September 2009
Monthly Archive
Barclays Spit The Dummy Over Payment Protection Insurance Ban
frankdow 07 Sep 2009 | : PPI & Loans
Barclays is to challenge a recent decision by the Competition Commission to ban the sale of the payment protection insurance alongside credit cards, loans and mortgages. From October 2010 the sale of PPI will be banned forcing providers to wait seven days before contacting customers and try to sell them the cover.
The ban is designed to increase competition in the payment protection insurance market, It’s hoped the changes will make it easier for borrowers to change providers and get better rates. It will also help borrowers get rid of the little voice in their heads that says ‘If I don’t take the insurance, they won’t give me the loan”
Barclays justify their case by claiming that the evidence collected by Competition Commission’s investigation is not justified.
A Barclays spokeswoman said: “The Barclays appeal does not challenge the whole report but is targeted specifically against two points.
“The main area of concern is the point of sale ban which, it is felt, is not justified by the evidence that has been provided.
“Additionally, the scope of the market definition set by the Competition Commission is being challenged.
“The decision to appeal these points has not been taken lightly. However Barclays will continue working on the implementation of all of the remedies contained in the Competition Commission’s report as they are applicable.”
Lloyds Banking Group is also supporting the group, yes – the same Lloyds that the Government holds a 43% stake in!
Source: The Press Association
General Insurance & Pure Protection – Winners of the Most Misleading Advice 2008
frankdow 04 Sep 2009 | : PPI & Loans
Over nine million individual complaints were made to companies involved in the financial services industry between 2006 and 2008 Banking and loans made up over half of complaints made to financial companies in that period. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) published the complaints figures on the 3rd September 2009. The data indicates that the overall number of complaints has increased by 5.7% over the period, however the biggest increases of 2.02m complaints were seen in the first half of 2007. Misleading advice about Life and Pensions products was the largest cause of complaints at 34%. The number of complaints about other general insurance or protection products (including payment protection insurance) more than doubled between 2006 and 2008 from 61,972 to 126,803 which was largely due to increasing numbers of complaints about payment protection insurance, with 69,686 of the complaints pertaining to misleading advice and 42,037 for poor customer service. Banks and loans managed 44,617 and 128,280 respectively.
Cheapest £5000 Loan
frankdow 03 Sep 2009 | : cheapest 5000 loan
Here’s a list of the cheapest £5000 loan rates I could find, however you should perhaps check out my post about unfair loan rates, lenders are hitting potential borrowers that do not have a perfect credit history with much higher interest rates.
Sainsbury’s Bank are offering a typical rate of 7.9% APR however this is for loans between £7,500 and £15,000, You’ll also need a Nectar card to get these rates
If you have a current account with Nationwide you can get 7.7% for loans of between £5,000 and £14,999.
Marks and Spencer Money has a cashback deal which will repay you 10% of the loan interest if repayments are made for the full term, tpyical 7.9%.
personal loan.co.uk – part of the Co-op Bank are offering a typical rate of 8% on loans of between £5,000 and £25,000, while Abbey, First Direct, Alliance & Leicester and Smile – are quoting typical rates of 8.9%, however in some cases these rates are for existing customers only.