News

Most Britons would return the money if they were given too much change by a cashier, new research has found.

A full 67 per cent of those surveyed said they would give the money back, the survey from the internet bank smile reported.

Of those who not give the money back, 12 per cent said that they would not do so because they were in much more need of the money than the bank or organisation that made the mistake.

Kelvin Collins, head of brand management at smile said: “Some people feel that they should be able to keep the extra money if they had received too much, simply because the shop or organisation had made the mistake.

“However, honestly is always the best policy and customers should give back money that they do not genuinely believe is theirs.”

The main concern of those who said they would keep the cash was that the cashier would somehow be punished for the mistake.

Meanwhile, many economists are predicting that the monetary policy committee is to raise the rate of interest to six per cent.

Choosing to release equity from a home can allow people to “bring forward” an inheritance for the children or grandchildren, it has been claimed.

The over-50s specialist claimed that many people choose to use equity release for this reason instead of as a means to supplement income.

In contrast to reducing the eventual inheritance that people will pass on to their heirs, Saga argues that this use of equity release should be seen as an advance payment.

“It is a common concern that by releasing equity from their home people are concerned they will have less to pass on to their heirs but as mentioned above, for some people it helps ‘bring forward’ the inheritance,” said Clare Cracknell, director of marketing for Saga.

She advised that people considering this way of generating money should speak to a specialist adviser.

Services which Saga offers its customers include holidays to worldwide destinations, an award-winning magazine, insurance and financial products, and radio stations.

New homeowners are forgoing legal and financial issues in favour of DIY jobs, according to one service provider.

AA Legal Services claims more than half of Brits who move into a new house will buy curtains (52 per cent) or paint walls (54 per cent) before writing a will or changing locks.

The provider, which conducted the survey as part of its Safe as Houses campaign, also found that 40 per cent of couples have the house under only one name.

James Molloy, head of AA Legal Services, said that while people are “understandably enthusiastic” to improve their new home, it is important to deal with the more “gloomy” aspects too.

“Moving home is complicated and stressful enough without getting to grips with legal complications too,” he continued.

“We aim to help people with this process by keeping things such as making a will simple so they can make the right decisions at the right times.”

Among AA Legal Services’ offerings are conveyancing, wills & trusts, personal injury and accident claims.

Barclays Financial Planning is to launch a series of road-shows aimed at helping customers to better plan their finances.

The first seminar is set for July 25th at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Hotel at 18:00 BST. After this, the seminar will be rolled out to other parts of the UK and abroad.

Stephen Ingledew, commercial director for Barclays Financial Planning, said that education on investments is becoming increasingly important due to the “demographic time bomb” and global investment opportunities.

“As one of the world’s largest asset managers with over £1 trillion under management, covering over 50 markets, Barclays is extremely well placed to educate UK consumers on investments and of the opportunities in today�s changing global economy,” he added.

In May, Barclays celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Connect card, which was the UK’s first debit card.

The total value of savings and assets in the UK is roughly four times higher that that of the nation’s mortgages and debts, according to Alliance & Leicester.

In a new study, the company revealed the sum of people’s savings and equity in the UK is £5.1 trillion - compared with the £1.3 trillion debt mountain.

However, while these figures may suggest the UK is safely in the black, it was also found that this wealth is not spread evenly across the population.

For example, people living in London, the south-east and the south-west of England own 51 per cent of the nation’s net assets and 46 per cent of total savings.

Furthermore, 62 per cent of the UK’s personal wealth belongs to the over-55s.

Yesterday, Alliance & Leicester launched a Visa pre-paid card for business that will allow employers to load with money for staff expenses.

Declaring oneself bankrupt is becoming increasingly easy to do, according to one independent financial adviser.

Belgravia Insurance Consultants claimed that there is now “less stigma” attached to bankruptcy and the UK is moving to “a more US approach”.

In fact, such is the increase in popularity of individual voluntary arrangements, the many providers no longer choose to administer them “face to face”.

“If it can be done remotely then it’s really more of a streamlined process rather than someone sitting down face to face,” said Paul White, consultant with Belgravia.

“There is more of this remote advice going on so cases like these are being treated more casually.”

In April 2004, bankruptcy laws changed to make it easier for people to declare themselves bankrupt in a bid to help those in financial difficulty and encourage entrepreneurship.

Now, the length of time that someone is bankrupt can be as short as 12 months.

Woolwich has announced the launch of a lifetime tracker mortgage with no application fees. And at 0.17% above base rate (current payment rate 5.92%) - the mortgage bank’s best ever rate for a fee free lifetime tracker.

Maximum LTV is 60%.

For customers switching from another lender the bank will cover legal and survey fees under its Switch & Save option. Meanwhile, for those borrowing up to 80%, a lifetime tracker at base rate +0.28% is available.

Also being made available is a 2-year discount tracker reverting to a lifetime tracker - this facility tracking at base rate -0.16%, current rate 5.59%, before reverting to a tracker at base rate + 0.95% after the 2 year discounted period.

An arrangement fee of £995 is in operation. As is an early repayment charge of 1% for the first 2 years. Maximum LTV is 80%, maximum loan £500,000.

Finally, customers will have access to a 1-year fix and track at 5.39% for 1 year before reverting to a lifetime tracker at base rate +0.39%.

An arrangement fee of £595 is in force, as is a 1% early repayment charge for 3 years.

Meanwhile, a drop and lock facility kicks in after year 1. Worth noting is that the early repayment charge won’t apply if the drop and lock is utilised. Maximum LTV is 80%.

© Moneyextra.com

The Government’s controversial Home Information Packs are due to come into force this week.

The launch of the packs follows a two month delay and a watering down of their content.

The packs were originally intended to speed up the house buying and selling process and end the 30% of sales, equivalent to 500,000 transactions, that fell through each year, leading to around £350 million being wasted in fees.

When plans for legislation to bring in the packs were included in the Queen’s speech in 2003 the Government said they would “help create a fairer housing market and protect the most vulnerable”. It was envisaged that the packs would include everything a buyer needed to know about the property before they made an offer, including the title deeds, local authority searches and a survey, which became known as a home condition report.

The Government argued that having all this information upfront would not only speed up the house buying process, but would also reduce unpleasant surprises further down the line, and help end the practices of guzumping and guzundering. But the idea of Hips was met with scepticism from both members of the public and the industry.

Pressure groups argued that consumers would not trust a survey commissioned by the person selling the property, while others expressed concern that people would face an upfront cost, at that time estimated to be as high as £1,000, before they had even put their property on the market.

Market commentators warned that the packs could distort the housing market leading to a glut of homes being put up for sale immediately before the packs were introduced, followed by a long-term shortage as people no longer put their home on the market to test the water. Others argued that the packs would have little impact on the number of sales that fell through.

Then in June last year the Government bowed to pressure and announced a U-turn on including a home condition report in the packs, deciding instead to adopt a market-driven approach for the reports. In doing so it stripped the packs of the document which would have tackled one of the major causes of sales falling through. Meanwhile, new European legislation had begun to put a new spin on the packs by calling for all buildings to have an energy performance certificate.

Under EU law, all houses must have an EPC, which will give homes an energy efficiency rating, by 2009, with certificates having to be updated every 10 years. With the loss of the home condition reports the packs began to take on more of an environmental emphasis, and as well as the EPC, it was also decided they would assess the impact of a home on the environment and include recommendations on how to improve a property’s energy efficiency.

Supporters of the packs argue that for a relatively small price, estimated to be around £300 to £500, homebuyers will receive peace of mind, while also being in a position to cut energy consumption.

Fees at private schools have risen by more than twice the rate of inflation over the past five years, Halifax Financial Services has claimed.

The cost of sending a child to a private school has rocketed by 41 per cent in half a decade, compared to a growth in retail prices over the same period of 18 per cent.

Parents have witnessed an increase of six per cent in the past year alone.

Halifax’s study also revealed that the proportion of pupils attending private schools has increased from 6.2 per cent in 2001-02 to 6.7 per cent in 2006-07.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax Financial Services, said: “With school fees continuing to rise by more than inflation and private education proving increasingly popular, parents need to plan their finances as early as possible if they want to afford private schooling for their children.”

According to privateschools.co.uk, there are more than 2,500 private schools in the UK.

Half of the people in the UK are unwilling to pay extra tax in order to help the environment, a new survey has revealed.

According to Unbiased.co.uk, 50 per cent of Britons feel that they already pay enough tax - while seven per cent claim that they are completely unconcerned by green issues.

With air travel high on the green agenda, 20 per cent of respondents said that they would be prepared to pay more for flights to offset any damage done.

And motorists were also receptive to the idea of paying more to protect the atmosphere, with 23 per cent claiming to be in favour of a higher car tax for such measures.

Commenting on the general lack of support for a green tax, Unbiased.co.uk chief executive David Elms said: “The irony is that many people are needlessly wasting their money on paying existing taxes due to a lack of understanding and guidance.”

The Co-operative Bank recently claimed that it is too early to say whether environmentally-conscious financial products will overhaul the traditional market.