Loans & Credit

Inside Loans & Credit

Millions are warned to stop using credit cards to pay for their homes

Sunday, 9 January 2011

Millions of Britons are using high-interest credit cards to help pay for their homes, according to research published last week by the charity Shelter.

Keep your credit rating safe over the hols

Sunday, 19 December 2010

Too much online shopping could result in black marks against your name, thanks to anti-fraud measures

Hope remains that G4S takeover can provide festive treat

Saturday, 18 December 2010

With Christmas just a week away the thoughts of many turn to gifts. For a time during this festive run-up, I wondered whether the no pain, no gain portfolio was set to receive an unexpected seasonal present in the shape of a takeover bid for one of its constituents?

The oil 'juniors' set to strike gold

Saturday, 18 December 2010

The price of gold has again been making headlines and breaking records. I remain a fan of gold given the debasement of paper currencies via quantitative easing. Yet another commodity has been gaining ground, and its increase has far more important ramifications for the global economy: oil.

Desperate days for those facing a debt-fuelled Christmas

Saturday, 18 December 2010

I love Christmas. But it can turn out to be a financial nightmare for millions who end up overspending. Even before this weekend, almost six million people had already borrowed money to pay for Christmas this year, according to R3, the insolvency trade body.

Need cash? Bypass the banks entirely and find your lender on a social website

Sunday, 5 December 2010

Peer-to-peer lending is growing in popularity and offers competitive rates. Chiara Cavaglieri and Julian Knight report.

Debit cards more popular than cash

Friday, 3 December 2010

Debit cards have overtaken cash to become the UK's most popular payment method for the first time, figures showed yesterday. On 30 August the amount of money people had spent on debit cards since the beginning of the year overtook the value of transactions paid for in cash for the first time at £272bn-, compared with £269bn for cash, according to the Payments Council.

The ten best credit card perks

Monday, 29 November 2010

From European flights to high street vouchers, cashback to insurance bonuses, this selection proves that it pays to play your cards right.Click on the image on the right to launch the gallery

Money insider: Nationwide takes notice of savers’ unrest

Saturday, 27 November 2010

It's not just poor rates of interest that upset savers in this country: complex products, interest rate mismatches between ISA and non-ISA accounts, and accounts exclusively for new customers all appear high on the list of consumer gripes.

Bankers are still charging ahead with bully-boy tactics

Saturday, 27 November 2010

The sometimes ineffectual Office of Fair Trading (OFT) acted for good this week. It cracked down on the despicable practice of charging orders.

Life on the front line of Britain's debt

Sunday, 21 November 2010

Business has been booming for the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Julian Knight meets the charity's founder

Five Questions About: The best credit card for Christmas

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Spotlight On: MBNA's Balance Transfer credit card

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Cold calls cost CPN its consumer credit licence

Sunday, 7 November 2010

A debt-management company, Compensation Professionals Network, has been stripped of its consumer credit licence for making illegal cold calls.

Simon Read: The battle to beat legal loan sharks hits Westminster

Saturday, 6 November 2010

The battle against legal loan sharks hit Westminster this week when the Labour MP Stella Creasy's Consumer Credit Bill got the nod for a second reading next February. More excitingly, Stella has secured a debate on the Bill next Tuesday in Westminster Hall, where the Government will have to respond to her proposals.

MP is battling to stop the greedy legal loan sharks

Saturday, 30 October 2010

They prey on the hard-up and make them pay over the odds for credit. But the doorstep lenders may have met their match.

Coalition seeks views on bank and credit charges

Sunday, 17 October 2010

The Government has launched a consultation on credit card interest rates, loans and bank charges.

Thousands wasted on credit card minimums

Sunday, 10 October 2010

Nearly one in 10 credit card customers pay off only the minimum payment each month, potentially costing them a fortune in interest, according to a survey from comparison website Moneysupermarket.com.

Time called on debt management company rip-offs

Sunday, 3 October 2010

Some firms fail to tell debtors that there are fees involved, let alone that there are free alternatives. Chiara Cavaglieri and Julian Knight report

OFT blasts debt firms that exploit vulnerable

Tuesday, 28 September 2010

More than 100 debt management firms face being forced out of the business as part of crackdown on the controversial sector, the Office of Fair Trading will reveal today. The watchdog has identified a string of failings by companies in the debt management business – which is expected to generate fee income of �250m by the end of the year.

New loan scheme targets low-income customers

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Getting a loan has long been a challenge for those on low incomes. Shunned by the mainstream banks they often have to rely on doorstep and payday loan firms charging extortionate rates of interest.

Follow the rules and reap the rewards from these credit cards

Wednesday, 22 September 2010

Cash or gifts for doing nothing, that's the big appeal of reward credit cards. Basically, the more you spend using the cards the more points you earn and this in turn can bring you gift rewards or simply cash back. The concept has been around for years – first pioneered by American Express – but since the onset of the credit crunch the idea has increasingly caught on with all manner of providers now marketing their reward credit cards.