Personal Finance Stuff

Nationwide the ‘most trusted’ financial services company

Alan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:06:37 +0000

The public voted Nationwide as the ‘most trusted’ in the financial services sector after a new survey has found that the public views financial services as less deserving of trust than those in the retail market.

The survey was commissioned Baber Smith the integrated marketing communications agency and carried out online by YouGov.

Titled the Insight Survey, the survey looked closely at consumer trust in regards to both the financial services and retail sectors and showed that Nationwide earned the title of the most trusted financial services with 15% of all respondents reporting that it was one of their top three choices as trustworthy within the financial sector.

Second place went to the Co-operative Bank with 12% of the vote and Barclays took third with 10% of the vote. At the bottom of the list were Admiral Insurance and Northern Rock which only garnished 1% of the survey vote.

According to the survey, most consumers are not yet ready to trust financial services with 12 of the 20 companies on the list scoring a final trustworthy rating of less than five percent. On the bottom tier of the list along with the above mentioned were Tesco Finance, Aviva, and M&S Money.

In terms of gaining trust of its customers, the Co-Operative Bank earned the top title with 57% of all customers in the survey reporting that they felt it was trustworthy while Nationwide took the second title with 53% of its users reporting it was trustworthy. In third and fourth place were First Direct and Britannia respectively. It was interesting to note that out of the top four companies only one of them was shareholder owned.

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How do Sim Only seals work?

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:54:19 +0000

Over the last year sim only deals have become quite popular among those that want the freedom to use any mobile they want under a monthly basis, rather than long term. A sim only deal basically allows you to purchase a package that includes a certain amount of text messages, minutes, and downloads for one price on a monthly basis. The contracts do not come with any fixed term periods and the user can cancel the contract at any time so long as they give a thirty day notice of their intention.

Sim only deals are only practical as the name suggests for those who already have a mobile phone since they do not come with a handset given the short term nature of the contract. While you may have to purchase a mobile to make the deal work for you, the beauty is that a user has the freedom to change their price plan at any time based on your estimated usage of the mobile phone from month to month.

For example, a user that is heading on holiday and suspects they will not use their mobile may choose to downgrade their package for the month and then swap it back to their normal deal the following month.

The ability to swap deals is also great for those who are not sure of their actual usage needs since a basic sim only deal can be chosen and then adjusted each month until the best plan that fits the user’s needs is assumed.

Another freedom that sim only deals offer is that if you find you are unhappy with the network service due to poor signal or service you can simply choose to cancel the service after a month without any early termination fees.

Even better about the sim only deals, is that most offer free sim cards making the initial equipment purchase absolutely free if you already a mobile phone. Most plans additionally offer large amounts of minutes, texts, and cash back compared to a standard mobile contract, which can be lucrative for those that spend large amounts of time on their mobile phones.

Other advantages that are found among popular sim only deals include free internet browsing, free land line calls with purchase of a sim only deal for the duration of its use, and even free downloads which on a contract plan can get costly quickly.

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Savers very dissatisfied with pension returns

Alan — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 07:32:18 +0000

Speaking at a London pensions conference, Steve Webb stated that he is aware of the resentment felt by many savers that have suffered dips in their funds due to poor return rates.

The statement came just a few days after the Government stated that it will now change the calculations behind private sector pensions which expects believe will cause lower retirement payouts.

Webb stated that the worse advocates of the savings and pensions programs are those that reach older age and say that they wish they had not saved their money given they watched their neighbours purchase expensive goods while they saved and were not able to get much for their trouble.

He continued to explain that those who made an honest effort to save only not to see a large reward, but also often are the most resentful and serve as the largest obstacle combating the promotion of the pension programs. He said that this needs to be combated by making sure that those who have saved are better off for their efforts.

Those who have suffered from poor pensions and savings are usually those who were hit with low annuity rates and the recently retired. Those who held funds in Individual Savings Accounts and bonds also saw the rates plummet due to the financial crisis and felt the crunch.

According to a report titled the Scottish Widows Pension Report, women that are fifty and older were hit the hardest.

Pension expert Laith Khalaf from Hargreaves Lansdown, stated that he could not agree more with the sentiment that resentful pensioners need to be combated because pension credit right now does not look positively on saving and rewards.

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Selecting the right credit card can save a lot of interest

Alan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:45:06 +0000

With a wide variety of credit cards available on the market it can be tricky to identify which ones are the best for you. With this in mind, it is important that you do your research and choose the credit card that is the best fit for your needs otherwise you may end up paying interest when there is no need to.

Most credit cards charge interest that is about 16%, so the best way to shop for a credit card if you plan on using it frequently is to look for cards that offer 0% on new purchases such as the Sainsbury’s Finance MasterCard for Nectar Holders and the Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit card MasterCard.

Both of the above mentioned cards offer a years’ worth of free interest on all purchases so you have an entire year to pay off the credit before worrying about the interest. Of course, you will need to make sure that you pay the balance off before the year of interest free perks come to an end, otherwise you will still be stuck paying interest on your purchases.

On the other hand, if you have large amount of debt on a credit card and want to get out of the interest, the best way to proceed is to transfer it over to a 1% interest card and get a few months to make payments without interest so that you can start to make a dent in the debt.

The BT Visa by Barclaycard Platinum for example allows you to pay 15 months without interest, which can be a significant amount of time to start ploughing through your debt.

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More house doom and gloom on the way

Alan — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:45:54 +0000

House prices are expected to crash next year according to hosing experts as figures show that they have dropped for the third month in a row. The average house price fell about .6% in June down to £166,200 setting them at 17% below their August 2007 peak before the credit crisis started.

Last year prices rose temporarily due to a shortage of sale properties but the end of the Home Information Packs has led to many more houses entering the market dropping values substantially.

Halifax economist, Martin Ellis, stated that an increase in available properties on the market over the past few months has reduced the imbalance in the housing market losing the pressure on prices.

However, prices may be hit hard towards the close of 2010 and throughout 2011 as unemployment continues to increase and household budgets continue to get tighter.

Property economist Paul Diggle of Capital Economics stated that the figures from today show that house prices that accelerate usually mean that house price correction is in the near future. With most people about to see their income get squeezed tighter it is safe to assume that the house market will take a downward spiral.

Global Insight economist Howard Archer echoed these thoughts stating that right now it is tough to be optimistic about the housing outlook in 2011 in regards to prices due to the fact that the global fiscal squeeze is going to play a large role leading to job losses across the public sector.

A LSL Property Services house price index suggested that buyers on the other hand are taking advantage of the falling prices with property sales up by 20% in June.

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Isa transfers to speed up

Alan — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:16:32 +0000

Savers could earn extra interest that totals up to £14.5b each year as the result of new plans that will put an end to the year of chaos by speeding up Isa transfers. Starting January of next year, Isa’s will be transferred to a new provider quickly so that customers receive a much ‘fairer’ deal.

Now Isa transfers must occur within only 15 working days. Before the limit was 23 working days although for the most part building societies and banks seemed to ignore the requirement leaving customers often in limbo.

Banks also have agreed that interest will begin to build up just two days after fund receipt. The guidelines were set by the Office of Fair trading in response to a large complaint issued by Consumer Focus the watchdog.

Many people have complained about their own Isa troubles, which has helped to bring the enormous scandal to light. So now building societies and banks are to be held accountable.

Consumer Focus attacked the poor processes surrounding Isa transfers that have caused hundreds of customers to be left waiting for months for money to reappear while losing hundreds of pounds in interest.

The news that transfers times will now be acceptable offers some respite, but for the thousands of customers that have earned interest rates as small as .1% without the ability to access their own money the change will be too late.

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Energy saving tips for the house

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:26:53 +0000

The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has published its Energy Saving Guide. The guide includes a series of money and energy saving ideas which, it is claimed, could potentially can save households £400 a year.

Here are the four simple steps put forward for energy saving by the ECA:

1. Install energy saving light bulbs – These are cheap and easy to install and can save up to £100 a year.
2. Set your thermostat correctly – Setting the thermostat between 18 and 21 degrees centigrade can save up to £65 per year.
3. Install and use heating and hot water boiler controls – This can minimize wastage, for example by only heating water at times when it is needed most (morning and evening) – this can take £100 a year off your annual heating bill.
4. Upgrade your boiler – After the initial investment, changing from a G-rated system to a condensing boiler could save £128 annually.
So those steps add up to about £400.

In additional, there are other energy saving tips which can save you money:

Additional savings can be made with these top-tips:

• Remember to switch-off – Leaving appliances on stand-by means they’re still using electricity so turn them off at the plug when not in use.
• Turn the light off – Encourage everyone to switch-off the lights when leaving a room; both simple and effective. Alternatively, you could always choose to install motion sensor lights.
• Consider updating appliances – Older, less efficient appliances could be costing you double in electricity charges so choose a model that has the European Union Energy Label or the European Eco-label to make sure you’re not paying over the odds. www.cus.net
• Make the switch – Choosing an A-rated model will be more economical to run and better for the environment.
• Choose your tumble-dryer carefully – Making sure to choose a high energy rated model. A Which? survey compared an A and C grade dryer and found the C grade cost £67.38 more per year to run.
• Fully load the machine – Both dishwashers and washing machines are more efficient when operating with a full load. A Which? survey found most modern dishwashers actually use less water than washing-up by hand.

For more information and to download the ECA’s guide to energy-saving, please visit: www.eca.co.uk

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Low interest rate not helping lower mortgage principle

Alan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:27:34 +0000

When the Bank of England reduced interest rates to .5% over a year ago, the move was made to give home owners some spare cash from the new lower mortgage payments. It also was thought that the spare cash could be used to make larger payments on home loans.

However, Capital Economics economist, Roger Bootle, stated that the claim that homeowners are paying their mortgages back at a faster rate is not founded.

Bootle stated that instead the mortgage principal repayment rate is much less than the lowered interest rates were expected to be showing, and that although the mortgage arrears may be slightly improved they could mask a fragile picture of the homeowners’ market.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders warned that the housing market will be subdued over the last part of the year, even though there has been a slight increase in mortgage lending. During May, lending for mortgages rose by seven percent, but is still much lower than the rates seen towards the end of 2009.

During the month, a total of £11.3b was handed out, an increase from the 10.5b supplied in April but still much less than in December of 2009 when £13.6b was distributed.

The CML stated that the market is still low although it shows a bit more buoyancy with a lower than normal average turnover. Next week the housing market is said to be part of the emergency budget with measures included that may place more pressure on home budgets.

CML economist, Paul Samter, stated that the ground was cleared for the Budget next week in an effort to shape public finances into a better stance.

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BRC questions credit card company fees

Alan — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:13:55 +0000

Banks are making up to millions of pounds per year by placing high fees on debit and credit card sales according to retailers.

The British Retail Consortium introduced new figures that show the average credit card transaction costs retailers a stunning 34p compared to the 2.1p for cash transactions and 8.5p for debit transactions.

The BRC stated that card payments accounted for almost 77% of all retail spending in 2009. It added that its members would save up to £480m per year if credit card processing fees were the same as cash.

At the same time, figures from the UK Cards Authority, Office for National Statistics, and BRC show that charges paid by retailers for the average adult’s purchases by credit card come out to about £185 per adult every year.

BRC member Stephen Robertson stated that there is no reason to have such large differences in the transaction costs of cash and cards. With the technology that fuels card payments continuing to develop and grow it only makes sense that card charges should be decreasing, not increasing.

However, a spokeswoman for the UKCA stated that the card issuers would not be able to break down profits and costs on transactions because they do not carry this type of data but she added that the card issuers do cover large costs on the side, such as fraud protection and interest free periods.

Transaction fees that occur from card use originate from two locations, the retailer’s service charge issued on every sale and the interchange fee that is charged by the card issuer. The last part is fixed at .75% of all sales by the UKCA.

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Guide to Insurance Bonds – Free Gudie from Defaqto

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:07:12 +0000

If you are thinking of investing in insurance bonds, independent research company Defaqto has published a free guide to Insurance Bonds which encompasses both onshore bonds and offshore bonds.

The areas covered by Defaqto’s Insurance Bond Guide include:

A market overview of onshore and offshore bonds
The investment types available
Charging structures and fees
Policyholder protection
The taxation of bonds
Bonds without guarantees
Trusts and their use in estate planning
Likely future developments and platforms

The Insurance Bond guide is free to download from www.defaqto.com/adviser

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