Insurance
Money
Providers
Blog
News
Newsletter
News Archive
Get the latest deals, news and advice in your inbox with our no-spam guarantee!
News in Loans
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive the latest news headlines and special offers in your inbox. You may also be interested in our blog commentary updated on a daily basis. For more info on our editorial team click here.
Welsh Assembly criticises payday loans
Payday loans companies have been criticised by members of the Welsh Assembly for "sucking money" from the poor across the country.
Firms offering high-interest bonds have come under scrutiny in recent weeks due to the "irresponsibility" of the style of lending. Wonga, a major short-term lender, has been criticised recently after it encouraged students looking to reduce the amount debt they had over the course of their studies to use the scheme.
Now the Welsh Assembly has attacked the companies for targeting poor and vulnerable communities to take out loans they will struggle to pay back.
Simon Thomas, Plaid Cymru assembly minister, has called for there to be a cap on the high-interest loan which can be well over 1,000 per cent APR.
He said in a debate at the Senedd: "Adverts concentrate on the quickness and simplicity of the lending, the amount paid back is talked about in terms of £20 and £30. It's hard for a consumer to make a choice based on the real interest rates." More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Thu 26 Jan 2012
Family debt increases in the past year
Families in the UK are struggling to keep on top of their finances as the level of household debt continued to rise in 2011.
Research by Aviva found that more parents were taking out loans in a bid to reduce the level of debt they had amassed. Whilst the typical monthly income rate rose by seven per cent to £2,066 (up from £1,937 in January 2011) many more people are failing to save enough money.
The study found that 62 per cent of UK families were worried about the rising cost of living with 42 per cent of households not saving anything during the past 12 months. Many are highlighting the rising rate of inflation which has impacted on consumer confidence.
Louise Colley, head of protection sales and marketing at Aviva, said: "Families in the UK are still very concerned by the rising cost of living and levels of unemployment."
Recent research by Gocompare.com found that more Brits were turning to credit cards as a way of combating rising debts with 26 per cent of people expected to owe money in the coming year. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Wed 25 Jan 2012
Payday loan demand trebles over Christmas period
The demand for payday loans trebled over the Christmas period last year compared to 2010, according to a money lender.
Loan company Speedeloans has said that its figures show three times more people turned to payday credit to get through the costly festive period. Despite the rising amount of loans being handed out the firm revealed that its customers were had 30 per cent less debt than in 2010.
At the beginning of January a survey by YouGov on behalf of Shelter Scotland revealed that 936,000 people within the UK were turning to payday loans in a bid to save over the previous 12 months.
James Falla, personal debt expert at beatmydebt.com, wrote for the website: "A combination of factors has lead to a higher take up of payday loans. One of the primary reasons is the increased advertising particularly TV marketing campaigns carried out by payday lenders in the run up to Christmas." More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Fri 20 Jan 2012
Wonga criticised over student loans
Short-term lender Wonga has been heavily criticised after encouraging students to use high-interest loans.
The company came under fire from the National Union of Students (NUS) after Wonga said that students could benefit from using the service.
On the firm's website under the headline "student loans" it claimed that there was a "totally new way of borrowing money to see you through until your next cheque and its called Wonga".
NUS officials branded the company as "highly irresponsible" for carrying what it called "predatory marketing". Wonga has subsequently removed the article under increased pressure from the union.
A spokesman for the company said: "We do not actively target students in any way and our marketing is all mainstream, such as on TV and radio. The two web pages in question are examples of the many search engine optimisation pages on our site, which is essentially content covering all aspects of credit."
Wonga is currently the shirt sponsor of Blackpool FC and has been since the club's promotion to the Premiership in 2010. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Thu 12 Jan 2012
More Brits turning to payday loans
More people in the UK are turning to payday loans to pay off mortgages and rent, according to new research by YouGov.
The survey for Shelter Scotland found that two per cent of people had resorted to the loan meaning that 936,000 would use "quick fix" payments. Campaigners have warned that the latest trend is "extremely worrying".
Prior to Christmas it was reported that many were turning to the high interest loans to pay for the costly festive period but the new figures have revealed that more are using them to pay for everyday utilities.
Gordon McRae, a spokesman for the charity, estimated that one million people in the UK had taken out these types of loans.
John Lamidey, chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association, added that using short-term loans to pay for mortgages was "simply impossible".
He said: "They are loans for a short period of time, typically a month. If somebody applies for a loan and it was discovered they are in arrears with a mortgage we would not lend and we would steer them to the debt advice agencies." More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Wed 4 Jan 2012
'Change in attitude' needed to help the poorest
A Scottish Labour leader believes an increase in the number of credit unions as well as a change of attitude can help the poorest in the country. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Thu 29 Dec 2011
Student loans heading to a US style of payment
Many students will not pay back the full amount of their loans, according to Push.co.uk. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Fri 14 Oct 2011
Loans: Cash-strapped Brits worried about Christmas
Many Brits are worried about how they will fund the cost of the Xmas festivities this year, according to research by moneysupermarket.com. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Wed 12 Oct 2011
UK adults owe loans up to £30,000
The average debt, including mortgages, that UK adults owe is just short of £30,000, according to figures from Credit Action. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Mon 3 Oct 2011
Consumer Focus launches travel money super-complaint
Those seeking loans to fund their dream holiday may be interested to hear that a leading customer rights group has launched legal action about the costs associated with travel money.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced that it had received a super-complaint from Consumer Focus, which states that charges applied by some banks and credit card firms to purchase foreign currency are "unfair".
It added that "complex and unclear" charging structures are used for card transactions abroad and claims of "zero per cent commission" and "competitive exchange rates" could be misleading and stop people shopping around.
The OFT commented: "[We] will now consider the issues raised in the super-complaint in order to establish whether or not any feature, or combination of features, in the relevant market is, or appears to be, significantly harming the interests of consumers."
Last week, it was suggested that more people over the age of 55 may be taking loans to fund adult gap-year travel. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Thu 22 Sep 2011
Rising living costs and static wages make repaying loans difficult
With the cost of living increasing and wages remaining the same, the problem of repaying loans is becoming more difficult for UK families. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Tue 13 Sep 2011
MPC holds interest rate at 0.5%
UK consumers looking to compare money may be interested to learn that interest rates have been held at 0.5 per cent.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced that the interest rate is to remain the same, representing a static rate for over two years.
Savers and loans customers may be particularly affected by the news, following the Bank of England's decision, which also included an announcement that it would not be extending its quantitative easing programme.
According to earlier figures released by the bank, savers have missed out on some £43 billion because of the continuing low rates of interest.
Commenting on the decision, Ian McCafferty, chief economic advisor to the CBI business group, had a positive outlook for householders next year.
"We hope the UK economy will be on a firmer footing by next year, when a lower inflation rate will bring some relief for households," he said.
UK homeowners could be assisted if the government focused providing a lower cost of living, according to Jonathan Davis, economist and managing director of Jonathan Davis Wealth Management.
More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Fri 9 Sep 2011
BRC: Spending dips in August
Consumers were not hitting the High Street in August as much as in July, according to new figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
UK shoppers have been dipping into their credit cards and loans less over the past month, with total sales increasing by 1.5 per cent in August, compared to a rise of 2.5 per cent the preceding month.
Food sales have remained steady, whereas non-food sales have fallen below the previous year's month-by-month level. Footwear and homewares in particular have proven less popular with spenders.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said the retail sector performance has been flat despite the increase in VAT and a spell of hot weather at the beginning of the month, which initially boosted sales.
"Poor consumer confidence, high inflation and the on-going squeeze on personal finances remain the biggest threats to the retail sector," he noted.
In similar news, Citigroup has predicted that consumer spending may fall a further 1.1 per cent next year, despite a previous estimate of a one per cent growth. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Tue 6 Sep 2011
UK families suffer from over £79,000 worth of unsecured loans and debt
The typical British family has unsecured loans and debt worth £79, 816, according to research by Aviva. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Wed 31 Aug 2011
Brits struggling with loans and debt 'have options'
There are plenty of options available for people struggling with loans and debt, according to Yvonne Goodwin Wealth Management. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Thu 4 Aug 2011
Young Brits more encouraged to save than take out loans
Rather than taking out loans young Brits are helping the country become a nation of savers, according to moneysupermarket.com. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Wed 3 Aug 2011
Brits tighten up their spending habits as loans become harder to access
British consumers are tightening up their money belts as loans are becoming harder to access, it has been claimed. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Mon 18 Jul 2011
Outstanding loans and debt can have 'strange' effects on Brits
Brits who've built up debt with loans and credit are not equipped to deal with constant stress like money worries. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Tue 12 Jul 2011
Serious risk when Brits take out payday loans
There is a serious risk when taking out payday loans, according to Candidmoney.com. More »
By Sarah Engle, Loans - Tue 5 Jul 2011
