Weekly Money

Round-up of the personal finance stories you may have missed 4 to 8 May

We now spend more than £5,000 every second on credit cards, new figures have revealed (Getty Images)

We spend £5,000 a second on credit cards; Pension Bonds deadline; young adults targeted by identity fraudsters; one in three streets has empty properties; holiday money warning; fewer insulated homes; the stories we noticed this week

8 May

We now spend more than £5,000 every second on credit cards, new figures have revealed. The Money Charity’s latest statistics published today show that the total outstanding credit card debt is now at £61.2m, an average of £2,292 for every household.

It means every day, almost £8m is spent on credit cards – or £5,429 a second.

The charity is calling for a ban on unsolicited credit limit increases, to put people in control of their borrowing rather than be tempted to spend more than they can afford.

It also wants the minimum payment each month to only reduce if the customer requests it. At present the minimum payment reduces as the balance goes down - which has the negative effect of extending the length of time it takes to pay off the total debt, while increasing the cost to the consumer.

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If you transfer investment Isa firms you may be charged a stiff exit fee. To encourage investors to switch AXA Self Investor is now offering up to £750 per person against any exit fees incurred,

The offer is open to anyone who transfers before the end of July but any transfers will need to remain with AXA Self Investor for 12 months.

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More new homes were registered in the first three months of the year than since before the financial crisis, according to the National House Building Council.

It says that 40,281 new homes were registered between January and March, the highest total for the first three months of the year since 53,420 new registrations were recorded in early 2007. The figure is almost a fifth higher than in 2014.

7 May

You have just over a week to snap up one of the high-paying 65-Plus Guaranteed Growth Bonds. The government-backed savings accounts pay up to 4 per cent if you lock your cash away for three years and 2.8 per cent if you choose a one year bond.

The deadline for buying is next Friday 15 May and they will be available on that date until 11.59pm online or over the phone.

When the bonds were launched in January there was a huge response with 825,000 over-65s snapping them up in the first eight weeks.

Savers feared losing out as to begin with a limited pot of up to £10bn was put aside for them. However, in February, the Chancellor said that the bonds would be kept on sale until 15 May, a week after the general election.

It is expected that eventually more than a million older savers will invest and around £15 billion-worth of bonds could be sold. Information about how to apply for the bonds - minimum investment is £500, by the way - can be found at nsandi.com or you can call 0500 500 000.

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Independent energy company First Utility will donate £2 a month for two years to the children’s charity NSPCC for all new customers switching to the firm in May.

It says the £48 raised per customer will pay for 12 children to speak to a Childline counsellor. Boss Ian McCaig hopes the campaign will raise £250,000 to help protect at-risk kids. Find out more at first-utility.com

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Six million people are excluded from everyday life because of a poor credit record, reckons a debt adviser. Research by Debt Advisory Centre suggests those with credit black marks struggle to get a home, open a bank account, get car insurance or a mobile phone contract.

6 May

Mortgages are now the hardest financial product to switch, reckons GoCompare. Its new research shows that just 59 per cent of people who recently switched home loans described the process as ‘easy’. Back in July 2014 the figure was 70 per cent.

Switching mortgages has become more difficult because of new rules introduced in April 2014. Now anyone needing a mortgage has to pass a more stringent affordability test.

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Young adults in rented homes are three times more likely to be targeted by identity theft fraudsters. Experian says that nearly one in five cases of identity fraud last year involved renters in their 20s and 30s, living in an urban area and studying or taking their first steps on the career ladder.

Nick Mothershaw of Experian, said: “Shared hallways and easily-accessible properties mean that rental tenants’ details are most at risk compared to other demographics. Also they are prolific users of mobile and online services, meaning that fraudsters have even more avenues to try and steal people’s details.”

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Nationwide has improved its variable rate Isas. The Flexclusive ISA (Issue 9) pays 1.6 per cent (the previous version paid 1.5 per cent) and the Instant ISA Saver – Issue 3 pays 1.4 per cent (up from 1.25 per cent).

“This stands out at a time when many providers are withdrawing their competitive Isas from the market completely or replacing them with lower paying versions,” said Anna Bowes of SavingsChampion.

5 May

One in three streets in the UK has at least one property that has been empty for six months or more, according to Nationwide, leading to calls from the building society for the next government to bring empty houses back into use.

“It is absurd that so many properties remain empty and decaying, while at the same time we have a housing supply crisis, with many people unable to find anywhere to live that they can afford,” said Leigh Pearce, the chief executive of the Nationwide Foundation, the charity funded by the mutual which provides grants to bring empty properties back into use.

The £50m Empty Homes Community Grants Programme was introduced in 2012 and led to almost 2,000 properties across England being brought back into use by community groups.

But the programme ended in March and faces being scrapped altogether, even though, at an estimated average cost of £25,000, bringing an empty home back into use takes a fraction of the cost of building a new home.

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Barclays is tomorrow re-launching its Family Springboard mortgage, which offers a stepped reduction in interest rates over three years to first time buyers as long as family members save with the bank.

It allows ‘Helpers’ to use their savings to help homebuyers get a mortgage by holding 10 per cent of the purchase price in a Helpful Start account. The homebuyers can then apply for a 95 per cent mortgage. After three years the money is handed back to the Helpers with base rate plus 1.5 per cent interest added. In the first year the mortgage rate is 2.99 per cent, and then it drops to 2.59 per cent in the third.

Andy Montlake of Coreco Mortgage Brokers said: “The appeal to family members is that they know their savings are helping their children without giving them up entirely.”

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Halifax has today launched a 1 per cent cashback deal for first-time buyers in conjunction with Help to Buy. It allows borrowers to buy a home with just a 5 per cent deposit and receive 1 per cent cashback on the whole balance.

The cashback is limited to £2,500.

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With fresh financial troubles in Greece in recent days, holidaymakers may be tempted to take all their travel money in cash to avoid the risk of being caught out if the banks close their doors or ATMS are frozen.

But travellers should check the small print on their travel insurance policies, warns FairFX. The currency specialist points out that many travel policies only cover you for up to £250 if your money is lost or stolen. Darren Kilner of FairFX said: “It’s important that holidaymakers stay informed.”

4 May

The number of homes becoming warmer and cheaper to heat dropped by more than two-thirds during the last Parliament, according to official figures. The annual number of households befitting from cavity wall insulation and loft insulation – which can save £160 and £140 each on annual bills - fell from 2.1 million in 2009/10, to just 700,000 in 2013/14 – a drop of 67 per cent.

Caroline Flint, Labour’s shadow energy and climate change secretary, who uncovered the figures, warned: “Britain is facing an energy bill crisis, with millions of people struggling to heat their homes. David Cameron has left hundreds of thousands of families in the cold, with massive cuts under this Government to the number of households getting help with insulation.”

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The average cost of a pet insurance claim has risen 7 per cent to £679, while for dogs it’s slightly higher at £683, according to the Association of British Insurers. Pet insurers paid out £602m in claims in 2014 – the equivalent of £1.65m a day and an increase of nearly 15 per cent on the previous year.

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Three quarters of parents of children under 10 haven’t made a will, new research suggests. Failing to sort out what would happen in the event of their death, could leave major problems for youngsters.

It’s not just about money, warns Which Wills, the company behind the research, but also the important matter of who would become the children’s legal guardian. If it’s not set out by the parents in a will, then a court may make the decision.

Alex Neill at Which? said: “Parents don’t want to think the worst, but when it comes to children it’s really never too early to make a will.”