High street spending is about to become even easier with plans announced by Barclaycard.  The group is investing a seven-figure sum in new ways to make payments.  Contactless payment technology allows people to pay for items with the things they have with them, such as mobile phones, key fobs and even their eyes or fingerprints.

Barclaycard's OnePulse was launched in London last year with some 10,000 customers.  It enables people to buy items for less than £10 by touching their card against a sensor, without even having to take it out of their wallet.  It can also be used as an Oyster card on London public transport.

But it doesn’t end there.  Barclaycard also carried out a recent trial with mobile phone operator O2 in which customers paid for items with their mobiles. The idea is to enable people to hover their mobile over the price label of an item in a shop and then add it to a virtual basket.  People would then be able to confirm their purchase and take it away without having to go to a checkout or get a receipt.

If you need advice to manage your consumer spending then please talk to MRA who can provide a range of debt management plans.
 

Three-quarters of young people are struggling and need help with debt and one in five admit they spend more than they earn each month, research has revealed.  Around 74% of those aged under 35 are in the red, owing more than £9,000 on average.  Meanwhile, 12% owe more than £20,000, according to Skipton Building Society.  Half have run up credit cards debt, while a further 33% have a student loan, 28% have a bank loan and 12% owe money on store cards.  At the same time, 12% also owe money to their parents and 4% have borrowed cash from other relatives. 

Skipton says young people's high level of borrowings are taking a toll on their finances.

The average under-35 shells out £206 a month in debt repayments - their second biggest outgoing after meeting their mortgage or rent - while 12% pay out more than £500.

On average, young people spend more than three times as much on servicing their debt as they pay into a pension scheme.

If you are struggling with repayments on personal borrowing, need help with credit card debt or need debt management advice generally, please speak to MRA who can offer confidential support and a range of debt solutions. 

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/Barclaycard-Invests-In-Contactless-Payment-Systems/Article/200809215095294?lpos=Technology_2&lid=ARTICLE_15095294_Barclaycard%2BInvests%2BIn%2BContactless%2BPayment%2BSystems

There was a flicker of good news recently for Britons struggling to get onto the housing ladder.  The Government has announced that it will offer free loans to first time buyers in a desperate effort to kick-start the housing market.

The programme, called HomeBuy Direct, will offer first-time buyers with a household income below £60,000 loans worth up to 30 per cent of a new home, interest-free for five years.

The government expects this will help 10,000 buyers onto the property ladder.
In addition, for the estimated 9,000 families on the brink of repossession, the government is launching a mortgage rescue scheme.  Social landlords such as housing associations would pay off the debt and the homeowner would then rent the house back at an "affordable" level.

Extra cash will also be available for cheap housing schemes, which could see 5,500 new homes being built over the next 18 months. 

Reactions to the proposals were mixed however. "This is a short term survival plan for the prime minister, not a long term recovery plan for the economy," said shadow chancellor George Osborn.  Russell Jervis, managing director of estate agent network haart, said: "The government's housing market rescue package is certainly long overdue and decisive action is now imperative”.

A flurry of fresh data shows a marked return to austerity, after years of debt-fuelled spending.  As consumers struggle to deal with high levels of credit card debt and the escalating cost of living, the effect is being seen in spending patterns.  Recent figures show that spending is down on cars, pensions and savings and cheaper food brands are seeing rapid market share growth.

Evidence was mounting yesterday of consumers making deep cuts in spending, amid fears that Britain is facing the worst economic conditions in decades. Among the fresh evidence of belt-tightening, figures showed that new car sales fell to their lowest level last month since 1966, the number of people putting money into personal pensions fell by 1 million over the last year to 7 million, household savings are at their lowest since the 1950s, Sainsbury's said that sales of own-brand goods are increasing at 6%, twice the rate of more expensive branded products, and Whitbread reported booming sales at its budget hotel chain Premier Inn.

This mood is fuelled further for homeowners as the Halifax reports that there has been a 12.7% decline in property prices during August compared with the same month a year ago. It was the biggest fall the Halifax has recorded and there was little relief in sight for the housing market as the Bank of England again left interest rates unchanged.

Ironically, those homeowners most in need of Government help will be those who do not qualify from a new rescue initiative.  Struggling homeowners in negative equity will be unable to benefit from the Government's mortgage rescue package, according to The Times.  The Government's 200m mortgage rescue package will do nothing to ease the suffering of struggling homeowners in negative equity, as they will be barred from the scheme even if they desperately need to raise cash.

Timesonline has learnt that homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage will be prevented from benefiting from the rescue package, announced on Monday, if their property is worth less than the value of their mortgage.

That includes thousands of customers who took out a Together mortgage with Northern Rock, the nationalised bank, which offered cash-strapped first-time buyers loans worth up to 125 per cent of the property value.

Gordon Brown is set to usher in a new era of council housing by helping local authorities to buy repossessed and unsold properties. Cash and powers will be made available so that town halls can intervene in the housing market.
The measures; which will be announced shortly; will encourage councils and housing associations to offer struggling borrowers financial help in return for a stake in their homes or outright ownership. The number of council homes has plummeted since 1981 from 6.1 million to 2.5 million. Hundreds of millions of pounds of extra cash earmarked for social housing could now be released early to buy up newly built properties.

It is understood that town halls will also be encouraged to emulate Liverpools local authority, which offers first-time buyers help with deposits in return for a small equity stake. Other options, including a stamp duty holiday, are being held back for further consideration. The scale of the housing crisis was underlined yesterday with the biggest drop in prices since 1990. The latest monthly fall, the tenth in a row, means that the average property has lost 10.5 per cent of its value in the past 12 months, according to the Nationwide building society.

If you are struggling with mortgage debt or arrears or with other borrowings on your home please do not hesitate to get in touch with MRA for expert, confidential advice.

The credit crunch is having hitherto unforeseen consequences for crime and social unrest.  According to a leaked draft memo from the Home Office "acquisitive crime" is likely to increase as a result of current economic difficulties.  The letter states: "There is a risk of a downturn increasing the appeal of far-right extremism and racism, which presents a threat as there is evidence that grievances based on experiencing racism are one of the factors that can lead to people becoming terrorists."  
 
It also predicts heightened hostility to migrants, who make up significant proportions of the workforce in sectors like the construction industry.  
 
The Conservatives have hit out at the message the letter sends about the government's treatment of the economy. Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: "Now we see the consequences of Gordon Brown's mismanagement of the economy will not just hit hard-working families in the pocket but will also threaten their safety."  
 
In a break from the government's usual policy of not commenting on leaked documents, the Home Office rushed to clarify the letter was draft advice which had not been cleared by home secretary Jacqui Smith.  
 
"It is however appropriate that the Home Office considers the effects the economic climate may have on crime and other policy areas," a spokesperson said.  

If you have ever had a sneaking suspicion that you always seem to pay more interest than you thought you owed, Times Money has uncovered evidence that, unfortunately, you are probably right.

Hidden clauses in small print mean that Britons are collectively forking out an estimated £480 million a year in interest charges that could easily be avoided. For instance, anyone who has ever remortgaged from one lender to another will most likely have shelled out a full day of interest to both lenders on the day of redemption.

The practice of timing the repayment of debts to eke out additional interest from customers wherever possible, often without them even knowing, is rife among the UK's biggest banks and building societies. Lenders justify the way that they apply interest by pointing out that they extend the loan up to the point that they receive the funds from the new lender, but cannot break down interest according to the precise time of the transfer in hours and minutes.

However, experts call into question this explanation, because the same does not apply to savings or current accounts. Kevin Mountford, of Moneysupermarket.com, the comparison website, says: “Most banks have a cut-off point which varies but is usually about 3pm. Savings balances transferred before this time will receive the new rate of interest for that day. Equally, if you pay off your overdraft balance in cash before the cut-off point, not one of the biggest current account providers will charge interest on the balance for that day.”

If you are struggling with keeping up interest payments on your personal debt or borrowing against property, please contact MRA who can provide you with expert debt counselling and debt management plans.

http://www.myfinances.co.uk/news/economy/credit-crunch-lead-increase-in-crime-$1238693.htm

Hundreds of thousands of credit card users are set to see the minimum repayment on their plastic rocket to £25, a move that could hurt households struggling to repay their debts.

In October, credit card customers at Alliance & Leicester will see their minimum repayment terms switch from the lesser of 3 per cent or £5 plus any interest charges to the greater of £25 or £5 plus any interest charges.

While any move that shrinks the size of the underlying debt is to be welcomed, the hike will concern many households whose budget doesn't stretch immediately to such levels.

The changes will chiefly affect users with 0 per cent cards who have been paying the £5 minimum but now face a huge jump to £25, and those managing smaller credit card balances.

In particular 'such a move could cause problems with people who are managing their debt carefully, especially when everybody's income is so much tighter,' says Sean Gardner at price comparison site Moneyexpert.com. 'And because people are becoming more stretched, an increasing number are now paying back the minimum.'