As the UK continues to do its best to resist further financial gloominess, savers are being hit by the butchering of interest rates. Several banks and building societies are slashing saver rates, leaving very little in the way of attractive savings accounts.

Halifax has dropped one of its best fixed rate accounts, whilst dropping the eye-catching rates on many others. Saga has dropped its three-year fixed 4% account, as have The High Street bank and Monmouthshire Building Society.

The Close Brothers matching account is now the only one of its kind still available, according to This Is Money. However, this account would need £10,000 banked immediately to start it up.

Two-year fixed ISAs are also taking a hit, as the best-buy from BM Savings fell from 4.05% to 3.6%. Santander’s 4% is the best two-year fixed available, but with news announced that Moody’s credit agency has downgraded the rating of all Spanish-owned banks, including Santander UK, confidence has taken a tumble. Stock markets and savers alike are not responding well to the news.

As five-year fixed rate accounts receive similar treatment, savers will be scratching their heads wondering where they can get a truly rewarding return on their cash.

David Black, an expert an Defaqto, believes that savers can still find good deals, saying: “‘With the wholesale money market still a pale shadow of what it used to be there is a lot of competition among banks and building societies to attract savings and this can play in favour of savers.”

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Experian has revealed that mortgage application fraud increased for the fifth year running, with 34 in every 10,000 applications proving to be fraudulent.

The credit reference agency also said that 93% of these false applications were a result of misrepresented information, with people attempting to conceal their poor credit history or financial state.

A precarious and unpredictable economy has a direct negative effect on mortgage availability, as lenders approach the market tentatively. A proven credit history is essential, and many borrowers are looking to hide the truth in order to have their applications accepted.

General financial services application fraud rose by 4% in 2011, with both insurance and current account fraud increasing. Insurance fraud rose by 23%, whilst 36 in every 10,000 current account applications were found to be fraudulent.

Nick Mothershaw, a director of identity & fraud at Experian, said: “It is vital that financial service firms accurately validate and verify the identities of the people they interact with and use every technique at their disposal which includes validating income claims and checking for signs of an adverse credit history.”

There was some positive news, as credit card fraud continued to fall; 12 in every 10,000 applications were fraudulent in 2011, compare to 19 in 2010. This figure stood at 45 back in 2006.

High street lenders have been increasing the number of loans and deals available to first time home buyers, but this could still fail to stimulate the market, amid fears that credit scores will need to be near perfect.

According to This Is Money, 332 deals are currently available to buyers with a 10% deposit, whereas two years ago the figure was 114, and last year it was still only 199. The average two-year fixed-rate is lower, at 5.51%, when it was 6.10% last year and 6.48% two years ago.

These figures, according to Moneyfacts, represent a saving of £89 per month on a £150,000 loan, when compared with the same borrowed amount two years ago.

HSBC has said it will lend a massive £3 billion in order to find 27,000 first-time buyers, whilst Halifax and Nationwide are also offering deals intended to spark and stimulate interest through appealing investment opportunities.

However, these deals are entirely dependent on the credit checking process, and many buyers find themselves falling at this hurdle. It can stem from simply avoiding the electoral roll, or never managing a credit card, and whilst many will feel this shouldn’t work against them as a potential buyer, they are stumbling blocks for gaining credit.

Having a proven financial history will help a lender to recognise you as a responsible borrower, capable of managing finances and paying back the owed instalments and interest payments on time and in full.

As a first time buyer you may also want to check home insurance deals, as comprehensive buildings and contents cover is popular among home owners.

Experts have warned UK borrowers that only those with ultra-clean credit histories will be able to take advantage of some of the latest attractive offers from credit card companies.

Barclaycard now offers its Platinum Card with an interest-free balance transfer that lasts for an unprecedented two years. The fee for the transfer is 2.8%, and there’s a discount of £20 for a transfer of at least £3,000. Virgin Money is also in on the act, with an interest-free balance transfer lasting 19 months, and MBNA offers the same.

Whilst these deals will appeal to many looking for a good deal on borrowing during tighter financial times, many will struggle to get the offer they want, and may be forced to look at alternative lending at a much higher rate of interest.

Anyone who has made a late credit card payment, or reneged on an agreement with a bill company, will find that their credit history has taken a hit as a result. Your credit history is used by lenders to assess your ability to make payments and your reliability as a borrower. Should you have any question marks hanging over you, then the best credit card deals are likely to elude you.

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A forthcoming initiative designed to benefit UK borrowers will actually result in advertised interest rates that are less indicative of actual rates, but consumers are assured that this will result in a clearer picture and a positive move towards more responsible lending.

The current rules require lenders to advertise the APR, or annual percentage rate, that would apply to 66% of UK borrowers, meaning that a third would be getting a higher rate than they expected.

The new Consumer Credit Directive will require lenders to advertise a rate that applies to only 51% of successful applicants, so very nearly half will be disappointed with their actual APR for their credit card or loan.

The Telegraph has reported that roughly 70% of loan applicants are unsuccessful, and, with the Consumer Credit Directive in force, only half of the remaining 30% of applicants will get the advertised rate. This means that a mere 15% of total loan applicants can genuinely expect the interest rate that first caught their attention.

Whilst this initially appears like bad news for borrowers, there are noteworthy positives. When a consumer is turned down for credit, there is no obligation for the lender to supply an explanation; that individual must apply for a credit report, and they may even need a report from more than one of the UK’s three credit reference agencies. On top of this, the problem may have nothing to do with their credit score. The process can be arduous, but with this new initiative lenders will be required to explain any application refusal, whilst also supplying the details of the relevant credit reference agency and how to get in touch.

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Recent figures suggest that people in the UK are being forced to turn to payday loans and credit cards such as Vanquis in an attempt to keep themselves above water. This results in crippling interest rates that families will struggle to pay back. Credit firm Provident Financial receives 2,700 applications per day for its Vanquis card, according to the Mail Online.

The Telegraph recently revealed that one in five Britons have three or more credit cards, with 17% using one of their cards at least once a day. A quarter of the UK’s 30 million credit cards saw an increase in interest rate over the last year, with credit card debts of £2,000 now taking two years to clear if you pay back £100 a month.

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The government has put forward a series of proposals to outlaw unfair credit card terms. These include stopping card firms raising interest rates on existing debts, and increasing someone’s spending limit without first asking their permission.

Under the proposals, credit card companies would also have to ensure that a customer’s most expensive debt is paid off first, and the size of minimum repayments would be raised in order that debts be paid off faster.

The UK Cards Association (UKCA), which represents British card issuers, said it would study the proposals.

“We need to be able to demonstrate what impact these would have on consumer choice and the costs to customers of using credit cards,” said UKCA chairwoman Melanie Johnson. “We will be reviewing the evidence and we expect the government to do the same.

“These proposals risk disadvantaging more customers than they protect,” she added.

The government has called on credit and store card companies to “clean up their act” with regard to “unfair” charges that are not explained properly to the customer.

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A county court judge has told a lender that it cannot demand payment of an £8,000 debt, possibly paving the way for thousands of borrowers to default on repayments.

Judge Jacqueline Smart at South Shields county court has ruled that the MBNA credit card company cannot demand that a customer repay her debt. The company tried to force Lynne Thorius to repay the £8,000 she owed on her card.

However, Judge Smart decided that there had been an unfair relationship between MBNA and Ms Thorius because of the way in which the firm sold her payment protection insurance.

The credit card was sold to Ms Thorius in the official Sunderland Football Club shop in 2002, along with payment protection insurance, which is designed to cover debt repayments in case of illness or redundancy.

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The Financial Services Authority has told banks and building societies to compensate customers who may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance.

The ruling covers firms that have sold more than 40% of their “single premium” PPI policies at the same time as giving unsecured personal loans. The FSA will also target other companies that have mis-sold PPI when offering secured loans or credit cards.

The regulator has asked firms to reopen 185,000 rejected complaints about PPI.

Payment Protection Insurance is designed to cover debt repayments if you can’t work because of illness or redundancy, and is usually offered whenever you take out a loan, mortgage, credit card or store card, or bought something on credit.

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The high street bank HSBC has announced it is cutting the cheque guarantee limit on debit cards for some of its customers.

Currently around 300,000 HSBC customers have a cheque guarantee limit of £250. This will now be reduced to the standard £100 cheque guarantee available to the majority of the bank’s customers. However, debit card payments up to £250 will still be guaranteed.

HSBC said that it was cutting the higher cheque guarantee limit in an attempt to minimise losses from cheque fraud and to discourage people from spending money they did not have.

The banking industry as a whole is planning on phasing out cheque guarantee cards by 2011. Many retailers no longer accept cheques, and only 7% of cheques written are backed up by a cheque guarantee card.

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