Posts Tagged ‘result’


Stagnant wages making debt problems worse

Monday, October 31st, 2011

A recent report has highlighted how stagnating wages in the UK are making debt problems for consumers even worse, with many people struggling to make debt repayments due to their income levels compared to soaring inflation and living costs. There are many people who have seen their wages frozen or even dropped over the past couple of years, putting intense pressure on them with regards to their finances.

As most people are aware, the cost of everything from petrol and food to energy usage has soared over the past year or two. However, at the same time the wages that people are earning have increased only marginally or not at all, leaving consumers facing the difficult task of making their income stretch much further than it did in the past. For those that have debt this has made it difficult to make anything more than the minimum repayment on their debt. In addition to this many people may have been forced to get even deeper into debt by borrowing money to make ends meet.

There are now concerns that this difficult situation could result in the already worrying personal debt problem in the UK becoming even worse, and household debt is expected to soar to £2 trillion by 2015, which many believe could be a real threat to the nation’s economic future. Some believe that economic growth will be severely hindered as a result of this situation and more and more people may end up having to turn to solutions such as insolvency to try and solve their debt problems.

One union official said: “As wages have stagnated, debt has soared. As incomes are squeezed further, the Office for Budget Responsibility expects household debt in this country to reach over £2 trillion by 2015 – an albatross around the neck of our economic future.”

Tags: living costs, report, everything, result, albatross, Responsibility, cost

Global cutbacks could lead to increased need for debt advice

Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Over recent years the number of people that have required debt advice to help them to deal with their rising levels of personal debt has shot up. Debt advice firms and charities have found themselves under mounting pressure with regards to dishing out the advice that people need and waiting lists for seeing debt advisors have been growing longer and longer as more and more people find themselves in a difficult situation where they are unable to afford their debt repayments.

When the coalition government announced that it was launching an austerity drive last year many people thought that the demand for debt advice would soar even further, as more people found themselves under increased financial pressure due to factors such as cuts in benefits, job losses in the public sector and the private sector, and soaring living costs. However, it has been claimed recently that the situation could be worse than initially imagined as a result of the many other countries that are taking similar action, which will also have a knock on effect in the UK.

Some officials believe that with the situation as it is the UK could be in line for another recession in the near future, which would have a huge impact on businesses and jobs. There are now fears that if more and more people end up losing business or jobs the level of demand for debt advice could go through the roof. If the base rate rises over the coming months from its all time low of 0.5 percent this will also have a huge impact on consumer finances.

Speaking about the economic climate and austerity drive in the UK, one official said: “At the moment it just seems to be a worldwide trend. I think the inevitable consequences of that is it is going to be a difficult period ahead, not just for the UK but for much of the world.”

Tags: year, result, line, roof, Financial Planning

Don’t waste money on unnecessary two for one deals

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

For many people that have debts and money worries one way to try and reduce outgoings is to look for bargains in supermarkets when doing the shopping. Many supermarkets are riding out the stiff competition that they face from their rivals by offering a huge number of buy one get one free or even buy one get two free deals on their products.

However, whilst these deals may sound really great, and in some cases can benefit people such as when buying frozen produce and items with a long shelf life, there are also many people that fall for the offer and purchase something that they did not want and did not need simply because they realised it was on offer. Often these offers are on items with relatively short shelf lives, and the people that spend their money on them end up not only wasting money on items that they would ordinarily not have purchased but also end up creating a mountain of wasted food because they are unable to consume the free products within the time that they have before they go off.

A recent report has claimed that Brits are creating a mountain of wasted fresh produce that is worth £13.7 billion a year as a result of these promotions. The average household is said to be wasting around £520 a year by taking up these offers and then throwing away the produce because they do not get around to eating it.

The Local Government Association has released the figures and said that the problem is being fuelled by these special two for one or three for one deals that the supermarkets are always promoting. Officials now want supermarkets to look more carefully at the way in which they promote perishable products in order to help reduce the wasted food mountain.

One official said: ‘With more than five million tonnes of edible food thrown out each year, way too much food is being brought into homes in the first place. Retailers need to take a large slice of responsibility for that. Buy one, get one free deals which give consumers a few days to munch through 16 clementines are not about providing value for money. They are about transferring waste out of retail operations and into the family home. Retailers should scrap multi-buy deals which encourage people to take more than they need and replace them with discounts on individual products which will help reduce excess consumption and increase customer choice.’

Tags: number, bargains, fresh produce, something, tonnes

Lenders lose High Court ruling over PPI

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

This week saw lenders lose their High Court battle over PPI compensation, which means that banks will have to contact and pay compensation to millions of people who claim to have been mis-sold the controversial Payment Protection Insurance cover with loans and other forms of finance.

The result means that many more people will now make claims over the sale of this insurance, and it could end up costing lenders in excess of £4.5 billion to pay out the compensation. Banks are already sitting on many claims and complaints relating to PPI and many others will come flooding in. The decision has come as a blow for the banking industry but is a victory for consumer campaign groups.

Anyone that believes that they were mis-sold the insurance through being pressured into taking it out, being sold cover without being informed, or being sold cover when they were not even eligible to claim on it, could now find themselves in a position here they can get compensated and full refunds on the cover. Millions of claims have already been made and having ended up with the Financial Ombudsman, where most were decide in favour of the consumer.

After the ruling the British Bankers’ Association responded by stating: ‘We are disappointed with today’s judgment and now need to consider the details of it very carefully as well as next steps, including whether it would be appropriate to apply for permission to appeal. Any complaints that are directly affected by the judicial review and therefore cannot be decided will continue to be placed on hold until the next steps have been decided.’

Tags: excess, payment protection insurance, week, result, financial ombudsman, British Bankers Association

Survey reveals debt worries amongst consumers

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Many people are in debt these days, with personal debt levels amongst some households having increased as a result of the global financial crisis and recession, which has left many people strapped for cash. However, there are concerns amongst a large number of people with regards to how they will repay their debt and whether they will ever be free of it.

According to the survey nine out of ten people have run up unsecured debts, and many of these are concerned over whether they will be able to pay back the debt. Around 89 percent of consumers aged between 18 and 35 had debts that they had run up in the form of loans, overdrafts, and credit cards, and a third said that they did not think that they would ever be free of the debt.

The survey also showed that 54 percent of consumers would have to continue borrowing money in order to fund the lifestyle that they wanted. Another 20 percent of consumers said that they were not worried about their loved ones having to cope with their debt in the event that they died before the debt had been repaid. A massive 80 percent of consumers said that even in the current climate it was still too easy to borrow money on credit cards and through banks in the form of loans.

One industry expert said: “The majority of UK adults owe money in some way, shape or form, but to see that almost a third think they’ll never be free from debt is quite alarming. When borrowing money from any source, how you are going to repay it should always be in the back of your mind. A lot of people don’t really think about the consequences of borrowing money and it can be easy to get complacent, but keeping it all under control should be a priority from the off. Only borrow what you really think you can afford to pay back.”

Tags: finance, event, mind, result, massive 80 percent, majority, lot

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