Many households will be pushed over the edge into bankruptcy this year as borrowing channels dry up as a result of the international credit crunch.Â
A report from the TDX Group, which provides detailed debt-collection information to lenders, claims that about one millions consumers are struggling with ‘problem debt’, at an average of around £25,000 each. […]
If you were to take a snapshot of UK consumer finances at the moment, you’d be excused for feeling less than chipper. The Centre for Policy studies has recently published a report that shows that the total cost of running an average home (with mortgage) rose from £9,837 during 2006, to £11,780 during 2007. This […]
With credit card companies purported to be preparing to begin sharing customer information come the spring, borrowers on both ends of the credit rating spectrum may find themselves being penalised. As can be seen in the case of Egg’s recent controversial decision to cancel the credit cards of 160,000 of its customers, lenders are becoming […]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to reduce interest rates to 5.25% this morning. The second rate drop in three months, today’s vote was in response to growing evidence of an economic downturn, combined with the increasing risk of inflation in the coming months as global financial markets face further uncertainty and […]
Consumers make many excuses for the - often unhappy - state of their finances. The sub-prime mortgage market fiasco in the US has highlighted the importance of responsible lending, but has also drawn attention to the importance of consumer responsibility. Here in the UK where consumers enjoy a collective multi-billion pound relationship with credit, it’s […]
According to British Psychologists, today is Blue Monday – the most depressing day of the year. Apparently the foul weather, lack of daylight and feelings of guilt over failed New Year’s resolutions accumulate suitably by mid-late January to have us all at our lowest emotional points. And then, as if your failure to have as […]
Yesterday the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain interest rates at 5.5%, to the surprise of many economists who had been predicting a further drop following that made in December. Until the minutes of the meeting are published later in the month it remains to be seen how close the vote was, […]
When we moved into our new flat in March last year, we dutifully set about doing all the things that one does when moving house - that invariably lead to mild feelings of self-hatred for deciding to move in the first place - such as getting phone and broadband sorted out. The flat already had […]
Today is one of the busiest days of the year for people in the financial advice industry. The first Monday of the New Year is officially the day when people wake from their seasonal slumber and try to get their lives in order; invariably this includes seeking some form of advice regarding their finances in […]
The Bank of England has today reported a reduction on the availability of secured credit to households over the last three months, and expects the same to continue over the first quarter of 2008. What does this mean for consumers? In a nutshell: that secured lending is becoming harder to access due to more stringent […]
