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Financial Solutions

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Confused.com reveals the benefits and dangers of Baby on Board signs

Confused.com has teamed up with Brake, the road safety charity, to highlight the benefits and dangers of ”Baby on Board’ signs and remind parents about safety for younger passengers.

37% of parents (almost 2 in 5) have displayed a ‘Baby on Board’ sign either currently or in the past. Now it’s time to find out if they are a help or a hazard. Confused.com’s new research among 2,000 drivers (50% of whom have children under 16) found that 80% of the parents who use baby on board signs think they improve safety, while 46% of drivers said that ‘Baby on Board’ signs obscure vision when driving.

Confused.com’s research discovered that clutter is a concern among many drivers, and having too many novelty items displayed could be a safety issue. 51% of all those questioned said they think other drivers display too much clutter in their car windows, such as stickers and novelty items. 15% of drivers who do exhibit these signs admit they do so simply because they are a cute/novelty item while 4% only display one because they received it as a gift.

Brake’s experts have confirmed that window clutter can be an issue on the road, but acknowledge that baby on board signs can also have a safety benefit.

Julie Townsend, Deputy Chief Executive at Brake, said: “Baby on board signs can be incredibly helpful for emergency services at the scene of a crash in knowing whether there’s a child involved, but this help can become a hindrance if drivers display signs when their child isn’t in the vehicle. Worse still is the danger that can be posed by drivers obscuring their view by cluttering up windows with lots of signs. Drivers’ priority should always be getting there safely, without putting themselves, young passengers or other road users a risk. That includes ensuring your view isn’t obscured and you remain fully focused on the road.”

The research also found that drivers who have never displayed a ‘Baby on Board’ sticker or do not drive children around are more likely to think the signs are tacky (34%) or dangerous as they obscure vision (18%).

Meanwhile, 46% of people who drive kids around say they have driven with a ‘Baby on Board’ sign and 22% of these say they always display the sign.

Confused.com’s survey also reveals that 14% of parents with under-16s think ‘Baby on Board’ signs are uncool/not trendy and 33% of drivers think the signs are ‘tacky’. Interestingly, it’s women who are most likely to disapprove of the signs, with 35% of women questioned saying the signs are ‘tacky’ while only 31% of male drivers felt the same.

The research also found that a quarter of parents aged 18-24 (who have young children) always display a ‘Baby on Board’ sign when they drive. This age group is also most likely to display novelty stickers in their car window, compared to drivers of other ages. 18-24 year-old drivers are least likely to say that other drivers display too much clutter in their car windows.

Via EPR Network
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Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions, Mobile banking, Money, Online Banking, Security

Experian helps Hammersmith & Fulham save £3,000 a day in the fight against social housing tenancy fraud

Experian has assisted The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in recovering almost £3,000-a-day for the public purse with an ongoing and highly successful programme to prevent social housing tenancy fraud in its 12,000 social homes.

The local authority is working with Experian to deploy the latest fraud detection techniques in a programme that has significantly reduced the level of social housing tenancy fraud in Hammersmith & Fulham. Experian’s analysis, combined with the in-depth local knowledge and expertise of its fraud investigators, has yielded savings of more than £650,000 in the first seven months, with more savings expected to follow.

Councillor Andrew Johnson, Hammersmith & Fulham Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “These stunning results prove our zero tolerance towards fraud is working. Every fraudster profiting from the most vulnerable members of society by unlawfully sub-letting social homes should know they now run a very high risk of being caught.

“Every home that is sub-let is a property taken away from a person or family in need.

“Experian is working with Hammersmith & Fulham to enable the investigation team to review and follow up suspected fraud cases. Within the first seven months, around 300 high-risk properties were investigated resulting in savings of £654,000 to the public purse – the equivalent of nearly £3,000–a-day. In many cases keys were very quickly surrendered following an e-mail, phone call or visit from the local authority.

“Our data-matching work with Experian, underpinned by our cost-effective internal analysisis expected to save £1 million in the first 12 months of the exercise.”

At present, current fraud estimates are based on collective samples of individual housing providers and suggest Social Housing Fraud is a significant problem in the UK with evidence of fraud in at least 6 per cent of social homes. But the true figure is almost certainly higher as this estimate does not include fraudsters that have obtained multiple tenancies in more than one local authority or housing association. A true estimate of the scale of the problem will require combined data sharing and matching between all social housing providers. Indeed, the problem of social housing fraud cannot be effectively addressed or solved without effective coordination between providers.

Experian is already working with over 30 social housing providers to help prevent social housing tenancy fraud. Our most recent fraud analysis in January 2012 covers a quarter of a million tenancy records representing a broad spread of urban and rural social housing providers. Work to date has detected potential fraud in over 6 per cent of tenancies nationally, one in sixteen social homes. However, in some areas the level of detected fraud is significantly higher, particularly in premium locations such as London, where some local authorities there are suffering rates as high as nine or ten per cent.

Via EPR Network
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Experian Reports New Euro Rules Expose Businesses To €20 Billion Payment Bill

A new report from Experian, the global information services company, has revealed European businesses risk losing billions of Euros as a result of failure to tackle simple payment errors.

The move to a single SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payment system – designed to simplify and streamline processing operations for domestic and international payments – will expose out-of-date account data and other errors that were previously overcome through a patchwork of locally implemented fixes. SEPA becomes mandatory in February 2014 for Eurozone countries and 2016 for businesses in non-Eurozone territories wishing to make and receive payments in Euros.

Experian analysis of over half a million records bank account records held by businesses around Europe has revealed that 12 per cent of electronic payments made to and from businesses in Euros currently contain data errors that could critically block the timely and cost-effective transfer of funds when new legislation for SEPA payments first comes into effect in February 2014. Only 65 per cent of Euro transactions are underpinned by fully accurate destination account data.

It has also found that 45 per cent of new SEPA-compliant International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) stored by large European businesses do not have the valid corresponding Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) required to enable successful completion of transactions.

Experian has warned that these same error types will lead to payment failure when made through SEPA, costing businesses approximately €50 for each failed transaction, and leaving a total bill of more than €20 billion a year. An average error rate of around one in eight equates to a potential cost of €600,000 for an organisation transacting with 100,000 bank accounts.

Jonathan Williams, Director of Payment Strategy at Experian, commented: “The SEPA initiative is a key component to strengthening the financial foundations of the Eurozone with improved and more efficient end-to-end straight-through processing of payments. While SEPA will undoubtedly benefit organisations trading in Euros, errors in bank account details held by European businesses risk causing significant teething problems as locally implemented fixes – which have largely worked so far – are made redundant by the new common payments system.

“European businesses need to analyse their account data, fix any errors and convert this information to the correct SEPA standard, to ensure suppliers, partners and staff continue to get paid on time when the new rules come into place. Early adoption is crucial. If left to the last minute, the SEPA requirements have the potential to be both disruptive and costly.”

Via EPR Network
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Banks, Checking & Savings, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Money, Personal Finance

Barclaycard Makes Everyday Spending More Rewarding With Two New Reward Cards

Barclaycard has announced the launch of its Barclaycard Cashback and Barclaycard Freedom Rewards cards, both designed to make it easier for customers to get value and rewards on their everyday spend, without changing the way they shop.

The Cashback card is built on simplicity, giving customers four times more cashback on their five biggest monthly purchases, with no tiers or thresholds. Customers earn 2% on their five biggest monthly purchases and 0.5% on everything else. All customers need to do is make fifteen purchases a month, of any amount to qualify for the 2% cashback rate.

When customers take the card out they receive a welcome bonus, giving them the opportunity to earn 6% cashback on their five biggest purchases each month for the first three months. Every year, in the month after the anniversary of taking out the card, customers also get an enhanced 4% rate on their top five spend , irrespective of how much they’ve spent on the card the year before.

If the average family puts all their spend on the Cashback card; in the first three months alone, they could earn a maximum of £120 cashback, easily covering the annual card fee of £24.

Launching at the same time is the Barclaycard Freedom Rewards card. It lets customers collect points on everything they buy on the card. They can redeem points at around 70 reward partners including retail giants, online favourites, restaurants and fun family days out.

The Freedom Rewards card has a broader range of high street reward partners than any other reward card in the market. Partners include Marks and Spencer, Topshop, Currys PC World, iTunes, Amazon, Starbucks, Strada and Leisure Voucher partners Legoland to LA Fitness.

The Freedom Rewards card gives double points on spend at any UK supermarket and petrol station and triple points at selected Freedom partners.

Nick Clements, Managing Director for UK Consumer Cards, Barclaycard, said: “We took time to speak to our customers to understand how they want to be rewarded when they spend. Choice and value came out as the key to meet people’s needs.

“For the average UK family budget, one in three pounds is spent on the weekly shop and filling the car up. As a result, the Freedom Rewards card offers double points on any supermarket or petrol spend. Our customers want the flexibility to look for the best value without being tied to shopping at just one brand, and the Freedom Rewards card offers that flexibility.

“On our Cashback card, we designed it to boost the earning rate of cashback on the top five monthly purchases, because our customers’ top five purchases accounted for around 50% of their overall monthly spend. We want to give customers the flexibility to be rewarded at the higher rate, regardless of what they’d bought.”

Via EPR Network
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Experian’s 192business named as preferred identity supplier to Law Society

Experian, the global information services company, announced its 192business unit has been selected by the Law Society as its preferred supplier of electronic identity verification tools for anti-money laundering purposes.

192business, part of Experian since it was acquired in March 2012, provides organisations with a range of electronic identity verification tools, including personal data verification, fraud screening and document verification. These products are already used by 44 of the top 100 UK law firms to meet client due diligence obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and to mitigate the risks of making payments in contravention of the UK financial sanctions regime.

Nigel Spencer, Chief of Commercial Affairs at the Law Society, said: “Experian and 192business have worked closely with the Law Society to ensure that its identity verification services are tailored to the specific needs of the legal sector. Accurate and efficient identity verification is vital for meeting the evolving challenges of complying with financial crime prevention rules.”

Nick Mothershaw, UK director of identity & fraud services at Experian, commented: “Firms across the legal profession have successfully managed money laundering and payment risks working in partnership with 192business. Since 192business became part of Experian earlier this year we have further strengthened our position amongst the legal community and are delighted that the Law Society has chosen to endorse our range of identity verification tools.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That A Third Of UK Workers Admit Pulling A Sickie

Confused.com has revealed more than a third of workers (35 per cent) admit having lied to their boss about the reason they have missed work. Popular excuses workers use to pull the wool over their employer’s eyes include flu, stomach aches, diarrhoea and bad backs. However, the astonishing number of people who still go into work when they are actually unwell implies a dangerous culture of ‘presenteeism’.

The poll of 2,000 UK workers also reveals the top five professions where people are more likely to make up an excuse to their boss about missing work. These are call centres (54 per cent), utilities (47 per cent), the voluntary sector (45 per cent), health (43 per cent) and fashion and design (42 per cent).

Meanwhile it also highlights the regions where workers fib the most too. These are East Anglia (40 per cent), the East Midlands (38 per cent), the North East (37 per cent) Yorkshire and the Humber (37 per cent), and the South East (37 per cent).

Despite many employees making up excuses to have a day off, many more still soldier on and go in to work despite feeling unwell. More than half (55 per cent) of people polled said they had gone into work when they felt too ill to do so because they were worried about what their boss or colleagues would think.

Confused.com is warning UK workers to consider what protection they have in place in case long-term illness does strike. Matt Lloyd, Head of Life Insurance at Confused.com, said: “Our research suggests that the culture of turning up to work ill is more of a threat than ‘pulling a sickie’. It is very worrying that workers are not prioritising their own health and feel that they cannot take a day off sick when they are genuinely unwell.”

Matt Lloyd continued: “With many people experiencing a lack of job security over the last few years, it’s a really important time to think about protection products, such as income protection and critical illness cover, especially if you have dependents such as children or you have regular payments to make such as a mortgage.”

The research also shows that women are more likely to worry than men about taking time off sick – 64 per cent say they have been into work when they felt ill because they were afraid their boss wouldn’t believe them. Nearly half (47 per cent) of men said the same thing.

More than one in 10 workers in the UK has missed work due to a hangover, according to the study. People from the North East are most likely to miss work after a heavy night out – 15 per cent of workers polled from the region said they had missed work because they were hungover.

Other common reasons why people had missed work include simply staying in bed to catch up on sleep (10 per cent).

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Launches A New Mobile Phone App To Make Parking Easier

Confused.com has highlighted that 69% of motorists avoid areas due to the cost of parking, however it has come up with a solution: the ‘Confused.com Parking’ app.

Confused.com Parking is the new easy-to-use parking app that gives drivers directions to car parks, finds out how much they charge, and choose the closest and cheapest location via their current location using the GPS on their mobile phone or by typing in an area or postcode.

Car insurance expert Confused.com tackles the tricky problem of parking prices with the latest addition to their growing app portfolio. The new, free and useful, car parking app has been developed for Confused.com by Rant Media with data obtained in an exclusive partnership between Confused.com and Parking Data & Research International. The data is updated several times a month.

The Confused.com Parking app provides transparency on car park prices to consumers and is a solution to help save them money when shopping. The app means they no longer have to just accept the first car park they stumble upon but allows users to make the best choice for their pockets.

The app is free to download from Apple’s App Store and takes advantage of the iPhone’s innovative mobile phone technology. The operating systems for the app are iOS 5 and later and are compatible with iPhone 4 or later versions. The Confused.com Parking app is also being developed for both Android and Windows phones and will be available later this year.

The parking app is the latest innovation from Confused.com this year with more to come in the coming months.

App users can get directions to car parks, find out the cost of parking and choose both the closest and cheapest.

Users can identify the cheapest car park before setting out on their journey by using destination or postcode; whether disabled parking spaces are available; CCTV, baby changing facilities and even park and ride, and if they accept electronic payment as we wouldn’t want drivers to be caught short.

Drivers worried about their time limit expiring can use the app to set up a parking timer to remind themselves the cost that has been clocked up and when their parking space expires, plus costs attracted by choosing to stay longer. Phone alerts will be sent to the user to make them aware of their car parking time.

The app is free and is so simple to use, even a child could use it. Drivers needn’t make parking any more difficult than it needs to be; they can just download the app and no one’s pocket money will be wasted on excessive parking prices.

Gonzalo Bernstein, Head of Business Development at Confused.com, who worked closely on the development of the app, said: “We anticipate this app will help reduce arguments between couples and friends in cars, reducing the time spent driving around aimlessly looking for space and also reducing costs.

“The app is free so we anticipate iPhone users will snap up the chance to save time and money with it, and we anticipate announcing both Android and Windows versions before the end of this year.

“It goes without saying that we recommend the app is either used when stationary or by a passenger and never by a driver in motion.”

For more about the app, please visit: www.confused.com/parking-app

Via EPR Network
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Recently Launched Site Makes Loans Stress-Free

Most of us go through a time in our lives where you need to get some extra money to pay off bills or other things. It can be extremely stressful to know that you owe money for something when you simply cannot afford to pay it and that’s why payday loans were invented. In the past, applying for a loan was very stressful but thanks to payday loans it made the process easier.

However, a new site that has been recently launched, called QuickPaydayLoans.co.uk has made the whole process even easier than before. This is because they’ve implemented a 1-minute verification form. A spokesperson for the site said that “ever since we’ve added this simple form to our site, we’ve seen a huge increase in the amount of people applying for a payday loan” as well as saying that “the feedback that we’ve got from our customers have been really good, and we hope to improve the site even further in the near future for our loyal customers by making our borrowing terms even more easy for people to understand.”.

QuickPaydayLoans.co.uk is just one of the very few sites that have realised that people that want payday loans don’t want to spend too long filling in forms about themselves, and that’s why they’ve created this simple 1-minute verification form that shouldn’t take you more than 1 minute to fill in! The form only needs you to fill in some basic information about yourself like your name, email address, phone number and so on so it really is very quick and easy to apply for a payday loan.

Via EPR Network
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Payday-loansuk.org.uk Reveal New Mascot – Jackson the Dog

Payday loans, the often derided side to personal finance, have been gaining in popularity for quite some time in the UK.

What was once a small, niche related business, has now become a multi-million pound industry. The demand for the product seemingly growing thanks to the lending patterns of major lenders and banks.

Established within that market is the company Payday Loans UK. Formed by two ex-bankers, the firm base it’s ethos on delivering cash advances to those refused elsewhere.

In keeping with this innovative spirit they have revealed a new mascot to go along with the usual payday loans product.

The aim of this ‘talisman’ is more of a symbol than a novelty as Nick Cox from the company explains;

“We came up with the concept of Jackson as more of a multi-functional device then an un-purposeful icon.”

“Our initial aim for Jackson is to have him implemented as an online helper on our website. He will be on-hand if the customer runs into trouble with any detail. There will be a knowledge base attached to the interface and an online operator for 2nd level queries.”

“After that the sky’s the limit really, we could have him as the spearhead for ad campaigns or even as acting CEO for the day!”

The company hopes that Jackson will bring some much needed cheer into what can be an often depressing situation.

Cox is under no illusion as to how customers feel when accessing his site;

“Payday loans suck. Let’s face it. Nobody wants to take out a loan and when they do they’re not going to be happy about it. Hopefully this will put a smile on their face.”

The company’s aims for Jackson the dog are still be sketched out and he has not yet been implemented into the user experience on the website payday-loansuk.org.uk.

The whole process is being strategically mastered as if re-homing a pet. Payday Loans UK expect the first wave of Jackson mania to start at the end of this month.

Payday Loans UK are a fast online payday loans service aimed at those refused elsewhere. Loans are approved instantly and deposits can be as fast as 15-minutes straight to customers’ UK bank accounts.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That Brits Fork Out Nearly £8bn A Year On Over-Priced Parking Places

New research released from car insurance expert Confused.com, has revealed that the cost of parking has grown from being a necessary inconvenience, into a leading factor in the deterioration of UK high streets.

Parking prices rose 12.5% over last year alone, forcing Brits to spend close to a whopping £8bn a year on parking their cars, but this parking spending spree might be about to grind to a halt. Confused.com has found that over-priced parking is now proving to be too great a turn-off for the majority of UK shoppers with over two thirds (69%) of Brits reporting they intentionally avoid shopping areas with high parking prices.

If the retail sector, and indeed Britain, is to return to economic prosperity, the consumers’ road to the high street needs to be as simple as possible. An overwhelming two thirds (65%) of Brits confess that more affordable parking would see them return to the high street.

However, the hope of parking without paying extortionate rates looks to be a faraway fantasy across the country as more than three quarters (78%) of Brits currently spend up to £150 on parking each month. While this might seem steep, it’s a far cry from the prices people in the Knightsbridge area of London face. Drivers in the city centre have to live with the country’s most expensive car park which charges £36 for 3 hours parking – an average of £12 an hour.

While the overall cost of motoring is rising, motorists need to look around for the ways they can save on daily necessities. Confused.com has launched Confused.com Parking mobile app.

The Confused.com Parking app could save drivers hundreds of pounds a year by allowing them to check out the prices of nearby car parks. For example, shoppers using Birmingham’s Royal Angus street car park twice a week, could save themselves £888.00 a year by making the five minute (1.3 mile) drive down the road to the Livery Street multi-storey car park. This cost of laziness is symptomatic of the entire country with motorists in Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh all guilty of paying over the odds in the name of convenience.

With so much being spent going on parking charges, it’s unsurprising that more than 3 in 5 (64%) Brits list the price of parking as a key consideration when deciding where to go shopping. With over half (57%) of all parking spaces in the UK being ‘pay-to-park’, a staggering 82% of people start the spending before they even make it to the shops.

Moreover, British shoppers are frustrated that the car parks they’re forking out for simply aren’t up to scratch. More than one in five (21%) Brits feel that the current services don’t offer enough space, and with a paltry third (33%) of UK car parks offering over 100 spaces, it’s not surprising that 60% of motorists spend between 6 and 20 minutes every trip searching for a space.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “In today’s difficult financial climate, people have had to find ways to save every penny possible. Over-priced parking charges are a problem that every motorist in the country has to deal with, but hopefully our Confused.com Parking app will help people throughout the UK save money when it comes to parking their cars. The fact that the app is so easy to use should also help them save time by finding parking spaces more easily.”

Via EPR Network
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PaydayLoans@ Offers Now Loans For People With Bad Credit Score

In the modern society there is a sharp line between people. In every nation there is a distinct division between rich people and poor ones, educated and non-educated, males and females. Even in the banking institutions there is a verge between people with good credit score history and a poor one. There should be a place where everyone would be free of any stereotypes. PaydayLoans@ company is the exact place where customers will find support and understanding.

For now a new policy has been input in the developing process of the company. It does suggest its clients a new and completely different way-out of the situation with bad credit history. Those people who were not able to pay back in time or who had earlier the problems with credits, or paybacks, are now free of any unpleasant back ground.

PaydayLoans@ is one of the most original and initial companies that offer its potential consumers the easiest and fastest way to receive money in a legal way. The company has provided several improvements lately which include the online services that are supposed to save the clients’ time.

The main difference between banks and PaydayLoans@ is that this company understands that any possible life situation may occur to anyone when a person is out of money and extremely needs it. That is the step when it is time to decide where to go: to the bank or to the trustworthy company? Needless to say, that bank has a high level of documentation and for getting a loan it is essential to provide all the personal and financial information. Small loans are not usually lent by the banks as it is not quite profitable for them. Unfortunately, most banks are rather conservative that is why for people with bad credit history or poor credit score will be difficult, sometimes impossible to borrow money. More information about loans with poor credit rating can be found in this article.

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Experian Reveals Surge In Mortgage And Savings Fraud

Experian, the global information services company, has revealed that the mortgage industry saw a 23 per cent jump in attempted fraud rates between April and June 2012. In the meantime, Experian’s latest Fraud Index shows that fraud fell by three per cent year-on-year across financial services products with automotive finance and insurance providers witnessing the biggest decreases during the period.

A total of 39 in every 10,000 mortgage applications were identified as fraudulent between April and June 2012, up from 32 in during the same period in 2011. Experian’s fraud analysis also revealed that the majority of attacks on mortgage products continue to come from first party fraudsters, individuals misrepresenting their own circumstances. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of attempted mortgage fraud was due to individuals hiding adverse credit information and a further one in five (21 per cent) applicants providing misleading employment histories.

Savings accounts saw a 109 per cent uplift in fraud rates over during the period also. A total of 13 fraudulent applications in every 10,000 were detected, up from 6 in every 10,000 a year ago. Third party identity fraudsters were responsible for the vast majority (88 per cent) of fraudulent activity in this sector. 11 in every 10,000 falsified savings account applications were down to unrelated third parties. This kind of identity fraud is often perpetrated for money laundering or sleeper fraud purposes.

Nick Mothershaw, Director of Identity & Fraud Services at Experian in the UK and Ireland, commented: “Over the course of the last year, we have seen mortgages continue to be targeted at a high rate, with more people trying to misrepresent their personal, employment and credit information on applications to get properties out of their reach. At the same time, we have also seen an increase in the number of properties where the use of the property is misdeclared, such as applying for a regular residential mortgage on a buy-to-let property.

“Meanwhile, deposit taking products – such as current and savings accounts – continue to be heavily targeted by third party identity fraudsters for money laundering purposes and as a sleeper platform from which to target more lucrative credit products.

“Robust fraud prevention relies on thorough and efficient validation of customers’ identities and the information presented on the application form. It is vital that finance providers share comprehensive and timely information about finance applications and known frauds to help combat this common threat to the industry.”

The automotive finance industry saw a decrease of 32 per cent in Q2. 16 in every 10,000 applications were discovered to be fraudulent, down from 24 in every 10,000 applications last year. Attempts at hiding adverse credit (64 per cent) were still the most common method when applying for automotive finance.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That Couples Resent Spending Money On Each Other

Confused.com, the leading price comparison website, has revealed that love could be one of the biggest losers of the recession as bailing out one’s partner or spouse is the most resented expenditure among the nation’s adults.

From picking up the tab for a partner at a restaurant to covering their cost of a taxi, it seems couples up and down the country hate putting their hand into their pocket to help out their other half.

The UK economy is currently stuck in recession after contracting for nine months in a row. Confirming that love in Britain could be well and truly on the rocks as a result of the flagging economy, people’s own wedding costs, such as hiring a venue and even paying for the bride’s dress, came in second place in the study. Buying presents for other people’s weddings followed closely behind, coming third in the list of life’s most hated expenses.

Meanwhile, as people’s spending power struggles to pick up, it seems many adults are tightening their belts, with the fourth most resented expense in the poll being contraception.

For many Brits, having to fork out on common expenses such as utility bills (7th), car insurance (9th) and dentistry (10th) is less of a resent than helping out their loved one. Showing just how bad things may have got, some of the expenses that didn’t make the top 10 but still fared better than a partner or spouse include; contributing to a work colleague’s birthday collection (14th), paying a compulsory charge for shopping bags in some UK supermarkets (15th), buying petrol (16th) and being charged road bridge tolls (19th).

The survey showed the South West could be the least romantic region in Britain, with 20% of people polled from this part of the country giving their partner top marks on the “Moan-o-meter”. Meanwhile, it seems love isn’t quite dead in Wales as people from the region proved they were the most happy to splash out on their spouse – just 10% were worked up enough about this to give it the top score.

Looking at the results, Confused.com added all the average scores from each of the regions together to work out who hates spending their cash the most. The results break the stereotype of a person from Yorkshire being tight with money, with the poll showing people from the region are most happy to put their hand in their pocket when it comes to some of life’s common expenses. On the other hand, people in the South West could be the tightest in Britain when it comes to spending their hard-earned cash.

Nerys Lewis, money expert at Confused.com, said: “Forget ‘for richer, for poorer’. It seems when times are tight many Brits are simply saying “I don’t” when it comes to bailing out their better half.

“However, while it seems like romance could be in recession, many adults could be realising that love doesn’t have to cost a thing – instead choosing to romance their partner for free with a good old fashioned stroll in the park, for example, or cooking a meal rather than eating out.

“What’s more, we feel many people are simply getting smarter about how they spend their cash making traditional money gripes such as car insurance and utility bills less of a bother as people shop around to get the best deals.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That Credit Cards Firms Target the Unemployed

Confused.com is warning consumers of the dangers of debt as a study by the leading price comparison website shows a credit card may be more attainable for many people than last year, especially those that are unemployed or on lower incomes. However, average fees and charges have risen making borrowing more expensive.

The study, which compared the whole of the UK credit card market in July 2011 with July 2012, shows there are currently 23 credit cards that would potentially accept someone that was unemployed compared to 17 last year.

The latest employment figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of unemployed people was 2.56 million in the three months to June 2012, up 51,000 from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the number of people unemployed for over one year was 882,000, up 1,000 from the previous quarter, with the Confused.com study suggesting credit card providers could be aiming to meet increased demand from those out of work.

Many credit card providers have also reduced the amount someone would need to earn before successfully applying for a credit card. The annual income required for a successful application has decreased year-on-year from an average of £9,718 last year to £9,035 in 2012.

Should the trend continue for another year, or at least stay the same, this would take it below the amount people need to earn before paying income tax, which the government announced will rise to £9,205 in April 2013. Currently people can earn up to £8,105 per year before paying the basic rate of tax.

Credit card providers are also letting more people in on their top cards – the minimum income required for a platinum credit card has decreased by 36% from an average of £18,425 in 2011 to just £11,838 this year.

Meanwhile, the number of credit cards available and aimed at people with substandard credit scores or limited credit histories have increased by more than half from five last year to 11 in 2012.

However, despite credit cards potentially becoming more attainable over the past year, the Confused.com study shows average interest charges and fees have risen, making borrowing more expensive.

The average balance transfer fee has increased from 2.27% in 2011 to 2.81% this year. A person transferring a balance of £2,137, which is the average balance moved onto new cards, would have previously paid £48.51 on average. With the increase, they will now pay an average fee of £60.05.

Looking at the whole of the UK market, interest rates have increased since last year – representative APR has gone up from an average of 18.5% in 2011 to 20.5% today.

Confused.com started to compare credit cards in 2008 and customers can compare credit cards from across the whole of the UK market.

Nerys Lewis, head of credit cards at Confused.com, said: “As credit card providers make more cards available to more people, we are warning consumers of the dangers of debt as it appears to be increasingly easy to obtain yet more expensive to get rid of.

“However, credit cards can offer consumers a number of benefits, such as earning rewards on their spending, offering purchase protection, and improving their credit scores, so we’re simply urging people to use them in a responsible manner, as well as shop around to get the best deals.”

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PaydayLoans@ Explains The Benefits Of Online Loans For Bad Credit

PaydayLoans@ has recently being proved as a reliable and honest provider of online payday loans. Over the last years, the company has been spending so much time to assist individuals in managing their daily costs and charges without delays.

In order to raise the level of its service quality and fasten the application process, Payday Loans@ begins providing online payday loans made with fast approval for nearly every US citizen. This is exactly what will make it simpler and also speedier for any individual to qualify for these kinds of loans from PaydayLoansAt.com involving a lesser amount of formalities or paperwork. The company can be a mediator between the consumers trying to apply for the services and the direct lenders of instant payday loans online.

PaydayLoans@ is well-known for its easy-to-apply financial options, along with the denial of official documents and unnecessary faxing. Lenders cooperating with the company reject these types of formalities, understanding that they will take extra time and may even cause problems to some people. People who turn to payday lenders online are searching for a fast assistance in managing their emergency expenditures in the shortest time period, and for that reason don’t have any time to wait till their requests are thoroughly examined. Banking institutions and credit unions might be a great solution for people who have a high credit rating and much spare time. Nonetheless, this is simply not the case regarding typical people with less-than-perfect credit report, who require extra money sooner rather than later. That is when companies offering payday loans for bad credit come to assist.

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Confused.com Launches New Online Live Chat Service

Confused.com is encouraging people not to be put off buying life insurance as just over a third of Brits (35%) admit they find it a complicated issue, with the age group 35-44 finding it the most complicated.

To help tackle this issue Confused.com has launched a new online Live Chat service. This new web service allows Confused.com to communicate, chat and engage with visitors to their website and answer any questions they might have regarding life insurance quotes or insurance terms. Some other advantages of live chat include facility to call back and real time assistance with application process.

Life insurance can be seen as a complicated and difficult purchase and worryingly 18% of Brits say they don’t understand why we need life insurance. 35% of the under 24’s agree with this statement, but even more surprisingly 1 out of 10 of the over 55’s also agree.

In fact in the UK 38% of people feel life insurance isn’t necessary, and if it is necessary it is aimed at the age group 41-50, meaning that as a nation we are under-insured and clearly misunderstand what life insurance really is.

However an average life premium costs 74p a day and has many added benefits which include future financial protection, protection from major debts and securing your family’s standard living.

With many people not seeing the necessity of life insurance, these additional benefits may sweeten the offer, allowing policyholders and their families to be covered in the future should the worse happen.

Matt Lloyd, Head of Life Insurance at Confused.com said: “Many people do not understand the need for life insurance and what benefits it actually provides. The main benefit of life insurance is peace of mind – knowing your family will be looked after financially in the future.

“With the introduction of our new Live Chat solution, Confused.com customers can ask our representatives any questions or issues they may have and they will get a real time response. People can make sure they get the right policy that fits their requirements and get help in doing so. Our research has shown that 55% of the UK hasn’t tried to get life insurance via the internet and those that have done so -12%- have found it difficult.

“So Confused.com’s new service will improve the customer’s experience as well as the customer service efficiency though real-life interaction. It will help customers understand clearly what life insurance is and what benefits it can offer the policy holder and their loved ones.”

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Confused.com Reveals That Brits Can’t Live Without Their Yearly Holiday Abroad

Confused.com has announced it is giving away a free family holiday to Florida, for 14 nights with £1000 spending money to support those who simply can’t live with their yearly holiday abroad.

According to research carried out by the leading price comparison site, 45% of Brits say the ideal non-UK destination is within Europe, while almost one in three (30%) say their ideal holidays are outside of Europe.

Confused.com has partnered with Teletext holidays, to offer its customers the chance of winning a dream family holiday (2 adults and 2 children) to Florida, USA for 14 nights with £1000 spending money, just by buying their family travel insurance though Confused.com.

The competition runs until 31 August and if a customer buys their family travel insurance between this time period they will automatically be entered into a free prize draw. The winner will be selected at random after 31 August and will be notified 28 days after. Not only will they get to spend 14 nights in Florida but they will also be given £1000 to spend on whatever they want.

When searching for the ideal get-away, the majority of UK holidaymakers are looking for a seaside break, with 45% of people choosing ‘beach’ compared to just nine per cent wanting an active or sporty holiday. Less than five per cent seek snow for their break, while sightseeing is a priority for almost one in three holiday makers (32%), rising to 45% for people aged 55+.

57% of 18-25s would prefer to spend their holiday at the beach. 25-35 year-olds are most likely to choose an active or sporty holiday, compared to other age groups (14% compared to 9% on average) but the majority of this age group (52%) still prefers the beach, making Florida an ideal destination for these holiday goers.

Worryingly, only just over half (55%) of people always buy travel insurance when they go away, despite 90% of people having holidayed abroad. A surprising 15% always take a risk by not purchasing any insurance even though Illness abroad tops the list of holiday nightmares with 44% of holidaymakers having experienced illness either themselves or among their party while abroad. Family travel insurance can cost as little as £9.75 for a family of four, though it can cost more depending on where you’re travelling to, so Confused.com experts would always urge holidaymakers going abroad to take out cover.

Mhairi Duffin, Head of Travel Insurance at Confused.com said: “While it may not be the most exciting part of arranging your family holiday, travel insurance should always be one of your main priorities if you want to be able to relax and enjoy your time away. Hopefully your holiday will go according to plan, but if anything was to go wrong having the right travel insurance in place can help make sure you’re protected in the event of baggage being lost, your holiday being cancelled or someone in your party falling ill.

“So to say thank you to our customers for buying their family travel insurance through Confused.com we are giving away to one lucky person a fantastic family holiday to Florida with £1000 spending money. Travel insurance is something that will provide peace of mind on any holiday and we hope that the winner will have a fantastic time away.”

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Confused.com reveals the most popular dog and cat names

Confused.com figures show that most cat and dog owners favour more human-style names over traditional pet names.

According to a new research which is based on cat and dog insurance quotes, people are no longer calling their prized pets Rover and Tiddles. Instead, human style names are becoming the norm with people preferring to name their prized pooches Alfie, and Bella, and their cute kittens Charlie and Millie.

Big risers in popularity have been Charlie, Max and Oscar for male dogs and Poppy, Molly and Bailey for female dogs.

Some of the most popular names for cats include Oscar, Alfie and Gizmo for males and Bella, Fluffy and Poppy for females.

Kate Rose, head of pet insurance at Confused.com, said: “This could suggest a tendency towards anthropomorphism. The increasing popularity of human-style names suggests that barriers are being broken down between pets and their owners. Pet owners no longer see themselves as having dominion over their furry pals, but instead see them as true friends and companions, people even, hence the shift towards more human names.

“Although it’s worth noting that humans have never really had dominion over cats.”

To coincide with these findings, Confused.com has launched a pet name generator. If anyone is in any doubt as to what to call their new bundle of joy, they can have the perfect name generated based on whether their pet is a cat or a dog, its age, look and personality. The tool can be found at
www.confused.com/pet-insurance/pet-name-generator.

In addition, proud owners can download and print out their own ‘birth petificate’ to make it official.

Kate added: “It’s the perfect tool for anyone looking for inspiration as to what to name their new kitten or puppy. And it’s a good bit of fun.”

To find out more, the Confused.com pet insurance page contains plenty of information, including links to lots of useful articles and guides about pet insurance.

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Confused.com Invites Public To Become Burglars For The Day

Confused.com is offering members of the public the opportunity to burgle a house filled with the most-stolen items, including iPads, Kindles and laptops.

To promote the need for home insurance, Confused.com is giving members of the public the chance to become a legal burglar for a day and nabbing themselves items to keep in the process.

The first five people to correctly enter the right answer to the clues hidden in the video on this page http://bit.ly/Oft9TA will be sent a further video link with more information about taking part in the experience.

This link will provide more details about where to begin their experience, where they’ll be met by a member of a burglary crew. From there, the successful burglars will be told more while in transit, and allowed to keep items they successfully find while inside the empty house.

The ‘burglaries’ will take place in a secret location and will also be filmed and assessed by a security expert, in order to show members of the public how best to protect their home and possessions.

Those not amongst the first five to correctly answer can enter a further draw to win a home security robot with built in webcam, to help them keep an eye on their home no matter where they are.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com said: “We looked at the most-burgled items and perhaps unsurprisingly, electrical goods such as tablets, video game consoles and laptops topped the list. So many people go without contents insurance, or have insufficient cover, and we wanted to highlight the issue, while giving people the chance to have a unique experience.

“Much of the experience is being kept secret, but we will be releasing footage after the burglaries themselves. Many burglars are opportunistic individuals, and not professionally put-together crews as Hollywood would have you to believe. As such, our footage will be as close to burglary as you can legally get, demonstrating just how an intruder might find his or her way around your house.”

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Confused.com Launches New Travel Insurance Service

Confused.com is launching a new price comparison service that allows travellers with pre-existing medical conditions to get a quick and easy travel insurance policy.

Most travel insurance policies tend to exclude pre-existing conditions; these are medical conditions that have been diagnosed at the time of purchasing a policy. It is important to note that this includes conditions diagnosed a number of years ago that you may continue to have check-ups on. If people travel with a known medical condition without informing their provider, and need to make a claim as a result of falling ill abroad, then any emergency treatment or hospital costs relating to that pre-existing condition would be excluded, leaving the policyholder to pick up the pieces.

Confused.com can find an insurance quote to cover pre-existing medical conditions and also offer cover for non-pre-existing conditions, so when people have an accident they can have the peace of mind that their insurance policy will safeguard them.

Confused.com has teamed up with travel insurance specialists to allow people to compare travel insurance policies that cover pre-existing medical conditions, meaning consumers no longer have to search hundreds of insurers only to find out they may not insure them.

Comparing travel insurance with Confused.com means people can search the market to find their best quotes available for travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions.

Confused.com’s new service allows customers to select their particular condition, answer a selection of questions on their personal situation and will only show accurate prices by providers who will cover them; saving the customer time.

Those with pre-existing conditions are seen by insurance companies as customers who would pose a greater risk of claiming, resulting in them paying higher premiums and having fewer insurers to choose from. Therefore many people might find it tempting not to declare more minor conditions such as asthma etc., simply to save the hassle or because they are worried about the higher premium but if they then need to claim, the insurer can access their medical records and so will find out that they have a pre-existing medical condition and the policy may become void. This could then result in the policyholder having to pay out for expensive medical bills. This is particularly relevant in countries with higher costs for medical treatment such as the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey or Malta.

Having travel insurance is very important for people with pre-existing medical conditions and making sure they have the right policy that suits their individual needs is key.

Kate Rose, Head of Travel Insurance said: “At Confused.com we understand that not everyone has a perfect medical record and that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying travel as much as anyone else. We advise that you shop around and compare with Confused.com to get a great deal on your travel insurance.”

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