Payday loans company Wonga has come under attack for targeting their extortionate rate loans towards students.
The firm, which offers loans at a staggering 4,214% APR, has been forced to withdraw a page of its website that promoted its own short-term, high-interest loans over the standard student loan rate.
"The Wonga Advantage"
Credit cards can be a wonderful thing and in a capital driven economy where banks and companies are competing for consumers, the rewards can be high. Yet this is not always the case. Although the CARD act of 2009 was created to provide a tighter reign on banks by restricting their ability to scam unsuspecting card holders into contracts with high interests and fees, banks are still coming up with new ways to make big money by getting around them. Therefore in order to keep reaping the benefits of a credit card without inadvertently falling for the unadvertised fine details which entail high membership costs, unexpected fees and policies, be sure do your homework before you sign up.
Read the Fine Print
You might think you are getting a fantastic deal only to find yourself paying exorbitant fees at the end of the year that far exceed your savings. Read the fine print before you decide to go with a credit card. You might also find after reading the fine print that one bank is actually better than another when you look beyond the advertised numbers. For example, American Express Delta Gold SkyMiles Card has a $99 annual fee and comes with a $99 companion certificate, while the Platinum SkyMiles Card that is also offered by American Express has a $150 annual fee, but comes with a free certificate. Obviously the $198 card that offers its members a higher annual fee is the better deal. In addition, mileage cards and the such can advertise great benefits which in all actuality translate to false or minimal savings. Don’t lose out on the real rewards by not reading the fine print. (more…)
How much can you have an acceptable Christmas for? If new research carried out by the charity Family Action is to believed, it could be less than £200.
This survey, conducted by the charity, has shown that the poorest families will spend around one-third of the amount that the average family will during the festive season.
The average family in the UK will spend between £530 and £690 on items related to Christmas including; gifts, decorations, food and drinks. However, when questioned, the majority of families with a smaller income said that they would be spending around £182.
This breaks down as approximately: £34 on food and drink, £28 on decorations, £6 on cards and £114 on gifts, for a basic Christmas.
Many of the parents asked felt that there was an increased level of pressure on them to provide gifts for their children that, normally, would be more expensive than they can afford. (more…)
British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that shoppers are being a lot more reluctant to spend in the lead up to Christmas this year.
The company’s retail sales monitor saw that retail sales only grew by 0.7% last month (November), making it the weakest month for growth since May.
The BRC have suggested that one major reason why this could have happened is due to the mild weather that we have seen across the UK, which will have affected sales of items such as winter clothing and footwear.
Sales of non-food items online, by mail order and telephone have grown by 8.6% compared to the same month last year. But again, this is still the weakest growth since March. (more…)
There is an odd disparity rumbling uncomfortably at the moment. On the one hand, consumer confidence appears to be tumbling; on the other, there are signs that retail spending remains alive and well.
What does this unrest mean about the way in which confidence influences our view of the economy?
Christmas shopping trip to Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, New York, anyone?
We could all do with taking some of the stress out of the Christmas shopping period, which only tends to add to an already manic list of commitments.
A trip to one of Europe’s finest Christmas market towns might be just the ticket.
Anyone planning to shop overseas for Christmas, though, even from the comfort of their own homes, should note the duty-free limits, which have been amended slightly in November.
The tide is turning towards the next phase of financial transaction technology. It now remains to be seen whether this spells the beginning of the end of the trusty plastic credit card, or whether consumers will resist in number.
With the increasing number and popularity of mobile apps, major financial bodies have been looking towards innovative new payment systems for mobile devices.
The launch of these new mobile payment systems could now spell the beginning of the end for the traditional credit card.
Last month, Google launched ‘Google Wallet’, an application designed to make payments easier for consumers while offering retailers more ways to offer loyalty programs. It is developing a system using Near Field Communication technology (NFC), and is expected to reach the UK by early 2012.
In terms of development, however, they may be beaten to the chase by Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, which today launched ‘Kaching‘, an app which allows smart phones / iPhones to connect with cash registers and to make payments by email and Facebook. It will be available within two months to iPhone users with operating system iOS4 or above. This would make CommBank the first commercial provider of such a mobile payment system. (more…)
Soaring energy bills and rising food prices have driven inflation over 5% in the month of September, causing more misery for savers. The retail price index (RPI) has risen to a 20-year high. So, what now for savers who are set to lose out considerably in real terms?
It has been estimated that savers at the basic level of tax would need to be investing at a rate of at least 6.5% to avoid losing out in real terms, and greater still for higher rate taxpayers. However, the low base rate set by the Monetary Policy Committee to aid growth is leaving very few products available at a percentage that can offset the high inflation rate.
As summer approaches, many people are making plans to escape the unpredictable English weather in search for a sunny stretch of coastline.
However, UK holidaymakers setting off to France may get a surprise when they order their first beer, as it could cost them over a fiver, so many will have to start raiding their savings accounts in order to splash out a bit.
According to beer price comparison website pintprice.com, France currently sits at number nine in a survey covering 208 countries for the most expensive cost of beer. (more…)
Anyone who has ever owned a credit card will know just how easy it is to get into debt. Millions of people slip into the red every year, racking up debts that seem to expand through interest charges making them feel as if they have lost control.
However, there are a number of debt settlement methods that allow us to manage repayments while in some cases freezing any further interest until the credit card debt has been cleared.
It’s worth checking all of your options for debt settlement techniques, but one method that may not seem like the most obvious to begin with is by use of a credit card. (more…)