IVA News
3/10/2010 12:00:00 AM
“Save up to go bust? With the Insolvency Service raising bankruptcy costs by £90 the price of going bust has never been so high, standing at £600 all in, including court fees. How...
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3/9/2010 12:00:00 AM
In February the Homeowner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Bill requires that all repossession cases except those were the property has been ...
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3/8/2010 12:00:00 AM
Two new reports by the low earners think tank, The Resolution Foundation, show that low earners1 have struggled more in the recession because of their exposed and overlooked position compared to bo...
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3/5/2010 12:00:00 AM
The singl parents pressure group Gingerbread has produced a comprehensive analysis of single parents’ financial capability, the key financial products they have, and their attitudes to managi...
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3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM
According to Post Office Mortgages at least three million UK borrowers (28 per cent) do not know the rate of interest at which they are currently repaying their mortgage.
Over a thir...
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3/2/2010 12:00:00 AM
New monthly figures from Credit Action show that UK personal debt at the end of January 2010 stood at £1,463bn, a 0.8% growth over the last 12 months.
Total lending in January 2010 ros...
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3/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
New research from moneysupermarket.com shows that five million people are always overdrawn, a reduction from 17% of UK adults from 2008 to 10% in 2009.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at mo...
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2/25/2010 12:00:00 AM
Ministers are to crack down on excessive housing benefit payments in a series of reforms designed to curb the increasing £17 billion annual rental bill. Yvette Cooper, the work and pensions s...
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2/24/2010 12:00:00 AM
Baines and Ernst have welcomed the Governments plans to make it easier for people in financial difficulty write off their debts in Debt Rel...
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2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM
A bankrupt former prison officer from Leeds has been given a nine month suspended prison sentence for failing to tell the Official Receiver about his debts and land he owned, following a prosecutio...
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2/22/2010 12:00:00 AM
The BBC reports today that Ros Altmann, a former government advisor has called for an investigation into the profit margins of credit card companies.
Ms Altmann says credit card rat...
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2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM
IVA Solution experts Blair Endersby are emphasizing the role debt management can play in the lives of people with money worries.
Recently released figures have revealed that last year more ...
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2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that mortgage lending dropped 32% in January to its lowest monthly total since February 2000
Experts say the drop...
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2/17/2010 12:00:00 AM
Following the news that record numbers of people are being declared insolvent in the UK, Baines & Ernst are today advising people to seek help with managing their debts.
Figures ...
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2/16/2010 12:00:00 AM
Today’s “Times” reports new research which shows that millions of credit card holders are being charged the highest interest rates in more than a decade despite interest rates bei...
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2/12/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has expressed concern about Thurrock Council charging an illegal £400 fee for administering a council tax payment plan it had agreed as an alternative to ...
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2/11/2010 12:00:00 AM
Mortgage lenders took 10,200 properties into possession in the fourth quarter of 2009, 13% lower than in the third quarter, and 2% down on the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Council of Mo...
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2/10/2010 12:00:00 AM
The “Daily Mail” has published an article this week that claims that State-backed banks are charging more for short-term borrowing than back-street lenders and payday loan companie with...
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2/9/2010 12:00:00 AM
A recently published mortgage repossessions report reveals that 67% of mortgage lenders and repossession experts are predicting an increase in the number of repossessions in 2010. The Council of Mo...
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2/8/2010 12:00:00 AM
Source: “ The Observer” 7th Feb 2010.
Borrowers in severe debt difficulties are being charged thousands of pounds in interest by a company that has bought their loans.
Nor...
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2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM
Rising demand from people in debt for free face-to-face advice from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skill’s (BIS) is now oustripping capacity, according to a report published this...
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2/4/2010 12:00:00 AM
A record 35,574 people in England and Wales were declared insolvent in the last quarter of 2009, according to statistics published by the Insolvency Service on Friday.
The figure, a 24.9% r...
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2/3/2010 12:00:00 AM
High unemployment and rising interest rates are expected to drive a 30 per cent rise in the number of people seeking debt management plans in 2010, according to moneysupermarket.com.
But th...
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2/2/2010 12:00:00 AM
Credit Action have today published new figures regarding personal debt levels in the UK. the figures show that at the end of December last year the amount stood at £1.46 billion.
Stat...
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2/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
New unsecured borrowing by UK consumers on credit cards, loans and overdrafts has exceeded the amount being paid back for the first time since June 2009.
Unsecured consumer credit ro...
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1/29/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Financial Services Authority has said today that in future banks and other financial services providers will have to publish details about the amount and type of customer complaints. Sh...
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1/27/2010 12:00:00 AM
The OFT has today published draft guidance for consumers and industry on the application of sections of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the CCA) that allow consumers to request information about thei...
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1/26/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Financial Services Authority has suggested new rules to protect mortgage borrowers who get into arrears. The FSA says it wants to ensure that those borrowers are treated fairly, especially ones...
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1/25/2010 12:00:00 AM
On 24th Jan, “The Sunday Times” published an article which claimed that over 400,000 mortgage borrowers exposed to unfair arrears charging by mortgage lenders and more than 80,000 homeo...
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1/22/2010 12:00:00 AM
According to figures published this week by the UK Cards Association 48% of applications were turned down in 2009, compared with 42% in 2008. It is the first time official figures have been release...
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1/21/2010 12:00:00 AM
Debt solutions experts Baines and Ernst have branded Skipton Building Societies announcement rise in its interest rate as “disastrous news for borrowers in financial difficulty.”
...
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1/20/2010 12:00:00 AM
Today’s announcement that there has been a sizeable drop in unemployment has been welcomes as good news for people with debt problems by debt solutions experts Baines and Ernst. Unemployment ...
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1/19/2010 12:00:00 AM
New research released by the housing charity Shelter shows that people are being forced to delay having children because of the lack of affordable housing.
The research reveals...
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1/18/2010 12:00:00 AM
New research from Scottish Widows has shown that 4m of the 6.6 million UK households with dependent children are reliant on two or more salaries.
Families with children also have hi...
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1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM
A new report, commissioned by Circle Anglia, a provider of affordable housing claims that
over 100,000 of the UK’s poorest families will spend 2010 saddled with a combined debt of aro...
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1/14/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is expecting at least 200,000 claims in 2010 as it anticipates a record year for financial complaints.
The FOS was set up 10 years ago to deal ...
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1/12/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Housing Charity Shelter published a survey yesterday that claimed that more than 1 million householders have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the last 12 months.
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1/12/2010 12:00:00 AM
Googles chief executive Eric Schmidt, has stated that western governments that reducing their deficiets will be much harder than it will in america, solely due to the status of the dollar in the wo...
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1/11/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is currently consulting on proposals for reform to Credit and Storecard legislation including proposals for improved card borrowing, outlawing uns...
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1/8/2010 12:00:00 AM
Nicola Tappenden, the WAG of footballer Simon Walton, agreed to take part in celebrity Big Brother in order to clear a £35,000 credit card debt which she racked up after a series of spending ...
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1/7/2010 12:00:00 AM
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee has kept interest rates at 0.5% it was announced today. The 0.5% rate has now been in place since March 2009 and according to many experts may not rise...
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1/6/2010 12:00:00 AM
Credit Action has reported that total UK personal debt at the end of November 2009 stood at £1,459 billion. The 12-month growth was 0.7%.
Total lending in November 2009 rose by...
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1/5/2010 12:00:00 AM
The number of families having to leave their home has been understated according to the Conservatives, because the official figures exclude "sale and rentbacks", which allows mortgage bor...
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1/4/2010 12:00:00 AM
Ed Balls, the children, schools and families secretary, has announced that schools will be required to teach children how to spend with restraint, borrow within sensible limits and save wisely. Mr ...
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12/15/2009 12:00:00 AM
Figures published today by the Financial Services Authority show that the number of mortgage borrowers behind with their mortgage payments increased by 16% in the third quarter of 2009. An average ...
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12/14/2009 12:00:00 AM
Figures published today in the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin showed that the current recession has had a massive impact on household income during 2009.
The Banks figures show ...
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12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
A summary of new research published yesterday by the Office of Fair Trading, (OFT), showed that significant numbers of consumers are fairly or very dependent on high-cost credit.
The OFT is...
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12/7/2009 12:00:00 AM
A new report by Price waterhouse Coopers (PwC) says the typical British family faces a decline of 2.4 per cent, or £300 a year, in its discretionary spending power, after tax, mortgages, food...
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12/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
According to new figures from the bank of England published this week, UK citizens reduced their unsecured debt for a fourth consecutive month in October.
Consumer debt was repaid at the fa...
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11/26/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Treasury announced yesterday a raft of new measures designed to give greater protection to mortgage borrowers.
Under the proposals borrowers whose mortgages are sold onto third parties ...
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11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Office of Fair Trading has said it “disappointed” by today's Supreme Court judgment, which overturns previous High Court and Court of Appeal rulings that unarranged o...
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11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Supreme Court has announced that on Wednesday 25 November 2009 judgment will be given in the bank charges test case of Office of Fair Trading (Respondents) v Abbey National plc and others (Appe...
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11/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
Banks are unhappy with suggestions they should pay additional levies to fund financial education in the UK.
A nationwide financial education scheme, announced today as part of the Queen's S...
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11/17/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has cut its forecast for the number of repossessions this year to 48,000. Having anticipated 75,000 repossessions in 2009 in last year's housing market forec...
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11/16/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Finance & Leasing Association gave a cautious welcome to its figures published today that show a fall in repossessions by second charge mortgage providers.
In the third quarter of 2...
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11/13/2009 12:00:00 AM
The banks have learned nothing from the credit crisis and are setting unachievable sales targets, forcing staff to sell products to people who don't need then and cannot afford them, says trade uni...
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11/12/2009 12:00:00 AM
Research by the thinktank Resolution Foundation shows low-income households – with an average of £15,800 at their disposal – are walking an increasingly precarious financial tight...
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11/11/2009 12:00:00 AM
Bad credit card debts may reach as much as 9% of all outstanding balances by the end of next year, an accountancy firm has said.
"Bad debts in the sector have reached historic ...
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11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM
The government is expected to announce modest rent reductions for around two million housing association tenants, despite a survey of tenants showing that most are against a rent cut.
...
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11/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
Millions of homeowners have put their moving plans on hold due to restraints on their finances, according to the latest research from advice website Unbiased.
Unbiased has estimated...
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11/7/2009 12:00:00 AM
RBS reduced lending by £5.3bn to £588bn during the third quarter, but recorded an operating profit of £1.2bn for its core banking activities, but an impaired loss of &poun...
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11/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
According to many commentators, personal insolvency in the UK is likely to reach record levels by the end of 2009. The combination of growing unemployment and massive levels of personal debt will l...
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11/5/2009 12:00:00 AM
The government’s plan to pump a further £25.5 billion of taxpayers’ money into Royal Bank of Scotland means the cost of the banking bailout has reached £4,350 for every fami...
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11/4/2009 12:00:00 AM
Dannii Minogue recently revealed that she bared all for Playboy in order to pay off debts.
Having gotten herself into £150,000 worth of debt, the Australian beauty decided to pose for...
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11/3/2009 12:00:00 AM
Consumer confidence has risen to its highest level for 18 months but major job fears remain, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index released by Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium ...
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11/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Lending Code, launched yesterday and overseen by the newly-formed LSB, covers good practice in relation to unsecured loans, lending aspects of credit cards and charge cards and current account ...
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10/30/2009 12:00:00 AM
GMAC-RFC has become the first mortgage lender to be fined by the Financial Services Authority for levying unfair charges on borrowers in arrears.
The specialist lender, which focuse...
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10/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
At least 20 million people are over-indebted in the EU. "With the increasing unemployment rates the number of people with debt problems can be expected to grow substantially over the n...
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10/28/2009 12:00:00 AM
The current number of bankruptcies stands at 107,000 but is expected to a record annual level of 130,000 by the end of the year, according to some personal insolvency experts.
Mark Sands, a...
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10/27/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Government has today announced new proposals to ensure that credit and store card companies give people a fairer deal, in the latest of a series of reforms designed to make financial services w...
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10/26/2009 12:00:00 AM
The government is set to take on credit card and store cards this week, with proposing promising a fairer deal for consumers.
Gordon Brown this weekend hit out at credit card firms that are...
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10/23/2009 12:00:00 AM
The number of bankruptcies in Scotland skyrocketed 140 per cent in 2008-2009 compared to 2007-2008, official figures from the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) reveal.
Last weeks annual report...
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10/22/2009 12:00:00 AM
The number of households in fuel poverty, where at least 10 per cent of income is spent on gas and electricity, rose by 15 per cent to four million in 2007, statistics from the Department for Energ...
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10/21/2009 12:00:00 AM
Mr Barnes was declared bankrupt by an insolvency court in Liverpool last week.
Last year he is reported to have said he "didn’t have any money to invest" after it was sugges...
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10/20/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Government and the Financial Inclusion Taskforce have announced today that the shared goal to halve the number of adults living in households without access to a bank account has been achieved....
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10/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Financial Services Authority is to ban self-cert mortgages and introduce affordability test for all new lending
The reforms include plans to widen the regulator's scope to includ...
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10/16/2009 12:00:00 AM
According to report in “The Sun” Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has scrapped a lavish 50th birthday party amid fears she is going bankrupt.
"Everyone ...
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10/15/2009 12:00:00 AM
A recent landmark High Court ruling has effectively scuppered the ability of indebted people to escape paying back their loans without serious consequences.
The ruling means that if...
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10/13/2009 12:00:00 AM
House prices are showing their strongest rise for more than two years as a lack of supply continues to drive the market, according to a survey today.
The Royal Institution of Charte...
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10/12/2009 12:00:00 AM
The City watchdog is set to impose an outright ban on the self-certification mortgages many blame for driving the house price bubble and ultimately the credit crisis.
The Financial Services Aut...
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10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
Lower income households are having to pay a surprisingly high proportion of their income just to keep their cars on the road, a new study has found.
Meanwhile the number of poorer home...
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10/8/2009 12:00:00 AM
New research published today states that one in two British adults in debt may also have a mental health problem.
A literature review which has been endorsed by Stephen Fry and Alastair Cam...
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10/7/2009 12:00:00 AM
The OFT today announced that banks have agreed to make personal current account costs more transparent and the switching process more reliable and trusted.
This announcement follows the OFT's ...
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10/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Local Government Ombudsman has condemned two councils for several "failings" in their use of bankruptcy to recover council tax debt.
The LGO criticised Newham Council for maki...
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10/5/2009 12:00:00 AM
House prices rose by 0.9% in September, the fifth consecutive monthly increase, according to the latest Nationwide house price index.
The monthly index shows the annual house price c...
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10/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
Over 200,000 UK businesses are in arrears when it comes to paying their taxes to HM Revenues & Customs, according to MCR Tax Arrears Solutions.
According to the service, there a...
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10/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Money worries topped a list of Britons' biggest concerns in 2009, a study suggests.More than a third (36%) of respondents say they wished they had been more responsible with money as the gloomy eco...
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9/30/2009 12:00:00 AM
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9/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
The introduction of regulation to the sale and-rent back sector could result in more people losing their homes.
While there are no definitive numbers available, industry figures suggest tha...
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9/28/2009 12:00:00 AM
Hundreds of Germans and Austrians are coming to Britain to exploit bankruptcy laws which promise to clear debts in a year, a money education charity has claimed.
The charity said insolvent ...
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9/25/2009 12:00:00 AM
Banks across Europe are violating basic consumer principles by providing ‘incomprehensible’ information and having complex pricing structures according to a scathing report.
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9/25/2009 12:00:00 AM
Banks across Europe are violating basic consumer principles by providing ‘incomprehensible’ information and having complex pricing structures according to a scathing report.
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4/15/2009 12:00:00 AM
Paymex Group, one of the largest financial solutions providers in the UK, has announced a partnership with Secure Trust Bank, to launch the UK’s first current account with a prepaid card facilit...
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