Blog – Hit or Miss?
Post Office bank account details released
May 13, 2013
0 Comment
This morning the Post Office announced details of its much awaited foray into the UK current account market. The initial rollout of the three new current account options will be run as a pilot in 29 branches across East Anglia before being rolled out to the rest of the country in 2014
Continue Reading →We can’t rely on low interest rates alone to fuel the UK property market
May 01, 2013
Barclays family springboard mortgage, Castle Trust, Funding for Lending scheme, low mortgage rates, mortgage innovation, Partnership Mortgage, shared equity mortgageThere have been some significant changes in the UK mortgage market since I penned my original product assessment of the Castle Trust Partnership Mortgage last September. The big news in the last nine months is how the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) has, thanks mainly to the efforts
Continue Reading →Cash ISA best buys – what’s left now that the dust has settled.
Apr 19, 2013
The latest Cash ISA Best Buys 19 April 2013 A fortnight is a long time in the Cash ISA world, particularly in the present climate when banks and building societies just don’t have the appetite for savings balances. In the last 14 days we’ve seen ISAs from Santander, Leeds
Continue Reading →Latest list of Cash ISA best buys 12 April 2013
Apr 12, 2013
It’s been a miserable and frustrating week for ISA savers with Santander and Leeds Building Society each withdrawing two best buy ISA deals whilst Tesco Bank added to the gloom when it slashed its rate from 2.30% to 2.00%. Here’s the current Cash ISA best buy table as it
Continue Reading →More bad news for savers as Santander and Leeds BS pull best buy ISAs
Apr 08, 2013
Best 2013/14 ISA, best cash ISA, Coventry Building Society ISA, Poppy ISA, Santander ISAUpdated 8th April pm as Leeds Building Society Online ISA at 2.55% is withdrawn too. Just when savers thought things couldn’t get any worse, Santander has surprisingly withdrawn two of its best buy ISAs just two days into the new tax year. The timing of this announcement will
Continue Reading →Cash ISA Best Buys 5th April – including how much interest you could earn
CLICK HERE for the latest ISA Best Buy table 5th April 2013 Latest ISA product changes; 5th April – Coventry BS reacts to Leeds BS ISA and increases Popy ISA rate to best buy 2.60% – available from 6/4/2013 New instant access ISA 2.55% and 1 year fixed ISA (with lim
Continue Reading →Cash ISA savers need annual tax free allowance of up to £8150 to match 2012 returns
Andrew Hagger of Moneycomms.co.uk highlights how much Cash ISA allowances would need to increase for savers to be able to earn the same returns as this time last year. It’s been well documented how the government’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) has had a devastating effect on s
Continue Reading →Length of average credit card 0% balance transfer term up from 9.6 months to 14.2 months in last four years
Andrew Hagger of Moneycomms.co uk comments on the seemingly never ending increase in the length of 0% credit card balance transfer deals. Many people have focused on what’s happened in the savings and mortgage markets in the four years since base rate was cut to 0.5%, but itâ€
Continue Reading →This new FlexPlus bank account looks a great value all round package
Mar 09, 2013
bank account benefits, best buy, credit interest, FlexPlus, nationwide bs, overdraft buffer, paid for bank accountHere are my thoughts on the impressive new Nationwide FlexPlus packaged current account which is launched on Monday 11th March. Even though there is still a lot of negative comment around the value of packaged accounts and the way they have been sold, this latest deal from Nationwid
Continue Reading →New product reviews
Having worked in the personal financial services sector for over thirty years I like to think I ‘know my onions’ when it comes to money matters. This blog aims to cut through the marketing hype surrounding the launch of new products, initiatives and services, highlighting the good and bad points, and telling it how it really is.