A recent study from the Lloyds TSB bank has revealed that with the student loans now causing debt per student of around £23,000 each, some 68% of those attending higher education are having to take jobs to fund their courses and living expenses.

Together, UK students have earnt around £4 billion a year to counteract the effect of student loans. 1 in 3 now have to work during term time to boost their income and level out the cost of their loans. These students spend on average 13.9 hours a week working. So what has attributed to this problem? Living costs and the current economic situation are certainly top factors, and have contributed to more parents being unable to help their children financially in their university careers; this means that students are having to find more ways to fund their education themselves.

First year students, the report suggested, are working more hours a week than they are attending lectures. This only changes in their final year, when the earn-study balance shifts towards ensuring a good degree mark.

The report has also highlighted regional differences in this new trend. A student in Northern Ireland works on average the least number of hours, at 10 hours per week, whereas the highest number of working hours (15.4) can be found for students attending universities in the South West of the country, at universities such as Bath and Exeter. London and Scotland follow closely behind the South West at 14.8 hours and 14.6 hours respectively.

This regional trend may be to do with the regional differences in hourly rates: students at universities in the South West are earning £7.52 a week, and work the longest hours. This can be compared to Wales, where they earn the lowest hourly rate at £5.27. Weekly, these two sets of students on average earn £115.67 in the South West, and £56.25 in Wales.

“A huge majority of students are working during term time to help fund themselves through university. Understandably, this adds an additional pressure as they balance working life with their studies. At Lloyds TSB, we try to make it easy for students to manage and make their money go further by providing tools such as free mobile banking which allows students to check their balances, transfer money and also receive text alerts, as well as a range of discounts such as a free three year NUS card,” says Jatin Patel, Personal Current Accounts Director at Lloyds TSB.

Student loans are vital for students to maintain their university careers, however it is becoming increasingly necessary for them to supplement that with money they have earnt themselves, even if – as the report suggests – this comes at the loss of hours spent in lectures themselves.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Research from high-street bank Lloyds shows that people are becoming more worried about the dangers of identity theft and that the recession has made them feel worse.

The report revealed that 76% of adults are currently worried about identity theft and furthermore, that 39% feel more at risk now than they did six months ago, with the recession playing a major part.

Some 52% of those worried about ID theft believe that the recession has increased the risk, mainly because they argue that as unemployment increases, more people are driven towards criminal activity and ID theft.

And a considerable 57% of the people questioning think that social networking such as Facebook, have made it easier to steal personal details. In the same survey carried out 12 months ago, it was 47% who felt the same, so there has been a considerable rise in fear in the implications of being listed on popular social websites.

And although as many as 38% of Brits have experienced ID fraud (some 18% directly), of those asked, an incredible 57% admitted that they have not done enough to protect themselves and 25% don’t know much about it all anyway.

This is despite the fact that studies by the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, CIFAS, shows that it takes an estimated 48 man hours to repair the damage resulting from fraud, with the cost to victims is frequently as high as £8,000. The CIFAS figures also show that ID fraud is on the increase, with a 15% rise over the year.

And like many other financial institutions, Lloyds TSB is trying to make its customers aware of the dangers.

Jatin Patel, spokesperson for Lloyds TSB, said:
“As technology improves, it gets easier and easier for criminals to steal our identities and during tough economic times the temptation becomes greater. Protecting ourselves by shredding documents and protecting passwords is a good start, but having someone else keep an eye on your ID offers extra peace of mind.”

By someone the spokesperson means Lloyds TSB and they have introduced what they call ID Aware, claiming that it allows customers to keep on top of their credit status and safeguard their identity, providing credit monitoring services and an early warning system to alert the customer to any activity involving their account, including someone trying to lighten it with suspicious cash withdrawals.

They don’t mention if there is a cost to such a service, but with talk of banks trying to make their customers more responsible for their actions when it comes to their financial affairs (i.e. the banks are going to stop stumping up for this kind of fraud shortly), then this might be a way for a customer to insulate themselves against the worse.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

October 2009 is the month when the ISA limit increases and research conducted by high-street bank Lloyds TSB shows that 61% of over 50s do not understand the approaching ISA changes.

And the changes, which were announced by the Chancellor in the April 2009 budget, will see ISA rates increase from £7,200 to £10,200 (£5,100 which can be saved in cash), effectively increasing tax free savings for over 21 million savers. And the crunch is, for those born on, or before 5th April 1960 the new limits come into effect on October 6th, whilst younger customers will need to wait until the start of the 2010/2011 tax year next April.

Given the favourable over 50 status of the changes, it has surprised many that only 15% of over 50s know that the new ISA limit will be set at £10,200. Four out of ten over 50s were not even aware that increases have been announced.

Colin Walsh, managing director of savings and investment, Lloyds Banking Group, said, stoically:
“As the UK’s largest ISA provider, we want our customers to be able to reap the benefits of the new rules and make use of their entitlement. This historic low rate environment has meant a challenging time for savers, especially for those who rely on returns to supplement their monthly income, so maximising your full tax free allowance has never been more important.

“Traditionally the ISA transfer market peaks in April around the new tax year, but this year’s changes will no doubt result in a ‘mini ISA season’ as savers look to take advantage of competitive rates on an increased balance.”

Lloyds TSB has made it clear that savers will be able to top up their existing ISA balance in any of the Group’s fixed and variable rate cash ISAs, as well as investment ISA products. What’s more, new customers can also take advantage of the new entitlement and open one of the products offered by the Group’s ISA brands, including Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Scottish Widows, Bank of Scotland, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Birmingham Midshires and Intelligent Finance.

Lloyds TSB also participates in electronic transfers for the cash ISA market, allowing customers to benefit from what they claim is a more efficient process and reduces the delays caused by sending cheques in the post.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

For a long time parents have helped their offspring get on the housing ladder, but a new mortgage from Lloyds TSB has made such assistance official.

Their new mortgage product called Lend a Hand offers first-time buyers a generous 95% of the property valuation. Such a low deposit of only 5% has been effectively unavailable since the housing crisis started.

Offered at a fixed rate for three years of 4.39%, the catch (or opportunity is, whichever way you look at it) is that the borrowers’ parents deposit a sum of money with Lloyds TSB. The sum required is 20% of the property value and will be lodged in a savings account. Whilst there, it will pay a fixed interest rate of 3.5% and although the parents will retain the ownership of the savings, the bank will have legal charge over the money.

The bank will retain legal charge over the savings until the outstanding mortgage falls below 90% of the property value. This would usually occur with a mixture of monthly payments being made satisfactorily and an increase in property prices.

Once the 90% has been reached, the savings are freed up and the mortgage will operate normally for the three year fixed term, and then the holders would have the opportunity to switch mortgage products, or remortgage.

The arrangement fee for the Lloyds TSB Lend a Hand mortgage is a one-off £995.

Mortgage experts generally welcomed the new mortgage deal, although some did make the obvious point that it would only help those with parents who could afford £20,000 to be locked up in the first place. And if parents have such a some of money, they can always add it as a down payment, although it will not then necessarily making a decent return of 3.5% a year. They also pointed out that the Yorkshire building society also offer a 95% deal, although the interest rate is a lot higher at 6.99%.

On the plus side, it does allow the parents a good chance to get their contribution back, it offers a competitive interest rate and with the deposit, the credit score is not as demanding as a normal 95% mortgage, or even one for 80%.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

If you suspect you have money lying around in a bank, or building society account, claim it now before the Government does.

Later this year, money held by banks in dormant accounts is set to go to good causes.

A Government taskforce has recommended that any money left in an account which has had no customer activity in the last 15 years, should be transferred into a special fund. This will be administered by a special social bank which will recycle the unloved millions to worthy causes, such as helping the long term unemployed. The exact date of when this will happen is still not clear, but many think it will be in the autumn.

Dormant accounts can of course be a result of many circumstances, some just as simple as a change of postal address. Others might be a change of name, or a death of the account holder.

But certain consumer groups are worried that the banks, hit by the latest financial crisis, might not be that keen to either find the rightful owner, or donate it to charitable causes.

The banks claim otherwise, stating that they are successfully reuniting customers and their long lost money. Take the Lloyds Banking Group, which has since 2006 found homes for 23 million of its lost notes. Mind you, with an estimated near £100 million still lost and forlorn, there is still quite a bit of work to be done.

HSBC has been actively promoting its dormant accounts and recently announced that it had repatriated nearly £6m to over 3,500 customers.

And for those panicking that they know they had an old account somewhere, but just couldn’t place it, all is not lost when the social bank starts syphoning off the lost money. By law, it will still remain the property of the person that can prove it was originally their money, but the big difference will be that once it has been labelled dormant and moved to the social bank, it will be a lot harder to get, taking months to sort out the paperwork. You will be able to reclaim it, but just with a lot of effort.

For those that want to check if they have misplaced an account, the best place to start is www.mylostaccount.org.uk. This is a joint effort from the British Bankers’ Association, the Building Societies Association and National Savings & Investments. It saves time and effort, allowing you to check across a wide range of financial organisations. But, although the single website initially simplifies the start of the search process, the range of questions and details required can be quite onerous. So a casual fishing trip is a bad idea; it is a good idea to have a real think about names and other details pertinent to your claim.

You can of course go direct to the bank where you think the account might be hiding, but you will need to supply quite a number of personal details in order for them to answer your queries.

And it’s not only bank accounts that you should check. Many lottery winners don’t come forward, not realising they have perhaps won a major prize. And after 180 days, the money goes to good causes and can’t be claimed after that date. The lottery helps by arranging for publicity for any unclaimed prize over £50,000 in the area where it was bought, but still many millions remain unspoken for. So, check any lottery tickets lying around, before they run out of course.

Betting slips have no such expiry and have to be honoured no matter how late they turn up.

But there’s a whole host of other prizes and benefits which are not claimed, from pension and life insurance polices which are forgotten; to share certificates (from holdings in companies, or bonds); unclaimed state benefits (they reckon that £9 billion of government handouts such as pension credits are unclaimed every year); and, premium bonds.

So, when you’re having a good spring clean, rummaging around old boxes of papers and personal effects, keep an eye out for anything that might lead to an unclaimed prize, or asset. It might be very worth while taking the trouble.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Just when you thought that the banks might have learnt their lesson and eaten a bit of humble pie, in comes news that they’ve been accused of playing Dick Turpin again.

This time they stand charged of ripping off their customers by charging interest rates of up to 21% on personal loans.

Some might claim this should be a surprise to no-one, as banks are just reverting to type as they see their customers as fair game when it comes to rebuilding their balance sheets.

The finger is being pointed ay Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds TSB, NatWest and Yorkshire bank. Recent figures show that the Clydesdale and the Yorkshire banks are charging a typical APR of 20.9% for just £2,000, repaid in three years. Lloyds TSB and NatWest banks are charging 21% for the same amount, for the same period. This compares badly with many credit cards.

Raising the alarm is people’s personal finance champion Liberal Democrat spokesman Vince Cable who has cried foul over the levels of interest being levied. He is astounded that when the Government has effectively nationalised many of the U.K.’s banks, they are now treating their customers with such contempt.

And the claim that the Government’s quantitative easing polices – which sees money being pumped into the banks in order to encourage them to loan it back out to their customers – is being ridiculed as a further example of banks wanting it all their own way.

Many of the financial pundits have joined Mr Cable in continuing to highlight the irony of the banks who hope to profit from a situation that they helped to create. The U.K. banks, like many across the globe, are seen as causing the crisis with not only over lenient lending policies when it came to lending people money, but also by re-packaging toxic assets that are still hanging around the system like a financial time bomb.

NatWest and Lloyds have come under particular scrutiny, as they are charging twice as much interest on their personal unsecured loans as many other lenders. And this at a time, many argue, of zero inflation.

But when questioned about their high rates, a NatWest spokesman hit back with the excuse that all their loan applications are judged on their customer’s ability to pay, not a standardised rate. Thus, personal circumstances, credit history and the ability to repay are all considered. And some customers, judged a higher risk than others, are asked to pay a higher rate. But, says the spokesman with undoubtedly a straight face, at least the lender has the confidence of using a high-street bank.

The reasoning from Lloyds appears to be the same, as their spokesman claimed that most of their personal loans, at least two thirds, are agreed at 9% interest. The remaining third of their loans do attract higher interest rates, but this is because of their customer’s personal circumstances. And, claim the bank, they do try to keep their rates in-line with the rest of the high-street.

Whether Mr Cable is right, or whether the banks are just trying to be prudent at long last, remains to be seen.

Guest Article by Neil Camp