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- Published 18/03/2010 00:00:00 in Money and Mortgages
Financial products should be tested by a small panel of ordinary consumers to see if they are easy to use, suitable for purpose and transparent enough for people to know where their money is being invested.
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- Published 18/03/2010 00:00:00 in Money and Mortgages
Mortgage lending has rebounded slightly following a dip in January brought about by the end of the Government's stamp duty holiday.
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- Published 18/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
One fifth of people who buy a vehicle from a used car dealer encounter problems with the car, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said in a report.
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- Published 18/03/2010 00:00:00 in Household and Home Insurance
A farmer has been fined after a neighbour's house became flooded with slurry from manure piled up on his land.
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- Published 18/03/2010 00:00:00 in Money and Mortgages
New research shows more than half of young people are not confident they will be able to get on the housing ladder without financial help from their parents.
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- Published 17/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
A refresher driving course would benefit nearly half of motorists, a survey has found.
The AA/Populus poll of 12,231 AA members identified the group who would gain the most from such a course as being drivers who have been off the road for a long time, and whose driving skills may have gone rusty.
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- Published 17/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
More than two-thirds of motorists support moves to lower the legal drink-drive limit, a survey has revealed.
As many as 71% of drivers polled agreed the current drink-drive limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, or 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, should be cut. More than half (55%) said the limit should be 20mg or lower, while 16% favoured a 50mg limit - the figure in operation in a number of EU countries.
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- Published 17/03/2010 00:00:00 in Household and Gas Electricity
Strict penalties are to be introduced for telecoms companies that mis-sell services, it has been revealed.
Companies that breach the latest rules to be introduced by the communications regulator Ofcom could face fines of up to 10% of their turnover.
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- Published 17/03/2010 00:00:00 in Household and Home Insurance
The Government has dropped controversial plans for compulsory third party pet insurance for dogs, barely a week after they were published.
The proposals would have forced more than five million dog owners to buy third party pet insurance against the risk of their animal attacking someone.
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- Published 17/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
Hoping to qualify for a No Claims Bonus on your car insurance? Then, if the results of a new poll are anything to go by, it might be a good idea to avoid the countryside, with motorists voting it far more distracting than giant billboards of David Beckham in his underpants or even the famous Wonderbra series of advertisements.
The Zurich Connect-sponsored survey found that people thought Beckham was just slightly more distracting than roadside graffiti and nowhere near as interesting as shop window displays.
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- Published 16/03/2010 00:00:00 in Travel and Travel Insurance
Skiers from Germany have no awareness of those around them on the slopes and skiers from Italy tend to ski and board too fast, according to a travel insurance company's survey.
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- Published 16/03/2010 00:00:00 in Household and Gas Electricity
Household bills can be reduced by just over £100 a year if people install "smart meters", the results of a pilot study have suggested.
A total of 454 homes were fitted with the dual-fuel meters, which give information about energy use in real time, in a trial by Kettering Borough Council and energy supplier E.ON. Monitors were also fitted to give householders data on how much energy they were using, the amount of carbon being emitted and the cost of the gas and electricity.
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- Published 16/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
Police officers who were out on a campaign to educate drivers stopped a motorist who was driving with her bonnet wide open.
Officers from Dorset Police were working on the No Excuse campaign to tackle bad driving habits and cut accidents when they spotted the 53-year-old woman peering through the narrow gap. She was driving to a garage to have her faulty bonnet fixed.
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- Published 16/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of people would inform the authorities if they were concerned about driving standards of elderly friends or relatives they know, according to a latest survey.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists' (IAM) survey also revealed that almost seven in 10 back the idea of re-testing motorists older than 70.
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- Published 16/03/2010 00:00:00 in Money and Current Accounts
Bank customers should be offered the choice to opt out of having overdraft facilities on their current accounts, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has argued.
The consumer watchdog also called for more choice when it comes to charging systems.
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- Published 15/03/2010 00:00:00 in Money and Mortgages
As large numbers of sellers returned to the property market, the average house price rose by just £216 in March.
The 0.1% monthly increase was the lowest ever recorded for the month, according to housing website Rightmove, and compared with an average jump of 1.3% for the period during the previous eight years.
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- Published 15/03/2010 00:00:00 in Money and Savings
The majority of savers are confused about the rules surrounding tax-free ISA accounts, a survey has revealed.
Lloyds TSB found only one in 10 know what the current ISA allowance is, while even less (9%) were aware of what it would increase to at the beginning of the new tax year.
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- Published 15/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
One in five owners of a car over ten years old has said they are thinking about scrapping their ageing motor and buying a new one through the government’s scrappage scheme.
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- Published 15/03/2010 00:00:00 in Motoring and Car Insurance
More than a quarter of drivers in the UK do not know how old their vehicle is, according to a new survey.
The poll carried out by Auto Trader showed that 26% were unable to identify the month or year in which their car was registered.
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- Published 15/03/2010 00:00:00 in Travel and Travel Insurance
In light of the seven days of strikes announced by BA workers - three days beginning on 20 March and four on 27 March - the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published guidance for the airline's customers whose plans are likely to be disrupted.