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Credit cards to get their comeuppance
The government proposes to ban some unfair credit card terms as it launches a consultation paper in an aim to clean up the industry and give consumers a better deal.
Consumers have a right to clear information to enable them to avoid paying too much for their debt, however they also have responsibility to manage their finances properly.
Read the key points of the proposals as well as the DebtWizard's concerns.
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SunTalk - internet radio arm of the Sun newspaper
Mike will be live in the studio at 11.30 am Friday 30th October taking your calls, emails and texts on how to resolve your debt issues.
You can submit a question, or send your queries to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or text 87131 or call 020 33 64 7000 and get the answer.
In case you missed the last cracking show, you can listen to it for free:
DebtWizard on SunTalk podcast 16 Oct 2009
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FOS needs to stop pussyfooting round the banks on financial hardship cases
In October 2009 the FOS wrote to the banks 'asking' them to sort out ‘Financial Hardship’ again once more.
The FOS, in my view, should not be 'asking' rather than ordering, as there are too many voluntary codes and ways around the system for these banks.
What I would like to see is the FOS, OFT and FSA go in harder on banks, put on steel toe caps and kick them out of office if they are unfit to serve the consumer.
Too many consumers caught up in bank charges are suffering unnecessarily.
Read more on this article and view the letter from the FOS to the banks.
More on 'financial hardship' at the Debtwizard guide to claiming financial hardship.
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Mortgage crackdown proposed by City watchdog
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), has announced proposals to reform the way mortgages are offered to borrowers.
Lenders, consumer groups and the industry have until 30 January 2010 to respond. The findings will be published March 2010.
We cover the six key features in the review, along with what could happen to the self-employed, LTVs and Buy-to-Let.
Read more: Mortgage crackdown proposed by City watchdog.
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How to avoid those late payments charges
With an estimated 20 million letters and parcels waiting to be cleared in the postal system it is inevitable that some credit card and store card statements and payments will be late.
This means that many thousands of consumers will be hit with additional charges which are not their fault.
DebtWizard has found a way round this and gives some very good advice on how to avoid those late payment penalties.
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Government cannot reclaim on overpaid benefits - new Appeal Court ruling
The Appeal Court has just ruled that Secretary of State for Work and Pensions cannot recover overpayments of social security benefits through the courts where the claimant is not at fault.
The case was brought by Child Poverty Action Group, CPAG, after the government wrote to over 65,000 claimants telling them it could take them to court at common law if they did not pay back overpayments.
This basically means the tax payer will pick up the bill for the incompetence of the bureaucrats at the Department of Work and Pensions which auditors are claiming to be as much as £900million in overpayments last year alone. We are talking months if not weeks only to lodge a claim.
Read more: Government cannot reclaim on overpaid benefits - new Appeal Court ruling
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The Queen of all economic songs - Bohemian Bankruptcy
'Watch this as it is awesome, just brilliant'
'This will go nuclear!'
These are the comments being posted.
Drag Queen sings you through the economic crisis demonstrating that there is no better way to do this than by song.
So ladies and gentlemen, we bring you a heart-wrenching tale of greed, power and loss with...
Bohemian Bankruptcy - A tragedy by Drag Queen
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OFT squares up to four firms over Gym membership fees
The Office of Fair Trading has received undertakings from four firms to make changes in the way they market and sell gym membership agreements.
This is not the first time consumers have had problems with gym membership agreement, and it won't be the last.
You can read more on this article here.
We also offer guidance on what to do in our
DebtWizard guide to Gym Membership Fees
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Court grants group litigation order to sue the banks - urgent
 The High Court recently granted a Group Litigation Order to UK home owners who are suing BOS and Barclays over “unfair” Shared Appreciation Mortgages (SAMs). This move is an important victory for homeowners who will now sue the Banks on a group, rather than an individual basis.
If you know of someone that has one of these mortgages then you need to act urgently and point them to this article. According to which product they have there may be a cut off point when they can no longer join the group action.
More on this article and contact details of the action group can be found here.
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Post Office set to offer mortgages
The Post Office has just announced that, as part of its development of financial services, following a successful regional trial it is expanding its range of mortgage products.
They are also in talks with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the viability of providing tax advice and additional services in the certain Post Offices.
More on this article and details of the products can be found here.
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Halifax grabs that little bit extra!
From December 6th 2009, around one million customers with the Halifax and the Bank of Scotland could see large increases in fees for overdrafts as the bank tries to claw back more money from consumers.
In some instances the increase in fees could be as high as 300% and at a time when we are waiting for the outcome of the legal test case.
More on this article and the DebtWizard comment can be found here.
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