Posts Tagged ‘Money’

Consumers shouldn’t rely on inheritance to clear debt

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

According to a recent report there are many people in the UK who have a lot of debt and who hope that getting some sort of inheritance at some point will help to sort out their debt problems. Many people try and keep things ticking over with regards to their debt payments in the hope that at some point a relation will leave them some money or assets that they can use to clear this debt.

However, officials have warned that those with debts need to stop relying on inheritance and windfalls to try and clear their debts, stating that many could end up being disappointed because they end up getting nothing. In fact, according to a recent survey a large number of people who leave wills actually leave more money to their pets and animals than they do to other people.

A survey was carried out by More Than and revealed that around 40 percent of people leave more money to their pets than they do to other people. The survey showed that 70 percent of people were worried about what would happen to their pets if they were to die and wanted to leave the money to ensure the long term care of their beloved animals so that they did not end up in a rescue centre.

An official from More Than said: “Pet owners are naturally concerned about the long-term care of their pets and many are taking the necessary steps to make sure they are provided for in their wills.”

This means that many of those that may have been expecting money from a relation who passes away could end up with far less than they imagined, which is why people are now being urged not to rely on this sort of income to deal with debt.

Tags: Credit card, Pet owners, debts, Money, long term care, windfalls, large number

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Complaints about estate agents soar

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

It is a standing joke that estate agents in the UK have something of a poor reputation and are amongst the most disliked in terms of profession. However, a recent report has shown that people really do seem to be taking objection to estate agents, with the level of complaints made against this group having soared.

Figures have been released recently by the Property Ombudsman, which have shown just how much the level of complaints against estate agents has soared in the UK. The previous high when it came to estate agent complaints was reached in 2008 when the UK was still in the throes of the financial crisis and recession. However, the level of complaints has now topped this by a massive 28 percent.

According to the Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, the level of complaints has now reached its highest since records began twenty years ago. The number of complaints is said to be 40 percent higher than predictions for the year. He also expressed concern that the rising level of complaints have come despite the lower transaction numbers in the property market, which would means that people are having less to do with estate agents that they have in the past.

Hamer said that complaints were ‘unacceptably high’ with the figure for last year coming in at 1338. Many of these complaints related to lack of communication between the estate agent and the consumers, with others relating to marketing and advertising or the way in which complaints had been handled. The highest number of complaints were made against estate agents in the South East according to the figures.

Hamer said: “People are less ready to be satisfied in times of economic stress to accept less than perfect service, especially when they are spending a lot of money.”

Tags: something, profession, throes, Business Finance, Money, level, communication

Posted in Mortgage News | No Comments »

Personal insolvencies set to increase

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

The level of personal debt in the UK has become an increasing concern, especially given the difficult financial and economic climate that so many people are facing at the moment. Increased living costs, a rise in VAT, higher risk of job losses, and government welfare cuts have left many people struggling with their everyday living costs.

The Insolvency Service recently released figures showing that although there was a drop in personal insolvency levels in the final three months of last year the number of insolvencies over the course of the year rocketed to record levels last year. The bad news is that officials believe that the number of insolvencies could rocket even higher over the course of this year.

Figures have shown that a huge number of people are now finding it difficult to make their money stretch to the end of the month when they next get paid, with many running short around two thirds into the month. This means that for one third of the period many people are relying on credit to get them through, and this is resulting in credit card balances, overdrafts, and loan debt spiralling out of control.

It has even been claimed by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau that problems with money have resulted in the increased number of cases of depression and mental illness.

Figures show that there were over 135,000 personal insolvencies last year, and this could increase to in excess of 150,000 this year.

One industry official said: “Unfortunately, it’s only going to get tougher as the government’s austerity measures are only just beginning to be felt in people’s wallets. I doubt that when the coalition government came to power last May, it envisaged that its austerity measures would result in such a startling increase in the cost of living. These spiralling costs, coupled with worldwide commodity shortage and conflicts in the Middle East pushing up oil prices, means that the future doesn’t feel that bright! We have at least begun pay back our debts, some £24 billion in the last 12 months but again this is marred when you consider that banks have written off nearly £10 billion of our debt over the same period.”

Tags: government, Money, Service, loan, control, Insolvency Service, personal insolvencies

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Paying debt could be better than saving

Friday, December 24th, 2010

Many people these days are struggling with a range of debts that they have accrued, and in the current financial climate coping with these debts has become more and more difficult for many people. However, many people that are worried about losing their jobs or about the ongoing challenges and difficulties in the financial markets may be trying to put money aside into savings even though they also have high interest debts.

Some industry officials have said that some people may find that they are far better off using their money to pay off higher interest debts rather than to put the cash into savings. However, whilst paying down debt is going to be more beneficial to consumers in a number of ways one official said that this would only be suitable for people that had at least some level of personal savings that they could use freely in the event of an emergency.

Many of those that are putting money into savings are getting little to no return on their cash because of the low interest rates that financial institutions are paying on savings accounts now, whereas if they used that same money to pay off high interest debts they could save a fortune in the amount of interest that they pay.

However, at the same time people do need to have some money put aside that they can use in the event that an emergency arises, otherwise if something unexpected occurs they may not be able to get their hands on the cash that they need to deal with it.

An industry official said: “As long as consumers have at least a little bit put aside in savings then any further excess cash may be best used by putting it towards savings in order to save money on interest.”

Tags: savings accounts, interest debts, industry official, debt, Financial institutions, challenges, Money

Posted in Debt News | No Comments »

Consumer continue to borrow from friends

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Officials have warned that consumers across the UK are getting themselves into an even worse situation when it comes to their debts, with many continuing to borrow from friends. Research into so called ‘friend debt’ was carried out by the Post Office, and officials from the Post Office said that the recession and lack of traditional finance had seen a surge in the number of people borrowing from friends.

The results of the study showed that shockingly consumers had borrowed more than £7 billion from their friends in order to tide them over when they were short of money. The study looked at borrowing and lending trends between adults, and more than a quarter of those that were polled as part of the survey said that they had given cash to an average of four friends in the past twelve months, and had agreed to have the money back at a later date.

The average amount that was lent for each loan worked out to £133 according to the survey results. However, whilst the money was handed out in good faith as a loan the research also showed that less than half of the money that was handed out had been repaid leaving an outstanding balance of just under £3 billion between friends.

The results also showed that around 18 percent of people were lending more money than they could really afford to, leaving themselves in financial trouble to help friends out. In some cases the recipient of the loan was repaying friends by other means such as with alcohol rather than repaying the cash.

Doug Strachan, director of financial services at the organisation, said: “The Post Office is urging people to make sure they don’t put themselves, or their household, into financial difficulty when helping others.”

Tags: half, Money, Research, difficulty, friend, faith

Posted in Debt News | No Comments »

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