Look Out For PPI Rates While Assessing Motor Finance Options
Feb 13 at 10:10pm by Personal Finance Claims
Getting a car loan is normally not a problem in UK, it is however recommend that you be a bit more careful while filing your loan applications. Motor finance companies will certainly try to lure you through catchy advertisements in newspapers and magazines, I would suggest is that you treat these with caution. Instead contact lenders directly, tell them your needs and requirements, and ask them to make an offer. This method may work in your favour because lenders have a business to run and its unlikely that they will risk losing a customer. In effect, this method may help you in extracting the most competitive rates and also the most favourable terms and conditions from lenders.
While assessing motor finance options, the first thing you need to do is look out for PPI. Short for Payment Protection Insurance, PPI is the amount you pay to cover the lenders risks that might arise when you fail to make your monthly repayments due to unforeseen factors such as sickness, unemployment, or accident. You too stand to gain by taking a PPI because in any of the above-mentioned scenarios, it then becomes the responsibility of the insurer to take care of your monthly payment commitments. You are thus saved from the prospect of being declared a defaulter.
As you can see there is nothing wrong as such with PPI, but the problem arises because some lenders charge a lot more than what it actually costs to take out a payment protection insurance. They actually make a profit out of PPI, even when they know quite well that it is something that should always be made available. This shows how profit orientated most lending companies really are and proves that they need addition product sales such as PPI.
To get to the most competitive motor finance deals I suggest you go online and contact as many lenders as possible. This way, you will be able to scan all the offers that might be available and in the shortest time possible. After this, you just have to take your pick based on your specific needs and requirements. You can then cruise along in your dream car without any worries .
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How You Can Benefit From OFT’s Recent Legal Action Against Banks
Feb 12 at 11:11pm by Personal Finance Claims
With OFT (Office Of Fair Trading) filing a case against seven of the biggest banks in UK, the issue of bank overcharging, it seems, has finally come to the forefront. Before this, the account holders themselves filed most of the cases related to bank overcharging and this is why not much success was achieved on this front. The speculations certainly do not end with OFT’s legal action, but since the OFT has more resources and expertise in fighting court cases, most account holders are anticipating a court ruling in favour of the consumers. Legal experts however are not towing this line because they believe that if something like this happens, the entire banking industry will vanish overnight. They reason that bank charges contribute a significant percentage to the revenues and if that dries up, most banks will have no other option but to wind up their operations.
The verdict may eventually go in favour of consumers, but at this point of time what I would like to recommend is that you don’t waste your time waiting for the final court ruling. I say so because banks have still not stopped overcharging and if you don’t act fast, banks might continue to do so. The OFT might be working hard to get a favourable court ruling, but since no one knows exactly how long that will take, I recommend that you file your claim right away. Filing your case early will help because if OFT wins satisfactorily, you will not have to wait for long to get back your hard-earned money. The success of most of the claims filed to date depends on the final ruling in the OFT case and this is why it would be better if you filed your claim today .
The first thing you need to do is call up your bank and request them to provide a detailed bank statement that lists out each and every transaction made in your account. After receiving the statement, you need to go through it and try to locate the unauthorised charges such as those related to bounced cheques, overdraft fees, etc. When you are done with this, you need to write a claims letter to your bank, requesting a full settlement of your claims. If your bank agrees, well and good, but if it does not, which is more likely, then you might have to file a court case. So, I would recommend that you stop wasting time and call up your bank today itself. This journey will be long and it would be better if you made an early start.
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How You Might Soon End Up With A Blocked Credit Card
Feb 12 at 5:05pm by Personal Finance Claims
The subprime crisis has worked like a wakeup call for most banks and lending companies, not only in the US but also worldwide. Financial lending institutions worldwide are now redrawing their plans and trying to assess the credit risks that they might have created for themselves. Not wanting to face something as disastrous as the subprime crisis, most of them have now introduced stricter rules and regulations that are making it difficult for applicants to avail of credit. The basic aim is to cut down lending risks by limiting credit facilities only to those applicants who might be having a respectable credit history.
So, if you were thinking that you won’t be affected by the subprime crisis just because you live miles and miles away in UK, then I would recommend that you change your mindset as soon as possible. I say so because many lending companies in UK have gone completely hyper, so much so that they have now started reviewing all of their existing credit accounts and particularly those that are in the high-risk category.
This is being done with even more passion and energy by credit card companies . It seems credit card companies are aiming to achieve a zero-risk environment, something that they think would protect them from the residual effects of the subprime crisis.
Nobody can tell what will happen moving forward, the subprime crisis may ease off and lending rules and regulations might get redefined in the coming months, but you need to consider the existing circumstances.
If you have a credit card that has recently been blocked or withdrawn then the best thing to do is to contact your credit card company and ask for an explanation. Even better would be to file a written complaint, seeking an explanation as to why you should not go to the courts for unauthorised blocking of your credit card. This strategy has worked well for some card users and there is a chance that you might also get your back your credit facilities.
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Stop Being Fleeced By Your Bank, File Your Claim Today
Feb 6 at 11:11am by Personal Finance Claims
If you have often been left wondering as to where all the money just keeps disappearing from your bank account, then the first thing you need to do is pull out some of your old bank statements and have a look at all the entries, especially the ones that might be listed under the debit (Dr.) category. When you do this, what you are most likely to notice is that there are several entries that have nothing to do with your cash withdrawals, purchases, EMI’s, insurance premiums or for that matter entries that seem completely alien to you. Each of these mysterious (Dr.) entries may be relatively small, but when you add these up, you will realize that they make a significant percentage of your overall Debit transactions.
So, why are these entries there in my bank statement when I don’t have anything to do with them? Well, the answer is simply that banks have a business to run and make profits. As such you can bet that they will not shy away from making the most of every earning opportunity that comes their way. Your bank statement may not have detailed information about these entries, but you can rest assured that what they basically represent is nothing but the Greed of these banks to earn more and more profits.
Now that you know, it’s likely that you would want to find remedial measures that might be available. However, I don’t think that you will be able to make much of a difference as of now simply because what these banks are doing is not at all illegal. Account holders may have filed thousands of cases pertaining to bank overcharges, but since the rules and regulations as related to bank charges are still not definitive, claims of account holders just seems to be piling up in the courts without showing any major signs of improvement.
However, that should not prevent you from filing your own claim because change is the only constant and you never know when circumstances might change in favour of account holders. The piled up cases are like an explosives dump ground and all that is needed is a single victory that will act as the spark, putting an end to the ever-growing greed of these banking behemoths. So, I would recommend that you file your claim with your bank today .
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How You Are Being Overcharged By Motor Finance Companies
Feb 5 at 10:10am by Personal Finance Claims
Your negotiation skills may have come handy while bargaining for the least possible rate of interest on your car loan, but if you ask me I won’t hesitate in telling you that it’s still too early to start the celebrations. I say so because I am well aware that motor finance companies may overcharge you. So, if all this time you were thinking that you have made a crucial breakthrough by negotiating the most competitive interest rates, I would recommend that you review.
One of the areas to consider is signing a PPI agreement. Short for Payment Protection Insurance, a PPI agreement is basically an insurance policy that is taken out providing cover for non-payment risks such as those that might arise due to unforeseen events such as an accident, sickness, unemployment, etc. So, if you have PPI on your car loan and you are unable to pay your monthly installments due to any of the above reasons, a PPI may ensure that payments duly reach your lender and that you are not declared a defaulter.
You may easily get confused by the benefits of PPI and I would recommend that you seek advice from an independent source before signing a PPI agreement. I would not say that you don’t take a PPI policy, but I would certainly recommend that you confirm the rates and charges as might be applicable on the PPI before actually signing the papers.
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How Credit Card Companies Are Making Millions Just By Overcharging
Feb 4 at 3:03pm by Personal Finance Claims
At times, credit cards come in very handy that you may feel the credit card companies are providing a social service for their customers. Well, you are not entirely wrong in your assumptions because many other credit card users including me sincerely believe that credit cards are in fact a blessing. So, if you were thinking that I was here to belittle the usability of credit cards then I must admit that you have been gravely mistaken.
You may not realise this, but my real purpose is just to make you aware about the ongoing credit card overcharging that has generated plenty of publicity against credit card companies in recent times. Not that card companies are doing something illegal, but the overcharging has reached monolithic proportions .
Credit card users may be forced to pay a late payment fee that is may be quite high in cases. What has helped these companies to earn even more has been the increase in the number of cases related to credit card defaults. You multiply the high late payment fee with the total number of defaults and you will come to know exactly how these card companies are making their millions.
Statistical data as required for such calculations is easily available and from what I have researched so far, it clearly shows that around eleven percent of all credit card holders have defaulted. This may not seem much, but when you translate 11 percent into actual number of defaulters, you will see that it comes to a staggering five million people. And considering that the average late payment charge is around £12, it will not take you long to calculate the millions in profits that credit card companies are raking in every year at the expense of their customers.
“So, what do I do to avoid such high charges”? Well, the most appropriate thing to do would be to curtail your credit card usage, but since this is often not possible, I would recommend that you search for a credit card company that might have the most affordable rates and the most favourable terms and conditions on offer. However, if you have already defaulted and have been charged accordingly, then you might have to file a claim with your credit card company so as to reclaim the excess amount charged to your account. You also have the option to go to the courts, if unfortunately nothing works out in your favour.
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How To Avoid Motor Finance Overcharging
Feb 1 at 4:04pm by Personal Finance Claims
In UK, motor finance options may be readily available, but I would recommend that you think twice before agreeing to any particular plan, especially those that the dealer might be trying to hustle up to you. Your dealer might be selling the latest in cars and accessories, but when the issue of motor finance pops up, sometimes the dealer will try to push a deal which is not what you had initially intended. Dealers are entitled to commission on every motor finance plan that they sell and obviously they are not a fool to let go of this opportunity even if it means high interest rates and astronomical charges and penalties for the buyer.
To ensure that you get the most affordable motor finance deal, you will have to take certain precautions and follow the prescribed guidelines. The first thing you need to do is have a look at the APR (Annual Percentage Rate), which is the rate of interest as applicable on your motor finance loan. If the APR is not given in the offer document, you need to request the lender to provide you with the same. In UK, all lenders are required by law to disclose the APR before the deal is actually signed.
You may not find the APR on some offer documents because some lenders have become smart enough to show only the monthly rate of interest with a star sign (*) on top. The monthly rate of interest may be less than the APR and since the majority of buyers are quite unaware of this, lenders often use this tactic to lure in new gullible customers. So, if you do not consider the APR before signing a motor finance deal, it’s likely that you will end up paying a lot more than what you might have been expecting.
To get to the most affordable motor finance deals and to avoid paying more than you need, you should do additional research on all the different types of motor finance schemes that might be available. To make this difficult task easier, you need to go online, contact lenders specializing in motor finance and request them to make an offer. After you have the offers on your computer, you just have to compare them and assess exactly which offer best suits your specific needs and requirements. This way, you will easily be able to locate the most cost-effective motor finance deal that might be available and that you are happy to proceed with.
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