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1) Big Five banks still firmly in charge of UK personal finances
Author:
Matthew Pressman
Category:
Finance
Despite controlling the majority of the population's day-to-day finances, the UK's big five banks only appear nine times in the top 64 Best Buy credit cards, loans and savings accounts list issued by consumer magazine, Which?
But, despite their apparent lack of enticing offers the big five have a stranglehold on the country's finances, illustrated by the percentages of customers holding accounts with them. Almost 65% of credit cards, 53% of savings accounts, 50% of personal loan...
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2) 'Debt freedom day' slips into March 2008
Author:
Matthew Pressman
Category:
Finance
A rapid increase in the number of days that the UK population has to work to pay off the interest on outstanding loans and credit card balances has prompted a warning from one independent financial search website.
Unbiased have calculated that it now takes the UK population 70 days to pay only the interest debt owed on credit cards and loans, and that amount doesn't even start to pay back the balances owed. The financial advisory website assigned the title 'Debt Freedom Day' to...
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3) Many credit card customers finding going tough
Author:
Victoria Cochrane
Category:
Finance
The first signs that credit will be more difficult to obtain in the future has come with the news that refusal rates for credit card applications are rising, and one major issuer has even unilaterally terminated 160,000 customers' accounts as it attempts to reduce its exposure to bad debt.
These actions highlight the effect that the global credit crunch has had on financial institutions, as many are reeling from a reduction and in some cases total withdrawal of wholesale funding...
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4) Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders
Author:
Andrew Regan
Category:
Finance
'Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders' is a documentary and accompanying book released by American director and author James Scurlock and is a stark reminder of the ubiquity of credit cards.
Released to critical acclaim in 2006, the film consists of a string of vignettes about people who have taken on too much debt, as well as interviews with Harvard professors, debt collectors and other authorities to show how too many people have developed a buy...
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5) Men to transfer most credit card debt in early 2008
Author:
Andrew Regan
Category:
Finance
Recent research by the Abbey has discovered that over 3million people will transfer credit card balances in the first three months of 2008, with men transferring the biggest balances.
The average balance switched from interest-bearing credit cards to zero percentage deals is anticipated to be £2,666, but men will switch an average £3,395 compared to women who will move balances of £1,820. In total over £9billion will be switched on UK credit cards, with people aged between 35 an...
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6) 'Borrowing up, savings down' spells trouble for UK economy
Author:
Paul McIndoe
Category:
Finance
Latest financial industry figures show that UK savings balances are reducing at the same time that borrowing levels are on the increase, as millions of Britons struggle to pay their increased mortgage payments and increased utility bills.
The credit crunch is being blamed for people using their savings to pay for luxuries such as summer holidays, and that draw on cash reduced the UK's savings balances by £11billion in the third quarter of 2007. However, at the same time accordi...
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7) No Cheques Please, We're Plastic - Paper-Free Payments By 2012?
Author:
Elisha Burberry
Category:
Finance
If some predictions are to be believed, we will be living in a cashless society by no later than 2012. This may not come as a major shock, given the current trend in online shopping and the ubiquity of 'chip-and-pin' on the High Street. But where does this leave the trusty chequebook - once a staple part of British consumer culture?Well, being paper-based, cheques are more expensive for banks to process compared to electronic methods, so a gradual shift away from cheques in many Europ...
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8) Making that switch: finding the best credit card
Author:
Adam Singleton
Category:
Finance
Nobody likes to pay more than they need to for something. Whether it's a holiday or a new pair of shoes, most people like to find a bargain to ensure their money goes that extra mile.
But when it comes to credit cards, many people may not be as thrifty as they otherwise could be. Shopping for the best credit card deals is now as easy as shopping for anything else, with many financial and consumer websites now in existence purely for the purpose of comparing financial products su...
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9) Credit cards restrictions hit Christmas spending
Author:
Paul McIndoe
Category:
Finance
Accountants Pricewaterhouse Coopers are warning holders of UK credit cards that they may find their credit limits reduced in the run-up to Christmas, as financial institutions focus on reducing their exposure to bad debt by attempting to improve the quality of their lending, following the global financial markets credit crisis.
Because many lenders had their fingers burned as a result of the sub-prime market collapse in the US, the knock-on effect is to make those companies bela...
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10) Don't give fraudsters a very merry Christmas!
Author:
Adam Singleton
Category:
Finance
As Christmas approaches our spending increases, and so does the chance that we will become a victim of credit card fraud. Forget about it being the 'season of goodwill to all men', that is not a sentiment to which fraudsters adhere. They will do their best to steal others' credit card details - whatever the time of year - so be on your guard.
One of the prime reasons that it is easier for fraudsters to be successful at Christmas is because of the sheer amount of transactions tha...
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11) Keep credit cards away from kids, US study warns
Author:
Paul McIndoe
Category:
Finance
A fascinating study commissioned by brokerage Charles Schwab investigating how teenagers' treat money and debt has been grabbing the headlines in the United States, and contains some findings that we in the UK could do well to consider.
The survey entitled "Teens and Money, 2008" has highlighted American teenagers' casual approach to debt and interestingly suggests that their habits could be learned from an early age, playing board and computer games and with other toys that inc...
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12) Credit squeeze on credit cards
Author:
Paul McIndoe
Category:
Finance
Banks and other credit card providers are starting to review thousands of customers' credit limits and increasing the number of new applications that they turn down, as the fallout from the US lending crisis continues. By taking this action, lenders hope that they will cut the expensive costs of pursuing late payers and defaulters.
Major credit card provider Barclaycard, like most UK credit cards companies, has reduced the credit limits of half a million customers as it continu...
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