Archive for the ‘APR’ Category


Bank charges more than payday loans


Monday, December 13th, 2010

After Natwest finally reviewed and lowered their overdraft fees, it came to light this week that defaulting with a bank could be far more costly than a payday loan, which is often cited as having exorbitant fees. This is backed up by Money Saving Expert’s recent survey.

The government has issued previous warnings to banks to lower their overdraft fees and charges to consumers, however until now these have been ignored. After the multibillion pound bailout it is frustrating to taxpayers, who partly own these banks, to still be subject to the high and often very confusing charges.

To add insult to injury for the customer, banks do not have to include these sort of fees in their APR calculations for overdrafts.

Visit www.247Moneybox.com to see if our loan options might be suitable for you.

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Capping loan interest rates will hurt consumers


Sunday, August 29th, 2010

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) decided against capping interest rates in the payday loan industry back in June, as stated in The Guardian. This met with a lot of criticism; in particular, people have argued that the high levels of interest are exploitative and that they prey on people who are susceptible to accumulating debt. However, we at 247Moneybox.com feel that this criticism is unfounded and argue that this industry offers a very popular and above board service regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

An unreasonable market, on the other hand, may assume that the prices are unfairly inflated above what they cost and that a few companies receive a disproportionate amount of profit. An unreasonable market may have an oligopoly or monopolistic structure (where only a few companies dominate the market), and there would be obstacles to new companies joining the market and sharing the profit. However, if you read these articles from The Guardian or BBC News, you’ll see that the payday loan market has swelled with new competitors and new customers.

If the price mechanism that companies compete on gets frozen, then they will have to find another way to generate revenue to break even; this will come in the form of excessive late charges, administrative fees and other hidden costs. Who will be the people who lose out? The people who apparently are more susceptible to becoming indebted.

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Beat the banker


Monday, July 26th, 2010

It’s outrageous when banks charge you for unexpected bank fees. We at 247Moneybox.com thought we’d offer some helpful tips to beating steep bank charges.

Check your last few bank statements. With these statements in hand, try and find what type of banking user you are. Once you’ve worked this out, change your account for one which will best suit your banking habits and needs.

Of course the best way to avoid banking fees is to simply avoid becoming overdrawn. There are a number of ways to do this. First of all, some banks offer a text service which will message you when you are getting close to becoming overdrawn. Another idea is to use payment methods which will save you some money, and internet banking may allow you to find the cheapest deal. Paying online may also avoid a transaction fee.

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APR% the focus of mainstream media


Monday, May 25th, 2009

An interesting article in the Financial Times today on the subject of payday loans opens with the amazing revelation that the recession is not a great thing and some are finding it hard to make their money last for the month. Hmm, not particularly insightful, an amusing if slightly patronizing review of pawnshops and their clientele.

As with all mainstream media the shock tactics come into play with the APR, which, as an annualized rate, doesn’t lend itself at all to a short-term loan. Quoting Geoff Holland of the British Cheque Cashing Association, with whom 24/7Moneybox are full and active members: ‘Comparing APRs with those of bank loans is misleading,’ he says, likening extremely short-term rates to a situation where someone buys a £2.50 pint of beer for a friend in return for borrowing £25 over a week. We couldn’t agree more.

Indeed the article goes on, in what we think is a very balanced and sensible piece, to quote Tom Howard of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service: ‘For some people it’s the only sort of loans they have access to. It’s better that they use those forms of credit rather than going to loan sharks who are illegal or perhaps more unscrupulous.’ In addition the article notes that the Office of Fair Trading has had little in the way of complaints.

Here at www.247Moneybox.com we provide you with quick and easy online loans. We can provide fast payday loans that can be used for your short-term money needs. Apply today and receive a payday loan once your application is accepted.

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