http://www.financealley.com en-us editorial@financealley.com Building societies in the UK saw a fall of more than £1 billion in their mortgage lending during March 2008 according to published home loans data. They also observed a drop in advanced net loans from £1.8 billion to £580 million compared to the same m... http://www.financealley.com/article_578793_19.html 17th July 2008 Unsecured lending jumped suddenly during February 2008 by £2.4 billion it was revealed by the Bank of England, which is claimed to be as a result of a rise in students seeking loans to cover tuition fees and maintenance costs. This is the claim by th... http://www.financealley.com/article_578792_19.html 17th July 2008 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said that credit card companies should make it more straightforward for consumers to compare deals and shop around for the best arrangements. This comes following research by the OFT that showed 70 per cent of card... http://www.financealley.com/article_578789_19.html 17th July 2008 With the Royal Bank of Scotland deciding to sell its insurance business, experts are predicting this move to trigger other banks into reconsidering whether owning an insurer is a worthwhile strategic policy. Bankers expect that lenders will decide the ... http://www.financealley.com/article_578788_19.html 17th July 2008 A study from Sainsbury’s Finance has revealed that hazardous driving from parents during the stressful morning and afternoon school run, is putting children’s lives at risk. The report highlighted that 1.6 million drivers had been involved in acci... http://www.financealley.com/article_574224_19.html 11th July 2008 March 2008 saw the lowest ever number of people taking out mortgages to buy homes with the amount falling by 46 per cent over a year to 35,417 house buyers wanting loans. At there peak, banks were handing out over 3,000 mortgages a day; however that nu... http://www.financealley.com/article_574223_19.html 11th July 2008 In a bid to encourage their customers to become healthier, Prudential Insurance, one of Britain’s biggest insurers, is to offer large discounts on holidays. The idea is to start ‘paying’ people to adopt lifestyle changes that will be beneficial to t... http://www.financealley.com/article_574222_19.html 11th July 2008 Debt advice experts have seen an increase in the numbers of middle class people wanting financial help rise by up to 500 per cent, as middle Britain suffers an overwhelming debt crisis. Many UK households have seen their budgets being pushed to breaki... http://www.financealley.com/article_574221_19.html 11th July 2008 It is particularly vital to take out life insurance if you are self-employed, according to the Association of British Insurers. They are urging those going into business for themselves to think about the employee benefits that they will be losing out on w... http://www.financealley.com/article_574220_66.html 11th July 2008 Scottish Widows has released critical illness data which has boosted statistics for pay outs during the years 2000 and 2007, to a total amount of £150 million for more than 4,500 critical illness claims. The figures showed that the number of successfu... http://www.financealley.com/article_556397_19.html 16th June 2008 New figures have shown that the cost of running a car rose by as much as £2,200 over just twelve months with the soaring price of fuel, higher insurance and increase road tax at the route of the problem. These factors pushed up the price of driving by fo... http://www.financealley.com/article_556396_19.html 16th June 2008 The number of mortgage products on sale fell considerably in the twelve months during 2007 to 2008, decreasing from almost 11,000 to just over 3,000. These market changes hadn’t been seen for almost a generation with the credit crunch leading the UK... http://www.financealley.com/article_556395_19.html 16th June 2008 A poll carried out by YouGov has shown that more than one million household in the UK have used a credit card to pay their mortgage or rent. Housing charity Shelter backed up these findings by revealing that 6 per cent of those surveyed admitted they need... http://www.financealley.com/article_556392_19.html 16th June 2008 Thousands of homeowners face having their houses repossessed as the result of a home loan scam that could result in the rogue mortgage brokers behind it, being named and shamed. City watchdogs have exposed the bogus advisors who encouraged people wa... http://www.financealley.com/article_556391_19.html 16th June 2008 The Israeli government are to award £1.75 million in compensation to the family of a British filmmaker who was shot dead by Israeli troops in 2003. James Miller, 34, a husband and father to two young children, was killed by soldiers patrolling a secu... http://www.financealley.com/article_554929_18.html 11th June 2008 Motorists in Britain are losing as much as £510 every month in the depreciation value of their cars according to a study carried out by price comparison site uSwitch.com. This is a monthly increase of £13 over a six month period. The findings highli... http://www.financealley.com/article_554928_19.html 11th June 2008 Research from price comparison website MoneyExpert.com has revealed that more than 3 million people in the UK are trying to manage their finances using five or more credit cards. Thirty per cent of Britons applied for a new card during 2007 – 2008 a... http://www.financealley.com/article_554927_19.html 11th June 2008 It has emerged that British soldiers fighting overseas are being forced to pay as mush as £1,000 for life insurance cover as a result of the rising number of death’s and injuries being suffered by the armed forces during conflicts in places such as Ira... http://www.financealley.com/article_554926_19.html 11th June 2008 It appears that banks are pushing up the cost of personal loans to help boost their profit margins, despite a decision by the Bank of England to cut the base rate on three occasions. The interest rate on a loan of £5000 was up on average by 0.71 of a ... http://www.financealley.com/article_554925_19.html 11th June 2008 Figures released by the Bank of England have revealed that Britons had wracked up an astonishing £54.93 billion worth of credit card debt by the end of 2007. It is no surprise then that people in Britain are twice as likely to have plastic credit the... http://www.financealley.com/article_540796_19.html 20th May 2008 New research from financial information company, Moneyfacts, has shown that borrowers are to face rising repayment terms on their personal loans which will leave many people with a financial headache. Lenders were seen to be pushing up certain rates ... http://www.financealley.com/article_540795_19.html 20th May 2008 It is thought that more than two million UK motorists are escaping prosecution despite driving cars that are untaxed and uninsured; with this number only set to rise. Figures discovered by the Conservative party transport department, showed that the n... http://www.financealley.com/article_540794_19.html 20th May 2008 The months during winter have been identified as the worst time of the year for motor accidents in Britain as severe weather affects both road and car conditions across the country. It is also a busy time for Car Insurance companies who deal with thou... http://www.financealley.com/article_540792_19.html 20th May 2008 Insurance companies that are dealing directly with whiplash victims straight after an accident has happened, are set to be investigated after allegations were made that they are placing undue pressure on people to waive their right to compensation or to m... http://www.financealley.com/article_540791_18.html 20th May 2008 Figures released by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) have shown that over two thousand claims for lost luggage were made during the first six months of last year alone. This was an 85% increase on the same period of time for the previous year, w... http://www.financealley.com/article_540789_19.html 20th May 2008 During the late 1950’s, a German pharmaceutical company, Grunenthal, launched the drug thalidomide across 46 countries all around the world. The drug was said to be a cure for pregnant mothers suffering from morning sickness, however it produced horri... http://www.financealley.com/article_540788_18.html 20th May 2008 The stranger originated life insurance (Stoli) trend that has grown in the US has sparked an inquiry by the City watchdog to see if the craze is spreading to the UK insurance market. The practice sees senior citizens targeted by companies such as ... http://www.financealley.com/article_540787_19.html 20th May 2008 Studies carried out at motor insurance research centre, Thatcham, have revealed that small ‘city’ cars are the least effective in preventing passengers from suffering incapacitating whiplash injuries. The tests which looked at the performance of a... http://www.financealley.com/article_540785_18.html 20th May 2008 Nearly half of all people applying for personal loans have been turned away by their banks as the rein in on lending has continued. The number of customers who have been declined loans has rose a by a third compared with the previous six months. It is ... http://www.financealley.com/article_540783_19.html 20th May 2008 The average rates for secured loans are beginning to get closer to the rates offered for unsecured personal loans according to research carried out by Moneyexpert.com. The figures released show that the lowest rate available for a secured loan o... http://www.financealley.com/article_540782_19.html 20th May 2008 An Iraqi civilian who was accidentally shot by a British soldier is set to receive a compensation payout from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of £2 million. The teenager who was 13 years old at the time of the incident, suffered severe spinal injuri... http://www.financealley.com/article_540781_18.html 20th May 2008 Small shareholders of crippled bank Northern Rock are to take the Treasury to the High Court after it was revealed that Government lawyers had rejected their request for compensation. The UK Shareholders Association (UKSA) said it would submit an applic... http://www.financealley.com/article_540780_18.html 20th May 2008 The reputation of ‘no win, no fee’ cases has been tainted in the last few years due to a number of high profile cases. It is argued that this concept effectively replaced legal aid for routine accident claims in 2000, with a ‘misleading’... http://www.financealley.com/article_540779_18.html 20th May 2008 Britain’s financial regulator has warned that more than one million families in the UK risk losing their homes in the next 18 months as a result of the global credit crunch. With large mortgages and debts on the increase, the news that banks are bec... http://www.financealley.com/article_540778_19.html 20th May 2008 Traveller’s who are thinking of hiring rental vehicles whilst they are abroad, are being urged to check exactly what cover their car insurance provides. The warning comes in the wake of one British holidaymaker who was involved in two minor accidents... http://www.financealley.com/article_540777_19.html 20th May 2008 People who are perceived to be unhealthy as a result of smoking or obesity are facing increased life insurance premiums as a result. Consumers who smoke could pay over £2,000 more on their insurance policy than non-smokers according to price comp... http://www.financealley.com/article_540776_19.html 20th May 2008 An estimated one million people in the UK have ‘problem’ unsecured debts according to a report entitled UK Debt Problems – consumer crisis or efficient market? Published by debt management solutions firm, TDX Group, the findings showed that these ... http://www.financealley.com/article_540770_19.html 20th May 2008 Customers of credit card providers who have a faultless repayment record are said to be at as much risk of being cut off by their lenders as those who are out of control of their spiralling debts. Banks are beginning to identify borrowers with f... http://www.financealley.com/article_540769_19.html 20th May 2008