Credit Jungle | Jungle Score

Hola Junglers!

You can’t move in the Jungle today, as the News International executive team and half of the Metropolitan Police force, appear to be hiding here from the other half of the Metropolitan Police force!  The undergrowth is a bit thick, but at least they all have experience of hacking!

Anyway, lets move on to matters of credit…

A recent report shows that the most popular day for consumers to start attacking the plastic and using their credit cards is 21 days after they have been paid.  In fact 9 per cent actually start using their cards withing 15 days, relying on them for the rest of the month.

A third also say they use their credit cards for large items such as holidays, which they do not expect to be able to pay off at the end of the month.  As mentioned before, credit cards are ideal for purchases over £100 and below £30, 000 as you are protected under the Consumer Credit Act.  However, it is still better to save the money first then make the purchase with your credit card and then you can pay it all off at the end of the month, avoiding the interest while benefitting from the protection.

So spend carefully Junglers – it’s better to save for a couple of months and avoid the debt!

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

Harper 7.  Well I guess if all else fails and the Beckhams fall on hard times their latest offspring can always get a job on Star Trek: Voyager.  I seriously thought it was only Borgs and us frogs, who had to number our children due to the sheer volume…

Anyway, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), a lot of us are either cutting up the plastic or at least trying to avoid using it.  The consortium, which represents 90 per cent of the UK’s stores, says its members have seen a 12.9 per cent drop in credit card transactions.  This is thought to be a conscious effort by consumers to avoid getting into debt.

The number of transactions involving cash also fell, although the average value of each transaction rose to £12.93.  Debit card transactions have jumped by 15.8 per cent.  Cash remains our favourite way to pay overall though, with more than half of all retail payments being made in the traditional way.

Although obviously people should avoid trying to get into debt, you should be aware that debit card and cash transactions do not offer you as much protection as credit cards.  If your transaction is over £100 and less than £30 000 and you make the purchase with your credit card, if something goes wrong, you can claim the moeny back from the credit card company under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Therefore give it some thought assuming you have an option of course.  If you are planning a large purchase such as a holiday or maybe some furniture for the house, consider putting it on your credit card and then paying it off as soon as you get your bill.  That way you avoid paying interest and have the added benefit of being protected.

Let us know if your spending habits have changed.  Do you try and avoid using your credit card these days?  Is cash still king?

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

Hopefully you have all recovered from the disappointment of seeing that Scottish guy lose his nerve on Friday and are not too sunburned after the last couple of days fantastic weather!

Now on to more pressing matters…

Another good news bad news story sadly.  The good news according to a recent Bank Of England survey is that the default rates on secured loans remains unchanged, and the default rate on personal loans has fallen for the seventh consecutive 3 month period.

However, banks and building societies are predicting a rise in the third quarter for both types of lending, and the number of people missing credit card payments has increased and is expected to continue to rise.

So fairly glum news still, with the number of mortgages being granted also remaining flat overall for the past 3 months.

Anyway, try and  keep smiling Junglers in these tough times.  I’m off to book some tennis lessons for the tadpoles.  I’m not a pushy parent but with all these children there must be at least one future Wimbledon champion among them and a £1.1m first prize is not to be sniffed at….

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

Not so long ago the chances of being turned down for credit were about as likely as Cheryl Cole turning down the chance of a headline, but times have changed, in the world of credit at least.  According to research by Credit Confidential, 2.5 million people have been turned down for credit already this year and it is not showing too many signs of improving.

It appears that in the last 12 months it has become 10 per cent harder to get credit cards, store cards or a personal unsecured loans then it was last year.  The survey goes on to say that the chances of getting a mortgage are now only one in three, a drop of 13 per cent, taking it to the lowest level since 2009 when the economic crisis was at its peak.

Have you been turned down for credit?  If so you need to remember that each time you are turned down there is a mark or “footprint” left on your credit file.  If you get too many of these then this will make it look as if you are credit hungry and could lead lenders to turn you down who might otherwise have lent to you.

So what’s the answer?  Well you need to be realistic.  The interest rate you will be offered by any lender or credit card company will be directly linked to your credit history.  If you know you have missed payments or have a CCJ for example, then there is no point in applying for the very lowest rates as you will definitely be turned down.  Instead you could check out Credit Jungle – we do things differently.  We check your credit rating first and then match you to a lender based on that rating, giving you a  much better chance of being accepted.

Right I’m off to try and pick up a paper without seeing a picture of the lovely Miss Cole and her on going “secret” meetings with ex husband Ashley!

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

I have just come back from booking golf lessons for the tadpoles in the hope that in 22 years time at least one of them might make me very proud (and rich) by winning a Major like Rory McIlroy (by the way does anybody else think he looks like Sideshow Bob?).  In the mean time though I guess I’ll have to concentrate on work like everybody else…

A recent survey by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), has a produced a debt map for the UK, showing which areas have the most unsecured debt.

The survey conducted on their clients, showed that people in Shetland have the least amount of debt at an average of £12, 278 per person, while people in Slough have more than double that at £24, 946.

Interestingly nine out of ten of the post codes with the highest amount of debt are in London and the South East, with Crewe being the only area in the North of England with that “honour”, where people have an average of £23, 177 of debt.

Overall people in the South carry more debt, although presumably this is because salaries tend to be higher and therefore they have been able to get more credit.

Do you think this survey is accurate?  Let us know your thoughts below.

Right, I’m off to the carry on opening presents and cards – having so many tadpoles has its perks

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

Bankers and credit card companies are currently getting as much bad press as Katie Price at the moment, although she would probably argue that there is no such thing as bad press…

Is the recent announcement by the Halifax concerning their credit card rate proof that like Katie Price they really don’t care though, or that they have skins as thick as a rhinocerous?

Basically Halifax have stated that to “aid transparency” they will in future link the interest rate on their credit cards to the Bank of England interest rate.  This means that if the Bank of England rate goes up by 0.5 per cent, so will their rate.  Nice and clean and simple – some would even say “transparent”.  In fact it is expected that most other credit card companies will follow suit in the next few weeks.

However, lets look at the facts.

At the start of the Credit Crunch, the Bank of England rate was 5 per cent.  It dropped by 4.5 per cent in 6 months to its current level of 0.5 per cent.  At this time the average rate on a credit card was 16.8 per cent – the Halifax credit card is now at 18 per cent.

So basically as the Bank of England have lowered the interest rate Credit Card companies have steadily increased their fees, and now we are at a point where the interest rate can only go up they want to link it.  Experts believe that interest rates will probably reach 2 per cent by the end of the year, meaning credit card rates will be at least 20 per cent by December.

So what do you think?  Are we being robbed?  Are the banks profiteering in a time of economic crisis?  Am I being a cynical old frog?  Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

Right, I’m heading back to the sweet shop – the lolly hop was nice but I think hum bugs are better

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

I’ve just recovered from watching the England cricket team pull off an unlikely win over South Africa in the Cricket World Cup yesterday.  England might not be the best team competing, but they seem to have a knack of producing the most exciting matches.

Anyway back to matters financial…

According to the British Bankers Associaton (BBA), consumers appear to be making a concerted effort to reduce existing debt rather than take out new loans , new credit cards or save.

Figures show that over the last 12 months, overall unsecured lending has shrunk by 2%, with a small rise in credit card debt being offset by a decline in demand for personal loans of 5.8%.

For example figures for January show that overall consumers repaid 217M more than they borrowed, with personal loan repayments and overdrafts being reduced by £323M and credit card debt increasing bu £106M.  This is the 18th month in a row that repayments have out stripped borrowing.

There are a number of reasons this may be happening.  The first is that consumers are concerned about the economy and a predicted rise in interest rates and are trying to get more control over their finances.

Secondly, with interest rates so low on deposit accounts, some may feel their cash is best spent on reducing their debts than saving.

Finally, and probably more relevant is that the banks are still offering very little in the way of unsecured loans and new credit cards.  This means that people have no choice other than to service their current loans, whereas in the past they may have looked to consolidate debts through new borrowing.  This would also account for the increase in credit card debt – where people have been unable to meet their outgoings and have not been able to find a loan, they have used their existing credit cards to keep their heads above water.

Right I’m off to the river bank to make a withdrawal

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

The Credit Score Crew have just finished their own mini Oscar ceremony, with King of the Jungle Lenny The Loan Lion making the longest speech in the history of acceptance speeches when collecting his award for best Podcast in the Lending category.  It went on longer than all of Colin Firth’s acceptance speeches combined, and only ended when Chris The Credit Score Crocodile got snappy, and turned the lights off.

Anyway moving swiftly on, there was more doom and gloom news last week regarding the state of lending in the UK.  This time it was the Finance and Leasing Association’s (FLA’s) turn to pour oil onto troubled waters.

Despite a mini boom in the motor industry, consumer credit lending fell by 6 per cent.  It is estimated that without the support from this sector the decline could have been as high as 10 per cent.

Most notably the figures for credit card spending fell by 5 per cent and store card spending by 25 percent in December, which is traditionally a month of growth with people borrowing for Christmas.

The reason for the decline appears to be twofold.  Firstly the credit card companies are being much more strict about who they give credit cards to, and secondly and perhaps more importantly consumers are nervous about the state of the economy.

With talk of interest rates rising later this year, and with the government cut backs starting to take effect, not to mention the trouble in the Middle East impacting on fuel prices, people are simply being much more conservative in their spending and borrowing habits.  Many would argue that this is no bad thing!

Right I’m off to the after Oscar party and to try the latest batch of Jungle Juice – that always makes me very hoppy

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx

Hola Junglers!

Credit Card companies, like banks and bankers are about as popular these days as Andy Gray and Richard Keys giving a talk at the Women’s Institute annual conference.

However, there are some new government rules affecting credit card companies, coming into force later this month, which they claim will cost them £600M per year.  So maybe its time to feel sorry for them?

First lets look at these changes.

• Card holder repayments must be used to reduce the most expensive debt first – this is seldom the case and current terms more often than not allow the reverse to happen
• New credit card holders will have an increased minimum payment, which will cover all fees and interest for the month plus 1% of the outstanding balance – this should mean consumers paying the balance off much more quickly and therefore paying less interest in the long run
• Card providers will have to work more closely with debt advisors where consumers are falling into arrears
• Card providers will have to provide an annual statement detailing the cost of borrowing and comparing this to other lenders
• The amount of time consumers have to reject an interest rate rise on existing debt and close their account, will increase from 30 to 60 days.  The card provider will also have to tell you how much more the increase in the interest rate will cost you
• Consumers will have more control over their limit and be able to either request it is never increased or reduce it via the internet or over the telephone

So all of this looks good for the consumer and sad times for the poor credit card companies.  However, the predictions are that as the card companies will want to recoup their losses, they will reduce the number of 0 per cent deals they offer and increase their interest rates.  So maybe now is not the right time to feel sorry for them.

Right, I’m off to harrass Babs our Bad Debt Buffalo…  Oops sorry I thought you would have stopped reading by now….forget I mentioned it

Kindest Croaks

CeeJay

xx