ING Direct have released statistics showing that Britons have been delving into their nest egg in order to cover the costs of living today. Savings have fallen by about 14% on average among Britons during three months. That is a reduction of £279 to £1,771; the amount deposited to savings accounts is the lowest since 2009. Most alarmingly, a quarter of all people had no savings at all.
Archive for the ‘Credit Card’ Category
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.
Banks cash in on steep overdraft rates and cuts in in-credit interest rates
Monday, August 17th, 2009
Despite the fact that we own 70% of the Royal Bank of Scotland, this hasn’t stopped them extracting more from us through some of the highest unauthorised overdraft charges around.
It’s the same with most banks, as findings today show that banks have cut interest rates on in-credit current accounts but at the same time increased charges for unauthorised overdrafts and increased interest rates on authorised overdrawn accounts, reports Times Online. RBS, majority owned by the British taxpayer, has been named and shamed as charging the most extortionate fees following a cut in the fees by most of the major banks.
Bank of England findings show that the average authorised overdraft rate in July was the highest since 1995, while 4 out of 5 current accounts pay less than 0.1% on balances in credit and half pay no interest at all. RBS takes a lot of the flak in this banking clampdown on consumer welfare, as their penalty fees for unauthorised overdraft of £118 for an account overdrawn by £30 is £28 more expensive then the next most expensive provider, Alliance and Leicester, which charges £90.
When it comes to current accounts, Nationwide is shown to be the worst culprits, with an authorised overdraft rate increase of 11.5 percentage points to 18.9% in two years. On the other hand, better current accounts are offered from the likes of Cahoot, which gives 1.1% on in-credit accounts and only charges 11.8% on authorised overdrafts.
For credit cards, the overall average rate on purchases has risen in the past two years from 16.5% to 18.1%. Again Nationwide has been criticised, this time for upping its Visa from 17.9% to 19.9% in May. The best advice would be to go to Virgin Money for a card, as they offer a o% balance transfer deal which is interest-free for 18 months with 16.6% charged on new purchases.
Are you worried that you won’t have enough cash to cover your credit card bill this month? Worried that those bill payments may shoot up exponentially if they are not paid off with the extortionate interest fees that you have just read about? Well, then this is where a payday loan may come in handy.
Here at www.247Moneybox.com, we can offer you the chance to get cash quickly to cover all your unpaid expenses this month until your next pay cheque comes in. So don’t fret about late fees or overdrawn charges from your bank - apply now, and don’t let banks take you for a ride!
Two simple steps to save money this month
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
A wise man once said that you should look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. Well, with this in mind, our article today will look how you can save yourself more than just pennies this month.
The first tip we advise you to follow is to literally watch your pennies; if you are being weighed down by heavy lumps of metal in your wallet or have discovered a copper mine below the cushions of your sofa, then cash in on these untapped financial resources.
You’ll be surprised at how much you can get after, say, six months. Having a mascot piggybank as a logo means we have no excuse to not have a piggybank in the office - after six months we’ve managed to accumulate nearly £60! You needn’t even have to worry about counting and bagging the coins - the emergence of machines which will give you the cash back in more useful coins and notes means that you can cash in on all your piggybanks’ savings while getting your groceries .. you could even make it a monthly event.
One way that you can actually get yourself turning over a few pounds here and there is through a few Internet sites - these sites will offer you money for simply filling in a few forms or having advertisements on your screen while browsing.
Need instant cash to cover your monthly expenses? Well, then it might be time that you considered taking out a payday loan with us here at www.247Moneybox.com. We offer people the chance to get the cash injection they need to cover their cash-flow problems and difficulties. Simply take a few minutes to fill in our application, then we will make a quick decision, and you could be getting your money as soon as possible. When it comes to paying us back we will deal with taking the money automatically out of your account so that you don’t even have that hassle.
Angry indebted customers hurl abuse at Barclays and HSBC
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Are you angered by banks’ sneaky charges and penalties? Well, then this article will be right up your street - Times online has reported two different examples where two major banks have levied unacceptable charges on some of their customers. In particular, two different types of customers - a small-business owner and a mortgage holder - have documented their terrible experiences with HSBC and Barclays.
This comes in the same week as yours truly received a £20 penalty fee for not reading the available balance and instead making the ‘huge mistake’ of spending what’s actually in his account.
Peter Reeve, 55, from Flitwick in Bedfordshire, faced ‘worry and aggravation’ when HSBC raised the interest rate on his overdrawn business account. Mr Reeve’s company would sometimes take up to 18 months to be paid for jobs and so the overdraft facility was important. Reeve switched to NatWest, but saw his personal account which he kept at HSBC face a new overdraft rate of 19.9%, up from 9.9%. He was told this was because there wasn’t enough money going into his accounts.
Surely stories like this are not what we want to hear when we need small businesses the most.
Sally Houghton got in a dispute with Barclays after she took out a mortgage with them for a new house in Bedfordshire, and she was sure she set up a mortgage protection plan. However, a year later when she was unable to work, she tried to claim for the plan, only to be told that it did not exist. Despite sending photocopies of the agreement to Barclays, it did not acknowledge the plan until this year. Ms Houghton was forced to carry on working despite her deteriorating health, and is planning legal action to claim for loss of earnings.
Are you finding that penalties are building up? Do you risk incurring steeper charges and penalties unless you pay off the fines that you are facing at the moment? Well, if this is the case then it might be time that you started considering taking out a payday loan from us here at www.247Moneybox.com and then relax knowing you have the cash to prevent your unexpected costs from increasing exponentially until you can pay.
O2’s new Visa card offers a lesson in financial control
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Do you need to ring-fence your expenses? Then maybe you need a fee-free pre-paid card to help keep tabs on your finances. Times online reports that O2 has announced that it will offer pre-paid Visa cards that can be used online, in store or at cash points and works simply as a substitute to carrying cash. The card can even be claimed by children as young as 13, without their parent’s permission.
The ‘Load and Go’ card will be launched by O2 in partnership with Natwest and comes with no fees. O2 will provide users with balance updates on their phone. The pre-paid card has no overdraft feature as users can only spend what they have loaded onto the card. The card will in effect work as an easier and safe way to carry cash. Parents won’t have to worry about their children carrying or losing cash. The card uses the Chip and Pin security feature and if the card is stolen it can easily be cancelled.
Pre-paid cards have been very expensive in the past, when banks have tried to charge users for a myriad of actions with the card - Lousie Bond from uSwitch has highlighted some of those charges, including up-front fees to take out the card, monthly fees, withdrawal charges and even a charge for loading the card. Bond sees the O2 cards as a good way to budget monthly expenses and keep tabs of your finances.
The Load and Go card is also designed to introduce children to understanding financial control, as well as keep them from having to carry cash which could attract crime.
If you have taken all the steps to budget yourself and cut down your expenses but are still struggling to pay the rent or utility bills, then it may be time for you to consider getting yourself a payday loan from us at www.247Moneybox.com. Our team is waiting to advise you and help make a tailored cash loan solution to help you out of a cash-flow crisis until the next paycheque arrives.
Beware of cuts in the minimum repayment level
Monday, July 6th, 2009
Are you one of those who will see a cut in the minimum repayment on your credit card? Times Online reports that Barclaycard, the largest issuer of credit cards, said the changes will take effect from next month. Some 12 million people will enjoy the level falling from 2.25% to 1.5%. Beware though: the bank’s act of ‘generosity’ will actually make you pay back more in the long run.
The announcement follows figures showing that £2.7 billion of new debt has been shouldered by the UK economy in just the first quarter of this year. Savings, on the other hand, have hit an all-time low of £14 billion according to Unbiased.co.uk. This equates to 19p borrowed for every £1 saved. So more doom and gloom is being spelled out by industry analysts. Meanwhile, debt counselling services have reported record numbers of people seeking advice after being made redundant.
You would think that the cutting of minimum repayment levels is seen as a generous act by credit card companies. However, Martin Lewis from moneysavingexpert states that their existence at all is actually based on ‘keeping customers perpetually in debt’. By paying less back there is a greater amount still owed to the company, therefore the rates charged will increase the amount of interest that will need to be paid back when the loan is finally paid off.
Are you struggling to pay off credit card debts? Are you going to struggle to pay off your final instalment? Then you might consider taking out one of our payday loans at www.247Moneybox.com. If you need cash to tide you over until your next paycheque, then take a few minutes to fill out our application form, and, if approved, you will receive a cash loan that will relieve the stress of paying back bills on time.
Credit card companies cut spending limits without warning
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
Interesting article in the The Guardian today regarding some of the UK’s biggest credit card companies, who are slashing credit limits for some of their account holders without warning.
Last year, internet bank Egg angered customers when it suspended 161,000 cards - with only 35 days’ notice, effectively cutting off all use of credit for these borrowers. According to Egg, it wanted to reduce its exposure to people with poor credit records, however it transpired that many angered card holders said they could see no reason for their plastic to be cancelled.
Nevertheless, other financial institutions have since followed suit.
Crazy behaviour like this is only going to continue as the recession bites and banks react in what will inevitably be a knee-jerk fashion. Getting a loan is even more important at times like this and so it should be easier not harder. We here at www.247Moneybox.com provide fast, efficient, short-term loans with a minimum of fuss because we know speed and convenience count.
The article goes on to quote Observer Cash reader James Gardner, who was recently caught out by Barclaycard’s credit-cutting policy. ‘I had just repaid £1,500 of my Christmas spending and was trying to pay a £275 vet’s bill when my card was declined,’ he says. ‘I rang Barclaycard, who said my limit had been reduced from £2,000 to £260. No warning, nothing.’
Another Observer Cash reader, Della Parrish, had her credit limit cut without warning by First Direct. ‘After I retired, I set up a First Direct bank account and credit card to keep my newly set up consultancy activities separate from my pension, which goes into my NatWest bank account,’ she says. ‘The limit on the First Direct credit card was £6,900, but this has just been reduced to £3,100 without prior notice. First Direct said it was because I had not spent up to the £6,900 limit.’
What’s even more worrying in our opinion is that according to Apacs, the credit card companies’ trade association, a code of best practice on reductions to customers’ credit limits doesn’t exist. The article quotes Jemma Smith, a spokeswoman for Apacs: ‘Limits may be reduced for reasons relating to an individual’s behaviour, such as frequent withdrawals of cash or spending over the limit. Or it may be - particularly in current times - because a company has taken a policy decision to decrease its exposure across a group of customers.’
At 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 and immediate cash-flow problems. For a fast loan, visit our website and apply today - once your application is accepted you will receive a loan in record time.
Cutting down on credit card debt is key to surviving recession
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
We all need to knuckle down and get informed about how to survive the recession. In a recent article from The Independent, a panel of the newspaper’s writers - business editor Margareta Pagano, personal finance editor Julian Knight, political commentator John Rentoul, and assistant editor David Randall - answered 20 key questions about the economy.
One question which grabbed our interest was what should a young, non-property-owning person do? The answer: cut down on credit card debts, overdrafts and personal loans. By acting responsibly with your finances, you can cover some credit card debt with a fast loan and even avoid overdraft charges with a cash loan.
That’s where we come in. Here at www.247Moneybox.com we offer rapid and convenient online cash advances to individuals throughout the UK to help them cope with immediate cash problems and give them some breathing space in the current difficult economic climate.
We understand the scenario: having tried all other avenues to get some cash to cover you to the end of the month, nothing has turned up. Your family doesn’t have the money and your friends are just as skint. Let 247Moneybox.com help you. Getting a loan from us couldn’t be easier; apply online today for a short-term loan in a safe and secure manner from the comfort and convenience of your own home. We are available online 24/7, whenever you need us. Just remember to make sure you can afford to repay your payday cash advance, whatever you borrow.
Christmas spending projected to fall 7%
Monday, December 15th, 2008
Hmmm, not a great start to the festive season with a range of figures and stats out showing the UK, and indeed the rest of the world, is not in great shape financially speaking. We all expected some pain following the economic turmoil of recent months but it is proving a little more painful than was first thought.
Recently released data from accountancy firm Deloitte predict that an overall fall of around 7% is expected in Christmas spending for this year, as shoppers continue to try and cut back on their expenditure. The report shows that the decline will be felt across a wide variety of goods and services such as gifts, food, clothes, entertainment and socialising.
Richard Hyman, strategic advisor to the retail practice at Deloitte, said: ‘I think the main headline is this is the worst Christmas for a generation. But as a nation we’ll be spending £36bn so it’s not a total disaster. Broadly speaking, we believe sales will be flat this Christmas, with a slight fall possible.’
The average spend per adults over Christmas is likely to be around £655, according to the report, and of those polled around 19% planned to spend more on Christmas this year compared to last, despite the difficult financial situation. 24% of consumers plan to spend less this Christmas, but around 57% plan to spend the same as they did last year.
Well, one thing is for certain whatever the Christmas budget - 247Moneybox.com can help you boost it with a short-term payday loan in a sensible, responsible fashion. Buck the doom and gloom and have a super Christmas and New Year from all of us here at the 247Moneybox.com team!
