The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has recently expressed concern over the amount of interest that is being charged on loans that are taken out by small firms. (more…)
Tags: business loans, loan rates, loans, Alistair DarlingThe Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has recently expressed concern over the amount of interest that is being charged on loans that are taken out by small firms. (more…)
Tags: business loans, loan rates, loans, Alistair DarlingThe Office of Fair Trading has criticised a loan broker after receiving a series of complaints from unhappy customers. The complaints were made about Yes Loans, and the complaints related to the fact that many consumers were given the impression that YES was a lender and not a broker. (more…)
Tags: yes loans, loan fees, Office of Fair Trading, loan referral fees, loan brokers, OFTIt has been claimed recently that despite the fact that the base interest rate is at an all time low of 0.5 percent the rates being charged on many mortgage loans and general loans are continuing to increase, meaning that consumers are unable to benefit from the cut in base rate in many cases. (more…)
Tags: mortgage rates, loans, loan rates, mortgagesA recent report has suggested that banks in the UK are slyly trying to make more money from customers by increasing their personal loan rates, which some campaigners have described as being underhand. (more…)
Tags: loans, interest rates, loan ratesIt has been revealed recently that the lack of credit card availability for many consumers could spell good news for unscrupulous loans sharks out there, as an increasing number of consumers may find themselves having to turn to loan sharks when they are struggling financially simply because they cannot see any other option. (more…)
Tags: credit cards, loans, loan sharksWhilst credit conditions have been particularly difficult over the past couple of years, since the onset of the global credit crunch, it has been reported recently that some lenders have been relaxing their loan terms, enabling consumers to enjoy easier access to loans and greater affordability. (more…)
Tags: loans, loan terms, loan periodsIn a recent report an equity firm in the UK has warned that many pensioners may actually be paying over the odds when they release cash from their homes. (more…)
Tags: homeowner loans, equity releaseIt has been reported recently that the secured loans market in the UK is somewhat doomed, with the availability of secured loans becoming more and more rare as a result of falling house prices. (more…)
Tags: secured loans, secured loan lendersAccording to a recent report whilst loan rates in the UK may have increased recently there are still some decent deals available for a number of consumers. (more…)
Tags: loan deals, interest rates, loans, loan ratesWhilst it is clear that the ongoing recession is affecting most people in one way or another, particularly in terms of their financial situations and job security, a recent report has said that people that have damaged credit histories and low credit ratings are amongst the groups that will be hardest hit by the recession. (more…)
Tags: credit history, bad credit loans, poor credit loans, loansAfter the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month the Bank of England announced that the base interest rate was to be left on hold at 0.5 percent. (more…)
Tags: interest rates, base rate, economyIt has been revealed that many banks are cracking down on overdraft facilities and limits in a bid to try and reign in credit. Some banks are now conducting regular reviews on overdraft limits, and are giving consumes just one month in which to repay the money after slashing their overdraft limit. (more…)
Tags: bank overdrafts, cut creditAccording to recent reports the PPI ban that has recently been announced by authorities will result in further spikes to loan rates, which many industry officials have said are already spiralling despite the all time low base interest rates, which stands at just 0.5 percent. (more…)
Tags: payment protection insurance, loan rates, personal loans, loans, secured loansAccording to industry official the decline of house prices across England and Wales continued in March, but was at its slowest level in the space of a year. In addition to this there was also an increase in sales levels, which picked up from record lows. (more…)
Tags: council of mortgage lenders, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, house pricesA number of economists have predicted that the governments plan to try quantitative easing in order to boost the economy will prove successful. (more…)
Tags: credit crunch, quantative easingAccording to a recent report lenders have said that there is a good chance that credit will become more readily available for businesses and consumers over the coming months, although demand for credit is likely to remain subdued for some time to come. (more…)
Tags: loans, credit, Credit Conditions SurveyLater this year the Financial Ombudsman Service is set to announce individual figures for banks and financial institutions with regards to the level of complaints each ash received about PPI or Payment Protection Insurance. (more…)
Tags: payment protection insurance, Financial Ombudsman ServiceOfficial figures that have been released by the Financial Ombudsman Service have shown that the level of complaints relating to loan insurance in the UK have been shooting up. (more…)
Tags: loan insurance, Financial Ombudsman Service, payment protection insurance, PPIAccording to recently released reports the interest rates being charged on personal loans in the UK are continuing to rise despite the fact that the base interest rate has plummeted. (more…)
Tags: loan rates, personal loans, personal loan ratesIndustry experts have predicted that the fees and charges associated with loans and mortgages from banks could soar in the future as a result of sweeping reforms planned by the government to stop a future financial crisis similar to the one that the nation has been plunged into now. (more…)
Tags: council of mortgage lenders, British Bankers Association, mortgage fees, loan feesLenders and PPI providers have been told by regulators that they will have to stop selling the highly controversial single premium PPI, or payment protection insurance, over the coming months, and providers have now been given a deadline by which they must have ceased selling this type of insurance cover. (more…)
Tags: single premium PPI, loan insurance, PPI, payment protection insuranceOfficials from the Competition Commission have recently confirmed that the sale of the controversial insurance cover known as Payment Protection Insurance or PPI is to be banned in 2010. (more…)
Tags: Association of British Insurers, competition commission, PPI, payment protection, payment protection insuranceA leading house builder in the UK has revealed that revenues have fallen by almost 60 percent as the mortgage crisis in the UK continues. In the last twelve months house builder Redrow has seen revenues plunge by more than half with a drop of 58 percent. (more…)
Tags: low mortgage lending, redrow homes, redrow revenue fallAccording to a recent report some consumers are finding that in the current difficult financial climate they are able to access loans at better rates from a loans website, Zopa.com, which is aimed at matching borrowers up with appropriate lenders based on their needs and circumstances. (more…)
Tags: zopa loans, internet loansThe shadow housing minister, Grant Schapps, has recently expressed concern over the interest rates that are being charged on some payday loans, describing the rates as ‘obscene’. (more…)
Tags: payday loanA recent report claims that millions of borrowers could be entitled to sue lenders and claim back a percentage of their loans, and this is because of alleged mistakes that some lenders have made with their loan contracts. Banks could be left facing whopping bills at a time when their financial situation is already facing massive problems, and some experts reckon that some consumers could end up being able to wipe out all of their debt as a result of the errors. (more…)
Tags: PPIAccording to recent reports many cash strapped consumers are paying higher than average rates of interest on personal loans, and amongst those being stung by these higher rates are pensioners and those that have a damaged credit rating – groups who are often struggling financially and can therefore ill afford to be paying higher rates of interest than most others. It is thought that some poorer consumers could be facing interest rates of close to 20 percent on personal loans with some lenders. (more…)
Tags: loan rates, loansThe National Consumer Council, which was recently renamed Consumer Focus following a merger, has reported that it is not part of a relatively new website that was set up to help consumers find the cheapest doorstep lenders. The reports indicate that the consumer watchdog is trying to distance itself from the website, which was set up earlier this year by the Competition Commission to help people to find the most competitive doorstep lender in a climate where an increasing number of consumers have had to turn to these lenders. (more…)
Tags: national consumer council, doorstep lenders, mortgage rescue planConsumers are being warned that over the past few months the interest rates charges on personal loans have rocketed, and rates are now well over double the official base rate of 2 percent, with more than a 5 percent margin between the base rate and the average rate of interest charged on these loans. In just a couple of months the gap between the rates charges on loans and the base rate has widened considerably, leaving consumers paying way over the odds on some personal loans. (more…)
Tags: interest ratesSince the onset of the global credit crunch consumers in the UK have been affected in many ways, with the cost of borrowing rocketing and with availability of finance in all sectors becoming more restricted and difficult. Many consumers have found that whilst they were able to get finance with relative ease a year or so ago, these days getting a loan or other form of finance is not so easy. Also, many have found that the cost of taking out a loan or other form of finance has gone up. (more…)
Tags: personal loans, interest ratesAccording to a recent report lending amongst UK banks is getting even more difficult, and many of the banks and building societies in the UK are set to cut their lending level even more than they have over the past year, since the onset of the global credit crunch. This data comes from a report from the Bank of England. The report also claims that the fall in new mortgages over the past three months had been bigger than expected. (more…)
Tags: interest rates, bank of englandPPI or Payment Protection Insurance has been at the centre of controversy for some time, with investigations revealing that in many cases this costly insurance cover was being mis-sold to consumers who did not want it, did not need it, and could not even benefit from it in some cases. PPI is a type of insurance cover that is sold alongside finance such as loan or credit cards, but it was revealed that many lenders were using persuasion tactics to sell it, making consumers believe that they had to take it, or were even adding it onto agreements without the consumers’ knowledge. (more…)
Tags: PPIAlthough the subject of loan insurance, otherwise known as Payment Protection Insurance or PPI, has been at the centre of heated controversy for some time, this product still continues to attract complaints from customers and concerns from a variety of industry professionals. In fact, the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, and the Financial Ombudsman Service are continuing to crack down when it comes to PPI, having already imposed sky high fines on some lenders and companies that have been found to have been mis-selling this form of cover. (more…)
Tags: FSA, competition commission, financial ombudsmanEarly this year the government announced that it was taking over the stricken bank Northern Rock, and passed legislation to allow the rapid nationalisation of the bank. The government has now used this same legislation to rush through the nationalisation of another struggling lender, the Bradford & Bingley. The government has announced that it is taking over the loan books of the bank, which stand at £50 billion, much of which has been lent to buy to let investors. (more…)
In a recent speech the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, said that there was a good chance that any further interest rate cuts for the remainder of this year would be put on hold, with the central bank now concerned that the soaring rate of inflation is getting more and more out of control. Despite the state of the economy, with many concerned that the nation is on the brink of recession, the governor has indicated that there could be no further interest rate cuts this year. (more…)
Tags: interest rates, bank of emglandThe poor activity in the housing market in terms of sales has affected many different industries, such as property removal industry, property lawyers, furniture retailers, and estate agents. Over recent months there have been many concerns raised about the number of estate agencies that could end up closing down as a result of poor property sales, and recently a London estate agency announced that after seventeen years it was finally closing the doors on property sales. (more…)
Tags: estate agents, credit crunchFollowing a ten year house price boom, which lasted until last October, homeowners in the UK have seen the value of their homes fall month on month, with property prices having dropped for the last consecutive ten months according to industry officials. This has raised concerns for many over falling into negative equity. One recent report has shown that annual house price falls have now hit double digits for the first time in eighteen years, with the last double digit fall seen in 1990. (more…)
Tags: property pricesAccording to a recent report the Office of Fair Trading is to look more closely at payday loans, and this follows calls from a variety of debt campaigners and charities to launch an investigation into payday loans because of the high rate of interest that is charged on these loans. Payday loans are short term loan for relatively small sums of money, often used by those that need some money to tide them over until payday comes around, and with household finances getting increasingly tighter more and more people may be relying on loans such as these to get by each month. (more…)
Tags: payday loansMany people have suffered financial difficulties in the past because of their poor credit rating. A poor credit rating is achieved when you make regular late repayments on bills and debts, or worse still miss repayments altogether thus defaulting on your financial obligations. Once you have a bad credit rating you will find it difficult to get any sort of affordable finance in the future, and this includes loans, credit cards, and even a mortgage. (more…)
Tags: loanHomeowners who are struggling with their mortgage and debt repayments are being urged by industry officials to seek assistance and talk to their creditors as early on as possible, to avoid getting into even deeper financial trouble, and more importantly to avoid the risk of repossession. Many homeowners are now struggling with their finances for a number of reasons. Many are still reeling from the five interest rate hikes that were applied between August 2006 and July 2007, and whilst the base rate has been reduced a few times over the last six months many lenders are still continuing to hike up borrowing costs. (more…)
Last week saw members of the powerful rate setting Monetary Policy Committee meet up for their monthly meeting, and following the meeting the Bank of England announced that the base rate would be staying on hold at 5% for this month – a move that many industry officials have already been expecting. Most already knew that the decision faced by MPC members was a tough one, as they have to balance the slowing economy with soaring inflation levels when determining interest rate movement. (more…)
Tags: base rateAccording to a recent report the value of homes across the UK has plummeted since last summer, with industry officials claiming that house prices have fallen by around £15,000 on average since last summer. The data was recently released by the Halifax, with claims that house prices peaked last August, around the same time that the global credit crunch began to make its way to the UK, and since then have been declining. (more…)
Tags: house pricesWith many consumers unable to get their hands on an affordable loan due to the restrictions that have come about from the global credit crunch, many are turning to more expensive methods of trying to bridge the gap each month when they find that their income does not cover their outgoings. According to some officials many of those unable to get finance elsewhere due to poor credit or low incomes are turning to doorstep lenders and paying a fortune in order to borrow money. (more…)
Tags: doorstep lenders, loansWhilst many people on lower incomes and bad credit have been struggling to meet loan and debt repayments for years, it seems that the global credit crunch has resulted in a new breed of consumers now struggling to make ends meet when it comes to their finances. According to a recent report more and more middle class consumers living in fairly affluent areas with their own homes are now struggling to keep on top of debt and loan repayments. (more…)
Tags: loan repayments, debt, middle classAs many consumers will be only too aware accessibility to loans of any sort has become far more difficult over the past nine months, since the global credit crunch swept across the UK, wreaking havoc in the nation’s financial markets. Many consumers who may have been eligible for a loan a year ago may find that the tighter credit conditions in place now mean that they can no longer get an affordable loan – or in some cases any loan – which has made things very difficult for some, particularly given that many households and experiencing real financial worries due to increased living costs. (more…)
Tags: loan, overdraft, banksMost people are only too aware of how difficult and expensive it has become to get any sort of finance these days, with the global credit crunch maintaining its grip on the UK money markets and lenders exercising increased caution with regards to who they will lend to. Even finding an affordable personal unsecured loan has become extremely difficult if not impossible these days, and this has marred the chances of many consumers who are looking to raise finance. (more…)
Tags: credit unionsA recent report has shown that a worrying number of lenders are failing to carry out important checks into the income of applicants that apply for unsecured finance, and there are concerns that this could lead to many people getting into unmanageable debt levels and could result in an increase in bad debt levels in the UK. (more…)
Tags: loans, credit crunch, lenders