Mortgage and Credit Card Companies Under the Spotlight on Consumer Charging

Home
>
Mortgage Refinance
>
Mortgage and Credit Card Companies Under the Spotlight on Consumer Charging

Mortgage and Credit Card Companies Under the Spotlight on Consumer Charging

For the first time since May 1996 reports have indicated that wage increases have risen faster than house price inflation. According to Nationwide, "The overall picture remains one of a gently softening market".

The signs indicate that the housing market activity is finally starting to pick up, with estate agents reporting that buyers have begun returning to the market and sellers are more willing to negotiate on prices, however transaction levels are still reported to be low compared with last year. This represents good news for buyers looking to get a property, however it stands in stark contrast to findings from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showing that the number of homes being repossessed has risen for the first time in seven years, from 3,070 six months ago up to 4,640 for the first half of 2005.

The sharp rise in home repossession applications by lenders adds to growing concerns that consumers are struggling with debt. Ed Stansfield of Capital Economics, said, "Today's figures show that for a small but growing minority of borrowers levels of debt have become a problem, despite historically low interest rates." These figures for repossessions were still, according to the CML, "extremely low" compared with the early 1990s; however adverse credit, arrears and repossessions look set to rise.

Richard Brown, Chief Executive of personal finance comparison site Moneynet is disappointed to recently see, in light of a possible base rate cut, which would help to ease the burden of mortgage debt within the housing market that, "many lenders are taking this opportunity to increase their margins at the expense of their loyal savers by reducing their fixed savings rates by more than the mortgage rates".

The personal debt problems of the nation have also not been helped by the punitive charging activities of several of the major lenders.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned eight of the major credit card firms regarding their activities towards customers who miss payment deadlines or exceed credit limits, and ordered them to reduce their "excessive" and "disproportionately high" charges, usually in excess of £20 per transgression, to consumers or face being taken to court.

There are currently 30.6 million people in the UK possessing at least one credit card, with a total of almost £60 billion owed on them.

The credit card firms have defended the need for late payment charges claiming that their use was fair, "Only a very small proportion of customers attract a default charge and as a responsible lender we must have a process in place to manage late payments," a spokeswoman for RBS maintained. Which? have determined that as many as one in four cardholders have been subject to some form of default charge being imposed on them within the past six months. With the number of people accruing charges, the credit firms have admitted they are able to make £400 million a year from default charges alone, and Barclaycard has admitted that 43 per cent of its operating income is generated from these fees.

The OFT have said that the sum being charged by companies is far in excess of the actual costs to the card firms, for late payment. "The levels of the default charges imposed by the credit card companies need to be reduced in order to be fair".

Which? have seen the announcement by the OFT over the credit card penalty charges not being fair, and the threats of court action as, "great news", but also wants other situations where banks hit customers with unfair charges to also be looked into.

The Chief Executive of Money Advice Scotland, Yvonne Gallacher, said of the prospect of reduced credit card fees: "This would make a big difference to the thousands of low-income credit cardholders who struggle to pay off these fees and charges."

Moneynet is not so optimistic for consumers, and advises for caution following the OFT announcement, warning that credit card companies may be looking to increase their profits via alternative 'stealth' charges, "We are concerned that credit card providers may simply attempt to recoup their lost income via higher charges for all?Moneynet recommends credit card customers consider their options before taking out a card -and take into account all charges as well as the headline interest rate", said Richard Brown.

Some moves seem to be getting made to help those most at risk, but these measures seem to be mainly driven by increased levels of consumer dissatisfaction, and while house prices still look expensive compared with incomes, the worst off may not feel a huge change in their circumstances for some time to come.

Resources:

Government - Office of Fair Trading

Mortgage and credit card comparisons - Moneynet

Bio:
Richard lives in Edinburgh, occasionally writing for the personal finance blog Cashzilla, and staring out the office window when he should be working.

In The News:

Washington Times
Lenders Backlogged By Refinancing Rush
Washington Post, United States - 46 minutes ago
Mortgage rates immediately plummeted well below 6 percent, breaking a psychological barrier. Refinance applications have soared each week since, ...
The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed By Connecticut ... SBWire (press release)
Refinancing suddenly booms Honolulu Advertiser
Low Mortgage Rates Bring Refinancing Boom MSNBC
Forbes - Modesto Beeall 26 news articles

Money High Street
Average Mortgage Rate Hits 5%, Lowest in Decades
New York Times, United States - 11 hours ago
Of course, buying a home is a more lengthy process than simply calling up a mortgage broker to refinance, and activity typically slows during the holiday ...
Long-Term Mortgage Rate Falls Again Wall Street Journal
Banks' mortgage rates fall below 5% Boston Globe
Homeowners with good credit scores are poised to capitalize on ... Baltimore Sun
Scripps News - MediaSyndicate (press release)all 104 news articles

Washington Times
US Banks Offer Mortgages Below 5% After Fed Action
Bloomberg - 21 hours ago
The Mortgage Bankers Associationâ€™s index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan dropped to 1143.8 for the week ending Jan. ...
Mortgage rates fall to record low again Forbes
Freddie Mac: Benchmark mortgage rate continues to new low MarketWatch
Bold government action can solve housing crisis North Texas e-News
Connecticut Post - SmartBriefall 600 news articles

Cardoza proposal could aid housing crisis
Stockton Record, CA - 5 hours ago
Under the Cardoza plan, the payment on that mortgage refinanced to 4 percent fixed rate would drop to $1194 a month. Contact reporter Bruce Spence at (209) ...

REFILE-UPDATE 1-US mortgage demand dipped before Fed move-MBA
Reuters - Jan 7, 2009
The jump in applications during December may have been driven by homeowners already "on the fence" and prepared to refinance on a drop in mortgage rates, ...
Mortgage applications down in latest survey Forbes
Week-to-week mortgage applications down 8.2% MarketWatch
Fewer apply for home loans; credit line delinquencies increase Los Angeles Times
Kansas City Star - Financial Timesall 63 news articles

Los Angeles Times
Congressional Press Release on Mortgage Deal
Wall Street Journal - 11 hours ago
"Despite efforts by Congress to address this issue, not enough lenders have come to the table to help borrowers with bad mortgages refinance into new, ...
Citigroup reaches agreement with key senators on mortgage ... Minneapolis Star Tribune
Citigroup agrees to allow judges to help modify some mortgages IdahoStatesman.com
all 551 news articles

TopNews
Question & Answer on mortgage refinancing
Boston Herald, United States - Jan 1, 2009
If I refinance the mortgage on my current house, will I hurt my chances for getting a loan for a new place later on? A: No. Refinancing a loan shouldnâ€™t ...
MORTGAGES: 30-year Mortgage Rate Falls For Ninth Straight Week To ... CNNMoney.com
Mortgage Rates Hit 37-Year Low Poynter.org
Mortgage Rates Down Again After Rising Above 5.00 Percent Last Week PR-CANADA.net (press release)
Wall Street Journal - Ventura County Starall 457 news articles

Boston Globe
Rosengren sees path to recovery
Boston Globe, United States - 7 hours ago
The Federal Housing Administration also could offer more loans to struggling homeowners trying to refinance into lower-cost mortgages as a way to prevent ...
Fed's Rosengren says recession more severe than thought Reuters
all 54 news articles

Mortgage refinancing skyrockets
Cincinnati.com, OH - Jan 3, 2009
... 2009 With US mortgage rates the lowest in 30 years, local lenders say they've seen a strong surge in loan applications as homeowners seek to refinance ...
Waco banks seeing a boom in mortgage refinance applications Waco Tribune Herald
Borrowers seeking to refinance may face challenges WTOP
As mortgage rates slide, refinancing applications take off Dallas Morning News
all 15 news articles

Refinancing shoots through the roof
Plano Star Courier, TX - 17 hours ago
â€œQuite a few people have remortgaged,â€ said Craig Jarrell, loan officer with Pulaski Mortgage. â€œMost people who refinance are new homeowners as recent as ...

mortgage refinance - Google News

Your Ad Here

Mortgage and Credit Card Companies Under the Spotlight on Consumer Charging

Mortgage Refinance Mortgage Refinance