TotallyMoney News

British families owe £8,000 in unsecured debt

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:14:28 +0000

The average UK household owes £7,900 in unsecured debt such as credit cards, overdrafts and store cards, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Although the typical British family managed to reduce their unsecured debts by some £355 in 2011 – making the last 12 months the third consecutive year that net unsecured household borrowing [...]

Low rates support house prices

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:54:40 +0000

House prices rose by 0.6% in January, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index. Despite the modest monthly increase, the price of the average property in the UK was down by 1.8% year-on-year to £160,907. The quarterly measure, which is preferred by some economists as a more accurate indicator of market direction, showed a [...]

Rise in bank staff stealing from customers

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:24:44 +0000

Junior bank workers who are not rewarded as lavishly as those at the top of their trade are increasingly topping up their meagre pay with ill-gotten gains. Instances of crooked bank staff stealing money through theft or deception rose by more than 40% last year, according to CIFAS. The anti-fraud organisation said that dishonest actions [...]

OFT to probe gym contracts

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:15:26 +0000

If you’ve signed up for a lengthy gym contract you never use but can’t get out of, help could soon be at hand. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced an investigation into unfair gym contract terms that could be in breach of consumer protection regulations. The OFT probe will also look into whether [...]

Gender insurance directive: the battle of the sexes gets costly

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:24:23 +0000

Gender discrimination is a horrible thing. Men who hold open doors for you, offer to pay for dinner and carry your bags, might be what most women want, but we also wish for equality. We should be more careful about what we wish for. Who would have thought that gender discrimination might actually be working [...]

House prices fall for second month in a row

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:16:19 +0000

The winter freeze on house prices continued in January as property values fell for the second consecutive month, according to the latest data from Nationwide. Average house prices fell by 0.2% last month after an identical drop was recorded in December. The fall leaves the average UK house valued at £162,228. Year-on-year, property prices were [...]

Cheap winter holidays: the ultimate guide

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:12 +0000

Itching to take to the slopes but baulking at the prices? No problem. From cheap resorts, to accommodation, to lift passes, to transport, to lessons, we have the ultimate guide to saving on your ski and snowboard holiday this year. When? Ski resorts and airlines start rubbing their hands with glee over the Christmas, New [...]

Average water bills to rise 0.5% above inflation

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:17:49 +0000

Average water and sewerage bills will rise by 5.7% from April, the water regulator Ofwat has announced. The above inflation increase will bring the typical water bill to £376 per household, up by an average of £20. The 0.5% above inflation increase was considerably below the 10% rise in prices the water companies were pushing [...]

Buying now cheaper than renting

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:25:14 +0000

Owning a home has become considerably cheaper than renting one over the past three years, according to a study by Halifax. Research from the building society found homeownership was more than £100 a month cheaper than being a tenant in December 2011. The average cost of buying a three-bedroom house in the UK cost £600 [...]

Cost of raising a child hits £218,000

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:19:05 +0000

The cost of raising a child to the age of 21 rose by 3.3% to£218,024 over past year, according to a study by LV=. The insurer’s annual Cost a Child report found cash-strapped British parents now have to fork out £10,382 a year, £865 a month or £28.44 a day on each of their children. [...]

UK families increase debt by half

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:28:25 +0000

Cash-strapped UK families increased their levels of personal debt by 48% over the past year, according to a report from a leading insurance firm. Aviva’s Family Finances report found the average British family currently owes some £7,944 in unsecured borrowing, compared with just £5,360 in January 2011. The increase in debt levels is in spite of the [...]

Housing transactions fell by 1% in 2011

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:53:31 +0000

The number of houses sold in the UK fell by 1% last year, according to figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Just 869,000 homes changed hands in 2011, 11,000 fewer than the previous year and one of the lowest numbers since modern records began in 1978. Some 1,669,000 homes were sold in 2006. Analysts [...]

2 savings accounts you must have

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:04:48 +0000

If you have decided that 2012 is the year you’re finally going to kick your finances into shape, then getting into the savings habit will be a big part of the process. Don’t think that sorting out your money needs to be too daunting a task though, Sian’s got some great tips on how to [...]

Millions of pensioners gripped by fuel poverty

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:59:04 +0000

A growing number of UK pensioners are falling into fuel poverty as a result of high gas and electricity prices, according to a new study from Age UK. An ICM survey conducted on behalf of the charity found that nearly half of the 1,000 pensioners polled said they turned their heating down when not warm [...]

Third of adults plan to cut spending as thinktank predicts 8-year pay freeze

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:59:12 +0000

Pessimism about the fragile state of the UK economy is prompting a growing number of people to plan on cutting their spending over the coming year, according to survey carried out on behalf of the Resolution Foundation. The study, which was conducted by the polling organisation Ipsos MORI, found that a third of all adults [...]

Rents fall for second consecutive month

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:06:58 +0000

Private tenants enjoyed an extended seasonal respite from rising rents last month, according to the latest data from LSL Property Services. The property expert’s monthly survey of the rental market showed that average rents fell for the second consecutive month in December. The fall in prices in November was the first time average rents went [...]

RBS fined for complaint tampering

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:06:37 +0000

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been fined nearly £2.2 million for tampering with customer complaint files before forwarding them to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The fines relate to failings at the insurance firms Direct Line and Churchill – both owned by RBS – where the FSA discovered evidence that staff had altered [...]

How to survive until January payday

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:28:57 +0000

January. Urgh. It’s horrible. There’s nothing very good about January once you’ve got past new year’s day and Sherlock has finished. Then everyone is dieting (why would you do that to yourself?), it’s cold and rainy and even if you could find someone to go to the pub with, you can’t afford more than one [...]

5 tips for super cheap train travel

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:08:58 +0000

Last week we took a look at ways to cut costs on your commute. In the second instalment in this two part series, this week I’m unearthing a  few more sneaky tips for cheap rail travel. As I’m writing this, if I wanted to get to Edinburgh from my home town of Southampton, it would [...]

Consumer PPI victories decline

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:54:53 +0000

The number of payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints being resolved in favour of consumers has fallen sharply, according to the latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). While complaints about mis-sold PPI policies rose to 30,301 in the last three months of 2011, an increase of 57%, just seven out of ten cases were settled [...]

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