UK banks' chip and pin technology must be overhauled after it emerged that one in seven people could have already been a victim of a "fatal flaw" in the system.

Experts at Cambridge University believe the system is "broken" after they tricked it into accepting transactions without using a valid personal identification number.

They say the flaw is so fundamental it threatens to undermine the entire security of the system.

Which? said that in a recent survey 14 per cent of people – one in seven – said they have had money taken from their bank account and 13 per cent from a credit card.

Of those around half did not get their money back from the bank, even though they insisted they did not use or authorise the "disputed withdrawal".

Professor Ross Anderson, a computer expert, claimed to have developed a way of bypassing security systems which renders chip and pin no longer "fit for purpose".

His team's "man in the middle" technique involves having a separate card reader in a back pack.

The fraudster puts the stolen credit or debit card into the shop's reader but then the second reader in his bag sends a "pin OK" signal to the shop terminal.

The shop terminal then sends back a transaction go-ahead signal to the terminal with the stolen card and money is taken off it.

They claim to have used it a number of times without the banks, who firmly deny it is a threat, being any the wiser.

Prof Anderson, who two years proved that cards could be cloned, accused the banks of lying when they said there was no problem.

"How would the banks know if the fraud has taken place?," he said. "We used it in our canteen and they have never contacted us to say that there was a fraud.

"We have many examples of people who have had their cards stolen and then purchases made using the chip and pin.

"They are adamant they didn't use it but if the banks say chip and pin has been used you have to pay.

"I think many of these people would have been victim of the kind of technique we have developed.

"The banks are wrong. All the banks are lying. They are maliciously and wilfully deceiving the customer. If there was any justice then the police would be looking into this. The system is not fit for purpose."

Stephen Mason, a barrister who specialises in cases of chip and pin fraud, said at the very least the potential breach of security should be investigated.

"There is clearly something wrong with the system," he said. "I have people who believe as much as £4,000 has been taken from their accounts.

"It is not right for the banks to say our systems are perfect. The banks need to realise there is reasonable doubt about how secure the system is."

But The UK Cards Association, which represents the banks' card operations, dismissed the claim, saying that while the research had shown what it was possible to do in theory, this did not mean it was practical or even possible to do in reality.

Figures for fraud committed on lost and stolen cards were down to the lowest figure for two decades, she added.

The Financial Ombudsman Service, which decides on any disputed claims, said any new methods of committing fraud would be taken into consideration in future disputes.

At present, the customer is accountable for the fraud as banks argue that PIN verified transactions are secure. Given this attack demonstrates a clear method of bypassing the PIN system, this assertion by the banks stands on shakier ground.

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Labels: Bank of England, consolidate debt loans, loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 3:13 PM 0 comments links to this post

The number of people being evicted from their homes has climbed to a 14 year high, with an average of 126 repossessions every day in 2009.

As many as 46,000 people had their home repossessed last year, the highest level since 1995 and 15 per cent more than the previous year.

The figure from the Council of Mortgage Lenders is significantly below the group’s original forecast of 75,000, which was revised down twice to 48,000.

However, the CML predicts a sharp increase in repossessions and the number of people falling behind with their monthly mortgage payments this year.

It blamed uncertainty in the economy and possible interest rate rises putting additional pressure on households’ finances.

Charities and financial experts said it was “unacceptable” that so many people had lost their homes.

The Government claims schemes put in place to help borrowers in financial difficulty have helped 330,000 families stay in their homes. However, figures suggest only 92 families completed the Mortgage Rescue Scheme, where eligible families can either get an equity loan to reduce their mortgage, or sell their home and remain as tenants.

It comes as lenders are criticized for continuing to offer the best deals to those with a significant deposit.

Figures by personal finance website Moneyfacts suggested borrowers with deposits of just 5 per cent pay £4,728 more on an average two year fixed rate deal compared to those with a 25 per cent deposit. This is based on borrowers looking for a mortgage of £150,000.

The CML also revealed a sharp decline in the number of mortgages for landlords.

It said 93,000 buy-to-loans were approved last year, down 58 per cent on the previous year’s 222,700 and the lowest annual figure since 2001.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, home loans, Loan calculator, loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 3:09 PM 0 comments links to this post

The number of people who were declared insolvent in England and Wales hit a record high in the last quarter of 2009.

The figures from the Insolvency Service marked the depth of the recession, with 35,574 people declared insolvent in the last three months of the year.

That was a rise of 25% on the same period a year earlier.

Over 2009 as a whole, there were 134,142 people declared insolvent in England and Wales. This was up 26% compared with 2008, and higher than the previous record - in 2006 - of 107,288. Records began in 1960.

However, the number of personal insolvencies only crept up by 332 in the final three months of the year, compared with the previous three months.

The quarterly total was made up of 17,007 bankruptcies - down 5.5% on the same quarter of the previous year, 13,219 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) - up 26.3% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and 5,348 Debt Relief Orders (DROs) - which were introduced in April.

These DROs allow people with debts of less than £15,000 and relatively few assets to write off these debts without a full-blown bankruptcy.

Record low interest rates would have staved off insolvencies for some people, but long-term unemployment would make it difficult for others to avoid the situation.

IVAs could also have risen as people cutting hours instead of being made redundant had some funds to pay back debts instead of going bankrupt.

Many experts have suggested that there will be more pain to come despite the UK coming out of recession.

Compared with the last recession in the early 1990s, the latest figures show a very different picture.

The number of individual insolvencies has shot up in the past decade, and now far outstrip the numbers seen in 1992 and 1993 of about 37,000 each year, although it is easier now to be declared bankrupt.

Experts said this was because the amount of credit built up by individuals - especially on plastic - mushroomed in the last decade. Since 1993, the amount of personal debt in the UK - including mortgages - has risen from £398bn to £1.46 trillion.

IVAs were also in their infancy in 1992-3.

This means that 0.3% of the adult population was declared insolvent in 2009, a far higher rate than the 0.1% recorded in 1992 and 1993.

But the number of companies being wound up, via various forms of liquidation, still falls far short of those recorded in 1992.

Then, 24,000 companies were wound up, 2.6% of all companies in existence.

The current liquidation rate, which has increased in the past two years, is still less than 1%.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 2:53 PM 0 comments links to this post

The Government's free debt advice service is being forced to turn people away after being unable to cope with a 28pc jump in demand, a report has warned.

MPs described the Government's approach to advising people in debt as a "triumph of bureaucracy over practicality" and urged it to "shake up" its strategy to meet the increasing demand for help in the current economic climate.

The Public Accounts Committee said the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' approach to debt advice was "unnecessarily complex", with more than 50 different projects and a number of funding streams.

Edward Leigh, the chairman of the committee, said: "The whole thing is undermined by poor co-ordination and a lack of clarity about who is in control of it all."

Consumers owed £1.46 trillion in debt at the end of last year, with personal borrowing representing 160pc of household annual pre-tax income. The recession has caused demand for debt advice to soar, with research suggesting around one in 10 people are struggling to keep up with their borrowings.

But the Government's free face-to-face service struggled to cope with the 28pc rise in the number of people contacting it during the year to July 2009, leading to a quarter of agencies either turning consumers away or forcing them to wait for more than a month for help.

Richard Bacon, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said: "At present, the Government is not always using the most cost-effective means of reaching people in need of help with their debts. It costs an average of £265 to provide face-to-face debt advice, but telephone advice costs just £51 and internet advice is cheaper still."

He said one in four people who saw a debt adviser face to face said they would actually have preferred to have been given advice over the telephone or through the internet.

He said: "The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills needs to use the money it deploys more effectively in order to address the gap between the demand for debt advice and the Department's current capacity to provide it."

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, home loans, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 2:49 PM 0 comments links to this post

While the UK’s output of goods and services grew in the final quarter of 2009, according to the latest official statistics, many people are wondering whether their own finances are actually in any better shape.

Recovery can bring its own problems; for a start, rising demand tends to stoke inflation, which could prompt the Bank of England to raise interest rates – good news for savers, but not something that hard-pressed home owners would welcome.

So what are the prospects for our personal finances as the economic recovery takes hold?

With Britain borrowing record amounts of money, many expect public spending cuts or tax rises – or both – as the Government attempts to balance the books. Income tax could have to rise by as much as 5p in the Pound.

Commentators are divided on the likelihood that interest rates will rise from their current unprecedented lows. Official rates were unlikely to rise this year because a tough post-election Budget would equate to a significant interest rate rise.

But you don’t need the Bank of England to put up official rates for mortgage costs to rise. Lenders are by and large able to change their standard variable rates at will, while Skipton Building Society recently abandoned a pledge to keep its SVR within three percentage points of Bank Rate.

Higher interest rates might seem like good news for savers, who would finally see better returns on their money. But if inflation rose faster than interest rates, pensioners’ and savers’ incomes would not keep up with increasing household bills. Rising rates also means higher mortgage rates, which will put further pressure on many households’ incomes.

While you would expect the end of a recession to be good news for the stock market, it’s worth bearing in mind that markets generally look ahead, so much of the good news will already be “in the price”. So instead of simply expecting the FTSE100 to soar, investors may have to be selective if they want to profit, experts say

An immediate improvement in employment prospects is unlikely, experts say. Jobs will remain hard to find, with employers likely to remain nervous about hiring when the economic recovery is still sluggish. In fact, we expect unemployment to start rising again and it could even reach 3m.

Even if employment holds up, that is only likely to be because firms are controlling costs by cutting or freezing pay instead. For many people, it will still feel very much like a recession.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, sub prime loans, UK loans rates, uk recession

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 9:55 AM 0 comments links to this post

UK debit card spending will overtake spending with cash as a method of payment this year.

Debit card transactions rose by 10 per cent last year, according to Visa Europe, which is owned by the banks for which it processes payments.

It means that 77 per cent of its business was now done with debit cards, rather than credit cards, the use of which stalled over the past year.

Total card spending at “points of sale” was up 3.7 per cent to £746 billion, Visa Europe said. The busiest day for spending was December 23, when consumers performed more than 20 million transactions and spent more than £1 billion – up 28 per cent on the same day in 2008.

The recession has meant that consumers are increasingly using debit cards to pay for purchases, rather than build up debt on credit cards, Visa said.

At the same time consumers have been reluctant to pay booking fees for payment with a credit card. Retailers are barred from making such charges on debit card transactions, but justify the credit card levies on the grounds that they are passing on so-called interchange fees charged by banks.

Internet shopping has also accelerated the rise of debit card use, with a quarter of all Visa spending in the UK conducted online over the Christmas period and 20 per cent for the year as a whole.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:21 PM 0 comments links to this post

UK credit card lenders are attempting to dilute plans to curb lenders' activities.

Government proposals include stopping card firms changing interest rates on existing debts and ensuring the most expensive debts are paid off first.

But now a trade body, the UK Cards Association, has claimed that the changes would push more people into financial difficulty.

There are 30 million UK credit card customers holding 66 million cards.

The industry said that 62% of all UK adults had at least one credit card, but borrowing on these cards had been in "gentle decline" since 2005.

Despite greater caution from lenders about who gets a card, the government is keen to outlaw certain practices that it regarded as unfair and has challenged the industry to "clean up its act".

It invited responses to proposals, published in October, which included:
* changing the order of priority for credit card repayments, so that the most expensive debts, such as cash advances, are paid off first
* increasing the minimum amount that must be paid off each month to accelerate the overall rate of repayment
* banning the practice of raising borrowers' credit limits without their consent
* restricting or banning increases in interest rates on debts already incurred.

The plans follow other limits on credit card practices brought in during 2009, aimed at bringing more transparency for customers.

But the latest proposals have brought a strident response from the industry, which claimed in a 230-page report that customers would not benefit from some of the planned changes.

"These options would reduce competition within the industry," said Melanie Johnson, a former Labour MP who chairs the UK Cards Association.

"They would also have far reaching consequences for customers and lenders alike and would change the basic 'deal' offered by lenders to their customers and lead to increased financial difficulties for many and to more defaults."

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, Loan calculator, UK loans rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:28 PM 0 comments links to this post

Paying off any credit card debts should be your top financial priority for 2010.

If you've got a lot of debt sitting on your credit card following Christmas, and it's racking up a lot of interest, the first step you should take is to transfer that debt onto a 0% balance transfer credit card.

The top card to use at the moment is the Virgin Credit Card, which offers an interest free period on all balance transfers for 16 months. So this means you've got 16 months to start making progress tackling your debt without worrying about paying interest.

It's a good idea to set up a monthly standing order for your minimum monthly repayment to make sure you don't forget to make a payment each month. If you do, you could be charged a fee, lose your 0% deal, and possible get a black mark on your credit record.
Get budgeting

If you're struggling to pay off your debt, the most obvious way to tackle it is to throw as much money towards it as possible.

But if you're feeling a little strapped for cash, this might seem slightly daunting. So a good idea is to sit down and draw up a budget. To do this, work out exactly what your monthly outgoings and earnings are by using a statement of affairs calculator.

If you can't manage to get all of your credit card debts onto interest-free deals, you need to adopt the method of 'snowballing'.

To do this, simply work out which of your credit card debts is charging the most interest - this is the debt that will grow at the fastest rate, so it's the one you need to concentrate on.

Keep paying the minimum monthly payments on all of your borrowings, but put any spare cash towards your most expensive debt. Once you've paid off this debt, put the extra money towards the next most expensive debt, and so on. Leave your interest-free debt until last.

As I mentioned earlier, it's important to remember to pay the minimum monthly repayment (MMR) on your credit card each month. However, minimum monthly repayments are usually set at a ridiculously low level - often as low as 2% of your total card debt.

This means it will take you a long time to pay off your balance - typically more than 15 years on £1,000 of debt. This also means your debt becomes much more expensive, as you'll be paying a lot of interest over that period.

So it's a good idea to set up a direct debit and pay a fixed amount on top of the minimum monthly repayment each month. That way you will pay off the debt far quicker and you won't have to pay as much in interest. You can find more about minimum monthly repayments in The dangers of minimum payments.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, Loan calculator, uk recession

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 7:52 PM 0 comments links to this post

Some of the UK's poorest people are starting 2010 in severe debt after borrowing from loans sharks to pay for Christmas.

The Financial Inclusion Centre said 100,000 families had borrowed a total of £29m from illegal money lenders.

The think tank said on average it would take a year to pay the money back as lenders recouped three times the value, with some interest rates up to 1,500%.

The average amount borrowed was £288, but the average repayment was £820.

Mick McAteer, director of the Financial Inclusion Centre, said: "Because of the financial crisis, the High Street banks are restricting the access to loans to those people they consider to be low risk or [have a] higher income.

"That tends to push more and more people out into the hands of loan sharks."

The research was commissioned by housing association Circle Anglia, after it noticed loan sharks increasingly targeting its residents.

The government's consumer minister, Kevin Brennan, said: "It is worrying that people are borrowing these sums of money from loan sharks, because they're illegal.

"In the law they don't have to pay it back, and my advice would be don't go to a loan shark if you need to borrow. Approach a credit union or one of our debt advice teams."

Chris Tapp, of charity Credit Action, urged people to contact the police if they fell victim to loan sharks, because the lending was illegal.

He said: "It often feels like the only option is to go for the person they know of locally, to go to the loan shark, but that's not actually the case.

"In a lot of communities now around Britain there are credit unions or local finance organisations that operate from the 'third sector'.

"They're not-for-profit organisations that can lend money at considerably lower rates.

"It's not actually as cheap as you'd get from a bank, but it's much cheaper than borrowing from an illegal lender."

Also, the government's social fund helps people on low incomes and on benefits when they need crisis loans immediately, he said.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, refinancing rates, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 2:02 PM 0 comments links to this post

Britons are taking twice as long to repay their Christmas debts having spent an average of £435 on presents than a decade ago.

Credit card holders are taking an average of 90 days to pay off the debt they built up over Christmas, more than a month longer than a decade ago, according to the findings by the over 50s group Saga.

Paul Green, a spokesman for Saga Group, said: “It is a shocking indictment of the nation’s economy that so many people are left struggling to cope with so much debt.”

Credit card holders took 33 days less to pay off their debts, or just 57 days in 1999, it said.

Younger people are less debt savvy with one in five under 50s saying they were still paying off debts incurred from Christmas 2008. But those over 50 are much wiser users of credit with a third of card holders planning to clear their balance immediately.

The reliance on credit cards to cover the costs of Christmas comes after savers saw their rates of return plummet last year. It means almost all higher rate taxpayers now miss out on a return on their savings once tax and inflation is taken into account.

Just 13 per cent of people dipped into their savings to help fund Christmas last year, compared to 31 per cent 10 years ago, Saga said.

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Labels: Aussie loans rates, consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, recession, UK loans rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 2:07 PM 0 comments links to this post

Sub prime lender Paragon announced last week that the buy-to-let lender was getting closer to starting new lending.

Rumour has it that management at the group met with bankers and lawyers last week to discuss the resumption of lending.

The company said last November that any improvements in funding markets would encourage it to look more confidently at reinstating its funding programme to support new lending.

Paragon was forced to stop new lending in early 2008 because of higher funding costs amid the financial crisis. The group trades at a big discount to its net asset value, but usually trades at a premium when lending.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, Loan calculator, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 1:14 PM 0 comments links to this post

Credit cards are the number one source of outrageously high interest debt in this country and also the number one candidate for debt consolidation.

Before the credit crunch, it was all too easy for most of us to obtain as many credit cards as we could pack into our wallets.

Constantly bombarded with teaser rates and unsolicited junk mail offering huge lines of credit, perhaps you have more than enoughcredit cards and less than enough money to meet the financial obligation of paying these cards each month.

If you are like most Britons, you can barely keep up with the minimum monthly payments on your many credit cards. By choosing debt consolidation for your credit card debt and other debts, you can save yourself an untold amount of interest charges and finally pay off your credit cards for good.

In Britain, we have become a society that loves to use credit for everything, and many of us have been living outside of our means for awhile now. Credit card companies use predatory tactics to lure consumers into thinking they are getting a great deal on their next new credit card by offering teaser rates that usually start out at zero percent or one percent, and then quickly balloon up to fifteen percent or higher once the introductory period of several months have passed.

If you are late with one payment, even by a few days, tiny print in the terms and conditions of many cards will tell you that your new interest rate will be the default rate, which is typically 19.99%.

This amounts to outrageous interest charges and in many cases, the minimum monthly payment that most consumers make on their credit cards does not include any of the principle balance owed, but is just interest.

How can the consumer get out of debt by paying only the interest on their credit cards each month? Simply put, it is not possible. Debt consolidation, however, can allow you to pay off your credit cards in full and put a halt to this ridiculous interest that is keeping you weighted down with burdensome debt.

With debt consolidation, you can pay off all of your existing debts at once, including your credit cards. You can also include personal loans, department store charge cards, gasoline cards, automobile loans, and private student loans.

By rolling all of your existing debt into one big debt, you save a ton of interest charges because your newdebt consolidation will be written, typically, at a much lower rate. The amount that you will be required to pay each month with debt consolidation is generally much less than the total amount that you were paying your previous lenders combined. Most terms of debt consolidation run five years or less, which means that you can pay off everything you owe fast.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, Loan calculator, loans, loans rates, sub prime loans, UK loans rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 6:04 PM 0 comments links to this post

The cost of borrowing for the British citizens has surged to within a whisker of Italian levels as global debt markets issue their damning verdict on the labour Government’s spending plans.

The yield on 10 year gilts rocketed yesterday to 3.97pc, 46 basis points higher than costs on French bonds.

Britain and France were neck and neck as recently as last month, before Labour’s pre-Budget report raised deep concerns among Chinese, Arab, and Russian investors about the credibility of British state.

But what has caught market attention is the narrowing gap with Italian bonds, once mocked as the symbol of an ill-governed nation in thrall to the Dolce Vita.

Yields on 10-Italian treasuries have been hovering just above 4pc despite the eurozone’s Greek crisis, dropping as low as 3.98pc earlier this week.

Britain is vulnerable to a “gilts strike” because foreign investors own £217bn of UK debt, or 28pc of the total. These are footloose funds and likely to sell large holdings if Britain loses its AAA rating.

They have other tempting places to park their money, such as Turkey, Brazil, or India, where demography is healthy and growth prospects are better. Chile has already undercut British debt yields on some maturities.

Italy has its own problems, of course. Public debt was much higher before the crisis began. The IMF expects it to reach 120pc of GDP next year. However, this debt is mostly owned by high-saving Italians, who are less fickle than foreign funds.

For Italy, this may just be the calm before the storm. Markets assume that Germany will ultimately bail out Greece if necessary, preventing contagion to the rest of the Club Med bloc.

This is a questionable judgement. Volker Wissing, head of the finance committee of the German Bundestag, said it must be made explicit that “Germany will not take responsibility for Greek debts”.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, interest rates, labour liars, refinancing rates, sub prime loans, UK loans rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 11:51 AM 0 comments links to this post

New loans figures from high Street banks showed consumers are concentrating on paying off debts in the recession.

Figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) showed that total consumer credit has contracted by 2.2% over the last year.

But the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases has reached the same level as two years ago.There were 44,713 mortgages approved, up 2,161 on the previous month.

"Household priorities are showing up in the November figures," said David Dooks, statistics director for the BBA.

"Demand for new personal loans was weak and people are paying off debt or building savings in response to economic circumstances."

The BBA said that demand for personal loans was particularly weak and balances had fallen by £3.6bn over the year to date.

In November, people paid back £300m more in total than they took out in new credit.

This follows figures from the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday which showed that the household savings ratio - the percentage of disposable income that is saved - rose to its highest level since 1998.

In the third quarter of the year, the proportion rose to 8.7% of income, as against 7.6% in the previous three months.

The BBA figures showed that the increase in the amount of personal deposits and savings put in High Street bank accounts slowed in November compared with the previous month, but they were 3.9% up on the same month a year earlier.

So far this year, deposits have increased by more than £18bn, compared with £21bn in the same period of 2008.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, Loan calculator

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 6:21 PM 0 comments links to this post

A committee of MPs has recommended an investigation into whether consumers are being penalised for shopping around for loans.

The report by the Treasury Committee failed to give any strong indication as to whether any changes should be made in the market.

Consumer groups argue that multiple searches affect the rates that people might be charged. But providers said information was shared between lenders to stop fraud.

The committee heard evidence in late October that shopping around for loans could affect people's credit ratings. This meant some missed out on credit or were put off shopping around.

However, the committee reported that it had not been given "overwhelming evidence that it is a major source of direct consumer detriment".

But it had also not been presented with "unequivocal evidence" that credit searches were essential for loan providers.

The committee called on the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the market, and for the Information Commissioner to look into whether the £2 fee charged to people who wanted to access their credit file was reasonable.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, home loans, Loan calculator, loans, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 10:11 AM 0 comments links to this post

There are a growing number of "apps" that are designed to help you manage your money better.

For those still getting to grips with the world of "apps" these are simply applications that can be downloaded to an iPhone or iPod Touch, two of the most search for products this Christmas.

The iTunes store now has more than 90,000 of these applications, which offer games, city guides, travel planners, language dictionaries and music services. Some of these apps are free, and most cost less than £4.99.

And if you do not own an iPhone, Nokia, Orange, Samsung and BlackBerry have all launched their own application stores – although the choice of products is more limited.

Red Laser- this costs £1.19 and will scan any bar code for you then search for cheaper online prices using the Google product search.

This is particularly useful when buying larger items such as televisions and fridges, saving you money and the hassle of shopping around for better deals. It will also scan a book then check for reviews or scan groceries and add it to its shopping list, so next time you visit the supermarket, you have a list ready.

Lower phone bills- if you are fed up paying 35p per minute calling premium rate phone number, then download the free "0870" app.

This converts 0870, 0845 and 0800 telephone numbers into normal rate landline number, eg those starting with 020, 0151, 0115 etc. These will either be including within your monthly call allowance or are substantially cheaper to call for those on pay as you go packages.

Mobile phone owners may also want to download Mobile Allowance, for 59p, this app gives you a comprehensive reading of your mobile allowance, showing phone owners how many free minutes and texts they have left.

This is ideal for those who are prone to talking or texting too much, and going over their limit. Both talk time and texts are shows as a progress bar on your phone helping you keep track of your monthly usage.

Cut petrol costs- For £4.99, PetrolPrice Pro automatically records your position and give you the cheapest fuel options within a 5, 10 15 or 20 mile radius.

Reduce utility bills- Meter Readings is the most popular paid-for financial application, as it helps users keep track of their energy and water usage. Once you've entered your meter readings, the app will show your usage in a graph, showing what you use and what it costs.

For 59p, this app can configure up to three separate tariffs per meter, useful for electricity where different rates are charged during the day and at night. It's hoped that this will encourage people to reduce the amount of energy they use, switch their habits (eg use the washing machine overnight) and so cut bills.

There's often a large discrepancy between estimated readings and actual readings, so this app also makes sure you are not overcharged.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 6:05 PM 0 comments links to this post

Every September the Student Loan interest rate changes based on the Retail Price Index rate from the previous March.

This March’s RPI was -0.4% however most students who could have expected to see student loan balances reduced in line with this will be disappointed. Only Students who took out there loan pre 1998 will actually see their balances reduced by 0.4%.

As Student loans were meant to linked to inflation, and this principle is not been followed, those students who took the loan out after 1998 are now out of pocket as their purchasing power is dilapidated.

The monthly payments for Students will remain at the same rate, as borrowers are required to pay back nine percent of their earnings over £15,000; so as the interest rate has been reduced to zero, the balance will reduce at a greater rate.

This is still not good enough for some students who believe that the principle should apply and that they should therefore benefit from this deflationary period by seeing the balances automatically reduced.

It is worth noting that by applying deflationary rates to the balances of Student Loans, students taking out new loans would see the balances automatically reduced and the tax payer would have to fund this.

Deflation is now even higher than in March, sub one percent, so applying this principle to all student loans could put even more pressure on the economy in recession and the whole student loans system, as it could see the taxpayer funding further, greater reductions next year, and who knows about years to come.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 5:45 PM 0 comments links to this post

A group which reports directly to the Cabinet Office and the Government's chief scientific officer meets to discuss various proposals including setting up better co-ordinated "debt care pathways" between health professionals and debt advisers.

The so-called "Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing" will also look at the idea of a "voluntary register for bipolar people to prevent them from overspending".

Other initiatives are also taking place, coming from government, psychiatrists, the debt advice world and even from lenders. They are responding to the fact that mental health seems to be a more widespread factor in debt than was previously thought. The "one in four" statistic – one in four people with debt problems also suffers from depression or another condition – is well-established.

But the real figure could be much higher. As many as "half of all adults in debt may have a mental health problem", according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which published new evidence in October, along with charities Rethink and the Money Advice Trust.

The problem is that debt can also induce depression as a natural reaction. "It's chicken and egg," says Frances Walker of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. "Which comes first – debt or depression?" And Fred (not his real name), a debtor-turned-debt adviser, says: "Debt, depression and divorce, the three Ds, go hand in hand."

Until four years ago, there was very little assistance for the depressed or other mental health sufferers in this field. The notion that they might have special problems was something that was rarely discussed. Since then the work of some 20 or 30 committed people has pushed the issue up the agenda. So, only a week ago, a new form was launched which enables health and social care professionals to assist those who are unable to control their financial matters.

The "Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form" collects together details of social care and health advisers and some evidence of the problem, and can be used to inform lenders that they need to take special care in this person's case. "This will be incredibly important," says Maggie Kirkpatrick, adviser at the CCCS centre in Eastbourne.

Help is at hand: Free debt advice

While those with enough money might prefer to employ the services of lawyers, accountants and other professionals to help them get out of financial difficulty, many people of limited means often require free debt advice. The organisations below can such help.

* Consumer Credit Counselling Service: www.cccs.co.uk and 0800 138 1111

* Citizens Advice: www.citizens advice.org.uk and via local advice centres

* National Debtline: www.nationaldebtline.co.uk 0808 808 4000

Debt woes: 'I felt suicidal. You lose all sense of proportion'

What to do if you are suffering depression or some other kind of mental illness:

1. Try to tackle your debts before they mount up. By confiding in someone else now rather than in a year you can save yourself money and years of worry.

"The idea that I was going to commit suicide over a debt of £5,600 seems incomprehensible now," says Fred (not his real name), a debtor-turned-debt adviser. "But you lose all sense of proportion."

2. Go to your doctor about the anxiety or mental illness aspect. People often attribute sleeplessness and agitation to worry, says Maggie Kirkpatrick of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS).

3. Speak to someone else about your finances – a friend but, preferably, a debt adviser. They are used to dealing with these issues and will not be shocked. CCCS takes about 300,000 phone calls a year on debt problems. They can contact your debtors for you, listen to your story and help you get back on course.

4. Avoid doing nothing. You can find that bankruptcy proceedings are started against you if you simply do not reply to your creditors.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 1:59 PM 0 comments links to this post

Each September the student loans rate changes, based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate from the previous March.

This March’s RPI was -0.4% however most students who could have expected to see student loan balances reduced in line with this will be disappointed. Only students who took out their loan pre 2008 will actually see their balances reduced by 0.4%. For students who took out the loan post 2008 the rate will be dropped from 1.5% to 0% this September.

As student loans were meant to linked to inflation, and this principle is not been followed, those students who took the loan out after 2008 are now out of pocket as their purchasing power is dilapidated. The monthly payments for students will remain at the same rate, as borrowers are required to pay back nine percent of their earnings over £15,000; so as the interest rate has been reduced to zero, the balance will reduce at a greater rate.

This is still not good enough for some students who believe that the principle should apply and that they should therefore benefit from this deflationary period by seeing the balances automatically reduced.

Deflation is now even higher than in March, sub one percent, so applying this principle to all student loans could put even more pressure on the economy in recession and the whole student loans system, as it could see the taxpayer funding further, greater reductions next year, and who knows about years to come.

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, loans, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:48 AM 0 comments links to this post

Nearly half of consumers would like banks to block payments that would take them into an unauthorised overdraft, a survey has showed.

Around 46pc of people said they would prefer banks not to process payments if doing so took them into the red or breached their agreed overdraft limit, according to consumer group Which?.

Only 38pc of people said they would prefer banks to honour the payment and charge them.

The research comes after the Supreme Court ruled last week that unauthorised overdraft charges were not subject to regulation by the Office of Fair Trading under unfair contract rules.

The ruling means there is little hope that the millions of people who have paid the charges will be given refunds.

Which? called on the banks to make unauthorised overdrafts an optional service and to make their charges fairer.

Phil Jones, Which? personal finance campaigner, said: "Different people use their current accounts in different ways so banks shouldn't adopt a one size fits all approach to overdraft charges.

Many current account holders are effectively being lent money that they haven't asked for and being charged through the nose for it.

"Such an expensive service shouldn't be forced on people who don't want it as it can easily lead to financial difficulty. We want banks to show they're willing to respond to what their customers want by only making unauthorised overdrafts available to those who ask for them."

Customers who go into unauthorised overdraft or breach their agreed limit can be charged as much as £35 or more for a single bounced payment. Campaigners claim the actual cost to the banks could be as little as £2.50.

The charges generate around £2.6bn of revenue a year for banks and are used to subsidise free banking for other consumers.

But there could be problems with Which?'s idea that payments could be blocked, as certain payments, such as cheques which have been guaranteed with a cheque guarantee card, have to be honoured by banks.

The British Bankers' Association also pointed out that by blocking payments, banks may simply be creating problems down the line for consumers.

For example, if a direct debit payment to a utility company was blocked, the utility company would then take action against the consumer.

Equally, writing a cheque knowing that it will not be honoured is technically a criminal offence.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 9:45 AM 0 comments links to this post

The number of people contacting Citizens Advice for help with debts soared by a fifth during 2009.

The charity said it dealt with 573,000 inquiries from people struggling to keep up with their borrowing during the three months to the end of September, 21pc more than during the same period of the previous year.

Debt problems are now the single biggest topic on which it offers advice and the charity has handled 3.06 million inquiries on the subject since the beginning of the recession in April last year.

Benefits account for the second most common issue on which people need help at 2.71 million, followed by employment and housing problems at 844,000 and 633,000 respectively.

There was a 28pc jump in people contacting the charity because they had fallen behind with their mortgage or a secured loan during the third quarter, compared with the same period of 2008, while there was a 38pc rise in people with fuel debts.

The number of benefit problems the charity dealt with were 21pc higher than a year ago, while employment problems are up by 17pc year-on-year.

The group is urging people to budget carefully over Christmas, to avoid starting 2010 with a debt hangover.

It is distributing leaflets giving people guidance on how to budget for the festive season.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 10:21 AM 0 comments links to this post

Consumers repaid a record level of unsecured loans and credit card debt during October as they continued to focus on improving their finances in the face of the recession.

The figures will reinforce suggestions that Britain will be slow to emerge from its worst recession in decades as the cost of repaying multi-billion bank bailouts weighs on businesses and consumers.

Households reduced their outstanding credit card, loan and overdraft debt by £579 million during the month, the biggest contraction in unsecured lending since Bank of England records began in their current format in 1993.

It was also only the sixth time on record that repayments for consumer credit have outstripped new borrowing.

Hopes that the global economy is heading for a robust recovery have been shaken in recent days on fears that Dubai could struggle to repay debts used to turn the tiny state into a world powerhouse.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 10:15 AM 0 comments links to this post

Everyone has a credit card and many carry a large balance.

The interest rate on a credit card balance is usually between 20-30% APR. These high interest rates make it difficult for people to pay down their debt when only making the minimum payment.

Credit Card Consolidation

Many factors which results in high credit card debt. With debt consolidation services you will pay significantly less and have more money for yourself each month. You will also receive the benefit of credit card debt consolidation. Making all of your unsecured debt into one simple payment. You will pay off your credit debt much faster. This is not a loan. No home ownership required is ever required.

Debt Consolidation

Debt management plans are very common and are used by thousands of people each year to deal with large amounts of unsecured debt. This system is also referred to as debt consolidation because it involves consolidating all your debts into one plan with only one payment.

Under a payment plan of this sort, a debt management company sets up new arrangements with all your creditors, so that you have less money to find each month. You then make a fixed payment to the debt company every month until the date at which you become debt free again.

As well as having the effect of stopping the daily calls by creditors, a plan of this sort is clearly very simple to organize and keep track of.

To set up a debt management plan you must have an income and be able to afford a reasonable amount for the monthly payment. If your situation is such that you cannot stretch to that, then debt settlement could be the solution for you.

This is a radical technique that ends up with a lot of your debts actually being written off. It is only by seriously reducing the core amount that you owe that a really serious debt situation can be turned

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 5:50 PM 0 comments links to this post

Britain's Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the High Street banks in a row over overdraft fees, delivering a blow for thousands who had hoped to recoup charges.

Seven major banks and a building society had challenged High Court and Court of Appeal decisions that the charges come under "unfair contract" rules and are therefore subject to regulation by the Office of Fair Trading.

Today's result was awaited by tens of thousands of customers whose refund claims have been frozen while the test case went through the courts.

Handing down the unanimous ruling, Lord Phillips, president of the Supreme Court, said: "It may be open to the Office of Fair Trading to assess the charge under other criteria."

Customers who go into unauthorised overdraft or breach their agreed limit can be charged as much as £35 or more for a single bounced payment. Campaigners claim the actual cost to the banks could be as little as £2.50.

If the banks had lost the test case, it could have cost them £2.6bn a year in lost revenue and led to their having to make refunds of up to £1bn.

Before refund claims were frozen, banks had already paid out more than £559m to customers who complained about "rip-off" overdraft charges.

Although many of the high street banks have already changed the structure of the fees they charge people who go into the red, with or without permission. Almost half of current accounts are already charge banking customers a monthly fee of as much as £25.

The test case to decide the legal issues thrown up by the dispute was brought jointly by the OFT and Abbey, Barclays, Clydesdale, Halifax Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB, which are now part of the same group, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Nationwide Building Society.

Lord Walker, one of the five Justices of the Supreme Court who heard the case, pointed out that the outcome of the appeal "may cause disappointment and indeed dismay to a very large number of bank customers who feel that they have been subjected to unfairly high charges in respect of unauthorised overdrafts".

But he said that as Lord Phillips had explained it was not the end of the matter and Parliament "may wish to consider the matter further".

Lady Hale said: "The banks may not be the most popular institutions in the country at present, but that does not mean that their methods of charging for retail banking services are necessarily unfair when reviewed as a whole."

Explaining the reasons for allowing the appeal, Lord Phillips said that the relevant charges are, as the banks argued, charges that require their customers to agree to pay as part of the price or remuneration for the package of services that they agree to supply in exchange.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 5:40 PM 0 comments links to this post

With the credit crunch it's easy to make mistakes balancing finances- but the effects could be even worse.

Pressing credit cards bills, mortgage payments and direct debits all combine too frequently whilst the income payments seem to get lower or take longer than needed.

We are all aware of the cliche "desperate times call for desperate measures" but we do not want our desperation to make the situation even worse for us. Do not trust "quick fix" method because it may only lead you even more buried in debt. In turn, your credit score will even be pulled lower than it already is. This may prevent you from recovering from your debt, ever.

It is important that you recognize scams. There are legitimate creditors who do offer to get you out of debt but they would never promise anything in advance. Scams usually promise to clean your debt instantly or very quickly for a fee. They pose as legitimate credit report service that will only take hundreds of your money and vanish. They pose ads on television, radio and the newspaper. They never tell you much and sometimes, they will only advise you to file for bankruptcy after you pay them.

Since there are legitimate companies who do offer to repair your credit, what you can do is watch for the telltale signs that what you are responding to is a fraud. Most fraudulent credit report service will want you to pay their offered services even before they act on it. They would never advise you of your legal rights and if they do, they would omit some important details because they are only doing it for a show. After all, they would like to convince you that they are legitimate.

Once you tell them to "fix my credit score" they would not recommend that you contact a credit bureau directly but they would offer to do it for you. Sometimes, they would suggest that you make up a "new" report by applying for a different Employer Identification Number instead of your Social Security number.

They would even advise that you dispute everything in your report or go to the extreme of creating a new credit identity. Creating a new identity is illegal and you will commit fraud if you do. This will only subject you to prosecution if you are caught. Do everything the legal way.

If you would like some free, friendly finance help, please just click here now.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 9:32 AM 0 comments links to this post

Nearly anyone is susceptible to get behind on their monthly payments and obligations to lenders, which is when a fresh start loan can be of the maximum benefit for most borrowers.

Perhaps you have experienced a recent illness, injury, or even death in the family and have gotten behind on your bills. No matter what reason you have for finding yourself in arrearage on your bills, a debt consolidation loan can allow you to pay off your existing creditors and avoid bankruptcy or even foreclosure.

When a borrower gets behind on their loan payments, credit card payments, or other bills, what follows is never pretty. It seems that a constant and persistent stream of calls from creditors becomes very intrusive and can be very stressful. To make matters worse, interest charges continue to accumulate on the bills that you have due, or your accounts are subject to late payment penalties or other charges.

For more information on debt consolidation loans, please click here now

A debt consolidation loan will allow you to put all of these dreadful circumstances into the past by allowing you to combine all of the current payments and debts that you owe into a single loan that features one easy-to-handle monthly payment that is based on your ability to repay your creditors.

Finances are usually written for £25,000 or less, but can be more depending on your particular needs and your financial situation at the time of the application for consolidation.

The process of receiving your finance is a streamlined and expedient one in most instances. Many borrowers are happy to find that within just a week or so, they have completed the loan application process and received funding to get a fresh start.

The payment that you will be required to make will be less than the total of the combined payments you are making to many lenders right now, which allows you to keep more of the income that you bring home from your job to take care of the many expenses of life (without running up more credit card or loan debt).

Your finance can be secured or unsecured, and the type that you take can have a big impact on the amount of interest that you will be charged for the life of your loan. The secured debt consolidation loan (collateral required) is the cheaper of the two types of loans for borrowers with all types of credit. The unsecured debt consolidation loan (no collateral is required) is more expensive in terms of interest.

The secured debt consolidation loan is usually the best choice for homeowners who want to save money on interest charges. The unsecured debt consolidation loan is the ideal loan instrument for those borrowers who do not wish to risk their assets to secure funding for the loan, or for those who do not own their own home or other asset of value.

For more information on debt consolidation loans, please click here now

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:03 PM 0 comments links to this post

Do you have a debt problem- or do you think you’ve not got a debt problem - but then again, you may be in denial! Here's how to tell:

These days, most of us have some form of debt to deal with - whether it's a loan, a credit card, or an overdraft. But the big question is, at what point does that debt become a serious problem?

If you're just about managing financially, you might not think you have a debt problem.

But if your finances are a bit of a mess and if you, even occasionally, struggle to keep up with your debt payments, this could indicate that your debt is a bigger issue than you realise.

Facing up to these problems can be really hard. And it can seem far easier to simply ignore the problem, shove your bills in a cupboard somewhere, and hope it will all go away.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that, and the longer you ignore your debt problem, the worse it will get.

So here are the top 10 warning signs that your debts could be spiralling out of control.

1) You're only paying the minimum monthly repayment on your credit cards

Minimum monthly repayments are typically set at ridiculously low levels. This means that if you're only managing to pay this amount, it's going to take you a long time to pay off your credit card debt in full. Not only that, but you'll end up paying far more in interest before you clear your balance.

2) You don't know how much you owe and you don't want to find out

If you've lost track of how much you owe and have no idea how you ended up in debt, you're probably overspending. Losing track of what you're spending where is not a good idea, especially if you're spending large amounts. It indicates you've really got no control over your finances.

3) You're borrowing more to pay off your debts

Borrowing more and getting further into debt to meet your other debt payments is a dangerous path to follow - particularly if you're using payday loans, logbook loans or credit card cheques.

Equally, if you're taking money out on your credit card just to cover monthly payments on other debts, you could find yourself in serious trouble in the future. Find out more in Six dangerous ways to borrow.

4) You're spending more than you earn

If you have no idea what your budget is and you're spending more than you earn each month, or you're not sure whether your salary is covering your expenses, you could be in serious trouble.

5) You use your credit card to pay for everyday spending

If you regularly use your credit card to pay for necessities such as food or petrol and can't afford to clear the balance each month, your debts will continue to build up and put more strain on your finances.

6) You're regularly late paying bills

If you regularly fail to make your bill payments on time, your cheques bounce, or you overspend on your credit card or overdraft, you'll incur extra fees and charges from your bank. This will drive you further into debt and could also damage your credit rating.

7) You don't have any savings

If you're unable to put even a little money aside into a savings account each month because your debts are too high, that's not a good sign. Having said that, it is usually wise to pay off your debts before starting to save - so it's the right strategy, but don't be blase about it: it's a sign that you are struggling.

8) You find it hard to talk about your situation

If you find it difficult to be honest with your friends and family about your debt problems, or you're lying to them about your spending habits, you could be in denial about your debt.

9) You've been rejected for credit

This could be because you've already got too many credit cards - even if you no longer use them - or because you've missed payments in the past. All of this can damage your credit rating. Find out more in What REALLY damages your credit rating.

10) You're constantly worried about your finances

Recent research from talkaboutdebt.co.uk has revealed that 61% of people in serious debt aren't sleeping due to debt stress, and 29% have taken up to six months off work. If your money problems are affecting your working life, leisure time, and how you sleep, it's time to seek help.

Help yourself

If any of the situations outlined above apply to you, you're probably feeling concerned. Debt can have a serious impact on your life, but the important thing to remember is that you don't have to deal with it on your own.

Simply talking about your financial problems with your friends and family can feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. What's more, it's a big step in helping you to face up to your debt problem.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 12:21 PM 0 comments links to this post

Worse than expected economic data offset strong results from corporate bellwether's including Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of heavy construction and mining equipment, to send the New York stockmarket tumbling.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 74.89 points at 10,017.3 points at 2.15pm.

The drop came after new housing start figures for September fell below economists' expectations.

The figures, from the US Commerce Department, revealed the number of privately owned new homes on which construction has started is still 28.2 per cent below last year's rate of 822,000.

A separate study, from the Labor Department, showed producer prices dropped an unexpected 0.6 per cent in September. Analysts had forecast that prices would remain unchanged after rising 1.7 per cent in August.

The data overshadowed a series of strong corporate results.

Caterpillar saw profit in its third quarter fall 53 per cent but raised its full-year earnings outlook for 2009 and said it expects higher demand next year as the global economy improves.

Jim Owens, chief executive of Caterpillar, said: "We are seeing encouraging signs that indicate a recovery may be underway."

Pfizer, the drugs giant, also helped to lift investor sentiment, unveiling third quarter figures which topped Wall Street estimates.

The group, fresh from completing its $67 billion purchase of Wyeth last week, reported a 26 per cent rise in third quarter net earnings to $2.88 billion, or 43 cents a share, up from $2.28 billion, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.

Coca-Cola, however, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, hurt by declines across all its businesses, and said a weak economy would keep consumers under pressure next year, sending shares down 2.4 per cent.

In London, the FTSE 100 closed down 38.14 points at 5,243.40, having hit a fresh high for the year at 5,298.54 earlier in the session.

The biggest faller was Autonomy, the technology company, which dropped 138p or 8.65 per cent to £14.57 after its third quarter update missed expectations.

Barclays was another big loser, shedding 18.30p or 4.79 per cent to 363.75p after Qatari Holding, the sovereign wealth fund, said it was partially exiting its investment in the bank.

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 7:03 PM 0 comments links to this post

Borrowers face a mortgage affordability test from lenders under new plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to step up the regulation of home loans.

Self-certification mortgages will be banned under the proposals with lenders required to verify borrowers' incomes.

FSA chief executive Hector Sants said that some people who were able to get home loans in the boom would no longer be able to under the proposed rules.

The industry will have until 30 January 2010 to comment on the plans.

The FSA, in its mortgage market review, has outlined a series of proposals for increasing regulation in the mortgage market.

All borrowers will have to show they have sufficient spare income to finance the repayment of their new home loans.

However, the FSA drew back from any ban on 100% mortgages, or any limit on loan-to-value levels. There was also no ban on loans over a certain multiple of borrowers' incomes.

However, it did not rule out such caps in the future, if the initial proposals failed to have a "sufficient effect".

"In the past, the prevailing regulatory philosophy was definitely based on the notion that banks would behave properly and not put themselves at risk and not put consumers at risk," he said.

"I think we just have to recognise that both firms and indeed consumers just don't always make the best decisions. They don't always act in their their best interest or indeed in the best collective interest of society. So we need a new approach to regulation."

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# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 6:34 PM 0 comments links to this post

The Reserve Bank of Australia signalled its confidence in the country’s economic recovery yesterday when it became the first G20 central bank to raise interest rates since the global downturn.

The move comes amid growing concern that the emergency rate cuts and liquidity operations put in place around the world over the last year may have set the stage for inflation and asset bubbles. Israel in August became the first developed economy to raise rates and South Korea could follow suit later this week.

In lifting Australia’s official cash rate by 0.25 percentage points from a 49 year low of 3 per cent, Glenn Stevens, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, said the economy had been stronger than expected, confidence had recovered and prospects for Asian trading partners “appear to be noticeably better”.

He said that Australia’s growth in 2010 was likely to “be close to trend”, interpreted by economists to mean 3 to 3.5 per cent, while suggesting the RBA was worried about a potential asset bubble in the housing market.

Investors cheered the news pushing the Australian dollar up by a percentage point against the US dollar, to 88.65 US cents.

Beyond Asia, Royal Bank of Canada predicted that “Norway will almost certainly be next at the end of this month and attention will turn to Canada and New Zealand”.

Australia managed to record only a quarter of gross domestic product contraction since the onset of the global downturn. The economy expanded 0.6 per cent between April and June compared with the previous quarter.

With Japan’s recovery from its harshest post-war slump still fragile, there are few expectations of a hike in the world’s second largest economy. The Bank of Japan cut its main policy rate to a meagre 0.1 per cent in December last year and the BoJ policy board voted unanimously to maintain the rate at its September meeting.

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: Aussie loans rates, consolidate debt loans, G20, home loans, Loan calculator

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 11:44 AM 0 comments links to this post

Britons reduced their home loans mortgage debt by £7bn during the second quarter of the year, according to the Bank of England.

Recent falls in house prices and the economic downturn have put people off taking money out of their property, leading to equity withdrawal being negative for the fifth quarter in a row

The rate at which people are repaying their mortgages is broadly similar to the first quarter of the year, when home owners made net mortgage repayments of £7.3bn, according to the Bank of England.

Home owners' focus on paying down their mortgages is in stark contrast to previous years, when people released equity from their properties to fund large purchases.

While people's focus on paying off their debts may be more prudent than tapping into their housing wealth to supplement their spending, it is bad news for beleaguered retailers.

The figures show that households spent the equivalent of 2.9pc of their post-tax income on reducing their mortgages. The latest figures are a far cry from the record £17.09bn of equity that was unlocked during the final quarter of 2003.

Equity withdrawal enables home owners to cash in on rising house prices by increasing their mortgages to convert some of the rise in the value of their home into cash. The money is typically used to fund big purchases such as cars or home improvements, or for debt consolidation.

But while people feel confident about increasing the size of their mortgage debt when house prices are booming, they are far less inclined to do so when they are falling and unemployment is rising.

House price falls of more than 20pc since the market peaked in July 2007 also mean many people no longer have sufficient equity left in their property for them to withdraw, even though house prices rose for the fifth month in a row in September, according to new figures from Nationwide Building Society.

The credit crunch has also led to banks and building societies tightening their lending criteria, making it more difficult and expensive for people to extend their mortgage, particularly if they have only a small equity stake left in their home.

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: Bank of England, consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, Loan calculator, loans, mortgage calculator

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 9:57 AM 0 comments links to this post

Thousands of rejected customer complaints against banks and other lenders are to be reopened under plans by the City Watchdog to clampdown on loans insurance products.

Companies responsible for selling more than 40 per cent of single premium payment protection policies with secured and unsecured personal loans have agreed to review their sales and compensate customers who were mis-sold the product.

The Financial Service Authority now wants to target other companies which have mis-sold PPI which they offered alongside credit cards and secured loans.

It wants all of the 185,000 complaints - concerning every type of PPI - rejected by firms during the past five years, to be reopened.

It comes after the regulator said companies had been rejecting 60 per cent of the PPI complaints they had received. Of these, 16 per cent had then gone to the Financial Ombudsman Service where 80 per cent were then upheld in the customer’s favour.

PPI policies are designed to offer peace of mind that repayments will be covered in times of crisis, such as illness or unemployment - but they can add as much as £900 to a £5,000 three year loan.

Many customers find it difficult to cancel the policies once they are taken out and some are even unaware that they have bought the policy alongside their loan.

The FSA said it is giving banks and other lenders a “last chance” and that they should “get their house in order” over claims of mis-selling.

Jon Pain, FSA managing director of retail markets, said: “Consumers should not be pressured or deceived into buying PPI and they are entitled to have a policy properly explained to them.

“It is unacceptable that despite previous warnings about poor sales practices, backed by 22 enforcement cases and significant fines, the PPI sector still needs the FSA to intervene on this.”

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, Loan calculator, loans, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 7:59 AM 0 comments links to this post

Mervyn King is not trying to talk down the Pound, say Bank of England sources, who insist that the currency and loans markets have misinterpreted the governor’s comments.

Sterling dropped below €1.09 and $1.60 on Friday, its lowest for nearly six months and four months respectively.

Market traders attributed the weakness to a Bank bulletin last week which suggested that the Pound’s “sustainable” exchange rate had fallen. It was followed by an interview with King, in which he said the lower pound was “helpful” for the rebalancing of the economy.

Traders accused the Bank of trying to talk down the pound deliberately. It countered that the bulletin comment was an attempt to explain the fall in sterling that had already occurred since 2007, and was not a suggestion that it should fall further.

Similarly, King’s comment was to a Newcastle newspaper that is running a campaign to boost local exports. The fall already recorded would be “helpful” in that effort, he said.

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Labels: Bank of England, consolidate debt loans, falling interest rates, home loans, interest rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 12:36 PM 0 comments links to this post

The Bank of England may start to raise interest rates next spring and could take the cost of borrowing to 2 per cent by the end of next year, according to the latest economic forecasts.

The Bank has held rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent to help businesses and consumers to contend with the recession, but the central bank will need room to act in the coming months if inflationary pressures become a worry, the employers’ organisation said. Ian McCafferty, the CBI’s chief economic adviser, said that he expected inflation to be volatile next year, renewing pressure on the Bank.

The CBI forecasts that the consumer prices index will rise by 2.4 per cent during the first quarter of next year. The Bank’s official target is to limit inflation to 2 per cent.

However, Mr McCafferty said that the CBI would welcome interest rate rises next year as a sign that normality was beginning to return to the economic cycle. “It is fairly clear to us that the Bank of England will be maintaining the very accommodative stance that it has had throughout the period. But the Bank will want to avoid problems it has faced in previous cycles, where it gets boxed in and finds it hard to act over monetary policy,” he said.

His comments came as the CBI upgraded its forecasts for Britain’s economic prospects, predicting that Britain would emerge from recession by the end of this month.

The CBI’s predictions of quarter-on-quarter growth in GDP of 0.3 per cent in the third quarter and 0.4 per cent in the fourth represent a sharp rise in confidence from the business group. At its previous economic forecast in June, it said that the economy would shrink by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter and stagnate with flat growth for the rest of the year.

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: consolidate debt loans, home loans, interest rates, UK loans rates, uk recession

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 9:36 AM 0 comments links to this post

The FTSE 100 slid into negative territory yesterday as investors booked profits after a six day winning streak came to an end.

The index closed 38.53 points down at 5,134.36, after hitting an intra-day low of 5,108.35.

The biggest drag on the London market came from the mining sector, with shares falling on the back of lower commodity prices. Fresnillo, the silver miner, fell 28½p to 753½p, Rio Tinto slid 93½p to £26.44½p and Vedanta Resources slipped 70p to £19.40 after Goldman Sachs cut its rating to “neutral”. Kazakhmys, a key riser last week, also fell after a rating downgrade, tumbling 37p to £10.87p after Citigroup cut its recommendation to “hold”.

Even speculation that BHP Billiton could be ready to spark a new round of consolidation in the global mining sector, possibly via a bid for Anglo American, was not enough to ignite any excitement. BHP fell 46½p to £17.03 while Anglo American closed 21½p down at £20.50½p. The acquisitive Xstrata fell 35p to 930p while Lonmin, the platinum miner linked with a takeover, fell 45p to £16.99.

With investors in the mood to book profits, it was no surprise that some of last week’s leading risers lost ground. Wolseley, the plumbing merchant, fell 59p to £14.28 while Autonomy, the software group, which was higher after its entry into the database search market last week, fell 37p to £15.37 despite a “buy” note from Investec.

Tullow Oil surged after multiple oil finds last week, but it slid 21p to £11.58p while other oil stocks also lost ground as the crude price dropped below $70 a barrel. BG Group fell 28p to £11.11 and Cairn fell 12p to £27.17.

New York: A stronger dollar ignited a sell off in commodities, including oil and gold, which weighed on energy and material stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average was 41.34 points down at 9,778.86 at the close.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, falling interest rates, Loan calculator, Oil

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 10:51 AM 0 comments links to this post

Gordon Brown was accused last night of misleading the Commons after leaked Treasury papers disclosed unpublished government plans to cut spending by £36 billion a year by 2014.

David Cameron said that while Mr Brown was accusing the Conservatives of planning cuts of 10 per cent, and insisting that he did not want to do the same, his own officials were telling him that spending might have to be reduced by 9.3 per cent in five years.

The papers suggest that the Treasury privately took a far more pessimistic view about long-term unemployment and the cost of servicing the national debt than did independent commentators at the time of the Budget.

The document, headed HM Treasury Fiscal Tables, projects that spending will be reduced by just under 1 per cent in 2010-11, 4 per cent in 2011-12, just under 2 per cent in 2012-13 and 3 per cent in 2013-14.

Based on figures published at the time of the spring Budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggested that the Government would cut spending by 7 per cent by 2014. The Treasury’s own “assumptions”, based on Alistair Darling’s declared intention to cut the budget deficit in half by 2014, were more conservative than that. Its figures, circulated within the Treasury in June, suggested that social security spending would rise to £193billion, a real-terms increase of 2.1 per cent, as late as 2013-14, squeezing government spending elsewhere.

The papers also project that debt interest payments will rise from £27billion this year to nearly £64billion in 2013-14. The IFS had based its figures on the payments rising to £52billion.The leak was damaging to Mr Brown but also presents a challenge to Mr Cameron, who has said that he will cut the deficit faster than Labour.

Conservative officials emphasised last night that the figures showed the scale of the task facing any government. They pointed out that their existing plans meant that they would begin cutting spending a year earlier than Labour.

Mr Cameron told a press conference that Mr Brown’s integrity was on the line. “Gordon Brown was denying something that his own civil servants were telling him was true,” he said. It was a “cover-up” of the true state of the nation’s finances.

“Wednesday after Wednesday, the Prime Minister stood up in the House of Commons and repeated the line that the coming battle was between Labour investment on the one hand and Tory cuts on the other,” he said. “All those words have turned to dust and, as I consistently warned week after week, reality has now caught up with our Prime Minister.”

Mr Cameron said that the Conservatives had been candid about the need for spending cuts and would spell out their plans in more detail closer to the next election. “Let me make it clear: they are not wrong to be planning cuts but they are wrong to try to cover up their plans for cuts,” he said.

“This is about honesty, it is about trust. This is about not taking people for fools and on this issue, as I have to say on so many others, the Prime Minister does not seem to have learnt.”

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, went farther, saying: “This is about Gordon Brown misleading the House of Commons, not telling the public the truth about his own Budget.”

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, labour liars, Loan calculator, uk recession

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 9:30 AM 0 comments links to this post

Gold prices on Tuesday hit a fresh six month high above $1,000 a troy ounce, as investors continued to worry about the re-emergence of inflation.

Traders said that the bulk of the buying came after a confluence of bullish chart signals triggered speculative flows into the precious metal.

In early morning trading in London, spot bullion traded as high as $1,005, up 1 per cent on the previous day. It is the third time that gold has moved above $1,000 since March 2008, when it hit a record high of $1,035. In New York, gold futures for delivery in December rose to $1,004 an ounce.

Gold has attracted investors since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year as an insurance against the financial crisis, but also amid concern that the extraordinary steps taken by central banks to prop up the global economy could lead to higher inflation in 2010.

Hedge funds that made money last year by betting against the survival of Wall Street banks, including David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital and hedge fund Paulson & Co, have bought gold this year as a way of betting against the ability of central banks to steer the world out of crisis without triggering inflation. Their strategies have drawn in more investors.

At the same time, retail investors have bought record amounts of bullion coins. The US Mint sold from January to August about 838,500 ounces of the popular American Eagle gold coin, up from 446,000 ounces in the same period of 2008.

The dollar’s recent slide against other currencies has helped underpin gold. Nevertheless, traders and analysts are doutbtful about the prospects of a substantial rally in the gold price beyond $1,000 an ounce because of lacklustre jewellery and industrial demand.

Jewellery demand for gold, traditionally the backbone of the bullion market, sank to a 5½-year low in the second quarter of 2009 due to global economic recession. High local prices in India, the world’s largest jewellery market, also weighed on demand, which fell 31 per cent to 88 tonnes in the second quarter, while demand in Turkey, another key market for gold jewellery, dropped 54 per cent to 19.2 tonnes.

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Labels: consolidate debt loans, falling interest rates, Gold, interest rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:48 AM 0 comments links to this post

Adverse credit loans has become one of the most common problems that people are facing these days. On top of that if you have a mortgage that is costing you a lot then you can go in for a remortgage that can help you reduce the costs.

Now comes the question that you are suffering from bad credit and how can you qualify for a remortgage loan. Well, the lenders have especially come up with remortgage loans for people with credit problems so that it can reduce the burden and help pay off the mortgage easily.

UK Loans Calculators for a fast online application, decision and payout ADVERSE CREDIT LOANS please click here now

For UK mortgage holders looking for a fast online mortgage calculator ADVERSE CREDIT LOANS please click here now

A remortgage is basically a replacement loan for your mortgage at a lower interest rate. When you take a remortgage loan your mortgage is paid off and a new loan payment towards the remortgage starts. If you have adverse credit the lender would definitely see you as a risk and offer you a remortgage loan at a higher interest rate than those made available to people with good credit.

Rates offered on adverse credit remortgage

When you take a remortgage loan with adverse credit you are offered different types of interest rate. Keeping your financial situation in mind the lender offers you the following types so that you can choose easily from whichever one you think would be the best suitable for you.

Fixed rates: This keeps your interest rate same throughout the mortgage and helps you to preplan your budget. But with this option you cannot enjoy any drop in the interest rates in the future. Variable rates: This is also offered as the standard variable rate and fluctuates with the change in the national rates. This means that your interest rates would not be fixed throughout the loan term and would change every month.

Capped rates: This rate means that your monthly payments would not exceed a limited amount every month however, within this limit the interest rates would vary according to the variable rates.

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Why should you opt for these loans

Taking an adverse credit remortgage is one of the best ways in which you can lower your interest rates and hence your monthly payments that you were making towards the mortgage loan. You can get a big amount, as you would have to keep your house or its equity as collateral and after having paid the mortgage you can use the remaining amount for making home improvements, for debt consolidation, financing education expenses of your children etc.

With the help of these loans you can convert your variable interest into fixed rate. You can increase or decrease the term of your loan and also opt for more flexible options for the loan. However, it is important that you review your adverse credit remortgage loan before signing the agreement.

What should you check before signing

When applying for the adverse credit remortgage loan it is important that you be wary about the interest rate that the lender is offering you. It is advised that you opt for these loans only if the interest rate is lower than the rates on your present mortgage.

Before you apply for these loans check the mortgage rates prevailing in the market and get an idea about the interest rate that would be charged for adverse credit. If you find that the interest rates are low then you can go ahead and apply for the remortgage loan. Besides this keep a track about the other fees that the lender is charging you.

Make sure that you are aware of all the costs related to the adverse credit remortgage loan. It is important that you be careful while taking these loans, as there are many lenders in the market who try and take advantage of such people. Ask about the pre-payment penalties and the rest of the charges like solicitor fees, property appraisal fee etc.

Where to apply? Right Here!

UK Loans Calculators for a fast online application, decision and payout APPLY NOW please click here now

For UK mortgage holders looking for a fast online mortgage calculator APPLY NOW please click here now

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: consolidate debt loans, home loans, Loan calculator, loans, refinancing rates, sub prime loans

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:44 AM 0 comments links to this post

Credit cards you guide to unsecured loans in plain english

What exactly is a credit card?
How do credit cards work?
Do all credit cards offer the same service?
How do I get a credit card?
Am I obligated to accept the offer if I apply?
What if my application is rejected?
Are there any credit card traps?
How is my credit limit determined?
How am I judged when applying for a credit card?
How do I check my credit rating?
Does applying for a credit card affect my credit status?
Why do providers put so much importance on a good credit history?
I've had credit problems. Can I still qualify for a credit card?
How much do they cost?
How are interest charges calculated?
What does 'grace' or 'interest free' period mean?
How should I pay the bill?
Must I pay the full bill each month?
How can I make sure I never miss paying my bill on time?
What will happen if I can't afford to pay the outstanding balance?
What is a balance transfer?
What is Payment Protection?
What is an affinity card?
What is a secured card?
What is a guaranteed card?
What is an unsecured card?
What is a debit card?
Is a credit card the same as a charge card?
Do all cards offer travel rewards?
I thought ATM cards had PIN numbers. Why do credit cards have them?
Where can I withdraw money using my credit card?
Can I get cash on my credit card?
Why am I charged more interest when I use my credit card to get cash?
Are credit cards cheap to use when abroad?
How can I be sure that I make the right choice?
Are credit cards safe?
Is it safe to give out my credit card number when buying goods or services by phone or on the Internet?
Do I get proper consumer protection if I use a credit card?
If I have a problem with my credit card whom should I contact?
What if I lose my card?
How do I know where to find your website again?
What is a cookie?
Please just click here now for all of your credit card and unsecured loans needs credit card calculator

What exactly is a credit card?
A credit card represents a loan agreement where you are offered credit, providing you pay off a minimum amount each month. You can charge purchases up to the amount of your credit limit and pay for them later.
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How do credit cards work?
With a credit card, as long as you do not exceed your credit limit, you can spend whatever you wish, wherever your credit card is accepted. You are required to pay a minimum amount off the balance each time you receive a billing statement. The usual minimum payment is approximately 3% - 5% of the balance. You can sign for purchases or you can purchase by telephone or the Internet. There are many different card issuers, but most operate through two worldwide credit card networks - VISA and MasterCard.
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Do all credit cards offer the same service?
No, there are huge differences in the services provided by credit card issuers. For example, there are cards available to people at a set minimum income level, e.g. Gold/Platinum cards, and these may provide more benefits to the customer. With Affinity and Charity cards, a small percentage of what you spend is donated to an affiliated organisation. Reward programmes offer air miles, shopping points, cash rebates or special discounts. If you do not pay your balance, you may lose these benefits. Other features include access to cash machines, travel insurance, and special introductory rates. Purchase Protection is available in the case of loss, theft or damage to goods you purchase with your card.
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How do I get a credit card?
It's easy! Just complete the following 5 steps:

Through our Find the Right Card option, you can interactively search for a credit card based on the features most valuable to you. You can compare using your own personalised criteria, whether its price, brand or reward programmes.
The results of this comparison will be presented in graphical format together with the relative importance in percentage of the most valued features to you.
After comparing your most valuable features, you will be presented with a list of ten suitable credit cards. Each card is given a percentage so you can see how close each product matches your preferences. You can view the details for each of the credit cards in the list to help make a decision.
For our on-line partners, you can complete the application form for their products on this site and send it off. All aspects of your application are assessed by the product provider, and a decision is provided within 24 hours.
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Am I obligated to accept the offer if I apply?
If you apply and are approved for a credit card, you are under no obligation to accept the offer. An offer will be sent to your listed address and you choose to accept by returning the signed document to the product provider.
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What if my application is rejected?
If your application is rejected, you can ask your credit card provider to review the application. If a credit reporting agency has been used, you can ask for the agency name and address. Write to them requesting any details held on you. Remember that you can apply for more than one card - however for credit rating reasons it is not advisable to apply for more than five cards within a 6-month period.
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Are there any credit card traps?
With credit cards it's very easy to borrow without realising how much, until you receive your monthly statement. So, try to keep track of your spending. Credit cards can be a costly form of borrowing so look out for other loans, such as personal loans, that might better suit your needs. Always keep your receipts and check them against your statement. If you do not recognise an item on your statement, contact the provider immediately. Note that if you use your card overseas, sometimes it takes longer for items to appear on your statement.
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How is my credit limit determined?
Your credit limit is determined by a combination of things, including your credit history, income and amount of debt. These conditions are also used to determine what type of card you may be offered. For example, some standard cards have credit limits of up to 3,000. Gold and platinum cards may offer extended credit limits to customers with well established and very favourable credit histories. Customers without a credit history or with blemished credit histories tend to be offered secured cards or unsecured standard cards with lower credit limits. Once a cardholder's credit history is established or improved, cards with higher credit limits can be obtained.
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How am I judged when applying for a credit card?
Judgement criteria can vary from one card provider to another. However, your income and your credit history are the two main criteria. Many card providers rely on data from credit reporting agencies.
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How do I check my credit rating?
First of all, you need to understand how the system works. Remember that you do not have a right to credit, and before giving you credit, lenders such as banks and loan companies want to check that you are an acceptable risk. To help them do this, they check with firms called credit reference agencies (CRAs) to get details about you and your credit record.
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Does applying for a credit card affect my credit status?
Yes. Every time you apply for a credit card, an inquiry is made as to your credit status. This inquiry is noted with the respective credit agency. Although these inquiries will remain on the report for approximately one year, providers will be primarily concerned with the number of inquiries over the last 6 months. Providers do become concerned if there are more than 10 inquiries during that time. They interpret this as an indication that you are badly in need of credit, and thereby consider you high risk. As a result, they will be less likely to grant you the credit card you are applying for. It is therefore important that you do not apply for an excessive amount of credit cards unless absolutely necessary.
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Why do providers put so much importance on a good credit history?
When issuing you with a credit card, providers give you credit. They take this risk based on your ability to repay that money. Your credit history shows how you have repaid loans in the past. This is taken as an indication of how you will repay loans in the future. If you have a good credit history you are considered low risk. A good credit history can help you get more than credit card privileges. It can also help get loans for those bigger life purchases such as a car or a house. A good credit history speaks well for you. A poor credit history can be improved over time and people have opportunities to make that happen.
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I've had credit problems. Can I still qualify for a credit card?
If you are trying to re-establish credit, it is likely that you will be issued with a 'secured' card, which means that your credit agreement may have to be guaranteed or "secured" with a cash deposit up front. This deposit guarantees you will repay money borrowed using your credit card. The limit on the card is usually the same as the guaranteed deposit.

Otherwise, you may be issued an 'unsecured' card - where no money guarantee is required. However, the card charges may be higher because you are considered a higher risk. Once a good credit history has been established you will qualify for more credit card privileges.
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How much do they cost?
The cost can vary, depending on whether the card provider charges an annual fee, the interest rate charged for borrowing, the interest-free period offered, etc. Additional charges can include those for cash withdrawals, late/returned payments, and exceeding your credit limit.
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How are interest charges calculated?
How interest is calculated is important and decides how much you're charged on your unpaid account balances. There are 3 ways to decide what your unpaid account balances are:
Average Daily Balance (ADB)
Adjusted Balance (AB)
Previous Balance (PB)
The ADB is each day's balance added up for the month and divided by the number of days in a billing cycle. This is the most common way to calculate your balance and proves the most costly to you. If you don't pay your bill in full, the interest is charged from the day a charge is billed to your account.

The AB is the balance that remains after adjusting for payments and credits posted during the billing cycle. This is the least costly method to you.

The PB is the outstanding balance at the end of the previous month. This is less costly to you than the ADB but more costly than the AB.
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What does 'grace' or 'interest free' period mean?
This is the number of days of interest-free credit. You are not charged interest on your account balance for a specific number of days. The number of days can vary from about 20 to 56.
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How should I pay the bill?
You can pay your bill in many ways - by direct debit, for example. Be careful, though, as there may be a charge for some methods. Your payment might also be delayed for some reason which can result in charges if it's late. As a general rule, you should try and pay your bill in full and by the monthly due date.
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Must I pay the full bill each month?
No, you do not have to pay the full bill, but the majority of card providers will require a minimum payment of approximately 3-5% of the outstanding balance on your account. The less you pay off your bill, the more interest you will be charged. If you do not wish to pay unnecessary interest charges, pay your bill in full and on time every month.
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How can I make sure I never miss paying my bill on time?
Set up a direct debit to ensure that the monthly payment is made automatically. It is worth considering this payment option because if you miss the deadline, the interest may be backdated to the date of purchase.
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What will happen if I can't afford to pay the outstanding balance?
Contact the provider to discuss your predicament. They may recommend an alternative solution as it is in their interest to have the problem solved. Alternatively, you could discuss this with a voluntary organisation that provides free advice and may help you manage your debts.
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What is a balance transfer?
If you already have a credit card and you apply for a new one, you can transfer your existing balance on the previous card to the new one. The new credit card provider will assume the outstanding debt that you owe on the previous card by paying off the credit card provider and then billing you for it.
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What is Payment Protection?
Payment Protection is insurance that will protect you in the event you are unable to make payments under qualified circumstances.
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What is an affinity card?
An affinity card is a credit card that is linked to a particular charity. When a card is issued to you, a donation is made to the affiliated charity, and a small percentage will be donated for every transaction made on the card.
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What is a secured card?
Secured cards require you to make a cash deposit up front. The limit on the card is usually related to the amount of the bank deposit. The bank has the right to take money from your deposit if you do not pay your credit card bill.
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What is a guaranteed card?
A guaranteed card is the same as a secured card.
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What is an unsecured card?
You probably won't hear this term often because it is the norm. A normal credit card is unsecured. The card provider cannot take specific assets of yours in the event you do not pay your bill. Your card provider would have to sue you to collect the debt.
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What is a debit card?
The amount you spend using a debit card is immediately deducted from your current account. Your banking institution issues you with a debit card. Debit cards offer less protection than credit cards in the event of a billing dispute. In addition, if your debit card is stolen, it is possible that your debit card account could be emptied.
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Is a credit card the same as a charge card?
No. Like a credit card, a charge card allows you to charge a purchase and pay for it later. But, a credit card offers a revolving line of credit. This means you don't have to pay off the total loan - as long as you make a minimum monthly payment. With a charge card, however, everything you spend on the card must be paid in full each month. Charge cards often incur an annual fee because you don't pay interest on purchases. But, they tend to offer very competitive reward programmes in exchange for the higher fee. An example of a charge card is American Express or Diner's Club.
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Do all cards offer travel rewards?
No. Only a travel card offers the opportunity to accumulate travel points for purchases made with a card. If you want a card that offers travel rewards, you should apply for a card that is associated with an airline or travel program you're interested in.

A travel card usually has an annual fee, which can pay for itself if you earn enough travel rewards. Make sure you use the card for purchases that make good sense, and not just to earn travel benefits.
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I thought ATM cards had PIN numbers. Why do credit cards have them?
A PIN is a numerical password that goes with your credit card. If you have a PIN, you can get a cash advance at an ATM displaying the symbol of the credit card network your card is with. You can also get a cash advance in another country and in the local currency.
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Where can I withdraw money using my credit card?
Once you have a PIN number, you can use your credit card to withdraw money at most cash machines in hundreds of countries around the world. Your credit card network will be identified on the cash machines that accept your card.
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Can I get cash on my credit card?
Yes. For this service you pay a cash handling fee and there's no interest-free period.
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Why am I charged more interest when I use my credit card to get cash?
Credit card networks don't always charge higher interest rates on cash advances. In fact, most don't. They do charge a cash handling fee, which is usually a minimum charge of £2.00 or 1.5% of the cash amount you withdraw. Interest charges on cash advances, however, accrue from the moment you withdraw the cash. When using your card normally, interest is often charged only if you fail to pay off your full account balance on time.
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Are credit cards cheap to use when abroad?
Credit cards generally work out cheaper to use abroad than changing to foreign currency or using travellers cheques.
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How can I be sure that I make the right choice?
Our unique selection process, guides you through the decision-making process and provides credit cards to match your requirements. For example, you will be asked for your preferences relative to different credit card features, such as APR, Payment Brand and Reward Programmes. You will then evaluate a series of hypothetical products and make trade-offs between different card features. After comparing these features, you will be presented with a list of ten suitable credit cards, based on your preferences.

Some general guidelines: If you pay your bill in full each month, then a card with a long interest free period and no annual fee may well be the best choice. For ongoing borrowing, a card with lower interest charges and shorter interest free time may be more suitable. If you go abroad or travel frequently, then consider cards with automated bill payment methods such as direct debit. Ensure that what is on offer meets your needs - a benefit is only a benefit if you make use of it.
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Are credit cards safe?
Yes. Credit cards are a safe, convenient way to buy things in stores, over the telephone or on the Internet with a reputable merchant. And, if your card is ever lost or stolen, a phone call to the card provider cancels the card and has it replaced. Once you report the loss, you will not be held responsible for any unauthorised charges. Remember, for your protection, always:

Sign and activate a new credit card immediately
Save your credit card sales slip to check against your monthly statements
See that you get your card back after every purchase and carry it in the same secure place
Tear up the sales slips if and when you throw them away
Check your billing statement for accuracy each month
Check the Terms and Conditions of any cards you apply for.
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Is it safe to give out my credit card number when buying goods or services by phone or on the Internet?
Make sure that your reputable online retailer like Wise Money uses a "Secure Socket Layer" or SSL that encrypts your personal details Most retailers and service providers are genuine and allow purchases to be made safely and securely. Problems may arise if an unauthorised person accesses your name, card number and card expiry date. They could use these details to carry out a transaction over the phone or on the Internet.

To limit access to these details you should use a telephone land line when ordering by phone. Business conducted using cordless or cellular phones is easier to intercept.

As a security measure, most card providers check that your purchases are delivered to your billing address. If an unusually high number of purchases are being carried out using your card, the card may be deactivated or you may be contacted.

The credit card details you give over the phone are not enough to enable an unauthorised person to make a counterfeit card. The card itself must be presented to buy in shops, restaurants etc. and to get a cash advance from an ATM.
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Do I get proper consumer protection if I use a credit card?
Credit card providers are responsible, along with the supplier of goods or services you purchase, for problems with certain goods paid for by credit card. This applies if the cash price of the item is between £100 and £30,000 and if the total credit value is less than £25,000. If you use your credit card when buying items in this range you can benefit from this consumer protection. If someone you purchase from fails to compensate you, you can claim against your card provider.
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If I have a problem with my credit card whom should I contact?
In all cases you should contact your credit card provider. If your card is lost or stolen, telephone the provider immediately. If you have a billing query, you should contact your card provider. It is your right to dispute a purchase or service which appears on your bill and which you did not make. If you wish to renew your card, you should contact your card provider. It only takes a few days to order a new card over the telephone and to receive it by post.
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What if I lose my card?
Telephone the provider immediately. They will 'stop' the card and issue a replacement. So it's important to keep a note of the telephone number and card number separate from the card. Don't, under any circumstances, keep a note of the PIN (personal identification number) with the card or anywhere else. Memorise it. You can register your cards with a card protection company for a fee and with one call, they will deal with the cancellation and replacement on your behalf. Some providers also offer insurance against loss and misuse.
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How do I know where to find your website again?
It's easy to get lost on the Web. To avoid Web disorientation, make frequent use of your browser's bookmarking feature. This feature allows you to mark the website you are navigating so you can access it again at a later date without having to memorise it's location.

To bookmark a web page in Netscape browser, simply select Bookmarks from the menu bar at the top of the page and click on the 'Add Bookmark' option. This will save the location of the site you are navigating. To access this website at a later date, select Bookmarks from the menu bar and browse through your list of bookmarked sites to select the appropriate one. Once selected you will automatically be navigated to that page.

To bookmark a web page in Internet Explorer, simply select Favourites from the menu bar at the top of the page and click on the 'Add to Favourites' option. This will save the location of the site you are navigating. To access this website at a later date, select Favourites from the menu bar and browse through your list of bookmarked sites to select the appropriate one. Once selected you will automatically be navigated to that page.
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What is a cookie?
A cookie is a piece of information sent to your PC when you access a website. It stores information about you that should save you time when filling in forms. For more information please go to the Cookie Central site at http://www.cookiecentral.com for more information.
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Please just click here now for all of your credit card and unsecured loans needs credit card calculator

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: consolidate debt loans, credit crunch, home loans, UK loans rates, US loans rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 8:30 AM 0 comments links to this post

Refinance Mortgage- If you are looking for a remortgage for any purpose you've come to the right place.

We are confident we can provide you with a competitive quote for your remortgage. You can use the money you borrow for any purpose and we will process your application quickly so your money can be made available as soon as possible.

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You may want your loan for major home improvement work, a holiday, to pay school or university fees, to consolidate debts or to provide financial support for your children. Whatever you need to loan the extra money for we will be happy to listen.

If you are looking for a mortgage, even if you have a poor credit history, come to us first to see what we can do. Your poor credit history does not exclude you from getting a mortgage or remortgage.

Even if your poor credit rating has meant you’ve had special terms imposed on remortgage quotes in the past, we have access to a number of suppliers of poor credit remortgages and have been able to help many customers with a poor credit rating to arrange a suitable remortgage.

Your finance can be for any purpose and your application will be processed quickly to ensure your monies are granted as soon as possible. Once your loans are granted you are free to spend the money on anything you wish.

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Self Certification Mortgages- If you’re looking for a mortgage and can’t prove your income, a self certification mortgage may be just what you need.

Self certification mortgages are ideal if you can’t prove your income. This may be because you are self-employed, a freelancer, contractor or seasonal worker, or you may be paid on a commission-only basis, be an un-salaried company director or you may have more than one source of income such as income from investments.

If you’ve had problems finding a regular mortgage because you can’t prove your income please talk to our lenders about a self certification mortgage. We work with a number of suppliers who are happy to consider self certification mortgages. If this sounds like the type of mortgage you need talk to one of our advisers today to see what we can do for you.

Once we have all the details, your self certification mortgage will be processed as soon as possible to ensure your funds are available so you can complete your house purchase without delay.

Mortgage Finance- If you want to purchase a house and you’re looking for a mortgage why not take a look at our house purchase mortgages? Our team of advisors will help you to select the best mortgage from our range of lenders to suit your individual circumstances.

If features such as no early repayment penalties, transfer flexibility, or payment holidays are important to you these will be factored-in to our mortgage search. If these features are not important to you, our team of advisors will base the search on finding you the most suitable house purchase mortgage available to suit your particular circumstances.

Once we have all the details, your house purchase mortgage will be processed as soon as possible to ensure your funds are available so you can complete your house purchase without delay. If you need a mortgage for your house purchase urgently you may like to consider a taking out a bridging loan to ensure your house purchase can go ahead quickly.

As long as you are employed and you are over 18, you can apply. Please contact us today for a free no obligation quote.

Our lenders provide some of the most competitive finances in the UK. So if you’re looking for a help and you’re a UK resident why not ask for a quote?

At Wise Money we work with a number of different financial services providers. As a result we find that we are able to provide competitive rates and terms for a wide range of different personal circumstances.

You can choose between a secured or an unsecured credit and it can be for any purpose. All we ask is that you can meet the monthly repayments and that you’re a UK resident.

You can expect a prompt and efficient service. An in-principle decision will be made as soon as possible and once yourapplication has been fully processed your money is made available to you as quickly as possible which you are then free to spend as you wish.

Please click here now to APPLY NOW online here now

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and consolidate debt loans.

Labels: consolidate debt loans, home loans, Loan calculator, mortgage calculator, refinancing rates

# posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic @ 10:34 AM 0 comments links to this post

Refinance Calculator- If you are looking for a remortgage for any purpose you've come to the right place.

We are confident we can provide you with a competitive quote for your remortgage. You can use the money you borrow for any purpose and we will process your application quickly so your money can be made available as soon as possible.

For UK mortgage holders looking for a fast online mortgage calculator REFINANCE CALCULATOR APPLY NOW please click here now