One of the UK’s biggest credit reference agencies has said that more and more borrowers are turning toward agencies to act as intermediaries in disputes between customers and lenders.

With the number of rejections for credit soaring, borrowers are turning to credit agencies to solve problems with credit history details.

Borrowers approach credit reference agencies often after they have been rejected by lenders and ask the agencies to plead their case for a loan with the lender. If an agency does approach a lender on behalf of the borrower than the lender has 28 days to respond to a query. However if the lender does not respond in the given time the agency will take the borrower’s side.

In the UK, credit reference agencies such as Equifax are not viewed as agents of the credit industry and are therefore more likely to help a customer if there is a disagreement. While credit reference agencies cannot compel a lender to lend money to a customer they can influence a borrower’s chance of getting a personal loan.

If a part of a credit history is adversely affecting a borrower’s chances of getting a loan then the agency can place a notice of correction on their file explaining the situation to prospective lenders.

Since credit agencies in the US are seen as snitches to the credit industry many borrowers have now taken action against these agencies in the courts. However, here in the UK the agencies cannot be sued as they are only used for information and do not actually own the data.

While demand for housing in the past few months has dropped considerably the shortage of housing in many regions in of the UK is likely to help prevent house prices from crashing.

The shortage in housing provides a certain level of offsetting support to prices despite the fall in demand from buyers, this is particularly the case in the south of the UK.

Rising interest rates in the past year considerably impacted on affordability issues with the rising price of houses. In 11 out of the past 12 years rises in house prices have outstripped rises in income. Now for the first time in 12 years, prices have dropped.

For affordability to return to a more normal level one of two things needs to happen, income growth needs to be higher than house price growth for the next couple of years and more home loans need to become available.

Whilst interest rates have dropped from their peak last autumn, inter-bank lending for loans and mortgages is still at a high rate. This has affected the number of loan products on the market and the amount of money available for banks to lend.

In order for house price growth to come back in any substantial way the only real option is for income growth to outpace house price growth.

The buy-to-let market is expected to take the biggest hit from changes in the property environment. It is expected that buy-to-let investors with short time horizons are going to flood the house market with their properties as they try and raise liquidity for investment back into the stock market where returns are expected to be greater than in the housing market.

Is the humble credit card finally falling from favour amongst shoppers and retailers?  It would seem so, according to news out by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the European Retail Round Table (ERRT), a body which represents large retailers.

Since the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) brought in its ruling on ‘unfair charges’ for default card fees, card customers have faced sharp rises in APR on purchases and cash withdrawals.

The OFT ruled that fees should be slashed from a typical £20 to a reasonable £12 to reflect the true costs of administering card fees. However, since then card users have seen their typical APR rise to 16.4% from a typical 14.9%.

These rises were all brought in before the sharp rises in inter-bank lending and rate rises on loans which have occurred since the credit crunch began. Since then the BRC has reported that shops are seeing a considerable upturn in those using cash to make purchases, a sign that customers have had enough of expensive borrowing.

Now retailers have added their voice to those complaining about harsh charges by credit cards. The ERRT have recently taken the matter of Visa and Mastercard’s cross-border fee charges to the EU.

Currently credit card companies charge retailers a fee of 0.7% on international transactions,  a figure which is costing retailers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, most of which is passed on to the customer in higher prices.  The ERRT argue that these charges are extortionate and unnecessary, whilst the lenders say that these charges reflect that the retailer is guaranteed payment, despite not having paid the lender yet. The EU is looking into whether these fees break European competition rules. You can believe however that lenders will ensure that these fees are paid by someone, even if the retailers win this round.

One thing is for sure; the days when customers were happy to rack up vast expenses on credit cards, or borrow large sums on personal loans for insignificant purposes are drawing to an end. These days, borrowers are more cautious, hoping instead to use loans for building value into their home or consolidating debts borrowed in more profligate times. With costs of credit card use soaring, people are seeking more value for their money.

Research recently released shows that women are failing to take appropriate steps towards preparing for their retirement.

It has been found that only 41% of women who earn more than £10,000 a year are saving some of their income into a pension. This is in contrast with the 54% of men who earn more than £10,000 who save into a pension.

The figures were released by Scottish Widows and suggest that the gender pensions gap is getting worse, with the proportion of men making adequate pension contributions standing rising from 49% last year to 54% this whilst the figure for women has not changed at all.

As well as fewer women saving towards their pension it was also revealed that on average women contribute just 66% of the average made by men.

Scottish widows has said that the main reason for fewer women contributing less than men was a direct result of the fact that on average women earn 62% of what men earn. This means that women simply have less money to save.

As well as women have less money to save, they are also more likely to spend any money the do earn on their children or simply give up work all together to look after their family.

The figures form the insurer show that 36% of women have at least one dependent child and 28% of women had either reduced or stopped their long term pension saving as a result.

With the rising debt burden of the average household, these are worrying figures for UK citizens. The era of easy credit has meant that many women have over-extended themselves with unsecured loans for weddings and holidays, credit and store cards and catalogue accounts.

With the recent rises in the costs of living, many households will now be paying out more on bills and making minimal repayments on overdrafts and loans, leaving even less money for pensions and savings.

Barclays have come under criticism from debt charity Credit Action for planning to release a new trial version of a credit card which would allow borrowers to have a credit limit of £25,000.

The card is called the ‘Freedom’ credit card and is promoted with the catch phrase: ‘If is see something I want, I need to be able to act quickly and not have to wait to arrange finance, or be stuck with a high rate of interest.’

While the card charges a rate of 14.9% on any balance that is not cleared before the end of the month any outstanding balance can be moved to a 6.6% personal loan facility on the proviso that customers agree to pay a set amount each month for a period of between three months and seven years.

Most people could not afford to pay off a balance of £25,000 each month so it is suggested that Barclays is trying to get people to take out large loans but pay higher interest rates on them.

The card is to go on general release in the very near future exclusively through the finance comparison website MoneyExpert.com. A spokesman for MoneyExpert.com has pointed out that 6.6% is a very competitive rate and is aimed towards people who want to make a large purchase or consolidate a lot of smaller loans.

Many first time buyers are now so desperate to get onto the property ladder that they are making alliances with mates in order to be able to afford the home loan.

It is not uncommon for young people to join up with siblings or friends and in some cases even strangers in order to increase the amount they can borrow.

Research conducted by Skipton Building Society has found that more than one in five first time buyers who have taken out a mortgage with some one other than a spouse have done so with individuals that they have know for less than a year.

The study by Skiptons also showed that at least 25% of link-ups with other people did not pay off, with borrowers far more likely to split up or fall out, which is ending up leaving at least one party out of pocket.

In cases where the arrangement did fall apart it was found that a staggering 10% of people simply walked away with nothing, while one in six cases saw people receiving back no more than their original share, despite the loan repayments made over the term of ownership.

Amazingly 40% of all borrowers who had linked up had not even signed an agreement with the other parties involved in case the deal fell apart. 33% of all people who ended up having to sell said they should never have gone into a deal with another person.

Splitting the mortgage with a friend appears to be a very risky strategy if you were to go by these figures.

It has been reported that consumers as well as small businesses are being made to suffer for weeks from a critical shortage of cash before their banks are agreeing to reimburse them for fraud.

Banks have been accused of dragging their heels when it comes to refunding customers who have had their money fraudulently taken from their accounts.

The statistics were revealed by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS is the authority responsible for dealing with complaints and disputes between customers and their financial institution. What the figures show is that disputes about card transactions are on the increase. Currently the ombudsman has to deal with roughly 20 to 30 of these disputes per week. Reports of alleged debit card fraud are reported to have gone up significantly in the past few years.

The FOS has said the reason so many customers are now being made to wait longer for there money back is because banks are taking a much harder line now than they used to in the past. In past years if someone claimed to be a victim of fraud banks would generally give them the benefit of the doubt but now more often than not banks will say they suspect the account holder or another member of the family is probably responsible for the missing funds.

Whilst this may be the case, with the increase in online shopping, many card customers are falling victim to hackers stealing card details from websites.

However many victims of fraud are reporting that the reason banks are giving for the delay is the sheer volume of fraud cases that they are having to deal with each week. This is despite the new Chip and Pin system, designed to cut fraud.

The message to card holders is more than ever to be vigilant as to where you shop to avoid fraud. Identity thieves make their money by taking out loans and credit in your name. Card fraudsters charge items to your account and if it cannot be proved that it wasn’t you, can leave you dealing with adverse credit.

More and more of us are borrowing an increasing amount of money against the value of our homes, according to research from the Bank of England. In official language this is known as mortgage equity withdrawal.

The amount of mortgage equity withdrawal amounted to £49.7bn for 2007 and that was up from £36.6bn in the previous year.

All this borrowing against the value of our homes is helping to push up High Street spending as we use to money to go shopping.

Many of us are keen to unlock all the money tied up in our house and enjoy our money a bit more. Maybe getting a new TV or car or installing a new kitchen. However the recent rises in interest rates which is now number five consecutive rises in a year are starting to take their toll on borrowing, despite the two subsequent rate drops.

As it become more and more expensive to pay back the loans because of the high interest, borrowing large sums for money for consumption of disposable goods could become less and less popular. We may actually see a fall in the amount of equity withdrawals in 2008.

However one very popular use of this sort of borrowing is to pay off credit card and personal loan debt, as it is often cheaper to borrow large sums of money. So if you have a large amount of debt in a number of different places this is one means to consolidating that debt without having to go through a debt consolidation company.

So you have finally saved up a little money and are thinking of buying a new house. This is quite possibly going to be the biggest investment you will ever make. However the joy of buying a new house can often come at a large emotional cost given the time, expense and frustrating that can come about from searching for a mortgage and then hopefully a new house.

The most valuable possession you can possess during this period is quite possibly information. Information provides you with all you need to make the best possible decisions especially when deciding how to finance the purchase of your new home.

Obviously the most money you will be able to borrow is at the discretion of the lender you choose to go with but typically you are allowed to borrow up to three and a half times your income before tax. If your partner also has an income then you may be able to secure even more.

Many lenders these days also like to look at what you can afford. This is known as ‘affordability’. These lenders take into account other debts you may have and whether or not you have children. Childless couples will be offered larger home loans since they don’t have the added expense of children. Also professionals with high earning potential in the future may be able to secure a higher mortgage.

Just remember, no matter how high a loan you can get, think carefully about it before you take it. If you are in doubt about you future income and think that you may not be able to pay it back then put it off until you are sure you can afford it

The past few months have seen considerable cooling off of the UK housing market. Estate agents across the UK have been reporting that house prices have been falling while mortgage lender snapshots of the property market have shown another decrease in house prices over the last month.

While five consecutive interest rate rises by the Bank of England in the past 18 months was aimed putting the brakes on house prices is there a chance that the property market may cool off too much, leading to a full blown property crash? The Bank of England cautiously dropped the base rate twice since December but it may not be enough for borrowers forced to take out loans at the higher rate or whose lenders have not moved fast in dropping their interest rates.

The US has already seen a property crash and with reports that the UK property market is even more over valued than the US is the chance that we will have a crash likely?

There are a number of reasons to believe why the housing market here in the UK will not crash. First of all the UK and Europe as a whole has not witnessed the type of deterioration in lending standards that we have seen in the US, where there has been a massive increase in default rates among sub-prime borrowers. As well as this demand for housing in the UK has been boosted considerably by overseas workers while the supply of housing went down due to the introduction of strict planning laws.

The tightening of lending criteria by banks has increased the likelihood of a house price crash however what is most likely is a slow drawn out correction in house prices. This means that it may not be the best time to move, as a new loan may not be possible right now, but homeowners prepared to sit tight will find that property prices will rise again before too long.