Mortgage rates are continuing to drop, as the markets bet on a cut in interest rates next week. A 10-year fixed rate launched by Coventry Building Society is thought to be the cheapest such deal on record at 2.39 per cent.
The BBC reports that Barclays, HSBC, Metro Bank, the Leeds and the West Bromwich Building Society are among other lenders who have cut rates since the EU referendum. The new HSBC 10-year fixed rate loan has a rate of 2.79 per cent. Economists think there is a 78 per cent chance of a cut in base rates next Thursday. Consumer confidenceConsumer confidence has seen its sharpest drop in 21 years after the UK vote to leave the EU, a survey suggests. The market research firm GfK conducted an online survey of 2,000 people after the result was known.
Its confidence index fell by eight points to minus nine, a drop not since seen December 1994. Less confident consumers tend to curb their spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of the UK economy. Property funds Fund managers will continue to collect up to £150 million in annual fees from retail investors whose money has been trapped in property funds after a series of bans on withdrawals this week, according to The Times. The imposition of fees could prove even more controversial after experts warned yesterday that suspensions on £15 billion of open-ended property funds could last for months. Funds halted redemptions to prevent a firesale of the underlying assets this week after fears about the impact of Brexit on the economy. M&G, which runs a £4.4 billion property fund, and Aviva, which has a £1.8 billion fund, are among several fund managers continuing to charge fees after imposing suspensions. PensionsPension freedom reforms helped to fuel an 18 per cent rise in complaints to the industry ombudsman over the first year they were in force.
Thisismoney reports that the Pensions Ombudsman Service handled nearly 5,000 cases altogether, although only around 1,360 were pursued for investigation. Out of the rest, most complaints were dismissed because they hadn’t yet been lodged with whoever was potentially at fault, while others were passed along to The Pensions Advisory Service.
Some 63 per cent of investigations were resolved informally, and 37 per cent formally. Where the ombudsman did make a formal decision, around 40 per cent of cases were upheld or partly upheld.
The prom industry
A quarter of British parents spent more than £300 on their daughters’ prom dresses, while some boys spent just over £200 on their outfits. Kirsty Gell, owner of dress retailer Red Carpet Ready, which sells some 3,000 dresses every prom season, told BBC 5 live‘s Wake up to Money that the summer prom is ‘a really, really big event on any 15, 16-year-old’s calendar. It’s the celebration of them leaving school and essentially going on to become an adult.’ Some girls spend 18 months planning for their school prom, Ms Gell says, and for some this is second only to buying a wedding dress. Overdraft chargesAndrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the Treasury Committee, has written to the chief executives of 13 banks, asking them to provide information about their charges – including paid and unpaid – on both authorised and unauthorised overdrafts, for each type of personal banking account they offer.
Local authorities in England are being accused of being too quick to send in bailiffs to recover council tax debts.
A report from Citizens Advice says some councils also add extra charges, or take court action, rather than arrange manageable repayment plans. The effect is to push people who are in financial difficulty even further into the red. A local government spokesperson said councils do their best to protect such people, but they need to collect tax. Finally… New research from Direct Line Car Insurance reveals that over 14 million (29 per cent) Brits suffer from car amnesia, admitting they forgot where they parked their vehicle in the last 12 months. On average we spend 25 minutes looking for our vehicles, with male drivers searching the longest (32 minutes) in comparison to their female counterparts (20 minutes). Over the course of a lifetime this means that forgetful Brits can spend almost three days trying to find their misplaced motors. During the course of the last 12 months, on average Brits have lost their car four times. Unsurprisingly, the most common place to lose your vehicle is the supermarket, followed by multi storey car parks and out of town shopping centre car parks.
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