So you have graduated - you may be excited or apprehensive about your future. Sad because you will miss your uni friends or know it's time to move on. Or harassed and hungover as you try to get things packed up to leave. But whatever you choose to do next – a job, an intern position, go travelling, or more studying - there’s some financial admin you should deal with now, to stop big problems … [Read more...]
FCA high cost credit review – great headlines, not so much action
The FCA published two High Cost Credit Review consultation papers published yesterday: rent-to-own, home-collected credit, catalogue credit and store cards, and alternatives to high-cost credit; overdrafts. Although these got some great headlines - the word crackdown appeared frequently - I think it is fair to say that most debt policy campaigners have been disappointed by the proposals … [Read more...]
Max FOBT stake to be £2 and other good news about gambling
Today's announcement that the Government is restricting the maximum stake on FOBTs to £2 is brilliant news. At the same time, the government has announced a range of other measures, some to come in now and some that may be introduced in the future. And yesterday Monzo talked about what is going to be doing to help its customers self-exclude from gambling. Restricting FOBT stakes to … [Read more...]
FCA needs to take action on logbook loans urgently
Yesterday the government announced that it was dropping the proposed new logbook loan legislation. This is a very disappointing move, the bill would have had all-party support. I agree with these comments on Twitter: Strange one - never spoken to anyone who didn't think it was a good idea and the current legislation causes huge problems for some people. Joe Lane. Pretty odd decision. These … [Read more...]
Help for mortgage prisoners who need a cheaper mortgage?
With mortgage rates so low, 2019 should be a great time if you want to remortgage or move house. But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published research showing there are 800,000 people in the UK who could benefit if they switch to a cheaper mortgage. Most of these are people whose fixed rate has ended but who have stayed on their lender's variable rate for more than six months. And … [Read more...]
Getting a clean start after gambling debts
A reader, let's call him Mr C, asked: I have been in bad mental health and have in periods of illness suffered big losses due to online gambling. I used to earn £32,000, I now only work part-time, getting c £700 a month, and have moved back to my parents. I have debts of £27,000 with £1,000 a month repayments. Some debts are very new eg a £8,000 loan three months ago. I am very unlikely to … [Read more...]
SMI watch – 24 April – slow progress & statistics problems
On 24 April the DWP published the latest statistics on the switch from paying Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) as a benefit to giving it as a secured loan giving numbers as at 18 April: how many people getting SMI have been sent letters and successfully contacted by phone; what the people who have been successfully contacted are choosing to do - take the loan, decline the loan or are … [Read more...]
Should paying your rent help you get a mortgage?
It sounds like common sense to say that if you have paid £880 rent a month for a couple of years then you can obviously afford a mortgage costing £880 a month. And if you live in London or the south-east, you will probably add that rents are so high you can't afford to save much for a deposit, so you need your good rental payment record to be taken into account in a mortgage application. This … [Read more...]
SMI – what happens if you haven’t agreed to take the loan?
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) used to be paid as a benefit to people who weren't working - this ended on 5 April 2018. From 6 April someone newly applying can only get help with their mortgage costs through a secured loan instead. This is sometimes referred to as Loan for Mortgage Interest (LMI), but the old name SMI is also used. If you have been getting SMI before April, there are now … [Read more...]
SMI watch – 25 March – no real progress in last week
On 23 March the DWP published the statistics as at 21 March on the switch from paying Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) as a benefit to giving it as a secured loan showing: how many people getting SMI have been contacted by letter and phone ; what the people who have been successfully contacted are choosing to do - take the loan, decline the loan or are currently undecided. UPDATE: … [Read more...]
DWP minister says SMI loan ‘can be backdated’
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is changing on 6 April 2018 from being paid as a welfare benefit to being given as a secured loan. Kit Malthouse, a DWP Minister, told Radio 4's Moneybox on 17 March that he was "relatively confident we will be in a good position when it [6 April] comes." He stated that people who did not apply for the new loan by then will be able to have it … [Read more...]
DWP chaos? Only 10,000 have agreed to new SMI loan
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)'s Economic and Fiscal Outlook paper, published today with the Chancellor's Spring Statement, has this statement: DWP has told us that all current claimants have been contacted about the intention to convert their [Support for Mortgage Interest] award into a loan and of those that have responded, over half have indicated they are not interested while less … [Read more...]
Vanquis ROP – a million customers will get refunds
Vanquis is repaying £168,000,000 to over a million customers who had its ROP (Repayment Option Plan) on a Vanquis credit card since 2003. UPDATE In summer 2018 the first refunds were credited to people's accounts ... but they looked surprisingly low. See ROP - the refunds are too small. In February 2018, the FCA (Vanquis's regulator) decided this meant that the ROP had been missold to every … [Read more...]
MoJ consultation on default CCJs
I have responded to the Ministry of Justice's consultation on Default County Court Judgements (CCJs). This consultation was started in December 2017, because of: concern about the potential adverse impact of a County Court judgment on individuals who, unaware that a judgment had been made against them, found months or years later that their credit rating had been damaged. This article expands on … [Read more...]
Can I overpay my interest only mortgage?
Mrs M asked: I have an interest-only mortgage of £91,000 with 11 years left, with no plan to repay it at the end. It was originally a repayment mortgage, but when I couldn’t afford the payments the bank suggested I switch to an interest-only mortgage. I went through with my bank an option to change to repayment but they didn’t accept me. Can I pay extra each month? Will it reduce the debt and … [Read more...]
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