November, 2009 news
Debt: pre-pay energy meters `overcharging customers`
Energy regulator Ofgem has claimed that five of the `big six` energy suppliers are still overcharging some customers, according to the BBC.... Read more »
Number of short-term mortgage deals increasing
Personal finance website Moneyfacts has claimed that there has been an increase in the number of shorter-term mortgage deals over the past year, according to the Telegraph.... Read more »
Debt causing `physical` stress
Research by Experian`s CreditExpert.co.uk suggests that many people are suffering physically as a result of the "increased financial strain" of things like being in too much debt, headlinemoney.co.uk reports.... Read more »
`Inflation-proof` savings to protect against debt
Savers should choose their account carefully to ensure their money grows faster than inflation, according to Moneysupermarket.com, after the official (CPI) inflation rate rose to 1.5%.... Read more »
Bank of England split on QE decision
Minutes from the Bank of England`s most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting show that policymakers were split three ways over the decision to extend the Bank`s quantitative easing (QE) scheme.... Read more »
Accounts closed as people don`t repay credit card debts
Research by Confused.com has found that in the UK, 1 in 5 of the accounts which were closed by the provider were closed because consumers didn`t keep up with payments to their credit card debts.... Read more »
CML: 5% rise in gross mortgage lending in October
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), gross mortgage lending in October was an estimated £13.5bn - 5% higher than the £12.9bn seen in September.... Read more »
Insurance deals could help lower cost of motoring
The cost of motoring has risen by 2.68% over the past year, according to new research by Sainsbury`s Finance.... Read more »
Student debts to rise if fees double
A review of the funding of higher education, which started earlier this month, could lead to students paying more than double the present fees for university courses, meaning they will face `bigger debts`, The Times reports.... Read more »
QE `has not yet improved` loans
The Bank of England`s quantitative easing (QE) scheme has yet to improve the loans market, according to an influential policymaker.... Read more »
12.2 million `hiding debt`
Almost one quarter of UK adults - 24%, or 12.2 million people - are hiding some form of debt from their partner, friends or family, according to insurer Axa.... Read more »
Stamp duty holiday extension `needed for mortgage market recovery`
The existing `stamp duty holiday` must be extended if the mortgage market is to continue recovering, according to experts.... Read more »
Debt: bankruptcy orders to become available online
Borrowers facing unmanageable debt problems will soon be able to declare themselves bankrupt online, according to The Guardian, under Government proposals announced today.... Read more »
Three in ten credit card users `won`t repay debt for six months`
Almost a third (31%) of credit card users don`t plan to repay their outstanding credit card debt in the next six months, according to a new survey.... Read more »
Bank of England: economy on `road to recovery`
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has said that the UK economy has "only just started" on the road to recovery, and predicted economic growth in the near future.... Read more »
Banks: `The worst is over` & bad debts have `peaked`
Two of Britain`s biggest banks, HSBC and Barclays, have both claimed that the rise in bad debts has `peaked`, the Telegraph reports.... Read more »
Fewer mortgages in arrears reduces repossessions forecast
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reduced its forecast for the number of repossessions in 2009 for the second time this year.... Read more »
Car finance `showing signs of recovery`
The number of new cars bought through dealer finance increased by 15% in September, despite the scrappage scheme`s limited impact on demand for car finance, according to a new report.... Read more »
Loans decline `has accelerated`
A new report has claimed that the decline in new lending seen in 2009 is greater than that seen in 2008.... Read more »
Third of Britons `travelled without insurance`
Sainsbury`s Finance has warned winter holidaymakers to make sure they have adequate insurance, after it estimated that over a third (37%) of Britons who went on holiday this summer did so without insurance.... Read more »
Households to spend £5,000 on servicing debts over the next year
According to figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers, households in Britain will spend an average of up to £5,000 on their debt repayments over the next year, the Telegraph reports.... Read more »
Bad credit card debts `to rise`
The proportion of credit card debts that borrowers cannot afford to repay could reach 9% by the end of next year, experts have claimed.... Read more »
Mortgage deposit requirements easing
Mortgage deposit requirements are easing, according to Moneyfacts.... Read more »
Thousands still waiting for student finance
According to figures from the Student Loans Company, of the 985,000 students who applied for financial support, 70,000 were still having their applications `processed` as of 18th October, the BBC reports. In total, around 698,000 students (out of the 844,000) whose applications had been approved had received a first payment, while around 146,000 students were still waiting for their first payment, the figures showed.... Read more »
Rise in Debt Relief Orders pushes up insolvency levels
Insolvency levels in England and Wales rose once again in the third quarter of 2009, according to official statistics, largely fuelled by a sharp rise in the number of DROs.... Read more »
Jump in car loans as scrappage scheme boosts sales
The car scrappage scheme has been responsible for a sharp increase in the amount of money borrowed in the form of car loans, according to a new report.... Read more »
September figures show increase in secured debt
According to figures from the Building Societies` Association (BSA), the value of mortgages approved by building societies in September rose to £1.565bn, compared with £1.264bn in August.... Read more »
Reluctance to offer mortgages `a key obstacle` to recovery
Halifax`s House Price Index has revealed that house prices in October increased for the fourth month in a row (by Halifax`s measurement) - but homebuilders have suggested that `the ongoing reluctance of lenders to offer mortgages` is `a key obstacle to a sustainable recovery`, The Times reports.... Read more »
Cost of debt can be reduced by switching accounts
17% of the UK population are permanently in debt on their overdrafts and 50% use their overdrafts on a regular basis, according to new research from Moneysupermarket.com.... Read more »
New rules protect banking customers
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is now in charge of regulating banks` and building societies` day-to-day contact with consumers, in a move aimed at protecting banking customers.... Read more »
Unemployment predicted to rise
According to accountants BDO, by this time next year, unemployment in the UK will have risen to 2.75 million, news.sky.com reports.... Read more »
Loan customers covered by new Lending Code
As of the beginning of November, people taking out loans are protected by the new Lending Code.... Read more »
One in five households `have no contents insurance`
Almost one in five (17% of) households have no home contents insurance, according to Halifax Home Insurance.... Read more »
Economists: recovery could be held back by debt
Economists have claimed that an economic recovery will be held back as households attempt to repay their debts, according to the Financial Times.... Read more »
Recession `keeping mortgages affordable`
The recession should help keep mortgages affordable well into 2010, according to Nationwide Building Society.... Read more »