Bank charge complaints rise Record levels of complaints regarding bank charges have been received by the Financial Ombudsman Service says the independent settler of financial disputes.
52-year Mortgage on offer Mortgages are being offered for a term of at least 40 years by some lenders but Tesco personal finance offers the longest term at 52 years according to Money Expert.
Spending less as bills increase Customers are being forced to alter their spending habits in a bid to address an increase in household bills such as water and energy, according to CreditExpert’s Personal Credit Index.
Video banking pilot launched by first direct In collaboration with mobile phone network 3, first direct is set to become the first UK bank to offer video banking to its customers.
House prices on the rise says Halifax House prices in the UK rose to their highest levels in six months, a scenario attributed to demand outstripping supply and a strong economy, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.
Parents helping kids with house cost The bank of mum and dad is very much still open for business as new research has shown that four million UK parents are part-funding their children’s house moves.
AA raises interest on savings Following the Bank of England’s decision to raise the Base Rate by 0.25 per cent to five per cent, the AA has announced its intention to reward its savers with a similar rise in interest rates.
Interest rise on Post Office Instant Saver The Post Office Instant Saver account is to have an interest rate rise of a quarter of a per cent in accordance with the rise of the Bank of England’s base rate announced today.
First-time buyers urged to protect their money The Post Office has warned first-time buyers that they are taking a risk by not taking out an insurance policy to cover their mortgage payments should they become unable to meet their charges.
Cost of raising kids rises Parents may well be feeling the pinch when it comes to raising their children as new research shows that there has been a 28 per cent rise in the cost of bringing up kids in the last four years.
Liverpool Victoria offers insurance discount Liverpool Victoria has announced that it is to offer discounts on a range of home and motor insurance products for customers with more than one policy.
Zurich Guaranteed Capital Account launched Zurich’s Guaranteed Capital Account has been introduced and has been tailored to meet the needs of intermediaries who are looking to provide their clients with a secure investment.
New mortgages launched by Platform Platform, the intermediary lender of Britannia, has launched two new tracker products to the mortgage market.
Woolwich rethinks its buy-to-let offerings Woolwich has declared that it is to enhance its buy-to-let offerings by streamlining the amount of documentation needed in specific cases.
‘It’s cheaper up north for houses’ Due to the growing margin between house prices in the south compared with the north, potential house-buyers have been urged to look further north when buying property in the UK.
Gas and electric can be cheaper online Customers in the UK could be missing out on ‘significant’ savings by not taking advantage of online gas and electricity supplier deals, according to price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com.
How to make a big hit in one tax year The new pension rules significantly lifted the bar on contribution thresholds. But a small group of high-flying executives and City workers are taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to pay even more into their schemes, at least for one tax year.
Alternative routes when Treasury splits heirs The Treasury’s threatened clamp-down on Alternatively Secured Pensions is leading to a search by pensions savers and their advisers for other ways of obtaining comparable tax breaks.
Treasury may heed calls to raise ISA investing limit Investors saving through Individual Savings Accounts (Isas) would be able to put in much larger sums of money than presently allowed, if industry proposals are taken up by the Treasury.
Negative equity holds no fear for many Graduates and young professionals are increasingly taking out mortgages in excess of the value of their property so they can get on to the housing ladder without having to pay the deposit or moving costs from their own pockets.
Reduced tax perks puncture investor demand The season to invest in new shares of venture capital trusts is almost upon us. However, demand for these tax-privileged investment funds is likely to slump this winter because of a reduction in their tax perks, a survey by a top tax advisory group indica
Social forces change the very fabric of house market Bubbling below the financial credentials of a buoyant economy are a wealth of social and demographic factors which are also providing significant support for house prices.
Parents will be able to roll Child Trust Funds into Isas Parents will be able to start building up Individual Savings Accounts (Isas) for their children from birth following an announcement by the government this week that it will soon be possible to roll Child Trust Fund accounts into Isas.
Tractor test shows rural commitment In 21st century Britain, country estates are snapped up by City bankers and other wealthy urbanites. A high-profile example is Marc Jonas, the founder of Punch Taverns and now a private equity executive, who this summer bought a 4,000-acre estate in Wilts
A hands off approach to absolute returns Investors who want exposure to spread bets and CFDs but do not want to shoulder the responsibility for the investment decisions can hand over their money to investment managers.
Buy-to-let beauties show their ugly side Large numbers of buy-to-let investors are having their properties repossessed and sold off at auction as growing numbers of property investors are unable to meet interest repayments.
Borrowers urged to prepare for another rise The Bank of England took no-one by surprise when it raised interest rates by a quarter point to 5 per cent this week. But banks may still not be quick off the mark to pass the rate rise on to savers.
Off-piste perils of owning a home in the snow Whether they fancy the thrill of racing down a black run themselves or just want to rake in a healthy rental yield, UK investors are piling into property in ski resorts across Europe and the US.
Industry draws up reforms to ward off annuity U-turn The pensions industry is lobbying the Treasury in a last-ditch effort to persuade the government not to axe Alternatively Secured Pensions, the new vehicles which allow investors to avoid purchasing an annuity at retirement.
Budget 2008: Are You Any Better Off? This year’s budget wasn’t the most exciting, but in the current financial climate, you could hardly expect it to be....