Category: Credit Cards
Why I’ve quit buy-to-let
Landlord Patrick Osborne profited from rising rents, generous tax breaks and easy capital gains – so why did he get out? When Patrick Osborne became a landlord in 2001 he was taken aback by how many friends and acquaintances condemned him. “I’m not going to pretend I fell into it by accident. I made an [...]
The 95% mortgage is back
After years struggling to save big deposits, first-time buyers are hopeful of getting on to the property ladder as lenders line up to offer 95% mortgages Five years ago there were more than 800 different 95% mortgages available to first-time buyers. When the financial crisis struck, they disappeared from lenders’ shelves almost overnight. But the [...]
Wave hello to a revolution
ATMs and payment readers in shops will soon accept a simple swipe from your card. Miles Brignall went to Barcelona to see the birth of contactless payments First it was credit and debit cards, then mobile phones. Now the so-called contactless revolution has embraced cash machines. Maybe you’ve got a contactless card in your wallet [...]
YouToo can earn £100,000
Uploading a video clip on to YouTube of your toddler getting up to mischief can win over a cooing international audience and earn big money. Here’s how … When Howard Davies-Carr uploaded a video of his two children on to YouTube, he thought it would be seen only by his sons’ godfather and a few [...]
How to avoid overpaying tax
Many of us end up paying too much tax or national insurance. Patrick Collinson outlines the main pitfalls Don’t overpay national insurance You should stop paying national insurance when you reach state retirement age – 65 for a man and 60 for a woman (rising to 65 in 2015). Lots of people who work part-time [...]
Rail ticket prices bust the inflation barrier
A planned 8% rise was derailed but many commuters will still feel the pain. Miles Brignall looks at how to save With train fares rising by an average of 5.9% on Monday 2 January, when few of us have had a pay rise, there’s probably never been a better time to take a proper look [...]
Ryanair defiant over credit card surcharges crackdown
Ryanair says the £6 charge per passenger per one-way flight relates to costs associated with its booking system, and isn’t a payments surcharge Ryanair has defied the government’s move to ban surcharges on payments to airlines and other firms by saying it does not charge its passengers any credit or debit card fees. Airlines, cinemas [...]
Beware bogus car hire offers
Car hire customers have been warned to take extra care when renting a vehicle this Christmas. What looks like a cheap deal could end up costing you hundreds of pounds Adverts in the national press were this week promising “unbeatable” deals on car hire this Christmas. The company behind the ads, a new name called [...]
Shoppers Spend £4k On Their Credit Card Yearly
Shoppers are still spending a whopping £4,000 a year on their credit cards during the recession despite incomes dropping due to pay freezes and redundancy, says Scottish Debt Solutions Company, Trust Deed Scotland. According to the recent report by Standard Life “Your Commitments, Your Future”, UK credit card holders have been making £3,804 in payments [...]
NatWest admits signature forgery
Suspicions were raised when a customer discovered he had ‘agreed’ to terms and conditions on a loan when he insists he hadn’t How would you feel if you discovered your high street bank had forged your signature on a document? It sounds fanciful, or even in the realms of conspiracy theory, but this is the [...]
