre-budget report from the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, indicates that around 19.2 percent will be cut from budgets in areas such as transport, education, defence, and housing. Officials from the Institute of Fiscal Studies have claimed that the worst hit households in relation to the tax increases that have already been announced by the Labour government will include families with just one earner and children, and those that are earning over £35,000 a year. Those that are likely to be better off as a result of the measures proposed in the pre-budget report include couples with no children and no jobs, and single mothers who are not working. The tax increases that have been proposed by Darling have been slated by members of the opposition parties, who have described the tax increases as a tax on jobs, adding that rather than encouraging people to get into work the Labour government is now making unemployment sound like a more attractive option. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has also stated that that cuts that Darling had put off until after the election would end up wiping out all public spending increases since Labour cam into power by 2017. The chancellor failed to give any clear indication of where spending cuts would take place after 2011. text/html 2009-12-10T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=730-UK_Base_rate_still_on_hold_at_0.5_percent Following today's Monetary Policy Committee meeting it has been announced that the UK base interest rate is to remain on hold at its record low of 0.5 percent. This will be the ninth month that the base rate has remained at this level, and the decision to keep the base rate at this low level has come as no surprise to most industry experts. The central banks has also announced that there will be no changes to its quantitative easing programme plans, and that it will continue to plough money into the economy through this scheme, taking the total amount that will have been pumped into the financial system through the programme to £200 billion. This comes despite criticism from some experts, who have said that the quantitative easing programme is clearly not having the desired effect. The current quantitative easing programme is set to run out in January, and it is thought that the Bank of England will then announce whether it has any plan to expand the programme further. With regards to the base interest rate some industry professional have said that they believe that the rates will remain at 0.5 percent for the foreseeable future, as the government continues to try and find ways to improve the economy. Howard Archer, an economist from Global Insight, went as far as to say that the base rate could remain at this record low level until late next year given the state of the economy. He said that any policy tightening was a long way off because of the doubts over sustainable recovery in the economy. He added that the Bank of England may even decide to wait until 2011 before increasing the base rate again. The Bank of England itself has already recently stated that the recovery of the economy is set to be a long and drawn out one, adding that despite the measures that it had taken it would take time for these to take effect and impact positively on the economy. text/html 2009-12-09T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=729-Cash_being_stashed_under_mattresses_by_Brits Whilst many people may think that nobody would ever hide their cash under a mattress anymore in this day and age, a recent report has revealed that there are in fact many people in Britain that are doing just this. Such is the loss of confidence in the banking system in the UK that many people now prefer to take a risk and stash their money under their mattresses rather than risk putting it in a bank. Officials from the Bank of England have said that the total value of its notes that are now in circulation has been increasing but at the same time the number of notes being used for transaction has been falling. As an example it said that compared to two years ago there are now forty million more £50 notes that are in circulation. Industry experts have said that this seems to suggest that consumers are now more comfortable keeping their money physically in their own possession rather than trusting the banks with their hard earned cash. It is thought that the number of people that have been hoarding cash in their homes has been rising as the level of distrust that consumers have in banks increases. Another reason why many people are choosing to keep their money at home in places such as stuffed under the mattress is because there is now very little in the way of incentive for those that put their money into savings accounts. This is because with the base interest rate still at its all time low of just 0.5 percent the level of interest that savers would receive on their savings would be minimal, making financial institutions an even less attractive option. A spokesperson from the Bank of England stated recently that the level of demand for high denomination notes in particular had increased during the recession, indicating that people were now far less comfortable with putting their money into financial institutions. He added that this high demand for higher denomination notes had been mirrored across Europe, suggesting the same lack of confidence in the banking system in other European countries. text/html 2009-12-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=728-Warning_to_lenders_over_misleading_customers Lenders are being warned by the Office of Fair Trading that they must ensure that they are not misleading consumers by saying that they debts can be enforced when in actual fact they cannot, according to a recent report. The OFT is equally concerned that some people in debt are being misled with regards to their ability to get rid of their debts. The OFT has spoken out about its concerns amidst a series of test cases that are going to High Court to clarify the enforceability of consumer debts under the Consumer Credit Act. Depending on the outcome of the test cases thousand of cases that are pending in courts could be affected, similar to the recent bank charges cases after the banking industry won its appeal over being answerable to the OFT in relation to its terms and conditions. The test cases are to be heard in Manchester, and the presiding just will be Judge Waksman. A draft guidance on part of the Consumer Credit Act has been presented to the judge by the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT has stated that its decision to produce guidance on the Consumer Credit Act was the result of concerns over consumers being misled over the enforceability of their debts. The watchdog said that it had particular concerns over the clarity of sections 77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act. The OFT also said that there were concerns that some creditors appeared to not understand the extent of their obligations and responsibilities under certain parts of the Consumer Credit Act. There are currently twelve test cases that are being looked at in the High Court. The test cases are aimed at trying to clarify a number of areas where there appears to be confusion in the Consumer Credit Act. With regards to creditors chasing payments from borrowers that have defaulted the current obligation is that the creditor must provide a copy of the signed loan agreement within twelve days of request by the borrower, and until this is done the debt cannot be enforced. However, whilst some creditors appears to be unaware of their obligations to some degree according to the OFT there are also consumers that are being misled by debt companies and Internet information with regards to the obligations of the creditors. text/html 2009-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=727-Banks_to_be_urged_to_increase_£5_note_availability A recent report has indicated that the Bank of England will be trying to urge banks across the UK to increase the availability of five pound notes in cash machines across the country. The central bank will also be speaking to retailers to try and persuade them to hand out more five pound notes when giving consumers change, stating that there is now a high level of consumer demand for five pound notes. Many of the cash machines in the UK now only hand out notes in denominations of ten pounds or more, and this means that many consumers have problems getting their hands on five pound notes. The supply of five pound notes in the system has increased over the past two years, rising from around £1 billion to £1.3 billion. However, despite the increase in the number of five pound notes in circulation most only stay in the system for about a year before becoming too damaged to be used, and this is because of how regularly five pounds notes are used. In contrast officials have said that a fifty pound note can stay in circulation for five or more years because they are used far less often. The executive director for banking services at the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has said that there is now a pressing case to increase the availability and circulation of five pound notes in the system. High Street bank, HSBC, and retail giant Sainsbury's have already been urged to increase the number of fivers that they give out. Bailey said that in the New Year the Bank of England would be looking at getting more retailers and banks to increase the number of five pound notes that they were giving out. Bailey added that the central bank was very keen to get more fivers into circulation. A number of industries have also welcomed the move, with firms such as taxi companies stating that an increase in the number of five pounds notes available would make things easier for their businesses. text/html 2009-12-04T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=726-Consumers_warned_over_online_black_market_at_Christmas With Christmas just around the corner many people will be rushing to make purchases of gifts for loved ones, and many of those that still have to do their Christmas shopping will be using the Internet to make their purchases rather than battling it out on the High Street. However, whilst doing Christmas shopping online can prove convenient, fast, and easy, consumers are being warned that there is a big online black market out there, and inevitably some shoppers will find themselves buying fake or even stolen goods without even realising. It is thought that Internet shoppers in the UK will spend a staggering £132 million on black market goods purchased online this Christmas. Amongst the most common items that are sold via the online black market are mobile phones, electronics, and music devices – all items that are of particular interest to consumers at this time of the year as they search for the perfect gift for their friends and families. Another factor that consumers need to consider is that any items bought on the black market will not be covered by insurance, with officials from one insurance firm, Liverpool Victoria, stating that fake and stolen goods would not be protected at all in terms of insurance cover. A study was recently carried out by the International Chambers of Commerce, and the resulted suggested that people on a higher income were more likely to purchase goods from the online black market. Another report from Liverpool Victoria showed that around 25 percent of consumers do not take the time to check out the background of the seller that they are buying the items from, and many would be prepared to turn a blind eye in order to get a cheap price. Officials have warned that consumer that come across Internet deals that seem literally too good to be true should exercise caution and check out the seller before making any purchases. They added that in the current climate, where many consumers are struggling financially, more and more people would end up getting duped by these counterfeit or stolen goods. text/html 2009-12-03T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=725-Many_older_consumers_still_relying_on_property_to_fund_their_retirement A recent study that was carried out by Liverpool Victoria has revealed that many older consumers in the UK are still relying on the value of their properties to fund their retirement, despite the fact that property priced have plunged over the past couple of years. Officials view this trend as worrying given the fact that house prices have already fallen radically and many expect them to continue falling over course of the coming year. The study found that more than one million homeowners that were coming close to retirement age were banking on the equity tied up in their homes to get them through retirement. In fact 1.3 million people aged over fifty were found to be planning to cash in on their property to boost their pension fund despite the fact that on average they have seen over £27,000 wiped off the value of their homes in the past two years. Whilst property prices have plunged since the market peaked in 2007 the past few months have seen modest property rises month on month. Officials fear that this has made these homeowners even more determined to use the money tied up in their homes to help boost their pensions despite predictions that property prices are set to fall again in 2010. Some experts have said that it could be five years or more before properties even get back to their 2007 levels. The results of the study showed that 10 percent of respondents had no other pension in place other than their state pension, which meant that they were relying pretty much solely on the equity in their properties to get them through their retirements years. It is estimated that property owners aged over fifty have lost around £80 billion in total as a result of the house price falls over the past two years. One spokesperson from Liverpool Victoria said that the property boom that was seen in the decade leading up to the credit crunch resulted in many people assuming that their properties would continue to grow in terms of value, with many making plans to use their property as a means to a wealthier retirement. text/html 2009-12-02T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=724-Consumer_borrowing_plummets The Bank of England has recently released figures indicated that consumers borrowing has fallen at the fastest levels since records began back in 1993. The figures showed that unsecured borrowing had recorded its biggest month on month fall since the central bank started keeping records sixteen years ago. The data backs up other recent reports that have shown consumers are now more focussed on paying off their debts rather than accruing more debt. It is thought that increase wariness over increasing debt levels is one of the factors affecting the figures, with the other being increased stringency from lenders with regards to giving out credit in the current climate. Many officials have also said that with interest rates on savings being so low at the moment many people are thinking on a long term basis, and rather than putting their money into savings where they make little in the way of returns they are focussing their efforts on clearing high interest unsecured debts instead. Whilst borrowing on credit cards increased in October compared to September the amount by which credit card borrowing increased, which was £134 million, was offset by the amount by which other forms of unsecured borrowing fell, which amounted to £713 million. A spokesperson from the Building Societies Association said that at present there was little incentive for consumers to save their money, and with the current financial climate where many are hoping to cut back on their outgoings many are aiming to get as much debt as possible paid off so that they can ease their financial burdens and commitments. An economist from Global Insight, Howard Archer, said that there were a number of factors that had contributed to the drop in unsecured consumer debt levels. He said that this included the determination of consumers to repay their existing debts, a low demand for credit, and the reluctance of lenders to give out credit. Whilst consumer debt levels on unsecured debt fell for the month of October the number of mortgage approved for the month increased for the ninth month in a row according to the Bank of England figures. text/html 2009-12-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=723-Insurance_professional_warns_about_lack_of_breakdown_cover With winter well and truly upon us many drivers will be dreading the regular problem of breakdowns that are rife in this season. For those with older or more unreliable vehicles breakdowns can occur on a regular basis in this climate, and with the dark nights drawing in this can leave many drivers in a difficult if not dangerous situation. A recent study has suggested that many people that don’t want to spend money on paying for breakdown cover are now trying to solve the problem by either calling out friends or relations in the event that they breakdown or by trying to fix the fault themselves. However, one insurance industry official has said that this could prove to be a false economy and that consumers need to ensure that they put safety first over and above the cost of this sort of cover. The spokesperson from the insurance company eSure has said that not only could trying to repair the vehicle yourself prove to be a false economy but it could also prove to be dangerous. He said that it was madness that some people would consider trying to repair their own car on the hard shoulder of a motorway with no experience, no specialist safety equipment, and vehicles zooming past them at seventy miles per hour whilst they are trying to carry out the repairs. The survey found that 4 percent of drivers would be prepared to walk down a motorway to try and find a garage should they come across vehicle problems whilst driving on the motorway, and 32 percent said that they would stay in their cards, which is in itself dangerous because of the risk of being hit by another vehicle. Industry officials said that anyone that breaks down on the motorway needs to exit the vehicle through the passenger door and then remain behind the safety barriers until help arrives. Those that have breakdown cover can simply contact the breakdown service via their mobile phone, and can then get their vehicle back on the road quickly and safely. text/html 2009-11-30T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=722-Flood_insurance_excess_prices_unfair It has been revealed in a recent report that the amount of excess that people in high flood risk areas are being charged by insurance firms can vary significantly, even though they may be living in the same street or in some cases right next door to one another, as has been highlighted in a recent case in Surrey. The matter was highlighted by officials from the charity the National Flood Forum, which has said that insurance firms are treating customers very differently in terms of the amounts that they are being charged despite the risk of flooding being the same for consumers that are living on the same street. The charity explained that two men that were living on a street in Surrey not only lived next door to one another but were living in the same house which had been converted into to flats. Both were with different insurance firms, and whereas one had an excess of £100 in the event of a claim the other had an excess of £10,000. The charity reported that after the matter was highlighted another insurance forms offered both men the same deal that would require an excess of £2500. However, this problem is not just a one off and is actually more common than many people might think, according to the charity. A spokesperson for the charity went on to state that things are even more difficult for those that have had to make a claim for flood damage in the past, as they can find it extremely difficult to get another deal at an affordable price. The charity said that it believes thousands of people living in high risk flood areas may find that they are paying far more or far less then their neighbours in terms of insurance excess, and that there is no consistency from insurance providers with regards to the pricing for flood insurance in these areas. It added that this was unfair practice because it meant that some people would end up paying far more than others despite the risk being the same. text/html 2009-11-27T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=721-Surprise_surge_in_High_Street_Sales A retail industry group has reported a surprise surge in retail sales, which has increased hopes of significant sales levels over the up and coming Christmas period. The month of November has seen High Street sales levels increase at their fastest pace in two years according to the Confederation of British Industry. The CBI said that these sales levels have fuelled fresh hope over the success of sales levels over Christmas, with many hoping that despite the sluggish economy consumers are still willing to make purchases for the festive season. In its latest survey the CBI reported that around 13 percent of firms reported higher sales levels than seen in the same period last year. Officials said that this was lower than had been expected by was still at its highest since 2007, which is when the credit crunch hit the nation. This marks the second row in a month where retailers have seen an increase in sales levels, and with Christmas getting ever nearer it is hoped that December will mark another successful month for sales, with the sales following the Christmas and New Year periods encouraging consumers to continue spending in January. Already 19 percent of retailers are hopeful that sales figures for December will be higher than they were in the same month last year. A spokesperson from the CBI said that the figures were encouraging and suggested that sales figures for December would continue to increase. He added that given the difficult year that retailers had gone through in 2009 it was great news that the industry could finish the year on a more positive note. He went on to state that there were still many challenges facing the retail industry, with factors such as the ongoing financial crisis and rising unemployment levels likely to further impact on retail sales over the course of next year. He also added that many people would be rushing to make purchases before the end of the year due to a planned increase in VAT, after which point sales levels may start to dip again. text/html 2009-11-26T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=720-Judgement_for_banking_industry_over_bank_charges The ongoing legal battle between the banking industry and the Office of Fair Trading has at last reached its conclusion, and in a shock turnaround the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the banks. Originally courts had ruled in favour of the Office of Fair Trading, which had accused banks of levying bank charges that were unfair and unjust, but when the banks appealed against this decision the matter was referred to the Supreme Court. The judgement by the Supreme Court, which was announced on Wednesday, will leave millions of consumers, not to mention campaigners, shocked and disappointed. Many claims for bank charge refunds had been frozen whilst the courts were making a decision, but many of the customers that had filed these claims were confident that the banks would not win and that at some point they would get their bank charges refunded. The banking industry has obviously welcomed the ruling by the Supreme Court, and has said that many customers could avoid having to pay the bank charges anyway because of changes that have been made to current accounts over the past couple of years. The victory will save the banking industry an estimated £2.6 billion a year, which would otherwise have been lost due to the reduction or abolition of bank charges. When it appealed against the original ruling the banking industry argued that these charges were the only reason why the banking system in the UK was a free one, where bank account holders did not have to pay a fee for having a bank account unless they chose to go for a packaged account, which offers a range of benefits. The Supreme Court agreed with this, and added that customers had signed an agreement to pay these charges if they went over their overdraft limit in exchange for having a free banking service. However, the Supreme Court also said that this may not be the end of the matter, because there were other avenues that the Office of Fair Trading could look at to try and tackle bank charges. text/html 2009-11-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=719-British_Gas_enables_customers_to_do_away_with_estimated_readings Energy giant British Gas has announced that it is allowing its customers to do away with estimated energy readings should they wish to do so, and this is through enabling them to submit their actual readings every month either online or via text. British Gas hopes that the measure will be welcomed by its customers, as it is thought that around sixteen million customers do not like the practice of having bills estimated. Customers that decide that they want to pay accurate bills by submitting their own monthly readings will be provided with an energy use monitor. The new process will enable these customers to pay for the actual energy that they are using rather than basing their bills on estimated readings, which can often by highly inaccurate. The move has been welcomed by consumers groups, including Consumer Focus. However, officials from Consumer Focus said that despite the new measure the cost of energy usage still needed to be cut. In the meantime British Gas has said that there should be no direct effect on the employees that work as meter readers, and the only immediate effect would be that customers would be able to pay only for the energy that they had used. One official from British Gas said that instead of sending a bill out to the customer, as is the usual process, the company would email or text the customer each month asking them to provide a meter reading. He said that the new process would help to reduce frustration over billing issues amongst customers. The company said that if a customer gave a meter reading that seemed grossly inaccurate then this would result in a normal meter reading having to be taken. Consumer Focus said that it was very pleased that British Gas was giving its customers the option to be more in control of their bills and payments. However, it also warned that there would be seasonal fluctuations in payments amounts for customers that were switching from a set monthly direct debit to the new system, as the amount of energy used each month would vary. Whilst the move has been broadly welcomed on official from the consumer campaign group Which? said that it was a sad state of affairs when having accurate bills was seen as something that should be applauded when in fact it was what should have been happening anyway. text/html 2009-11-24T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=718-Cheques_set_to_become_history Later this week bankers are expected to take a vote with regards to whether the humble but once popular cheque book should be abolished, which would mean that cheques would become extinct in the UK and would be consigned to history. A decision to abolish cheques will mark the end of an era, with cheque use having been hugely popular at one time, but having waned over recent years with consumers tending to use debit and credit cards instead. In fact, the use of cheques has dwindled so much over the past few years that many major retailers have stopped accepting them as a method of payments. A few years ago most people wouldn’t think twice about taking their cheque book out shopping with them, but these days there is a strong change that the majority of places that you shop in will not accept a cheque. The move has faced criticism from some campaign groups, with officials from these groups stating that many people that have relied on their cheque books for most of their lives could be left confused. Many people also prefer using a cheque to a debit or credit card, and campaigners are concerned that the abolition of the cheque could have a huge impact on these people as well as the elderly who have become used to using cheques. However, the Payments Council has said that whilst cheques have been in use for well over three centuries figures have shown that over the past few years the use of the cheque book has fallen rapidly and with so many other payment options available most people do not want the hassle of carrying around a cheque book, writing and signing a cheque, and then waiting for the money to come out of the account. Instead, most prefer to use cash or pay by plastic, which is easy to carry around, involves only punching in a PIN, and deducts the money straight from the account. Part of the reason why banks are considering getting rid of cheques is because they are costly for banks to deal with, and at present the banking industry is said to be trying to make cutbacks wherever possible in order to make up for lost revenues in other areas. text/html 2009-11-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=717-Banks_finding_ways_to_impose_'sneaky'_fees_on_consumers It has been claimed that banks in the UK are still finding a variety of ways to try and impose 'sneaky' fees on consumers in order to try and recoup losses made from other areas. Following the global financial crisis banks have been at the receiving end of massive reforms and clampdowns, and in some areas this has affected their abilities to make huge profits out of customers. However, one consumer campaign group has said that this has not deterred the banking industry from looking at other ways in which they can make up this shortfall. Officials from the consumer campaign group, Which?, have said that one of the ways in which banks have been trying to make more money from customers is by increasing the rates that are charged on authorised overdrafts. With the ongoing court battle with regards to unauthorised overdrafts still not quite concluded banks are keeping the interest rates charged on unauthorised overdrafts down at present. However, this is resulting in financial losses, and in order to make up for these losses the banks are being accused of upping the charges on their authorised overdrafts. The Bank of England recently released figures that showed the average overdraft interest rate is now 18.96 percent, but some larger banks are charging much more than this. One official from Which? described the process as being like a balloon, whereby when one part is squeezed another part of the balloon bulges. Whilst banks are said to be continuing their increases on rates for authorised overdrafts many have been decreasing the rates on unauthorised borrowing in light of the ongoing legal battle. With regards to charging higher rates on authorised borrowing, banks have said that this is because their own costs are very high, with a spokesperson from the British Bankers Association stating: "The cost that the banks have to pay for the money they buy in has increased." In the meantime an announcement is due to be made very soon by the courts with regards to the ongoing battle over unauthorised bank charges, with the decision due to be announced later this week. text/html 2009-11-20T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=716-Mortgage_lending_increased_in_October Figures that have been released by a mortgage lending group have shown that mortgage lending levels in October were up compared to those seen in the previous month, although lending levels were still much lower than they were during the same period a year ago. The figures were released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, and showed that the level of mortgage lending in October increased by 5 percent compared to the previous month. The month saw the gross level of mortgage lending increase to £13.5 billion, and whilst this was higher than September it was down by 27 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Officials from the CML have also said that the month on month increases in mortgage lending reflected typical seasonal activity. The CML also said that the type of mortgage lending had been changing, and that remortgaging levels were at their lowest in around ten years. Another report, the Trends in Lending report from the Bank of England, was also recently released and also confirmed that there had been an increase in mortgage lending levels for October. It is thought that amongst the factors that have spurred property purchasing activity is the prediction that property prices have now bottomed out and will not fall further, an opinion that has been expressed by some industry officials. A spokesperson from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that over recent weeks there had been significant improvements in the UK property market and the economy in general, and that this could mean that the UK was now out of recession. He added that further changes in the property market from now on would be more based on seasonal factors than on sentiment, with fewer people looking to buy property in the run up to Christmas. He also said that mortgage lending levels were unlikely to improve from current levels for the remainder of this year, and that next year would probably only see a small improvement. Both the CML and the Bank of England have also stated that mortgage arrears levels have come in lower than expected. text/html 2009-11-19T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=715-Consumers_show_general_distrust_of_comparison_sites A recent study that was carried out in to consumers' opinions of price comparison sites has revealed that whilst the use of these sites has shot up over recent years there is still a general distrust of these sites amongst people in the UK. Price comparison sites have sprung up in their droves over the past few years, enabling consumers to compare the prices of everything from flights and hotels to mobile phones and broadband. The survey was carried out by the consumer campaign group Which?, and the results showed that only 30 percent of consumers trusted these sites to help them find the best price on the products or services that they were looking for. Two thirds of those that were surveyed thought that the comparison sites would show them the deals and packages that would make the site the most money in terms of commission. Over 12 percent of those that responded to the survey said that they were not happy with the prices that they had been presented with by price comparison sites. More than 50 percent of people polled said that whilst they had used price comparison sites to compare the prices of the products or services they were interested in they had ended up going directly through the provider to make their purchase. A further 25 percent of people that were polled by Which? said that they ended up not going through a price comparison website because they found a better or cheaper deal elsewhere. Officials from Which? said that they were particularly concerned about insurance comparison sites, because these made it difficult for consumers to effectively compare deals to find the best one by setting high default voluntary excess levels which were then added to the insurance firm's own compulsory excess. Which? also pointed out in the report that consumers needed to remember that not all providers and deals were listed by price comparison sites, which meant that consumers may still be able to get a better deal by looking for themselves rather than by relying on the price comparison site to do this for them. A spokesperson for the consumer campaign group also said that the survey clearly showed that using a price comparison site was not always a pleasant experience for the consumer. text/html 2009-11-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=714-End_of_stamp_duty_holiday_will_affect_markets_in_some_regions Since last year the government has suspended stamp duty on properties between £125,000 and £175,000 in value. Whilst those buying properties that were under the £125,000 were exempt from stamp duty anyway, it was hoped that extending this exemption to properties up to £175,000 would help to kick start the flagging property market by increasing affordability for first time buyers who were struggling to get onto the property ladder. However, the stamp duty holiday is set to come to an end at the end of this year, and there are now concerns that this could adversely affect the property markets in certain areas of the UK where recovery is yet to be seen. A number of surveyors in Scotland, Wales, and the East and West Midlands have predicted that once the stamp duty holiday comes to an end activity in the property markets in these areas will most likely drop. A number of industry groups are now calling on the government to extend the scheme or to make changes that would mean that the exemption applied to properties of a higher value. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has called for the exemption to apply on properties up to £150,000. Some groups, including the National Association of Estate Agents have called for stamp duty to be scrapped altogether. Some areas such as London and the South East are unlikely to be affected by the end of the stamp duty holiday, and this is because the average house price in these areas is way above £175,000 anyway, so most buyers never benefited from the holiday in the first place. One official from RICS said that in some parts of the country the effects of the stamp duty had hardly been noticed, which meant that it had not had as wide an impact as had been hoped. However, he added that there were parts of the country that would definitely notice the change, and this could impact heavily on the recovery of the property market in these areas. text/html 2009-11-17T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=713-People_cutting_back_on_food_due_to_debt_levels It has been reported recently that many people that have been seeking advice and assistance to help them with their debt problems have actually been going without food because of the financial struggles that they have been facing. The data was released recently by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, which has stated that around half of the people that have been seeking advice from the charity in Scotland have been going without food or fuel in order to keep up with debt repayments. The Cab released a report which is said showed the ‘miserable realities’ for the many people that are in high levels of debt. A number of groups were identified in the report as being the hardest hit when it came to struggling with debts, and this included single parents, young people, the elderly, and the sick and disabled. The CAB is now urging MSPs to address this issue. The highest average level of debt held by CAB clients is said to be amongst those aged sixty and over. In this age group the average debt was just over £26,000. This reflected an increase of around 50 percent over the past two years. More than a third of CAB Scotland clients described themselves as ill or disabled, with around 20 percent stating that they were in debt because of their illness. The figures also showed that for every £1 earned single parents owed an average £19, which was an increase from the £14 seen five years ago. Also, since 2004 the average debt levels for those aged between sixteen and twenty four is said to have doubled according to Cab figures. The report from the CAB Scotland showed that two out of every five people that were seeking debt related assistance and advice from the charity had said that they had been forced to go without food and fuel in order to keep on top of their debt repayments. One third of people added that they had been forced to borrow money from their friends and family in order to make ends meet. text/html 2009-11-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=712-Bank_of_England_warns_on_another_wave_of_job_losses Whilst many industry experts have suggested that the UK is set to come out of recession over the course of this year the Bank of England has warned that the nation could see another wave of job losses because many companies are seeing productivity falling faster than wages. The central bank has stated that this could lead to another series of job losses, which would result in yet another setback for the UK, which is already lagging behind other major economies in terms of coming out of recession. A report from the Bank of England suggested that many people have managed to survive the recession and keep their jobs by agreeing to fewer hours or lower wages. However, with productivity said to be falling faster than wages some firms could find that they have to go ahead and make staff cuts, and this could result in many people losing their jobs after all, even though they may have thought that they had managed to get through the recession. The number of claimants that are now receiving unemployment benefits has been increasing over the course of this year, but the rate of the increase has been slowing down over recent months. There are now concerns that this could start to increase more quickly again, as a rising number of UK workers find themselves out of a job. The Bank of England has warned that the number of people claiming benefits could rise sharply and suddenly if there is a fresh wave of job cuts. The central bank said that if companies wanted to reduce their labour costs and increase their profits job losses would be inevitable. It added that the question was whether it would be wage levels that ultimately felt the squeeze from low productivity levels or staffing levels. The bank went on to state that the continued sluggishness of the UK economy would make the prospect of job losses more likely. The Bank of England went on to say that future employment could also be affected, stating that future employment levels could 'partly depend on the willingness of creditors to show ongoing forbearance'. text/html 2009-11-13T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=711-Government_tries_to_tackle_loophole_relating_to_repossession The soaring levels of repossessions in the UK since the start of the global credit crunch have caused huge concern amongst consumers and officials, and the government has been trying to put measures into place that will reduce the number of repossessions. Government officials been trying to get lenders to use repossession as a last resort given the current financial climate and recession, which has led to an increasing number of people falling behind on their mortgage repayments. However, despite the government's efforts to reduce repossessions in the UK there is evidence that some lenders have used legal loopholes to get homeowners out of their properties when they fall behind with mortgage repayments, and this is something else that the government now wants to put an end to. Plans are being put into place to launch a consultation in order to try and tighten up laws in order to stop lenders from exploiting loopholes and forcing homeowners out of their properties. According to reports one lender last year sold a property on which it has given a mortgage to a second company after the homeowners fell behind with repayments. The second company then issued trespassing proceedings against the homeowners because they were not paying the mortgage. There are now concerns that a rising number of lenders will start using this loophole and effectively evicting homeowners from their properties without even having to go through the courts. The government has now announced plans to publish a consultation later this year to try and tackle loopholes such as these in order to try and keep as many people as possible in their homes despite rising arrears levels that have been seen in the ongoing difficult financial climate and the recession. The Courts Minister Bridget Prentice said that the aim was to publish a consultation by the end of the year to try and tighten up the law and stop underhand tactics being used by lenders. There is also a protocol that was released last year and which lenders must now adhere to before they take steps to repossess a property, and it is hoped that this will also provide reassurance and security for homeowners that are genuinely struggling to make their mortgage repayments. text/html 2009-11-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=710-Slowdown_in_unemployment_numbers_increase Figures that were recently released have shown that although the level of unemployment in the UK continues to increase in the three months to the end of September, the level of the increase had slowed down and the increase was actually the smallest seen since May of last year. Unemployment numbers increased by thirty thousand in the third quarter, according to the figures. The data was released by the Office for National Statistics, and showed that during the third quarter the number of unemployed in Britain stood at 2.46 million. The youth unemployment rate shot to a record high of 19.8 percent, whilst the jobless rate increased from 7.7 percent to 7.7 percent. There was also an increase of nearly thirteen thousand in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits, with the total number coming in at 1.64 million for October. With the recession continuing to take its toll the number of people that had been out of work for at least one year increased by 71,000 to a total of 618,000 in the third quarter. This was the highest level seen in around twelve years, which is when the Labour party came into power. However, the number of people in work increased by 6000 to around 29 million, and this was the first quarterly increase since the summer of last year. Whilst the figures also showed that youth unemployment had increased by 15,000 to around 943,000 it was found that more than 25 percent of those aged sixteen to twenty four years who were classed as unemployed were actually in full time education. Overall the figures have been classed as 'better than expected' by industry officials. One industry expert said that there were signs of stabilisation, but it remained to be seen just as sustainable this increased stability would be, adding that it was too early to expect any sustainable increase in employment. Another official said that one particular point of concern was the rising level of unemployment amongst younger people, adding that the younger generation seemed to be bearing the brunt of the recession. text/html 2009-11-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=709-Banks_try_and_claw_back_money_through_credit_cards It has been reported that banks in the UK are set to try and claw back lost revenue by further increasing credit card fees and rates. The reasoning behind this move is that credit card defaults are set to rocket in the UK, and banks need to try and make up these losses. Officials from PricewaterhouseCoopers have made the prediction that banks will hike up various credit card charges and rates, which will have a profound impact on the finances of cash strapped consumers. PcW has released a report which claims that around one thousand consumers a day could soon be seeking advice and assistance because they can no longer keep up with credit card repayments, and this is going to result in a surge of bad debt on within the credit card industry. Credit card firms are preparing themselves for this massive increase in bad debt with plans to increase fees and interest rates according to the PcW report. By next year it is thought that the 50 percent increase in bad debts on credit cards will lead to the level of bad debt increasing to close to £5 billion in the UK. PcW has suggested that for this reason the banks need to look at new ways in which to make money, and this could include increasing cash transaction fees, hiking up interest rates, and increasing annual fees. Whilst many credit cards already have pretty hefty annual fees these could be increased under the measures to recoup losses from bad debt. Interest rates in the UK are current at an all time low of just 0.5 percent, where they have been for the last eight months, but according to the report banks are still looking to increase interest rates on credit cards to take them even higher than they already are. Banks are also likely to start turning away applications from people that are not going to prove profitable. Customers will also be charged more for access to certain benefits, and some may even have to pay for the privilege of holding a standard credit card account. text/html 2009-11-10T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=708-Almost_half_of_small_firms_maintain_profitability_through_recession The recession is known to have harmed many businesses, leaving a trial of corporate destruction in its wake, which has been further fuelled by the financial and global crisis that has swept the nation over the past couple of years. However, surprisingly recently released figures show that nearly 50 percent of small businesses have managed to maintain profitability through the recession. The news comes just shortly after struggling small businesses were described as 'moaners' by Lord Sugar, the government's enterprise champion. A study was carried out by Kingston University, which showed that many small businesses had managed to keep things ticking over through the recession by using their own cash rather than relying on banks and lenders. Those that have had to rely on lenders have hit brick walls when it comes to getting the finance that they need to keep things running, and this has been their downfall in many cases. As part of the study nearly three hundred and fifty small businesses were surveyed, and only a quarter of these said that the falls in profit through the recession had been significant. The study went on to state that more than half of small businesses in the UK had managed to survive the recession by relying on their own funding to get them through rather than trying to get finance at a time when credit is very difficult to obtain. The report went on to state that the information gleaned from the study was in stark contrast to the wide expectations that small businesses would by and large be crushed by the recession and would not be able to survive. Officials involved in the research said that small businesses had managed to 'adapt', 'survive' and 'thrive' in the face of recession, with around 48 percent of those surveyed having maintained or even increased profitability over the past year. Speaking at a recent conference Lord Sugar accused struggling small businesses of being moaners, stating that there were many that he wouldn't consider lending a penny to, and adding that it was not a bank that these businesses needed but an insolvency practitioner. text/html 2009-11-09T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=707-Record_highs_for_insolvency_levels Figures have been released recently that show the level of insolvencies have been increasing further this year, breaking previous highs and further reflecting the financial difficulties that many people are still facing. According to the data over 35,000 people filed for insolvency between July and September, resulting in the previous record of 33,000 being broken. In the third quarter the number of quickie insolvencies, known as Debt Relief Orders, which cater for those on lower incomes are said to have more than doubled compared to the previous quarter. The figures were released by the Insolvency Service, and there are concerns that if unemployment continues to increase in the ongoing recession the number of insolvencies could continue to increase in the UK. The Insolvency Service started keeping records back in 1960, and the figure from the third quarter of this year is now the highest on record. One of the major factors that has been blamed for the sharp increase in insolvency levels in the UK is the high level of unemployment, which has soared over the past year. The number of Debt Relief Orders increased to four thousand according to the Insolvency Service. This scheme was launched by the government in April of this year, and was aimed at easing the financial strain for those on low incomes with no more than £50 a month surplus once all other financial commitments had been met. Eligibility requirements also include having assets worth no more than £300 and having debts of no more than £15,000. One industry expert said that the bulk of the increase in insolvencies had come from these DROs, and in some cases people that had previously not been eligible to apply had suddenly found themselves eligible due to a reduction or loss in income or due to falling house prices that affected the value of their assets. She added that advisors were becoming more familiar with these DROs, and as such this would also contribute to their increasing popularity. In addition to DROs the rise in insolvencies for the quarter was also made up of bankruptcies and Individual Voluntary Arrangements, known as IVAs. text/html 2009-11-06T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=706-Doubt_cast_over_effectiveness_of_quantitative_easing Yesterday, following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting where it was decided that the base rate would be kept on hold at 0.5 percent, the Bank of England announced that it was going to pump another £25 billion into the economy through quantitative easing, which would bring the total amount spent via this programme to £200 billion even though the original amount that had been allocated had only been £150 billion. Whilst the news that more money was to be pumped into the economy was welcomed by many industry groups doubt has now been cast over the effectiveness of the quantitative easing programme following the release of a recent report. The report was released yesterday by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, which estimated that between September and October there was an unexpected drop of 0.6 percent in economic output in Britain. These grim figures have led to increased speculation amongst analysts and economists over just how effective the quantitative easing programme is. The aim of the programme was to enable banks to reduce borrowing rates, boost lending levels in the UK, and lift the economy as a whole. However, many industry experts are now stating that there is little evidence that the programme is having any real effect with the UK still stuck in recession. One industry expert said that whilst the Bank of England may have good intentions by extending the quantitative easing programme it was having no effect on the wider economy. Another economist said that the central bank seemed to be convinced that the programme was having a positive effect on the economy, but that many people remained unconvinced. He added that by doing more of the wrong thing the Bank of England was not going to make the situation any better. Some industry experts have criticised the scheme, stating that all that is happening is that the banks are sitting on the extra money that is being created through quantitative easing. Some are also worried about the effect that the scheme will have on inflation, and one professional suggested that with its latest decision to further extend quantitative easing the Bank of England had started taking risks, as there was no evidence that this further stimulation was needed. text/html 2009-11-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=705-Bank_of_England_leave_rates_unchanged The Bank of England has announced that the base interest rate is to be left unchanged for the eighth month in a row, remaining at its all time low of 0.5 percent. The announcement came after today's Monetary Policy Committee meeting. In addition to announcing that rates would remain at this low level the central bank has also stated that it will be pumping an additional £25 billion into the economy as part of the quantitative easing programme. The news of the additional money for the economy will be welcomed by many given the recent reports that Britain is still in the grip of recession, with negative growth having been recorded in the third quarter despite hopes that the recession had come to an end. This has left the nation languishing in the longest ever recession since records began, and has left it lagging behind other major economies, including the United States, that have now come out of recession. Originally, only £150 billion had been put aside for the quantitative easing programme, but already the government has exceeded this figure and ploughed £175 billion into the economy. With the news that an additional £25 billion is now to be used the total amount will come to £200 billion. Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, sought permission from the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, to allocate the extra £25 billion for the programme. Industry groups have welcomed the decision to plough more money into the economy. One official from the EEF said that the Monetary Policy Committee had clearly realised that despite recent encouraging data the economy in the UK was still very fragile, and that without an additional boost could quickly start losing momentum. Whilst the decision to keep interest rates at 0.5 percent will have come as no surprise to most industry experts the decision to plough another £25 billion into the economy will be unexpected news, as many had thought that there would be no extension on the quantitative easing programme, whilst others had expected £50 billion to be put aside. text/html 2009-11-04T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=704-Housing_benefit_paying_many_household_rents A recent report has shown that taxpayers are forking out for far more than just the banking bailouts in the UK, with a huge amount of public money being doled out in housing benefits to pay the rents of many households across the UK. It has been reported that up to one in five homes that are being rented are being paid for by housing benefits, which comes from the public purse that is funded by taxpayers. The average number of rented home that are being paid for with housing benefit is thought to be around one in five, with housing benefit being used to support the housing needs of those on lower incomes. In London the situation is even worse, with close to 25 percent of those renting properties now claiming housing benefit. The data was released in reports from the Department for Work and Pensions, and the figures also showed that in certain areas such as the North West, the North East, and Scotland, around 20 percent of those renting are claiming housing benefit from the public purse. When the Labour party first came into power in 1997 the total cost of housing benefit payments amounted to around £14.7 billion. The figures has now increased by around 18 percent to around £17.4 billion, and next year is set to increase to around £21 billion as more and more people become reliant on this benefit. The Tory party has used the figures to claim that the Labour government is not doing enough to reduce the reliance of consumers on benefits. One official from the party said that Labour had failed to reform the welfare system, and that the figures that had been released were shocking evidence of this. The Tory party went on to state that whilst housing benefit provided valuable assistance for working people in low incomes and elderly people the benefit was all too often used by those that had become reliant on benefits from the state. Officials from the conservatives said that the system needed to be looked at very carefully to ensure that the right people were getting housing benefit and it was not simply being claimed by those that had become dependant on benefits, which was draining the public purse. In the meantime ministers have said that the housing benefit system is designed to help those that are not dependant on state benefits but are in a situation where they are struggling with payments for housing. text/html 2009-11-03T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=703-House_prices_now_higher_than_they_were_a_year_ago Figures that have been recently released have shown that property prices in the UK are now higher year on year than they were last October. This is thought to be the first annual rise in property prices in nineteen months. October saw property prices increase to 2 percent higher than they were in the same month last year, with the average house price coming in at jut over £162,000. The figures add more fuel to speculation that the country is slowly starting to see improvement in the property market, with house prices having increased for a number of consecutive months. The pace of the house price rises that have been seen over recent months has eased off and some industry officials have predicted that they will now start to level off. One of the main reasons why experts are expecting property prices to start levelling out is the fact that more sellers have entered the market, which has caused property values to start stabilising. Over recent months there has been a shortage of sellers on the market compared to rising interest from would be buyers, and this has resulted in property prices rising. October saw property prices rise for the sixth consecutive month, and these house price rises have been seen as encouraging by many industry groups and officials. However, there are many that have been sceptical about the house price increases seen over recent months and have said that these price increases cannot possibly be sustained. One industry official also said that the ongoing recession in Britain would have mixed implications for the property market. He said that recovery in the property market could be seriously hampered by increasing unemployment and constraints on the wages of workers. The recession does not mean all bad news for the property market, however. Experts have said that the recession means that the base interest rate will remain low for some time to come, and possibly well into next year. This could help to increase affordability for both new and existing homeowners. text/html 2009-11-02T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=702-New_rules_brought_in_by_Financial_Services_Authority The Financial Services Authority has announced new regulations with regards to the treatment of customers by banks in the UK, with the aim being to make banks treat their customers more fairly. The UK's financial regulator has ruled that from now on any communication with customers by banks will have to be fair and not misleading. In the past banks have been self regulated, but the FSA has reached a decision that this was not sufficient, and that in order to cut the number of complaints that the banking industry has been receiving proper regulation is required. The banking sector has been receiving numerous complaints about poor service from customers, with many believing that they have been treated poorly and misled with the information that they have received. Under the new regulations banks that do not abide by the new rules could end up receiving hefty fines, and the banking sector will now be obliged to provide consumers with more comprehensive information. Clear standards have been put into place with regards to the standards that customers can expect to receive from their banks and the new ruled will put consumers firmly in the driving seat. Amongst the new changes that banks will have to adhere to are greater notification of changes to terms and conditions of a customer's account, faster transfers between accounts, and easier querying of an unauthorised transaction or payment. The FSA has stated that if any bank fails to adhere to the new regulations action will be taken as is deemed appropriate. The Banking Code Standards Board previously regulated the banking industry, but a serious flaw in this regulation was that it did not have the power to impose fines on banks that were found to be acting improperly towards its customers, which the FSA will have under the new regulations. The Office of Fair Trading will still be exercising power over personal loans, overdrafts, and credit cards, but the FSA will take over the regulation of banks' day to day actions with regards to the treatment of customers. text/html 2009-10-30T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=701-UK_gets_left_behind_in_recession A recent report has shown that the UK has now fallen behind other major economies in terms of the recession, with major economies having reported growth in the last quarter, indicating that they are at last out of recession, whereas the UK has seen the economy shrink yet again putting it in the longest recession it has experienced since records began. Both France and Germany announced economic growth in the last quarter, bringing them officially out of recession. Norway has become the first European economy to increase interest rates since the global crisis hit major economies around the world, raising them to 1.5 percent. And this week has seen the United States declare that it is now officially out of recession following economic growth of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of the year. However, Britain continues to lag behind the rest of the world, despite the fact that many had expected it to emerge from recession following the release of third quarter results. It had been widely predicted that these results would show economic growth like other European economies, but shock results that were revealed recently actually showed that the economy had shrunk yet again. Whilst other major economies such as the United States have now declared themselves out of recession industry experts have said that it is too soon to start celebrating. Whilst America may have seen an increase in economic growth the situation with unemployment and property foreclosure remains dire. Officials have said that despite encouraging news about the growth of the economy for these nations real recovery will be a drawn out and very gradual process. Whilst citizens in the United States will most likely put the economic boost down to the measures taken by President Barack Obama, such as the stimulus package that has been put into place, citizens of the UK have only a promise from the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, that he will make sure that the nation is out of recession by the end of the year. text/html 2009-10-29T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=700-Consumers_should_ensure_that_they_have_adequate_insurance_for_Halloween_and_Guy_Fawkes With both Halloween and Guy Fawkes night fast approaching many households in the UK are getting ready to enjoy some family fun. However, whilst this can be a very exciting time of year for families there are also increased risks to be considered, and insurance firms and urging households to make sure that they have adequate insurance cover in place when it comes to their homes and their cars. Halloween can provide families with great fun but it is also important for people to consider the risks. Firstly, if you tend to use candlelit pumpkins and other high risk decorations around the house you need to consider the increased risk of fire. However, more importantly Halloween has become a time of year when the level of malicious damage caused to property and cars can rise, with a whole new meaning coming to the phrase 'trick or treat', the 'tricks' having evolved from fun pranks many years ago to out and out damage to property these days. Just a few days after the Halloween celebrations comes Guy Fawkes night, which comes with a range of risks. Of course, if you are having a bonfire and fireworks display at home then you need to bear in mind the risk of fire and damage should things go wrong. However, once again you also need to consider malicious damage caused by fire and fireworks, which could result in damage to your property and your vehicle. In addition to this the level of burglaries on November 5th also increases, with one insurance giant claiming that the level of household burglaries increases by over 25 percent on Guy Fawkes night. The number of vehicle thefts also goes up by around a quarter on November 5th, as many thieves are well aware that families will often be out enjoying fireworks displays are friends' or relations' houses or at public displays. Insurance officials have also said that those planning to celebrate November 5th at home should make sure that they exercise increased caution when it comes to safety. He said that it was vital that families took precautions to help avoid accidents and damage to property. Consumers that are planning to hold a fireworks display at home are advised to check their insurance policy to make sure that they are covered for personal liability in case anything goes wrong. text/html 2009-10-28T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=699-Credit_card_proposals_put_forward_by_the_government A number of new proposals have been put forward by the government with regards to credit card regulation, with the chance that some unfair credit card terms and conditions could be banned if the proposals go through. The Prime Minister addressed some of these issues last week, and it was reported that the government would be making announcements this week with regards to possible changes in the credit card industry to increase fairness for consumers. Proposals have been made with regards to a number of areas relating to the credit card sector. The government wants to see an end to credit card firms increasing consumers' credit card limits without any request being made to do so by the customer, and it also wants to put an end to credit card firms increasing the interest rate being charged on existing debt. The sending out of unsolicited credit card cheques is another issue over which the government wants to see changes. Other dramatic proposals from the government include an increase in the minimum monthly repayment required from borrowers, which would result in the debt being paid off more quickly and with less interest, and monthly repayments being allocated to the higher interest debt first before being applied to the lower interest or interest free debt on a credit card account. Officials from the UK Cards Association, which represents credit card companies in the UK, said that the proposals from the government will have to be studied in order to determine what sort of impact they may have on consumers in terms of the amount it would cost to use credit cards and the impact on the choice of credit cards available to consumers. The association claims that in their current form the proposals could actually end up doing more harm than good to consumers. The spokesperson added that whilst the association would spend time reviewing the proposals it also expected the government to do the same. The government has said, however, that there is an 'unfair' relationship between credit card providers and customers, and that card companies had to 'clean up their act'. text/html 2009-10-27T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=698-Car_insurance_prices_continue_to_soar Whilst the government car scrappage scheme that was launched earlier this year has proven good news for consumes in the UK, making it more affordable for many to buy a new car and get rid of their old vehicles, the news is not so good when it comes to insuring the vehicle. According to a recent report vehicle insurance costs in the UK have been soaring, with many people having to pay a fortune to get insurance cover for their cars. Recently released data has shown that in the third quarter of this year the cost of insuring a vehicle rose at its fastest level in fifteen years. The survey was carried out by the specialist motoring group the AA, and officials from the group said that amongst the factors that had affected the cost of car insurance premiums were rising insurance fraud levels and an increase in personal injury claims, partly fuelled by the plethora of personal injury claims firms that have been advertising over recent years. During the three months to September there was an average increase of 5.6 percent on the cost of fully comprehensive cover, which increased to an average £821 a year. This reflected an increase of 14 percent compared to the same quarter in the previous year. It also reflected the biggest increase since the AA began keeping records back in 1994. The AA said that whilst competition amongst insurance firms remained tough insurers had still been forced to increase their prices due to rising costs and higher claims payouts. The motoring group also suggested that in order to see insurance firms return to profitability premiums may have to rise as high as 20 percent. The report suggested that for every £100 insurance firms are taking in premiums they are paying out £110 in claims. Last year the level of personal injury claims made to insurance companies soared to £9.6 billion, and the level of fraud against insurance firms increased to £1.9 billion. Both of these factors have put increased pressure on the insurance industry to increase premiums, which could continue to rise in the foreseeable future. text/html 2009-10-26T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=697-Ambitious_promise_made_by_the_Prime_Minister At the end of last week official figures revealed that the UK was still officially in recession, with data showing that the economy had shrunk by a further 0.4 percent. This came as a shock and a disappointment to many, after speculation over recent weeks had led many to believe that the figures would prove that the UK was at last out of recession. Following this news the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has reacted with an ambitious promise, stating that the economy will start growing again by the turn of the year, which is just a couple of months away. The PM made the promise just a day after it was confirmed that the UK was still officially in recession. In a podcast that was released on the Number 10 website Gordon Brown admitted that the situation was a very challenging one, but said that significant headway was being made to ensure that this recession did not turn into another Great Depression. He went on to state that he would be taking action against the huge bonuses that bankers were still taking as well as dealing with unfair practices from credit card companies. Attacking the credit card industry, the Prime Minister said that firms had to stop sending out unsolicited credit card cheques to consumers, and that interest rates on existing debts should not be increased for no apparent reason. He is expected to make an announcement with regards to how these issues will be tackled later this week, but as yet no information has been given with regards to what the PM has in mind. In his podcast Gordon Brown said that he would be announcing measures aimed at making credit card companies 'clean up their act' to ensure that consumers got a fairer deal. He said that the government would be looking at putting an end to the 'sharp practices' used by lenders, such as increasing borrowing rates on existing debts without explanation. He concluded his podcast by making a pledge to the country that the government would be focusing on the reform of the financial sector, and that it would aim to make Britain's economy return to growth by the turn of the year. text/html 2009-10-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=696-Mortgage_availability_set_to_increase Lenders have recently stated that mortgage lending levels in the UK are set to increase as the nation pulls itself out of recession and the economy continues to improve. The mortgage sector has been through extremely turbulent times over the past couple of years, and for many people mortgage lending has all but dried up with lenders being increasingly cautious over who they will lend to and how much they are prepared to lend. The Bank of England recently released its Trends in Lending report, and the data in this suggested that mortgage lending levels dipped again in the third quarter of this year. However, lenders are now stating that mortgage lending levels should start to increase over the next year months partly as a result of the improvement that has been seen in the UK's economy and property markets recently. Over the past few months both consumers and lenders have been cautious in terms of mortgages and loans, and whilst the base interest rate has remained at all time low levels of just 0.5 percent lenders have been pushing up the cost of borrowing. The report also showed that in September there was an increase in lending to those taking out mortgages to purchase a home but remortgage lending levels still remained weak. The Trends in Lending report also showed that there had not been a significantly greater demand for car loans from lenders despite the car scrappage scheme that was brought in earlier this year. Officials have also pointed out that whilst lending levels are set to increase over the coming months it will still be difficult for those that have damaged credit histories to get finance, particularly unsecured finance. A spokesperson from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that September had seen a two-speed mortgage market, with a distinct split between loans for mortgages and loans for remortgages. He also said that despite signs of recovery in the economy funding conditions still remained challenging. He went on to state that the recovery was likely to be a long and drawn out one. text/html 2009-10-22T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=695-Charities_get_only_a_fraction_of_the_money_from_charity_Christmas_cards With Christmas just around the corner many people are already flocking to try and sort out their Christmas gifts and Christmas cards, and over recent years charity Christmas cards have become a popular choice amongst many consumers. Over the past couple of years in particular, with the global credit crunch and the recession taking its toll on consumers' finances, many people have looked at other ways to give to charitable causes without having to use money that they cannot afford, and over the festive season a lot of people will no doubt opt to buy charity Christmas cards in order to do their bit for charity. However, a recent report has highlighted just how little charities generally make from these Christmas cards, with much of the money that is spent on these cards being split between the manufacturer and the retailer, leaving very little for the good cause itself. In fact, it is claimed that in some cases only 6 percent of the money that consumers pay for these Christmas cards ever reaches the charity in question. The average amount that charities earn from these charity Christmas cards comes in at just 13 percent of what consumers pay to High Street retailers according to a study that was carried out by consumer campaign group Which?. Some retailers offer a wide range of charity Christmas cards, and the amount given to charity can vary but can be as little as 6 percent with retailers such as House of Fraser and Next. However, there are certain retailers that give far more to charities from the sale of Christmas cards according to the Which? study. W H Smith, for example, is said to donate 100 percent of some of its charity card sales to the charity in question, and all others donates at least 20 percent of the money to the relevant charity. Whilst charities earn around £50 million a year collectively from the sale of charity Christmas cards in the UK officials have said that this figure could be far higher if some retailers stopped giving paltry amounts to the charities. text/html 2009-10-21T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=694-Mortgage_lending_sees_increase_in_third_quarter According to recent reports the thirds quarter of this year has seen a lift in mortgage lending activity, which is a further sign that there are signs of improvement in the property market. It is claimed that in the third quarter of this year there has been an increase in mortgage lending levels, which backs up the optimism that has been seen in the property market. The figures that have been released have come from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The CML claims that compared to earlier in the year the level of mortgage lending has increased, which backs up reports that there are signs of improvement in the mortgage and property sectors. In the third quarter of this year the level of mortgage lending is said to have reached nearly £39 billion, which reflects an increase of eighteen percent compared to the previous quarter. Whilst there was good news in terms of the fact that in September mortgage lending levels were around two percent higher than they were in August of this year, it was also pointed out that compared to the dame period last year the level of lending for the month of September was around twenty seven percent lower than it was this time last year. Another blip in the encouraging news is that the CML believes that lending could now have hit a plateau, which means that things could stagnate and fail tot improve for some time to come. House prices have also been increasing over recent months, albeit by a small amount each month, and this has also encourages positive speculation in the property and mortgage markets. The CML has already said that whilst figures relating to the housing and mortgage markets seems to be encouraging at the moment there is little chance that this will be sustained as high property prices couples with lack of mortgage finance could have a big impact on the success of any measures put into place to try and improve the economy. text/html 2009-10-20T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=693-New_mortgage_lending_regulations_come_in_from_FSA The UK's financial regulator has today introduced new official guidelines with regards to mortgage lending, and the new rules will see controversial self certification mortgages come to an end. In addition to putting an end to self certification mortgages the new rules will demand that lenders carry out more stringent checks on borrowers to ensure that they can afford repayments, and if they do not do this they could be held liable for the loan in the event that the borrower is unable to keep up with repayments. Lax lending conditions over recent years fuelled the financial meltdown that has affected the UK as well as other major economies and nations around the world. The FSA claims to have introduced common sense measures when it comes to lending, which it said were not exercised over recent years when lenders were doling out mortgages to many people that clearly could not afford the repayments leading to a soaring level of defaults on mortgage repayments as well as rising repossession numbers. However, there is concern that whilst the crackdown may be intended to protect consumers from unscrupulous and predatory lending practices it may also affect the property market, house prices, and the ability of many people to get a mortgage at all – particularly those on low incomes and those with damaged credit ratings. Lenders have been warned by the FSA that they cannot return to the lax standards that have been seen over recent years. Lender will also no longer be able to dole out self certification mortgages, which became popular as a result of the belief that property prices would keep on rising and mortgage rates would remain low. The chief executive of the FSA, Hector Sants, said today that it was obvious that there were certain types of mortgages that should no longer be handed out by lenders, and that there were certain people that should not be given mortgage loans that the obviously could not afford to make repayments on. text/html 2009-10-19T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=692-New_regulations_over_lending_to_be_announced This week will see announcements made by the UK's financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, with regards to mortgage lending. Regulations over lending are to be tightened up to make sure that lenders are only giving out loans to those that can afford to make the repayments on the money that they borrow. The financial regulator has gone as far as to say that if lenders do dish out loans to people without checking with regards to whether the borrower can afford it the lender could be held liable for the loan. It is also thought that the regulator will place on ban on self certification loans, which are loans where the borrower is unable to prove their income in the usual way. Lord Myners, the City Minister, said that the aim of the new regulations was to try and initiate a return to sensible lending following the financial meltdown that has been partly blamed on irresponsible lending by banks and financial institutions. Myners did state that there would be no limits put into place with regards to how much the banks would be able to lend a borrower based on their income or the value of their home, but there would be a need for the banks to ensure that it was in the best interests of the borrower to take out a loan and then act accordingly. Industry officials also expect the regulator to bring in new regulations with regards to companies that try and push finance onto consumers without request, and it is likely to come down hard on these companies. The new regulations are designed to give consumers further protection according to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and he said that banks will never again be allowed to let consumers borrow more than they could realistically afford to repay. Brown went on to state: "I believe lenders should have to carry out proper checks on incomes before agreeing home loans. And to protect homebuyers further, we need much tougher rules to make sure that high loan-to-value or high loan-to-income mortgages are offered only when the lender has done rigorous checks to ensure people can keep up repayments." text/html 2009-10-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=691-Tax_refund_scam_-_People_warned_to_be_aware Over recent months there has been news of a new scam that has hit the UK, where consumers have received emails telling them that they are entitled to a refund of tax from HM Revenue and Customs. However, the email is not actually from HMRC, and its aim is to extract personal account details from consumers, which are then used to commit fraud and identity theft. A number of people have already fallen for this scam, but as it has been highlighted in the news many people have managed to escape becoming victims. However, this has not stopped the fraudsters from sending out the email, and a recent report has shown that in September alone a record eighty three thousand of these scam HMRC emails were reported to the authorities in the UK. The email informs the recipient that a review of their fiscal activity for the year has been carried out and that they are entitled to a refund of their taxes. However, the message goes on to ask the recipient for their credit card and bank account details, and those that have fallen for the scam and entered these details have practically handed them to the fraudsters on a plate. This has put the recipients at risk of having money taken from their bank accounts and having their credit card details passed on to the one of the various criminal gangs that are operating at the moment. Officials from HMRC have warned that they never contact consumers by email to inform them about refunds, and would never ask for personal details to be submitted via email. All contact relating to refunds from HMRC is made in writing. The tax office has also warned consumers never to click on any emails that they receive claiming to be from HMRC relating to a refund, but to ensure that they are reported to the tax office so that they can be monitored. The emails should then be deleted. A number of warnings have already been issues with regards to these scam HMRC emails, but fraudsters have tried to get around this by changing their tactics such as the domain name of the websites that they are being generated from. text/html 2009-10-15T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=690-National_debt_makes_Britain_high_risk The level of national debt in Britain has been at the centre of a great deal of controversy recently, but this has now resulted in the UK's economy being classed as a high risk on an EU list. According to reports the UK's economy has been put on a high risk list alongside other countries such as Romania and Latvia, and this is because of the huge levels of national debt that the nation is now in. The European Commission is said to have expressed 'serious concerns' over budget deficits in the UK, stating that if things go on as they have been then Great Britain may find that it can no longer meet future financial commitments such as funding pensions. The UK economy was therefore placed on a high risk list as a result of the worrying and still spiralling levels of national debt. The report claimed that the situation was made worse by the growing number of elderly people in the UK, which was making these national debt levels unsustainable. However, the warning was not welcomed by Treasury officials, and the government is said to have questioned the viability of the analysis that was carried out by the European Commission. Tory party officials, on the other hand, used the warning in their favour, making it clear that they would be the ones that would be able to sort out the public deficit through a series of public spending cuts and measures that would reduce the overall national debt that had been run up under the leadership of the Labour government. The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond said that the data from the European Commission was further evidence of the huge levels of debt that the country had found itself in under the leadership of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He added that this was further evidence of the mounting debt crisis in Britain, and that the analysis made it clear that measures were needed to cut these debt levels and restore some form of balance to the nation's public finances. text/html 2009-10-14T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=689-House_prices_rising_due_to_lack_of_sellers A number of industry experts have stated that recent increases in property prices have resulted from a fall in the number of homeowners that are selling their properties. Surveyors have said that the fall in the number of people that are selling their homes has be n driving the price of properties up, and this is partly why modest increases in property values have been seen over recent months. September saw the number of surveyors that were reporting house price increases compared to house price falls rise o its highest since the autumn of 2007, which was when the global credit crunch swept the nation and property prices started to fall as the housing bubble burst. However, a poll carried out by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has shown that the situation varies from one part of the country to another. The South of England is the area where property prices have been the most buoyant according to the figures from the poll. The highest proportion of surveyors showing property price increases compared to falls was shown to be at its highest in the South East of England and London according to the data. In other areas, however, such as Yorkshire and Wales there were more surveyors reporting house price falls rather than increases. Compared to August the number of new enquiries from would be buyers in September showed an increase, but at the same time the number of properties coming onto the market for sale during that period fell, resulting for higher demand compared with lower supply. A spokesman for RICS said that the situation had definitely resulted in property priced being driven up, adding that the number of new enquiries from new buyers was on the rise even though many potential buyers were still having difficulties in securing a mortgage. He added that it was likely that in the short term property prices would continue to increase, as demand continued to outstrip supply, although many industry officials have said that the series of house price increases will be short lived and that property prices will start to fall again next year. text/html 2009-10-13T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=688-Britain_comes_bottom_of_most_desirable_places_to_live_in_Europe A recent poll has been conducted that has put Britain at the bottom of the most desirable countries to live in Europe according to a recent report. Researchers analysed official data for ten European countries, and following analysis of factors such as average earnings, cost of living, working hours, and even weather Britain found itself at the bottom of the list, making it the worst place to live in Europe. The data showed that Brits actually earn more than the European average when it comes to annual after tax income, which averaged nearly £36,000 a year, which was around £10,000 higher than the average in the rest of Europe. However, the majority of this extra income was spent on things like housing, food, and other high living costs, which effectively cancelled out this benefit. In addition to this it was found that Brits have to work far longer hours than their European counterparts for their money, and that annual leave levels in the UK were poor compared to other European countries. Even the lack of sunshine was factored into the bigger picture, and this combination of high living costs, long working hours, poor annual leave, and bad weather all made for bleak reading. Seventeen different measures of the quality of life that people in different European countries experienced were measured as part of the research. It was found, following analysis of the results, that the lowest quality of life was to be found in Britain, whereas the best quality of life could be found in Spain and France. Ireland came second from the bottom when it came to quality of life. The data also suggested that Brits would have to work an average three years longer than people in France, and would die two years earlier than those in France. Annual leave averaged twenty eight days a year in the UK, whereas workers in sunny Spain get to enjoy an average forty one days a year annual leave. In addition to all this Brits are paying sky high prices for everything from petrol and energy to food and housing. text/html 2009-10-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=687-Low_interest_rates_continue_to_help_homeowners Last week, following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the Bank of England announced that it was keeping the base rate at its all time low of 0.5 percent for the seventh month in a row. Officials have now said that many homeowners will continue to benefit from the financial benefits as a result of the base rate remaining so low, and this could help to stem the number of repossessions and give homeowners a better chance of keeping up with mortgage repayments. Lenders have said that an extra one hundred thousand people a month are now gaining from the low base interest rate, with many borrowers having reached the end of fixed rate deals that they took out for two or three years and moving to far lower standard variable rates, which have been made possible by the falling base rate. It is claimed that around 42 percent of mortgage holders are now on fixed rate deals according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Mortgages are now at their most affordable since 2004 for those that have the credit status and means to secure a home loan, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Those that borrowed money to buy a home in July of this year ended up paying just 12.7 percent of their income on repayments, and this compared to a much higher 18.1 percent of income going on mortgage repayments just a year ago. Many of those that are coming to the end of higher fixed term rates taken out some two to three years ago will most likely feel the benefits of the decreased base rate when they are shifted on to the lender's standard variable rate, and for some this could mean substantial savings each month on their repayments, which could enable them to pay off other debts with the remaining money or even overpay on their mortgage to clear the debt more quickly and save a fortune in interest. However, based on the number of consumers now taking out fixed rate mortgages it would appear that many expect the base rate to rise in the near future. Figures show that in August of this year 78 percent of new borrowers opted for a fixed rate deal, and this compared to 59 percent in the same period in 2008. text/html 2009-10-09T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=686-Further_20_percent_fall_due_for_property_prices It has been claimed by a top ratings agency that property prices in the UK will plummet by a further 20 percent once the temporary revival is over. Over recent months property prices have been increasing slightly, but many industry officials have dubbed this a 'false dawn' adding that the revival cannot be sustained. Officials from the ratings agency Fitch have now said that property prices in the UK are likely to fall by another 20 percent despite the recent increases, and this will bring the overall peak to trough figure to around 30 percent. Based on this the average property value could fall to £130,000. A number of other industry expert have also predicted a double dip in property prices, with values having fallen for many months since they peaked in 2007, followed by a brief revival in property prices, and then further falls. Following the recent spate of property price increases average house prices are down by 13 percent compared to when they peaked in 2007. However, according to Fitch properties have to fall further as at present they are heavily overvalued. Officials from the agency said that the average house price to income ratio in the UK was far higher than the long term average. They added that a total fall of 30 percent would bring this back in line with the long term average. Fitch is one of a number of agencies that has predicted further property price falls in the UK, and similar predictions have already been made by groups such as the Ernst & Young ITEM Club and the Economic and Social Research Council. A number of factors are expected to contribute to further house price falls, and this includes continued restrictions in the mortgage lending sector, increased unemployment, and low pay inflation. Fitch has also pointed out that whilst there has been some encouraging data recently with regards to the property and mortgage markets consumers that do not have a deposit of at least 20 percent will still struggle to find competitive mortgage deals from lenders. text/html 2009-10-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=685-Good_news_for_motor_industry There has been some good news for the motor industry after a recent report showed that new vehicle sales had increased for the month of September compared to the same period a year ago. According to figures the number of new vehicles sold this September was up by 11.4 percent compared to September of last year, and this was based on figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. From the beginning of September this year the new 09 number plate became available, and during the month nearly 368,000 vehicles with the new '59 number plate were sold. According to officials from the SMMT the government's vehicle scrappage scheme, which has recently been extended, has played a big part in the increased sales for this September. However, the group also said that conditions did still remain challenging. Originally the government put aside £300 million for the scrappage scheme, which was introduced earlier this year following its success in other countries. The scheme involved providing drivers of vehicles aged ten years or more, and who had owned the vehicle for at least twelve months, with up to £2000 for scrapping their vehicle, and this money was provided towards the cost of a new vehicle. However, whilst it was thought that the funding would last until around February of 2010 take up from consumers was high and there were concerns that funding would run out far earlier than anticipated. Following calls from various industry groups the government recently agreed to extend the scheme to the tune of a further £100 million, which should enable the funding to last until February as originally planned. An official from the SMMT said that as a result of extension of the scheme demand would be sustained throughout this year and into next year, and economic recovery would also be strengthened. The group also said that the sales levels for September would prove to be the strongest month for the motor industry, and would most likely account for around 20 percent of overall sales. text/html 2009-10-06T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=684-Shoppers_missing_out_on_millions_of_pounds_in_cash_back Research that was recently carried out by a retail website has shown that British consumers are missing out on millions of pounds in cash back collectively, and this is because they are failing to use websites that actually reward consumers with cash back for making product purchases from the sites. It is thought that whilst some consumers may not even realise that these websites exist, there are many others who simply cannot be bothered to go into the website despite the fact that most people are keen to save as much money as possible on their expenditure in the current financial climate. The research involved polling one thousand shoppers, and it was found that around 17 percent of consumers do their shopping online. The results of the research indicated that a massive 40 percent of consumers that shop online had never used a cash back website, and as a result of this had missed out on money that they could have earned back on the purchases that they made. A number of major High Street retailers are said to participate in the cash back schemes, but despite this many online shoppers have gone to another online website to make the purchase thus missing out on their cash reward. Officials have said that the websites are generally easy to use and most are free – all the consumer has to do it register and then log in to make purchases. The retailer then works out how much cash back has been earned based on the amount spent, and this is then issues to the consumer. However, because of the number of consumers that are not going through these retailers to make their purchases collectively Brits are missing out on around £273 million a month in cash back. On an annual basis this equates to a massive £3.2 billion, and this is based on the average consumer spending around £450 a month on goods such as food, toiletries, clothes, entertainment, and cosmetics. Some officials are concerned that the reason behind many of these people missing out on their cash rewards is because they either do not know that the schemes are available or do not understand how they work. text/html 2009-10-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=683-House_prices_increase_to_levels_seen_in_2008 Figures that were recently released by a major UK lender have indicated that property prices in the UK have now increased back to the same level that they were at in 2008, and this follows a spate of monthly property price increases. Whilst house prices have fallen dramatically since their peak in the autumn of 2007, over recent months there has been some upward movement seen, and this has taken property values back to their 2008 levels. Last month saw the average property price increase by 0.9 percent, and officials have said that this has taken property prices back to almost exactly the same as they were in September of 2008, with the average property price coming in at £161,816. The lender said that property prices have been showing modest increases for the past five consecutive months, although there is much speculation with regards to how long this improvement can be sustained. Whilst many analysts and industry experts are convinced that the recent series of property price increases mark the start of long term improvement in the property market there are also many others that believe that whilst property prices have increased slightly the improvement will not be sustained, and that property prices will start to fall again early on in 2010. One industry expert said that it was unlikely that property prices would continue to increase at the current rate, particularly if an increasing number of properties come onto the market. However, he did say that the 'most intense phase' of the financial crisis and recession was most likely now over. Continued difficult credit and market conditions would, however, make it difficult for property price increases to be sustained, he added. In a separate report the Bank of England also released figures, which showed that in the second quarter of this year, between April and June, homeowners continued to pay off more of their mortgage debt, adding a further £7 billion to equity in the UK housing market. This came partly due to some homeowners attempting to overpay on their mortgage repayments as well as more people putting down bigger deposits. text/html 2009-10-02T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=682-Strong_recovery_for_UK_economy_next_year The International Monetary Fund has announced recently that the UK is set for stronger than predicted recovery next year. Officials from the IMF have said that actual recovery for the economy in the UK in 2010 is likely to be significantly greater than originally predicted, but added that the upturn is tentative and therefore the government had to ensure that it did not withdraw the fiscal stimulus before next year. The data comes from the IMF's World Economic Outlook report, which is released twice a year. The figures indicate that output could increase by 0.9 percent next year, which is a sharp rise from the original predicted of just 0.2 percent. This could mean that the UK recovers at a faster pace than the Eurozone, where output is predicted to rise by 0.3 percent. Despite the new higher forecast for output in 2010 the predicted output is still far lower than that projected by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, who in his budget report forecast an increase in output of 1.25 percent. Darling will now have to decide whether to change the prediction in his budget report given the new data from the IMF. The IMF has expressed relief that the financial crisis seems to be easing in the UK, and officials from the IMF have said that financial markets have started to recover, positive growth is expected next year, and the recovery looks to be well underway. The IMF has also increased its growth forecasts for major Western economies for next year, raising the forecast to 1.7 percent. However, officials warned that despite the encouraging figures any signs of recovery could disappear as quickly as they came if governments decided to suddenly withdraw support and measures that had been put into place to aid economic recovery on the back of improved forecasts. The news was not all good, as the IMF also predicted that rising unemployment in Britain is set to continue, with the level of unemployment set to rise from 7.6 percent this year to 9.3 percent in 2010 according to predictions in the report. text/html 2009-10-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=681-Complaints_about_PPI_to_be_reopened New guidance from the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, has resulted in the reopening of tens of thousands of complaints relating to Payment Protection Insurance, which is a type of cover that has been at the centre of controversy for some years due to issues of mis-selling and cost of the cover. The complaints that are to be reopened are those that were previously rejected, and the onus is going to be on financial institutions that sell PPI to get the matters resolved wherever possible. Around one hundred and eighty five thousand previously rejected cases are likely to be re-opened as part of the measure. Financial institutions that sell PPI will be asked to write to all consumers that have purchased these policies since 2007, with the idea being to give the consumer the chance to make a complaint about the policy, and potentially receive a refund. The new guidelines have been put together by the Financial Services Authority with assistance from the Financial Ombudsman Service. Officials from the FSA have said that the Financial Ombudsman Service has bee flooded with complaints from consumers who have had their PPI claims rejected, and the new guidelines will aim to ease the strain on the FOS by making the financial institutions themselves address the issues by reopening the cases. Many complaints have been made relating to PPI sales from those who felt forced into taking out the cover or were sold the cover even though they were not eligible to make a claim on it. A spokesperson from the FSA said that consumers should never have been pressured into purchasing this type of insurance cover, and that all consumers had the right to have the policy properly explained to them rather than being pressured into buying insurance cover that did not even cover them in some cases. He added that it was appalling that despite all of the warnings that had been issued in relation to PPI the FSA still had to intervene in this sector. He went on tot state that the industry was being given one last chance to show that it could act fairly in relation to PPI, and said that if any company was found to be acting questionably in terms of how it was handling PPI complaints then appropriate action would be taken by the FSA. An official from the Finance and Leasing Association said that it would be working closely with the FSA to make sure that the new guidelines could be implemented in a way that was fair to both consumers and companies. text/html 2009-09-30T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=680-Good_news_for_drivers_as_government_extends_scrappage_scheme Following calls from a range of industry groups the government has announced that it will be extending the vehicle scrappage scheme, often referred to as the bangers for cash scheme, which means that many more people will be able to benefit from the subsidy, and the motor industry can continue to benefit from increased sales following the serious slump that the recession and the financial crisis have caused. The announcement was made by the business secretary Lord Mandelson who was speaking at the Labour Party conference. He admitted that the scheme was running out of cash, but added that whilst the government could not do everything that did not mean that nothing could be done. Mandelson announced that the scheme would be extended so that another 100,000 vehicles could take part, which means another £100 million will be put towards the scheme. Already, the funding for the scheme has reached £300 million, with vehicle owners that trade in their vehicles of ten years or older, and which they have owned for at least ten years, able to get up to £2000 off a new car. In addition to extending the scheme by another £100 million, or 100,000 more vehicles, there will also be changes to the eligibility criteria, with the minimum age for vans being dropped from ten years to eight years. Originally it was thought that the £300 million fund that was ploughed into the scheme would last until February, but earlier this week industry groups expressed concern that the funds would actually run dry before next month. With the fresh injection of cash it is now thought that funding should last until February of next year. Mandelson said that whilst there were positive signs of recovery in the economy there was still uncertainty with regards to the industry and manufacturing sectors, which he said remained ‘fragile’. He said that the motor industry was in a very vulnerable position. He said that the extension of the scheme was not a ‘blank cheque’ for the motor industry but rather recognition of the short terms problems that faced the industry. He said that he hoped the measure would help to boost confidence and improve sales further. The move was welcomed by a number of motor industry groups including the society of Motor manufacturers, and an official from the group said that the measure would help to inspire confidence amongst both businesses and consumers. The group added that the extension of the scheme could help to counteract the negative impact that would come about as a result of the return to normal VAT levels. text/html 2009-09-29T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=679-Many_Brits_believe_welfare_is_adequate_to_live_off_ A recent study has shown that many Brits are convinced that they would be able to survive adequately off welfare in the event that they were to lose their jobs. Over one third of Brits apparently thought that the amount that they would get in government welfare if they became unemployed would enable them to sustain their standard of living. The research was carried out by the insurance group Scottish provident, and the results showed that around 16.5 million people in Britain, equating to around 35 percent, thought that the welfare system in the UK was adequate to support their needs and allow them to continue with their lives as normal if they were to lose their jobs, despite the fact that the benefit comes to less than £70 per week. The data formed part of an independent study entitled The High Wire Report, which was last published back in 2003. Since the last report some six years ago there has been a significant increase in the number of people that believe that the government would provide enough of a financial safety net to fund their exiting lifestyles if they were to lose their jobs. The data from the 2003 report showed that only 22 percent of respondents thought that government welfare would suffice if they lost their jobs, which was 13 percent lower than the most recent report. During this time the amount paid out in job seekers allowance has increase only by an average of 6 percent, with those aged under twenty five receiving £50.95 per week and those aged over twenty five receiving £64.30. One industry official said that whilst it was evident that there had been a sharp increase in the number of people that thought the government would support their current lifestyle through benefits if they were made unemployed the reality was that the paltry increase in benefits over the past six years came nowhere near covering the increases in the cost of living. The increase in the number of people that thought the government provided an adequate financial safety net covered all age groups according to the data. text/html 2009-09-28T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=678-Compulsory_retirement_age_law_upheld_by_High_Court Following challenges over the compulsory retirement age in the UK, which is sixty five, the High Court has decided to uphold the current laws, which means that once an employee reached the age of sixty five their employer can terminate their employment without reason or any redundancy pay, and is not obliged to agree to requests from the employee to stay on past retirement age. The laws were challenged by the charities Age Concern and Help the Aged, but the charities will not be appealing against the High Court decision according to reports. This is because a review is expected in relation to the compulsory retirement age next year, and it is widely expected that the laws will then be changed anyway. Originally the review over the compulsory retirement age was scheduled to take place in 20ll, but the government has now brought this forward by a year to 2010, at which point many officials are convinced that the laws will be changed. The current compulsory retirement age was brought in by the government in 2006, and the High Court found that it did comply with EC Directives. However, the High Court also added that had it not been for the fact that a review was being carried out next year anyway the outcome may have been different. The decision to uphold the compulsory retirement age by the High Court has been welcomed by many employers, and has signalled failure for a number of compensation claims that had been filed by workers that had been forced to stop working for their employer once they reached sixty five even though they had not wanted to leave. The High Court judge added that there was evidence that a change in the retirement age was needed, and if the government had not already brought forward the review to next year he would have ordered a review himself. He also said that with growing pressures on the social security system increasing the compulsory retirement age could be beneficial to the country and would not reduce the chances of younger people getting into higher level jobs. text/html 2009-09-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=677-Economic_downturn_takes_its_toll_on_charities Over the past couple of years the global financial crisis, economic downturn, and more recently the recession have all taken their toll on consumer finances, and this has resulted in a rising number of people looking for ways to make cutbacks on their outgoing as they struggle to make ends meet. Unfortunately, these cutbacks in spending have had a knock on effect not only on the economy but also on a wide range of charities across the country. Figures that were recently released have shown that the amount of money that has been donated to good causes across the country has fallen, and in the year leading to April charitable donation levels fell by around 11 percent compared to the previous year. This has hit charities hard, with many seeing a steep drop in the level of donations coming through whilst at the same time the demand for the services of many charities has increased due to the troubled climate. Charities such as homeless charities, elderly charities, and animal charities have seen a large rise in demand for their services whilst simultaneously seeing a drop in the amount of money that is coming in by way of donations. The total amount given in donations for the 2008-2009 period was estimated at £9.9 billion, dropping from the £11.2 billion that was donated in the 2007-2008 period. Officials have said that around 50 percent of all adults in the UK are still giving to charitable causes in one way or another, but that the amount that they are giving has fallen by an average of £1 to around £10 a month. The figures were put together by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charities Aid Foundation. The most popular charitable sector for donations was medical research, according to the data. A spokesperson for the Charities Aid Foundation said that even though the economy was starting to show signs of recovery and that there were reports of the recession being effectively over charities were by and large still being hit hard by the drop in charitable donations. He said that many had been forced to cut staffing levels but had still had to find ways to continue offering their services through these difficult times. text/html 2009-09-24T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=676-High_Street_banks_still_penalising_cash_strapped_first_time_buyers Whilst the base interest rate has sunk to an all time low over recent months, and swap rates for banks have plummeted, it has been revealed that the average first time buyer has not benefited at all from these reductions simply because they do not have a large enough deposit to put down on their mortgage. Over the past year the base interest rate has fallen from 5 percent to just 0.5 percent, and the rate at which banks borrow money has also dropped. However, most of the major High Street banks are still charging first time buyers crippling interest rates on their mortgages because most first time buyers do not have the huge deposits that lenders want in order to access their most competitive mortgage deals. Despite reports that banks are easing up on lending, most are still demanding between 25 percent and 40 percent from borrowers in order to get the most competitive rates of interest, and this is usually something that first time buyers cannot manage having no previous property from which to take equity. This means that it is often first time buyers that find themselves out in the cold with access to only the most expensive interest rates and mortgage deals. Reports have shown that the average rate of interest charged on two year fixed rate mortgages for those that have only a 10 percent deposit to put down stands at around 6.12 percent, and this is 4.25 percent higher than the two year swap rates that banks are charged. It is thought that those with smaller deposit levels are unable to benefit at all from the dramatic drop in interest rates over the past twelve months. On the other hand, borrowers that are able to raise deposits of around 25 percent or 40 percent of the property value are able to access rock bottom mortgage interest rates from banks. One mortgage broker said that banks were penalising first time buyers for the mistakes that they themselves had made. He added that whilst it was not first time buyers that had created the financial meltdown they were now one of the major groups that were paying for the state of the financial sector. text/html 2009-09-23T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=675-Drop_in_UK_house_sales_for_August Figures that were recently released by HM Revenues and Customs have suggested that the level of property sales in August dropped compared to the number of properties that were sold for the month of July. The figures indicated that in July of this year the number of homes sold came in at 87,000, but in August this number dropped to around 83,000. Furthermore this is said to be the first drop in property sales levels for this year. Over the course of this year the number of properties being sold in the UK has been steadily rising, and there has been something of a revival in the property slump that has been seen since the onset of the global credit crunch back in 2007. However, the mo nth of August saw a reduction in both the number of properties being sold and the level of mortgage lending, which are two factors that are clearly linked to one another. Whilst the number of properties sold this August had slipped from July the news was not all bad, as the number of sales still signified an improvement in the property sector. Sales levels were said to be around 19 percent higher than they were in August of last year and were said to be around double the number of sales seen in January of this year, reflecting the improvements that have been seen in the property market over recent months. It is thought that mortgage lending levels dropped by around 13 percent in August compared to July according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, and with the level of lending falling for the month it comes as no surprise that the number of property sales for the month has also dropped. One industry group has indicated that a rising number of first time buyers have been receiving help from family to enable them to buy their first property, with lenders still demanding high deposits, charging high rates of interest, and leaving many first time buyers out in the cold when it comes to getting onto the property ladder. Many lenders are demanding a deposit of at least 25 percent before agreeing to a mortgage for first time buyers, although there are some that will now accept a deposit of 10 percent at a price, which comes in the form of higher interest rates. text/html 2009-09-22T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=674-CBI_causes_controversy_over_student_university_fees As many people will already know it has been very difficult for many students to fund their way through university over recent years, with many either coming out of their higher education lumbered with debt or with the parents of many having to take on the onus to pay their way through university in order to get their kids a better education. However, the Confederation of British Industry has caused controversy over the past couple of days by suggesting that not only should students have to pay higher tuition fees to get through university, but that they should also pay higher rates of interest on their student loans – something that has caused outrage amongst some student unions and many students across the country. The CBI reckons that student tuition fees could increase by a couple of thousand pounds per year, and that students should also pay standard market interest rates on their student loans. However, unions and students have argues that measures such as these will put many people off going to university altogether, leaving a gap in the market and resulting in potential students from lower class families facing a future without higher education simply because of lack of affordability. The CBI did suggest that businesses could play their part in terms of higher education by sponsoring more students through their higher education. However, the comments of the group have been met with controversy and even shock by many, and one group, the National Union of Students, has even branded the suggestions that were made by the CBI as being offensive. It is thought that if the proposals suggested by the CBI actually came to fruition those most likely to suffer would be middle class families, as many would find that whilst they may find that they struggle to meet the educational costs for their children they may not qualify for any grants or interest rate cuts on student loans, which would leave them much worse off. In the meantime the government is looking into an overhaul of student tuition fees, but this is not expected to come about until after the general election in the autumn. text/html 2009-09-21T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=673-Consumers_need_to_step_up_security_during_recession Consumers are being warned by a number of insurance industry officials and authorities that they need to make sure that they step up security in their homes in the ongoing recession. Figures have shown that the number of domestic burglaries has been increasing during the recession, and as a result an increasing number of households have found themselves becoming the victim of this sort of crime. The number of burglaries in England and Wales in the year to March increased by 1 percent compared to the previous year, according to recent figures, with nearly a quarter of a million burglaries recorded across England and Wales for the year. This was the first increase that has been seen in six years, and many experts have said that the recession has played a major part in the increase in burglaries. During the first quarter of this year insurance firms paid out more than £100 million by way of settlement for insurance claims relating to these burglaries, and this was the highest quarterly figure for the past five years. With this sort of crime on the increase households are now being warned to be on their guard and to take all precautions necessary to protect their homes, loved ones, and belongings. Insurance experts have said that by making it more difficult for opportunistic burglars to get into the property consumes can often avoid becoming the victim of a burglary, as many burglars will just move on if they cannot get relatively easy access to the property. Officials have advised consumers to consider investing in increased or upgraded security for their homes, which whilst it can cost money can also save huge losses and stress that can result from being burgled. Consumers are also being warned not to leave more valuable items lying around the house, as these are just easy pickings for burglars if they do gain access to the property. Another piece of advice that insurance firms have offered is that households ensure that not only is their insurance policy kept up to date but that they have adequate cover based on the value of items in the home. text/html 2009-09-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=672-Possible_regulation_for_debt_management_firms In the current climate an increasing number of people have been contacting debt management firms for assistance with their finances, but there have been some concerns because the majority of these firms are no regulated. It has now been revealed that the government is looking into regulating these debt management firms and is launching a consultation in order to discuss this possibility. There are now many debt management companies in operation, and these firms negotiate with creditors on behalf of those that are struggling to meet their debt repayments. Often they arrange for creditors to reduce the monthly repayment that they expect from the consumer and arrange for repayments to be made over a longer period of time. In some cases they are also able to persuade the creditors to freeze the interest on the debt to make it easier for the consumer to get it repaid. However, the concern is that many of these debt management firms add hefty fees to the repayments, and for more vulnerable consumers this could cause a real problem. Some officials have questioned why consumers that are struggling with their debt repayments are then having to pay money to a debt management company when they could be putting that money towards repaying their debts. Whilst many people think that they have to go through a debt management firm they can, in fact, contact their creditors themselves and propose a reasonable reduced repayment. In the current climate many creditors will be sympathetic to consumers' situations and will be prepared to look at the proposal if the consumer is struggling to make repayments. Another option for consumers is to consider fee free debt management firms such as PayPlan, which do not take fees from the consumer as they are paid by the creditors themselves. It is estimated that around 100,000 debt management agreements are put into place every year. The government has said that this is not an actual crackdown on debt management companies, but is simply an exercise to look more closely at the way in which they are working, and to ensure that consumers are getting the right advice and assistance. text/html 2009-09-17T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=671-Nearly_two_thirds_of_workers_in_private_sector_have_no_pension It has been revealed in recently released figures that nearly two thirds of workers in the private sector have no pension provision, indicating that many of us are heading towards a poor retirement where we may not have enough money coming in to maintain the lifestyle that we have become used to whilst working. The figures were released by the Trade Union Congress, with officials expressing concern over the sharp rise in the number of people in the private sector that do not have any pension in place. According to the TUC there has been an increase in the number of people that do not have a pension in the private sector since the year 2000, other than in 2002 when stakeholder pensions were launched. The percentage of people in the private sector that do not have a pension now stands at 63 percent, and this reflects an increase of 8 percent compared to the year 2000. One TUC official said that it was a scandal that nearly two thirds of private sector employees had no pension that was backed by their employers, even with a minimal contribution. The figures also showed that in 2000 45.5 percent of workers in the private pension had an occupational pension, but this has now fallen to just 35.3 percent. The number of private sector workers that now have final salary schemes, which are pensions linked to earnings at the time of retirement, has fallen from 28.6 percent to just 13.5 percent. Industry experts have said that in order to get a pension these days that would come close to providing the benefits of a final salary scheme pension employee and employer contributions of 15 percent of pay would be required. One pensions expert said that those that were failing to save towards their retirement by not having any pension in place would be heading for problems, and that many people may be forced to continue working past retirement age as a result of having no pension in place. text/html 2009-09-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=670-Record_low_rates_may_be_in_place_for_some_time The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has recently addressed the Treasury Select Committee, and has suggested that not only could the base interest rate remain at its record low for some time but also that there was scope for the quantitative easing initiative to be extended in the near future, as the government looks at measures to try and further ease the strain on the economy. The central bank governor commented on how the low interest rates and the quantitative easing process had already had a positive impact on the economy, and hinted that in order to enable the economy to continue benefiting from this it may be necessary to keep interest rates at the all time low of 0.5 percent for some time to come, and to look at implementing further quantitative easing. King also addressed the ongoing risks in the current climate, stating: 'The strength and sustainability of the recovery is highly uncertain and the balance of risks to inflation around the 2% target remains on the downside.' In his speech Mervyn Kin g suggested that there were other measures that the government may be thinking of taking to try and improve the economy. He also suggested that the base interest rate could stay at its record low level of 0.5 percent for some months to come, despite the fact that some industry groups have suggested that the base rate could rise as early as the first part of next year. King also commented on the quantitative easing programme, and he said: 'Six months after launching the programme, we are beginning to see its impact on the supply of broad money and nominal spending.' King also said that there was a chance that the central bank and government would take other measures to try and tackle the state of the economy, and this included looking at the rate paid on reserves parked by UK banks at the central bank. Already the quantitative easing program has exceeded its original limits by £25 billion, with £175 billions having been ploughed into the system so far compared to the allocated funds of £150 billion. text/html 2009-09-15T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=669-Brown_and_Obama_outraged_by_bank_bonuses Prime Minister Gordon Brown and president of the United States Barack Obama have both expressed disgust and concern over the ongoing issue of financial institutions doling out hefty bonuses to executives given the ongoing financial crisis. A year after the collapse of the Lehman Brothers Gordon Brown spoke out to state that action needed to be taken to sort out what he described as 'unfinished business' in the banking and financial sector. Brown has stated that global action needs to be taken to sort out the bonus culture in the financial industry, and President Obama has echoed this concerns, stating that the banking industry cannot return to its old ways. A meeting of world leaders is due to take place next week in Pittsburgh, and Gordon Brown has said that this is where a clean up of the banking industry must be arranged, including the need to establish rules and regulations with regards to bonuses. According to a recent report leaders are looking at placing restrictions on bonuses based on profit or revenue percentages. Gordon Brown has stated that it is vital for all countries to take action over this issue so that there is no isolation with regards to which countries have regulation in place with regards to banking bonuses and which do not. He added that he was disgusted by the fact that some financial institutions already seemed to be swaying towards returning to their old ways despite the financial crisis, and he said that some financial institutions were taking actions that were not only continuing but even extending the bonus culture of the past. He went on to state that at the G20 summit he wanted to see an agreement formed with regards to bonuses in the banking industry, because this was something that would not only affect European countries but also countries across the world. Brown also said that the UK was the first country to recognise the dire need for regulation with regards to the bonus culture in the financial industry, and stated that the regulations needed to ensure that consumers could regain trust in the banking system. text/html 2009-09-14T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=668-Several_more_years_of_house_price_falls_in_store It has been suggested that house prices in the UK could continue to fall for another few years, despite figures that show that house prices have increased slightly over recent months. A government sponsored report from the Economic and Social Research Council suggests that property prices could continue to fall for the next few years. The report suggests that both buyers and sellers are likely to drop out of the market. It also said that although there were tentative signs of recovery in the employment sector it was likely that unemployment levels were likely to continue rising. The report went on to suggest that this would lead to a record number of divorces, which would also impact upon the property market. The ESRC is mainly funded by the Department for Business, and has put together a report entitled Recession Britain which is based on research in the current economic situation. In the year leading to June house prices fell by almost 11 percent according to the report and property values could continue to plummet for some time to come. The report went on to state that as property prices continued to decline more and more potential sellers would take their properties off the market in order to avoid losing too much money, and this would leave buyers with far less choice when it came to purchasing a property. Overall this would result in an adverse effect on property prices in the UK, with prices being driven down even further as a result of this. One official said that with fewer properties on the market it would make it even more difficult for would be buyers to find a property that matched their needs and budget, and ultimately this would lead to a further drop in property prices in the UK. The report also claimed that falling property prices could either cause or sustain an economic downturn by reducing household wealth and subsequently reducing consumer spending levels. text/html 2009-09-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=667-Massive_drop_in_household_wealth_last_year The ongoing recession and the global financial crisis has hit households in many ways, and has made a real impact on household finances. However, a recent report has shown just how deeply average household wealth has been affected by these factors, with recently released figures showing that average households in the UK saw £31,000 wiped off their wealth last year. A number of different areas have been negatively affected by the recession and the financial crisis, and this includes property values, equity, and share values, all of which have hit household wealth hard. Over £420 billion was wiped off the UK's housing wealth collectively, and over £390 billion was wiped off share values as a result of the financial climate. The figures used to calculate these losses came from the Office for National Statistics and the Bank of England. It is estimated that collectively UK households lost £815 billion from their household wealth over the course of last year, and this reflected a drop of 12 percent. One industry official said that this was a huge drop in the space of just one year, but that it was down to significant drops in house prices, equity, and share values. Officials have said that for most households their wealth is tied up in their property, shares, pensions, and investments, and all of these areas have taken a massive knock because of the difficult financial climate and the recession, which has resulted in the paper wealth of households being adversely affected in this way. On the upside figures have also revealed that over the course of this year so far there has been improvement in household wealth levels across the UK, with the financial and property markets showing signs of improvement, and with share values rising again. One expert said that the overall picture for household wealth was likely to be far healthier this year than it was last year. However, according to reports not all households will enjoy this good news, as many may now have been affected by other factors such as job losses resulting from the recession or having their final salary pensions stopped and moved to a less stable investment. text/html 2009-09-10T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=666-Rates_kept_on_hold_again_by_Bank_of_England The Bank of England announced earlier today that the base interest rate is to be kept on hold yet again, and will remain at its all time low of just 0.5 percent for at least another month. The move came as no surprise to most economists and industry experts, most of whom had predicted that the base rate would not be increased because of continued problems in the economy and the ongoing recession. The central bank has also announced that it will not be extending its quantitative easing programme further, and whilst it will continue to plough the £175 billion already earmarked for this process into the economy it has no plans to increase this amount. Today's decision marks the sixth month in a row where the base rate will have been kept on hold at 0.5 percent. Just a year ago the base rate was ten times the level it is at now, and many industry experts expect the rate to remain at this all time low for the remainder of this year and into next year. Economists have also expressed no surprise over the central bank's decision to leave the quantitative easing programme on hold at £175 billion. Last month a shock decision was made to plough a further £50 billion into the economy through the QE process, taking the total amount being used over the original maximum amount of £150 billion by £25 billion. One economist said that it was know widely expected that the bank would make no further changes to QE until at least November, at which point there was a chance that it may be extended again. Whilst the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, was outvoted last month when he voted to plough more money into the economy through QE the majority of Monetary Policy Committee members said that they wanted to wait and see what the effects of QE were before deciding to extend the scheme any further. Whilst some improvement has been seen in the economy, the property sector, and the financial markets, members of the MPC and other industry experts have said that there is still a long way to go. text/html 2009-09-09T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=665-Signs_of_recovery_in_UK_jobs_market There has been some more encouraging news about the UK's economy recently, with a survey suggesting that there could be signs of improvement in the UK jobs market following massive job losses resulting from the ongoing recession. Many reports have speculated about 'green shoot' in the economy lately, and this is yet another indication that there could be overall signs of improvement in the UK. The information has been gleaned following a survey of recruitment agencies in the UK. Based on the results of the research the month of August saw a slight increase in both permanent and temporary positions appointed for during the month. Whilst the increase was shown to only be marginal many are seeing this as an encouraging sign given the dire state of the jobs market over recent months. The increase in permanent appointments was the first seen in the UK since the early part of 2007. One official that was involved in the research said that this was the first positive news that had been seen in the UK jobs market for nearly a year and a half. The decline in the number of vacancies available also slowed down for the month, and the drop in pay was at its slowest in around ten months according to the report. Kevin Green from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said that it appeared that confidence amongst employers was growing when it came to hiring new employees, and this was reflected in the figures for August. However, experts have said that the figures cannot be seen to signal an end to the recession as it was far too early to come to this conclusion. As a result of the recession and financial climate the level of unemployment in the UK has soared to its highest level since 1995 according to the most recent unemployment figures. The jobless rate increased to 7.8 percent in the second quarter of this year, taking the total number of unemployed to nearly 2.5 million, and reflecting an increase of 220,000. text/html 2009-09-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=664-Government_cutbacks_to_have_profound_effect_on_many_elderly With the government ploughing so much money into the financial and banking systems in the UK cutbacks have had to be made in other areas, and there are now concerns that some of these cutbacks could have a profound effect on many of the UK's elderly who rely on care from the state. According to reports dramatic cutbacks are to be made in the social services sector, and this could mean that next year around two hundred thousand elderly people will lose services that they have come to rely on, such as meals on wheels and home care. Many will no longer be able to get help with their washing, cleaning, and shopping as a result of these cutbacks. Social services are having to make cutbacks as a result of rising costs and demands, which will see many of its core services reduced radically. A Whitehall report suggests that these cutbacks are also connected to the huge sums of money that the government is ploughing into the financial system, and that those that will be affected include some of the most weak and vulnerable consumers in the UK. It is claimed that local authorities do not want to stir up problems with unions by cutting pay and jobs to try and make cutbacks, and that one of the easiest targets for cutbacks is cutting back on services for the elderly. If the cutbacks go ahead it will mean that since 2006 around six hundred thousand elderly people will have lost their home help services. The amount of money available for care for the elderly is said to have fallen over recent years, and the government has been looking at options to make up for this deficit but it is unlikely that that any measures will be in place for at least five years. Some industry experts have said that with so many elderly people losing their home help and assistance more and more will be forced into care homes because they will not be able to look after themselves without this valuable support. text/html 2009-09-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=663-BCC_voices_opinions_over_economy Over the past few weeks a number of industry groups and professionals have voiced their opinions and put forward their predictions with regards to how the economy will change as we move forward into next year. Whilst some have said that the economy could start to improve towards the end of this year or the start of the next others have predicted that it could take another eighteen months or more for any significant improvement to be seen. One industry group, the British Chambers of Commerce, has now added its own opinions to the mix, and has doubled its growth forecast for the economy over the course of 2010. The BCC now thinks that the economy is likely to grow by around 1.1 percent in 2010, whereas the previous prediction, made just a couple of months ago, predicted growth of 0.6 percent over the course of next year. It has also dropped predictions for the level of unemployment in the UK for next year, stating now that it is likely to peak at just over 3 million – in a previous prediction this figure stood at 3.2 million. However, despite these slightly more encouraging predictions from the group the BCC has mirrored the opinions of many other industry experts by stating that whilst there may be some improvement in the economy whether or not that improvement could be sustained was a different matter. The chief economist from the BCC said that signs of improvement had already been seen in the economy, and that further improvement was likely over the next few quarters. However, he added that sustaining the recovery was going to be a huge challenge and the risks of a relapse remained high. The group has also said that economic activity during the first half of this year was worse than had been expected, and because of this has predicted that the economy will shrink by 4.3 percent this year, which is up from its earlier prediction of 3.8 percent. According to the BCC there are a number of factors that are likely to hinder the recovery of the economy, including high unemployment levels, high debt levels, and the struggling banking sector. text/html 2009-09-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=662-Car_sales_continue_to_be_helped_by_scrappage_scheme The latest figures that have been released in relation to car sales in the UK have shown that sales in the motoring industry are continuing to increase thanks to the car scrappage scheme that the government brought in earlier this year. Figures were released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and showed that sales levels were around 6 percent higher in August compared to the same period last year. The society said that for the month of August over 67,000 new cars were sold, and officials from the society claim that this was largely down to the car scrappage scheme, which enables owners of older vehicles to get up to £2000 to scrap their old vehicle and buy a new one. In order to qualify owners of these vehicles must have owned them for at least twelve months and the vehicles must be at least ten years old. Whilst the car scrappage scheme, which came into play in May of this year, certainly appears to have increased vehicle sales levels, which had slumped due to the economic climate, the sales levels since the start of this year are still lower than last year overall. Figures showed that in total car sales levels are around 21.5 percent lower so far this year compare to the same time last year despite the increase in sales for August. The SMMT said that there had been a lot of interest in smaller cars since the car scrappage scheme came in, but that demand for all vehicles had been boosted as a result of the scheme. The chief executive of the SMMT said that whilst sales had been boosted as a result of the scheme consumer confidence as well as business confidence was still very fragile, so there were still risks ahead for the motor sales industry. July of this year saw the first increase in car sales since April of last year, and with the growth having continued in August professionals from the industry are encouraged. However, a better idea of the success of the scrappage scheme will be gained in September, as this is when the new 59 number plates come out. There are also concerns that the money that the government has put aside for the scheme could soon run out, and once this happens vehicle sales could fall again. £300 million was set aside for the scheme but some think that this could run out by the end of this year. text/html 2009-09-03T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=661-Non-retail_finance_sector_jobs_to_suffer_in_London The collapse of the financial and property markets over the past eighteen months, coupled with the ongoing recession, have seen job losses soar in the UK, with the number of unemployed reaching levels not seen for well over a decade. Many different industries have been affected, and some of the sectors that have been most deeply affected include estate agents, furniture retailers, the building sector, and of course the financial sector. Whilst there has been a lot of talk about 'green shoots' and improvement in the economy, a recent report has shown that the non-retail finance sector is set to suffer further problems this year. A report commissioned by the City has shown that there will be around 84,000 job losses across Europe this year in the non-retail finance sector. Furthermore it is expected that almost half of these will be in London's Square Mile. The report suggests that about 35,000 of these finance sector job losses will occur in London, and that it will be at least another five years before employment levels in this sector return to those seen in 2008. Financial activity in the city is now expected to drop by almost 10 percent over the course of this year based on the report, whereas the original prediction had been a 6.2 percent drop in activity. The Square Mile is said to account for around one third of all financial activity throughout Europe, and is likely to be hit very hard by the drop in financial activity and the fact that companies such as investment banks are now making huge cutbacks as a result of the financial crisis. At present the city employs around 363,000 people in this sector, but this figure is set to fall dramatically. Bankers and hedge fund managers have been concerned over suggestions that were recently put forward by Lord Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority. Turner had described the City as being too big, adding that many of the activities were 'socially useless'. In order to rein in on speculative activity he has suggested a tax on financial transactions, called 'Tobin tax'. However, officials in the sector were not happy with these suggestions, and one official said that Turner's suggestions could send out the 'wrong message' to foreign investors. text/html 2009-09-02T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=660-Increased_motoring_costs_ahead_for_UK_families British motorists are set to face huge hikes in motoring costs over the next year as a result of spiralling oil prices and a government increase on fuel duty. This week will see the government add two pence per litre to fuel duty, and coupled with rising oil prices this could amount to the average two car family in the UK paying around £120 more for their fuel. Motorist's groups in the UK have been urging the government not to go ahead with plans to increase fuel duty, particularly in the current financial climate, but these calls have been ignored by the government, with the fuel duty increase coming into force from the start of September. For the many families that will be affected by these price increases this could simply add to the financial strain. With fuel duty already having been increased in December and then again in April of this year this will mark the third increase in the space of just nine months. At the start of this year the cost per litre of fuel was around eighty five pence, but the current cost stands at around £1.05 per litre, and some think that the price could rise to £1.10 per litre over the coming weeks. One spokesperson from the RAC said that the fuel duty increase simply wasn't acceptable, adding that there had been a 23 percent increase at pump prices since the start of this year, which most households simply couldn't afford. He said that to fill up the tank in an average car it now cost £11 more, and he accused the chancellor, Alistair Darling, of regarding 'Britain's 30million motorists as a soft target for tax'. He added that this latest fuel duty hike would further alienate consumers. The RAC also said that the government needed to provide more clarity over where all of this money from the fuel duty hikes was being spent, and needed to be aware of the impact that these increases were having on the finances of average families in the UK. text/html 2009-09-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=659-First_ever_drop_in_personal_debt_levels_seen_in_UK The Bank of England has recently confirmed that personal debt levels in the UK have fallen for the first time since records began, which was in 1993. The central banks has stated that this is therefore the first ever recorded dip in the total amount of personal debt in the UK, with personal borrowing falling by £600 million for the month of July. This drop has taken the total amount that is owed by individuals to £1.457 trillion according to the central bank, with a drop in mortgage related debt as well as other types of debt such as personal loans. The Bank of England stated: "Total net lending to individuals fell by £0.6bn in July, showing a net repayment for the first time in the series." With people repaying more than they were borrowing for the month of July, there was a £400 million drop in the amount of money that was outstanding on mortgages. There was also a drop of around £200 million on the amount that was outstanding on personal debts such as loans and hire purchase. These figures also took into account an increase in credit card borrowing of around £92 million. One industry expert said that whilst the figures were surprising and encouraging the monthly change was fairly small in light of the level of lending in the economy. He also said that the figures would not be viewed as good by officials who had been trying to get lending levels back up over the past year. In the meantime many officials are continuing to take encouragement from the recent increase seen in mortgage approvals, which to many indicates that the housing and mortgage markets may be heading for a turnaround following a very bleak and subdued eighteen months. Some have predicted that the increase in approvals and the subsequent increase in property sales will continue into the autumn of this year. In July mortgage approvals increased for the sixth month in a row, taking the total number of approvals to nearly double that seen last November. It is thought that property prices could also continue to increase in the UK if approvals carry on rising. text/html 2009-08-31T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=658-Biggest_leap_in_house_prices_for_five_years A report that was recently released by the Land Registry in the UK has shown that property prices in the UK have risen by 1.7 percent between June and July of this year, which reflects the highest month increase in around five years. There was a monthly rise in every region according to the figures, and this brought the average property price in the UK £155,885 based on Land Registry figures. However, despite the run of house price increases seen over the last few months property prices are still a lot lower than they were at the same time last year, with the drop estimated to be at around 11.7 percent compared to the same period a year ago. According to industry officials the level of property sales is also still much lower than the same period a year ago, partly fuelled by the difficulties that many consumers are experiencing when it comes to getting a mortgage. The North East of England has seen the sharpest drop in prices and the shallowest drop has been seen in Wales. The figures from the Land Registry, which are generally slightly behind those released by major lenders, are based on the selling prices of properties now compared to the price that was paid for them when they were previously sold. The year on year drop for June of this year is said to have stood at around 13.8 percent, which shows the improvement when compared to the year on year drop of 11.7 percent for July. These figures back up other data from various industry groups that there are signs of improvement in the property and mortgage markets. However, whilst homeowners across the nation may be celebrating this news it has spelled bad news for tenants, as it has spurred many reluctant landlords to quickly put their homes back on the market and sell up, which has subsequently led to fewer rental properties available for tenants and higher rental prices. This is because many people that could not sell their properties in the past due to plunging prices have now decided to sell whilst prices are rising, and this has resulted in tenants having less choice and having to pay higher prices due to supply compared to demand. text/html 2009-08-28T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=657-One_in_six_homes_classed_as_workless_household Figures that were recently released by the Office for National Statistics have shown that in the current climate one in every six homes is classed as a workless household in the UK. The ONS definition of a workless household is a home where there is at least one person of working age but where there is nobody in paid employment. Officials from the ONS have said that the figure is now at its highest in ten years, since 1999. In the second quarter of this year the number of workless households soared to 3.3 million as job cuts continued to spiral in the midst of the ongoing recession. Compared to the same period last year this reflected an increase of around 240,000 workless households in the UK. The east of England saw the lowest rate of workless households, but the highest rate was found to be in the northeast of the country. The number of unemployed is currently at 2.35 million but the figure for workless households is higher than this because it also includes groups such as those in early retirement who would not be counted in standard unemployment figures. Jim Knight, the Employment Minister, has recently announced that the government is looking to invest £5 billion to try and get people back into work following mass job losses over recent months resulting from the recession. He commented on the £1 billion Future Jobs Fund, which is aimed at creating 150,000 new jobs, and said that families all over the country were being affected by the credit crisis and the recession. The increase in workless households for the second quarter of this year reflected an increase of 1.1 percent compared to the second quarter of last year according to ONS figures, rising to 16.9 percent of households. The highest rates were seen amongst lone parent households, at over 40 percent, and the second highest rate amongst lone person households at just over 30 percent. The Labour government has been slated by opposition parties following the release of the figures, with one Tory party official stating that the figures painted 'a bleak picture'. text/html 2009-08-27T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=656-Many_younger_drivers_have_no_insurance_cover A worrying report that has been released this week by an industry group has indicated that many younger drivers on the roads of Britain have no vehicle insurance in place, putting themselves and others at increased risk. The report was released by the Motor Insurer's Bureau, and the data suggested that around one in every five younger drivers is on the roads without any insurance cover in place. The MIB report claims that there are nearly a quarter of a million drivers aged between seventeen and twenty years who are driving around without any insurance cover. These drivers are therefore on the roads illegally due to having no insurance in place, and are amongst those that cause premiums for honest drivers that do have cover to increase. An official from the MIB said that the figures were worrying, and that younger drivers in this age group made up a large chunk of uninsured drivers in the UK. He added that this was particularly daunting because many of these younger drivers had not long passed their driving tests, and based on statistics 20 percent of them would have an accident in their first year of being fully qualified. The rising number of younger drivers that have no insurance cover in place has been blamed on a number of factors, including lack of knowledge on the part of the drivers and soaring motor insurance costs, which many younger driver cannot afford – insurance costs for younger and newly qualified drivers are generally very high compared to average costs for more experienced and older drivers. However, the MIB has stated that the cost of cover is not an excuse for these drivers to be driving around without any insurance cover in place. The group said that whilst it understood the problems that younger drivers faced with it came to affordability they were committing a criminal offence by driving around without cover. A spokesperson added that drivers needed to bear in mind what could happen if they are in an accident without cover, or if they are caught driving around with insurance, which meant considering more than just the price of cover. text/html 2009-08-26T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=655-Seventeen_month_high_for_mortgage_approvals Another encouraging industry report that was recently released has shown that mortgage lending in the UK has risen to a seventeen month high. Figures were released by the British Banker's Association, and the data further fuels speculation that the recession may be coming to an end. The global credit crunch that hit the nation two years ago resulted in mortgage lending and other types of finance becoming increasingly restricted but based on these figures the restrictions are now starting to ease. Reports from the British Banker's Association have shown that the level of mortgage lending from mainstream mortgage lenders for the month of July stood at 38,181, which was the highest level for seventeen months. This figure reflects a rise of around 7.4 percent compared to the figure for June of this year, and compared to a year ago reflected an increase of a massive 77 percent. Officials have also predicted that the increase in lending levels and activity within the property market could continue until at least the autumn of this year. However, despite the encouraging news the BBA has stated that whilst consumer demand is still high, partly fuelled by the rock bottom base interest rate, new lending levels are still falling below seasonal expectations. In the month of July the level of lending stood at its highest since February of last year. The average amount that was borrowed for a mortgage for the month came in at just short of £140,000. Experts from the mortgage and property sector have said that there is a definite trend of lenders being less restrictive with mortgage lending for the month. However, they have also said that banks are still being more selective about their lending criteria compared to before the global credit crunch. One BBA spokesperson said that a couple of factors that were affecting the decisions of lenders with regards to whether or not to issue a mortgage included the deposit level that the borrower was able to put down and the long term sustainability. He added that the marketplace was still very different to the one that many people had come to know over the past decade. text/html 2009-08-25T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=654-Optimism_amongst_business_professionals_reaches_two_year_high A recent report has suggested that optimism amongst business professionals in the UK has reached its highest level in two years, with confidence levels at their highest since the start of the global credit crunch. The report suggests that business leaders feel that the recession is effectively over. The survey was carried out by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The ICAEW began its Business Confidence Monitor in 2003, and the latest figures showed the greatest quarterly improvement since this began. The organisation has now predicted that over the next quarter economic output will grow by around 0.5 percent. The chief executive of the organisation said that the figures suggested that the recession was drawing to an end. However, he also added that whilst the economy was definitely improving businesses had to ensure that they did not underestimate the challenges that lay ahead. The news comes amidst a variety of reports from around the globe that the recession in many nations may be drawing to a close. A senior official from the United States Federal Reserve has already stated recently that the US economy is embarking upon recovery. Another factor that is backing up predictions that the economy is set to recover is the increase in share prices around d the world. In the UK share prices have soared by around 40 percent compared to the lows that they reached in March of this year. A spokesperson from the European Central Bank predicted recently that economies would start to recover in the second half of this year. He said that monetary and fiscal measures would be largely responsible for the recovery seen over the remainder of this year. The survey by the ICAEW also showed that over the coming year businesses expected to see an improvement in thirteen out of fourteen key financial performance indicators, further reflecting the optimism seen amongst business professionals. According to the report confidence levels hit rock bottom in the first quarter of this year, but since then confidence levels have been steadily increasing. Confidence increases have been particularly strong in certain sectors, including IT, banking, and insurance. text/html 2009-08-24T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=653-More_£5_notes_in_cash_machines Over the years consumers have become used to only being able to get £10 and £20 notes from cash machines in the UK. Whilst these cash machines are designed to take all note denominations the low demand for notes other than tens and twenties has led to most banks only stocking these notes. However, this has resulted in a reduction in the number of £5 notes in circulation and can also prove difficult for those that want to take out an amount of cash that is not in denominations of tens and twenties. One bank has recently announced that it is going to be stocking many of its cash machines in the Midlands and the south west of the country with more fivers in a bid to try and increase circulation and make things easier for those that may want to take out lower amounts in the current financial climate. The exercise is being carried out as part of a Bank of England trial, and if successful could result in far more cash machines stocking £5 notes. The current trial is to be carried out by HSBC bank, which will be stocking around one hundred of its cash machines with £5 notes. Figures have shown that there is £1.3 billion worth of £5 notes in circulation in the UK, but most only stay in circulation for about a year due to the rate of use, which renders them too damaged to remain in circulation for much longer than that. In comparison the life of a £50 in circulation is around five years because they are used far less regularly. Andrew Bailey, the Chief Cashier for the Bank of England, said that he was regularly asked why there were so few £5 notes in circulation and why they lasted for such a limited period. He said that the central bank was keen to get more fivers into circulation in the UK, and that offering these notes in more cash machines would go a long way towards achieving this goal. HSBC has decided to be part of the Bank of England trial, and officials from the bank have said that adding to the number of fivers in circulation could also help to keep £10 and £20 notes in circulation for longer. A number of businesses, such as taxi firms, have welcomed the move. One taxi firm said that the lack of fivers in circulation had created a real problem when it came to finding change for fares. text/html 2009-08-21T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=652-Prediction_that_base_rate_could_remain_on_hold_for_a_few_years A leading UK economist has predicted recently that the base interest rate could stay at its current levels for quite a few years before it starts to increase again. For the past five months the base rate has been at its lowest level in the history of the Bank of England, standing at just 0.5 percent, which is just a tenth of the level that it was at last October before the central bank started to make cuts to the base rate. Whilst some analysts and economists have been predicting that the only way is up for the base rate now, with many suggesting that the Bank of Increase will start to apply increased towards the end of this year or the start of next, one leading economist has suggested that the base rate may well remain at this record low levels for another four years. The chief economist as the Standard Chartered Bank, Gerald Lyons, made his prediction amidst hints from the Bank of England that the quantitative easing programme that has been in place for the past few months may well be extended again. Although only £150 billion had been earmarked for the economy through this process already this figure has been exceeded, with £175 billion having been pumped into the economy so far through quantitative easing. In a newspaper interview Mr Lyons said that there was a strong possibility that the Bank of England may keep the base interest rate at its record low level for another several years, and that it could be around 2013 before any movement is seen in the base rate. He said that it was likely that the present governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, would keep the base rate on hold for the duration of his term as governor, which lasts until 2013. It was revealed recently that Mr King had wanted to plough another £75 billion into the economy this month through quantitative easing, but was outvoted by other Monetary Policy Committee members. It is this that has led to Lyons predicting that there is a good chance that the governor will keep interest rates on hold in order to aid the struggling economy. text/html 2009-08-20T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=651-BoE_governor_outvoted_over_cash_injection_for_economy Following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held earlier this month the Bank of England announced that the base interest rate was to remain on hold again for the fifth month running, standing at its all time low level of just 0.5 percent. However, the central bank also announced that it was pumping a further £50 billion into the economy through the quantitative easing programme, through which £125 billion had already been injected into the economy. Originally the Treasury had stated that £150 billion had been put aside for the quantitative easing programme in total, and with £125 billion of this having already been used most industry experts had been expecting no more than a further £25 billion injection for the economy, which would have taken the total to its limit of £150 billion. However, the central bank surprised many people by announcing that it was pumping double this amount into the economy, taking the total amount injected into the economy through QE to £175 billion. Moreover, it has now emerged that the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, was one of several MPC members that actually wanted more than £50 billion to be injected into the economy through this programme. According to reports the governor was keen to see £75 billion being ploughed into the economy rather than the £50 billion that was eventually decided upon. In addition to Mr King, a couple of other members of the MPC also voted for a larger financial injection. However, fellow MPC members outvoted those that wanted the larger cash injection, which included Mr King, and as a result the smaller amount of £50 billion was decided upon. Mr King and the two others that voted for more money to be injected had said that if the amount was not large enough it could mean that inflation would stay below its 2 percent target for "a sustained period of time... and might harm public confidence in the recovery, causing it to falter" Some industry experts have said that the situation indicated that there could be room for further extensions on the QE programme, and that the split vote with regards to the amount that should be used showed how views amongst committee members differed with regards to the outlook for inflation and the state of the economy. text/html 2009-08-19T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=650-Some_good_news_for_cash_strapped_rail_passengers Whilst the price of many goods and services has been increasing over recent months, further impacting on the budgets of millions of struggling households, there has been some good news this week that could help cash strapped passengers that use the rail service to get around. The Department for Transport has announced this week that as of January of next year the fares on most major routes are set to fall, enabling rail passengers to save some money on the cost of their tickets. However, whilst the news will be welcomed by most rail passengers industry officials have been quick to point out that the level of the price decrease will come nowhere near offsetting the huge price increases that have been seen in relation to the cost of rail travel this year. The prices from next year are set to fall by just 0.4 percent, but so far this year the cost of rail travel has soared by 6 percent, so the decrease that will be applied will be only a fraction of the increase that has already been seen. The Transport Minister, Andrew Adonis, said that the news was good for rail passengers, and a generation of rail travellers would see the cost of their rail travel fall for the first time. He also said that the measure could have positive effects on the economy as well as on the environment, as the lower price of rail travel may encourage more people to travel by train, meaning increased spending in this sector and fewer cars on the road. Regulated fares, which will see the price cuts, cover around 60 percent of journeys in the country, and include off peak travel and season tickets. Some day fares in the south east and London are also covered. In the meantime the Transport Minister announced that he had dealt with a loophole that had allowed for some operators to increase fares by up to 5 percent more than the cap providing that the change in prices was in line. Passenger Focus, a travel consumer watchdog, welcomed the move by the transport industry, but expressed concerns that whilst regulated fares may come down unregulated fares may be put up to try and claw back financial losses from this measure. text/html 2009-08-18T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=649-Recession_leads_to_waiting_list_for_animal_shelter The ongoing recession has left many people struggling financially, and sadly one of the many side effects of a recession is households finding that they can no longer afford to feed or look after their pets. Whilst some unscrupulous owners simply abandon their pets leaving them to fend for themselves, many of those who are struggling financially to the point there they cannot afford their pet have been trying to get their beloved cats, dogs, and other pets into rescue centres and homes until they can be rehomed. However, a worrying new report from one leading animal rescue centre has indicated just how many people are now looking to get rid of their pets as a result of money being so tight. The cost of feeding pets such as dogs and cats can be high enough, but when added to costs such as veterinary bills the costs can be crippling for those that are already struggling with their money. The Battersea Dogs and Cats home has recently reported that the situation is more dire than it has ever been, with cats in particular suffering the effects of the recession. Officials from the home have said that the waiting list of cats waiting to come into the home is longer than it has ever been in its history, and that there are now more cats waiting to be homes at Battersea than there are already in the home. The shelter has 145 pens for cats but has a waiting list of 174 cats waiting for a place at the home. With the recession still gripping the UK and with some predicting that things could get worse the shelter has now declared a cat emergency, and is appealing for anyone that is considering taking on a pet cat to come and visit with a view to giving one of the many abandoned cats a new home. The situation for dogs does not seem to be quite as bad, according to the Battersea home, and despite the economic and financial difficulties there appears to have been a 20 percent increase in the number of people taking on stray dogs. However, there has been a 10 percent drop in the number of people taking on cats, which has further fuelled the situation. text/html 2009-08-17T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=648-Unemployed_consumers_being_charged_to_try_and_find_work It has been revealed in a recent report that the rising number of unemployed people in Britain who are trying to find work by contacting Job Seekers Direct by phone are being charged to call the number, which has caused concern and outrage amongst many officials. Job Seekers Direct is a service that is run by the government as part of the Job Centre Plus service, and many unemployed people contact this service to find out about vacancies and ultimately to try and get back into work. With the level of unemployment having soared and set to increase further more and more people are using this job centre help line. However, the only way that they can ring the service is via an 0845 number, and the callers are then being charged up to 40 pence per minute to make the call. The Department for Work and Pensions actually runs the service, and officials from the department have said that the cost of operating the call centres with BT is £870 million, and that the money raised from charging callers to use the service is offset against the amount that has to be paid to BT. Both opposition parties and union officials have been fiercely criticising the measure, particularly given that unemployment levels have reached their highest in fourteen years. The revelation that jobseekers are being charged to try and get help from the government in this way is also likely to further dent the reputation of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Vince Cable from the Liberal Democrats described the charges as being outrageous, and the secretary of the TUC said that the charges were affecting some of the most financially strapped people in the country. The 40 pence a minute is charged when people call the service using a mobile phone, and for those that use a landline to contact the service the charge is 4 pence a minute. There is also a 7 pence call set up charge, which can vary depending on the provider. The measure has not been welcomed by the communications regulator Ofcom, which stated that it was 'inappropriate for public bodies to use such numbers when dealing with people on low incomes or other vulnerable groups'. text/html 2009-08-14T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=647-Fears_over_fresh_round_of_repossessions A homeless charity has expressed concern that there could be a fresh round of repossessions in the UK, adding that this is particularly likely to happen when interest rates start to rise again. Another factor that has been attributed to the increased likelihood of further repossession is the rising unemployment rate, with many homeowners likely to find themselves unable to meet their mortgage repayments after losing some or all of their income. The dire prediction was made by the homeless charity Shelter, and figures relating to repossession are set to be released later today. Some officials have said that many people have managed to avoid losing their homes as a result of various government schemes and measures that have been put into place, although many admitted that the schemes in many cases were slow to get off the ground. However, despite intervention from the government various other factors have played their part of repossession levels, such as unemployment levels, which have increased to their highest since 1995 with nearly 2.5 million unemployed. One thing that has helped to ease the repossession problem over recent months is the low base interest rate, which has plummeted to its lowest level in history at just 0.5 percent. A spokesperson for Shelter said that the group was concerned that once the base interest rate started going back up it would create further problems for homeowners, particularly in the current climate with the recession still ongoing, and this could bring a tidal wave of new repossessions across the country. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have already revealed that there has been a 50 percent annual rise in UK repossessions in the first three months of this year. The CML did, however, cut its forecast for repossession levels over the whole of this year, forecasting around 10,000 fewer repossessions than it had originally predicted. This was partly due to government intervention, with many homeowners taking advantage of the various schemes that were put into place to help reduce repossession levels. At present the CML has predicted a total of 65,000 repossessions over the course of this year, but this figure could change if unemployment levels continue to increase. text/html 2009-08-13T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=646-Unemployment_levels_continue_to_increase A bleak report that was released earlier this week has shown that unemployment levels in the UK are continuing to rise, and unemployment numbers have now reached their highest in fourteen years. The number of unemployed is said to have increased now to 2.5 million according to official figures that were released by the Office of National Statistics. The jobless rate stood at 7.6 percent in May of this year, but in June this figure increased to 7.8 percent. A year ago the jobless rate stood at just 5.4 percent, illustrating just how significantly unemployment levels have increase. With the recession still ongoing, and in the words of the Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, set to be deeper than originally thought, it is likely that this figure could continue to grow. The report also showed how many younger people are now finding it difficult or impossible to get work, and the number of sixteen and seventeen year olds that are now in work has fallen to under 30 percent. This figure stood at 34 percent a year ago. There was also a fall in the number of people aged between eighteen and twenty four that were in work, which fell from 64 percent a year ago to 60 percent. The number of younger people unable to get work has surged this year, with nearly half a million people aged between eighteen and twenty four now on the dole. In total there are well over 900,000 young people that do not have jobs. Officials have predicted that over the short term the unemployment rate amongst younger people will continue to increase, as a rising number of graduates leaving university find themselves unable to get employment in the current climate. Over the last quarter, in the three months to June, the total number of unemployed increased by 220,000, and over the past year has increased by three quarters of a million. However, despite the gloomy data in the ONS report economists have said that the figures were slightly better than they had expected. text/html 2009-08-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.loans4.co.uk Loans4 Limited http://www.loans4.co.uk/loan_news/news.php?item=645-Significant_jump_in_home_buyers_loan_mortgages_for_June According to recent figures the number of home buyers loans that were granted in the month of June by UK lenders was significantly higher than the level seen in May, with a reported increased of around 23 percent according to recent reports. Figures were released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders which suggested that the number of home loans in June 2009 was not that mush lower than the number seen in June of last year. The figures from the CML showed that in June of this year there were around 45,000 home loans that were granted by lenders in the UK. This figure was only 6 percent lower than the number of home loans that was granted by UK lenders in the same period last year, which means that despite the economic and financial crisis, coupled withy tighter credit conditions, the number of home loans being dished out is not significantly lower than a year ago. The CML also said that although there had been no return to the housing boom of the decade leading up to 2007, which is when the house price bubble burst, there was evidence that the property market was going through a period of stability. However, the news was still