RAC has predicted that UK bank holiday travellers will be opting for shorter trips this weekend, highlighting the recent travel chaos, erratic weather and spiralling fuel costs as the cause.

The car insurer and breakdown specialist has suggested that people will choose day trips over weekend jaunts, and has warned that the extensive traffic volumes will last until unusually late in the evening on Friday. It is also expected that Monday afternoon and early evening will see very high volumes, as well as Tuesday morning.

Popular destinations will include theme parks and beaches (providing the weather holds out), and shopping centres such as Bluewater and Lakeside will certainly be swamped with shoppers.

Motorists are advised to plan their route before setting off, and a contingency route would certainly be a good idea. Local radio stations and route planners are great tools that will help you experience an easier journey.

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Statistics from Direct Line, quoted in an article from Fair Investment, have revealed that one fifth, or 20%, of UK travellers are falling victim to theft.

41% of reported thefts committed against tourists involved cash, whilst stolen cameras accounted for 20% and 16% involved snatched credit or debit cards. Almost a quarter of thefts took place in the accommodation of the holidaymakers, and 11% of victims were targeted by pickpockets. 10% of those affected had possessions stolen from their car.

A quarter of the thefts took place in Spain, followed by France and then the UK.

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Santander could be about to tuck into your savings if you owe any money to the Spanish banking giant, or any of its subsidiaries. According to ThisIsMoney, anyone who has savings or current accounts held with Alliance & Leicester, and debts owing to Abbey, will see Santander use that cash to clear the arrears. It will also work in reverse; those saving with Abbey but owing to Alliance & Leicester will see the same fate.

Alliance & Leicester and Santander-owned Abbey bank will formally merge at the end of May, putting Santander in charge of all the accounts held with either bank. Santander can then legally exercise its right to use customers’ cash to clear overdue monies; this is known as ‘set-off’.

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Interest rates on small personal loans have shot up by 130% since 2006, according to information from Moneysupermarket, published by the Telegraph. Although the Bank of England base rate has been taken down to 0.5%, the average interest rate on a £3,000 loan is now 14.92%; a stark contrast to 2006, when the rate for the same loan amount stood at 6.49%, whilst the base rate was 4.5-5%.

Any borrower wishing to take out a £5,000 loan will see a similar increase; the rate has leapt from 5.83% to 10.84%. Average rates on a £10,000 loan have increased from 2.73% to 8.75%, whilst rates on a £15,000 loan have also seen a big jump; 5.79% to 9.08%

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