Following a speech last week by the future banking regulator, Andrew Bailey, there has been speculation about the possible end of free-in-credit current accounts.
Most people have got used to not having to pay for their current account, unless they go overdrawn. The UK is unique in Europe in enjoying free banking so its demise would cause quite a stir.
One of the features of the current account market is that customers tend to be very loyal. Only about 4% to 8% of customers switch their current account each year, depending upon which estimate you read.
But are they paying for such loyalty? It is quite possible that by changing their current accounts, they could get a better deal elsewhere.
It is also likely that switching would increase dramatically if free-in-credit current accounts disappeared because the imposition of monthly charges would undoubtedly spur many to look for possible alternatives.
In essence, there are four types of current account available.
Basic bank accounts
These do not offer overdrafts. If they have a debit card it tends to have limited facilities.
They can be opened without undergoing any credit check and are offered by the providers as part of the government's strategy for financial inclusion because they enable those who cannot get a full service current account to access banking facilities.
They do not incur a monthly fee. There are 20 basic bank accounts available.
Free-in-credit current accounts
These are full-service bank accounts that are free to use for those that remain in credit. There are 55 free-in-credit current accounts available.
Student current accounts
These are broadly similar to free-in-credit current accounts but tend to offer interest free overdrafts and other goodies to attract students who, the providers hope, will remain long-term customers.
There are 28 student current accounts available.
Packaged current accounts
These are full service current accounts that charge a monthly fee which typically range from about £8 up to £25, although some premier accounts charge as much as £40.
In exchange for the charge, a variety of incentives such as travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and motor breakdown assistance policies are provided.
There are 65 packaged current accounts available.
There are also a number of current accounts denominated in foreign currencies which can be useful for those who have foreign income and expenditure.
ProvidersCurrent accounts tend to be dominated by the banks but there are five building societies that offer current accounts.
There are also a number of foreign banks that offer them such as ICICI, Punjab National Bank and the State Bank of India. Tesco has signalled its intention to launch a current account in the not-too-distant future.
When looking for a new current account, there are a few key points to consider.
“Start Quote
End QuoteA current account does not have to be for life and there are significant safeguards being put in place to make switching a relatively seamless process”
Firstly it depends upon how the account will be used, because the best account will vary from person to person.
Those who never use an overdraft should opt for an account that pays interest on credit balances. Some 63% of current accounts no longer pay interest.
Examples include Halifax's Reward Current Account, which pays £5 (net of basic rate tax) every month that at least £1,000 is paid in. Santander's 123 Current Account charges £2 a month but pays interest of 1% on balances over £1,000, 2% on the entire balance if the balance is over £2,000, or 3% on the entire balance if it is over £3,000 up to a maximum balance of £20,000. It also pays cash back on council tax, utility and communications bills.
Somebody more likely to go overdrawn should concentrate on the overdraft costs. There are a myriad of different overdraft tariffs in the market and this complexity makes overdraft comparisons very difficult.
The size and frequency of overdraft usage and the number and size of transactions can all affect the overall cost. It is also worth noting that the availability of overdrafts is subject to the credit status of the applicant.
Some current accounts offer an ongoing interest-free overdraft. The highest interest free overdraft from a free-in-credit current account is £500 from Citibank's Plus Current Account but customers must pay at least £1,800 into the account every month otherwise there is an £8 monthly fee. By paying less than £1,250, the interest free overdraft is removed.
It is worth noting that interest-free overdrafts are generally more prevalent among packaged current accounts.
Online bankingCustomers should also consider whether they want branch access or would accept doing all their banking online. They should check that the account permits them to operate it as they wish.
Some accounts insist on paying in a minimum monthly amount every month - typically £500, £750, £1,000 or £1,500. This is to ensure it is used as a primary current account.
Failing to pay in the required monthly amount with one of these accounts would probably lead to a benefit or incentive being reduced or removed, or a financial penalty being levied.
Anyone contemplating a packaged current account should make sure they want and need the various incentives and, if so, that they are suitable for their circumstances and represent value for the monthly fee being charged.
Some providers restrict certain other products to their current account customers. Anyone wanting an HSBC credit card or unsecured loan can only get it if they have an HSBC current account. NatWest and RBS have a similar restriction.
Some providers offer special mortgage deals to their current account customers, but do bear in mind that just because a mortgage is a "special" deal, it does not necessarily mean that it cannot be beaten elsewhere.
Enhanced savings, unsecured loan and credit card deals are similarly in evidence.
There is no doubt that providers want you as a current account customer, provided of course that you use it as your main current account.
They regard it as the key way to build a relationship with the customer and it enables them to target customers with other products that are appropriate for their circumstances.
Many providers want to become a one-stop shop for all their customers' financial needs, and the current account is the preferred avenue by which to deepen such relationships.
A current account does not have to be for life and there are significant safeguards being put in place to make switching a relatively seamless process. It is worth taking the time to see if you can get a better deal and it might save you a lot of money.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Links to external sites are for information only and do not constitute endorsement. Always obtain independent professional advice for your own particular situation.
Wholesale Power Surges in New York as Temperatures Soar - Bloomberg
Wholesale Electricity Surges in New York as Temperatures Soar
Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times via Redux
Keeping cool in Times Square.
Keeping cool in Times Square. Photographer: Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times via Redux
Wholesale electricity jumped in New York as hot, humid weather from Massachusetts to North Carolina prompted homes and businesses to crank up air conditioners.
Spot power in New York City rose to an average of $339.82 a megawatt-hour from 7 a.m. through 3 p.m. after soaring as high as $1,647.56 at 10:55 a.m., according to the New York Independent System Operator Inc., which manages the state grid. Electricity traded yesterday for delivery for those peak-demand hours today was priced at an average of $57.34.
The high in New York today was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), 13 above normal, while Baltimore reached 96, according to the National Weather Service. Humidity in New York may rise as high as 93 percent later today, said AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.
“Today’s demand is expected to be up with the heat and humidity, but power supplies are more than adequate to meet that demand,” Michael Clendenin, a spokesman for Consolidated Edison Inc. in New York, said in an e-mail. A cold front forecast to move in later today and tomorrow will “bring temperatures back to normal by the end of the week,” he said.
Most power for a given day is purchased the previous day in what is known as the day-ahead market. Spot prices can jump when demand exceeds the amount secured in trading a day earlier.
New York Grid
Hourly prices across the New York state grid rose above $100 a megawatt-hour after 7 a.m. with the start of the work day. Electricity use on the grid was 27,685 megawatts as of 4:54 p.m., 8.3 percent above yesterday’s forecast for that time.
“Temperatures are climbing to highs not experienced since last August,” David Flanagan, a spokesman for the New York grid operator, said in an e-mail. Demand response programs were activated to encourage large consumers to reduce consumption during peak hours, he said.
The New York ISO issued a thunderstorm alert to market participants just before 3 p.m., resulting in transmission bottlenecks and bolstering prices, said Brendyn Brooks-Stocking, a Boston-based Northeast power analyst with Genscape Inc., a real-time data power provider.
Today’s spot-market price gains won’t affect bills for Con Ed customers immediately because rates are set by contract, according to Clendenin. The utility has more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County.
New England Prices
Spot power across New England rose to $429 a megawatt-hour at 3 p.m. after averaging $77.79 for the hour ended 2 p.m., based on gains in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.
The high in Worcester, Massachusetts, may be 79 degrees, 9 above normal. Western Massachusetts power averaged $290.14 megawatt-hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or six times more than the day-ahead prices for that time, according to data from ISO New England Inc.
Demand on the mid-Atlantic grid operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, which spans 13 states from New Jersey to North Carolina and as far west as Illinois, was 131,099 as of 4:30 p.m., 6.6 percent more than the day-ahead forecast.
Prices have traded from lows that were mostly in the $20s and $30s per megawatt-hour to more than $600 in some of the more densely populated areas where transmission bottlenecks aren’t unusual, according to PJM data.
Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG)’s territory in New Jersey averaged $275 a megawatt-hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., after rising to a high today of $451.75. Spot power at the Dominion Resources Inc. zone in Virginia and North Carolina jumped to $601.07 at 4:35 p.m. after averaging $213.38 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
To contact the reporter on this story: Naureen S. Malik in New York at nmalik28@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
Shopping around too tiring? Use smartphone - Yahoo Finance
Melanie Sheridan doesn't do much shopping these days without her smartphone. As a work-at-home mother and the creator of the blog "Mel, A Dramatic Mommy," Sheridan says she relies heavily on her phone to organize her household shopping and keep a close eye on her spending.
"I've been on a serious mission to slash our grocery budget," says Sheridan, who lives with her husband and son in San Diego. "Now that I've got an iPhone, I told my husband it will start paying for itself in terms of savings."
Tech-savvy, price-conscious consumers have hundreds of mobile phone applications to choose from. Sheridan says she's shaved about $50 off her family's monthly grocery bill by using a combination of five different smartphone shopping apps. Sometimes the savings come from something as simple as making a list and sticking to it. But she says the real household budget help comes from smartphone apps for comparing prices.
Apps take legwork out of comparing prices
Amazon Price Check is one of Sheridan's go-to apps for retail items because it allows her to see if better prices are available online while she's shopping in a store. She scans item barcodes with her phone's camera or types product names into the app's search bar to compare the store's prices to those offered by Amazon and its merchants.
ShopSavvy, Google Shopper and eBay's RedLaser are comparison-shopping apps that work in similar fashion but show prices charged for a particular item across the Internet and at other local stores.
If you're having trouble finding a store selling what you're looking for, apps such as Goodzer can help you source almost any consumer item, whether it's available at a chain store or local mom-and-pop shop.
The Consumer Reports Mobile Shopper allows you to instantly compare prices from both online merchants and local brick-and-mortar stores, plus it shows you the product reviews and insights the magazine is known for.
Shop around for a shopping app
The Consumer Reports app has an annual fee, $4.99 a year, while the others mentioned so far are all free. Often, you won't have to open your wallet for a great app that will save you money.
"When it comes to apps, the adage that you get what you pay for is really irrelevant as a litmus test for consumers to decide if they want to install an app," says Ryan Ruud, a digital media expert in Minneapolis who calls Target's free shopping app his "lifeline."
Ruud says plenty of great free smartphone shopping apps are available, often supported by advertising or provided by a particular store hoping you'll shop there. But understand that while a retailer's branded app may offer the latest deals and list-making features, it likely won't tell you if a competitor has a better price. So it's worth shopping around for the right app before you start doing the real shopping around.
To find a quality app, Ruud advises consumers to look at the reviews in an app store. If an app has several hundred reviews or more and the ratings are high, he says it's probably good. Likewise, regular updates for minor fixes are a good sign the app's maker offers ongoing support. If you pick the wrong app, you can always delete it and find another.
Shopping and talking?
Siri, Apple's voice-recognition tool, has been something of a sensation since it was introduced for iPhone last year. Now a number of popular shopping apps advertise the possibility of speaking to your smartphone instead of typing in a product or scanning a barcode to do a price check. Unfortunately, the more cutting-edge you are, the more bugs you're likely to encounter. Voice-controlled shopping apps -- available for both iPhone and Android platforms -- are still in their infancy, with kinks still to be worked out.
Craig Agranoff, a technology reporter and co-founder of Grip'd, a Boca Raton, Fla., company that develops iPhone and iPad apps, says he's not quite sure Siri is a useful mobile shopping tool just yet.
"Voice for product searching seems to be a bit far off for now since you're really hoping that the operating system recognizes what you said properly," says Agranoff. If the voice app doesn't understand you, you'll be back to manually entering product information or scanning the barcode.
But Agranoff points out that the speed of innovation in the mobile-app space is intense, so better voice recognition is coming.
Caution on privacy
While free apps can certainly help you simplify your shopping and save, they also raise some serious questions about consumer privacy, says Aaron Messing, a lawyer who specializes in information privacy issues at OlenderFeldman in Union, N.J.
"If you have a smartphone, it knows everything about you," he says. "Consumers should understand what types of data they will be sharing when they use a particular app."
Read the terms of service before installing any app. Messing says you also need to ask: Will this app have access to my location, pictures, contact book, and voice or text communications? If so, when will it collect that information, and how will the app use it?
Even people who are extremely cautious about their privacy may decide the benefits of smartphone shopping apps are worth giving up some personal information for, he says. All experts stress that whether a shopping app is free or costs you something, it will track your shopping habits because that's often how customized deals are targeted to specific consumers.
More From Bankrate.com
Can a pill stop you shopping? - Daily Mail
by CAMILLA LONG, Evening Standard
Film stars and sex, toddlers and telly, It girls and Gucci - there's an addiction out there that's just right for you.
Take shopping. It doesn't make you fat, nor does it kill you, unlike other fun stuff we could mention.
But it certainly hits the spot for sufferers from "aspendicitis", "plastic disease" or "Madame Bovary syndrome" (after the fictional heroine who liked to shop till she dropped).
An incredible eight per cent of the US population has been estimated to suffer from this newly fashionable disorder, but what's more amazing is that the drugs industry, always quick to spot a marketing opportunity, has formulated an "anti-shopping drug", which is now being prescribed by doctors in Britain.
Citalopram, manufactured in Europe by Lundbeck under the brand name Cipramil, is one of the family of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which also includes Prozac. It has recently undergone extensive tests at California's Stanford University which, it is claimed, prove its ability to stop people overspending.
"The drug seemed effective for nearly three-quarters of those who took it," explains Dr Lorrin Koran, who led the Stanford study and estimates that 90 per cent of sufferers from this obsessivecompulsive disorder are women.
"Many subjects found eventually that they could visit the shopping centre and not buy anything at all."
A lot of us find it difficult to leave the house, let alone visit the mall, without buying anything at all, so just where does harmless retail therapy end and compulsive shopping begin?
Dr Robert Lesever runs the Promis Recovery Centre with clinics in Kent and London and provides therapy for shopping addicts.
"A compulsive person becomes dependent and uses shopping to alleviate emotional problems," he explains, but the spree which "medicates" these problems provides only momentary relief. It's only a matter of time before the sufferer becomes hooked and their shopping begins to effect not just their bank balances, but their relationships.
But with inappropriate levels of consumer credit an everincreasing problem over here, will we soon be prescribed Cipramil with our debt counselling?
Dr Lefever is doubtful, and advocates a proper course of therapy. He says, "Emotions are never properly cured by drugs. You can't just medicate everything."
But other psychiatrists working in the field testify that Cipramil is noticeably more effective at treating shopping addiction than Prozac, for instance, which is also used to medicate obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Dr Neil Brener, a consultant psychiatrist at the Priory, north London, is a specialist in shoplifting and shopaholics. He has successfully used Cipramil alongside therapy to treat his patients, although he points out that, "since compulsive shopping is a genuine psychiatric problem caused by many different factors, in some cases citalopram will be more helpful to curb it than in others".
He welcomes the Stanford research, which confirms his own clinical experience.
With the conclusion of that research, Lundbeck and US manufacturers of the drug will be free to market their product as the world's first chemical overdraft excluder.
Below, three shopaholics reveal their experiences of Cipramil.
Luke, 21, medical student
LUKE decided to take Cipramil after his shopping habits led to suicidal thoughts. He stayed on it for three months. He says:
"I've always had a slight problem with spending too much, but when I came to university it got worse. I'd buy tons of clothes, CDs and computer equipment and feel a physical thrill when I paid for it. I even bought some vinyls without owning a record player - don't ask me why.
"The strain of work and personal relationships meant that increasingly I would try to cheer myself up by buying things - and, in the end, I couldn't go into a shop without making a purchase. I couldn't escape the craving for the high that shopping gave me, and the debts piled up.
"I started getting so worried about it that I contemplated suicide. That was the wake-up call. I confided in a friend and she said I should see my GP immediately. I was scared what might happen if I didn't.
"He said Cipramil would stop me feeling depressed one minute and compensating for it by shopping the next. The drug doesn't kick in properly for about a fortnight. To start with, I had mild, bearable stomach cramps. When I finally felt the emotional effects, my spending did stop a bit. I felt I didn't need that high when I handed over the credit card.
"I felt so much better on the drug that after a short while I wanted to come off it and get on with my life drugfree. My doctor was happy with my decision, so didn't prescribe any more. I had no problem coming off it, and I didn't start feeling depressed again. But soon my old habits came back - and I suddenly found myself blowing £600 on clothes. Three months on, I'm sorry that I still spend, but I don't have suicidal thoughts about it, and that's the main thing."
Christelle, 26, sports shop manager
Christelle's doctor prescribed her Cipramil in a last-ditch attempt to curb her addictive behaviour. She says:
"For seven years, I was addicted to shopping. I've got an emotional illness which finds relief in addictive behaviour, and shopping was one form of this.
"I became hooked on it when I was 18 when I got my first store card. I discovered it could momentarily relieve anxieties about my life. Eventually, I was running up debts of hundreds a month. I found that paying for luxury items gave me a particular high. I started seeing a psychiatrist who was prescribing me every drug under the sun to try to eliminate the compulsive urges. So when he suggested Cipramil, I thought, why not? I reckon I was on about 15 different pills a day by then, so I guessed it wouldn't make a difference.
"But it had a very strange effect on me. I don't know if this was due to all the other drugs I was on, but it knocked me out, and I could hardly move. So I suppose it did cure me of shopping - I couldn't get out of the house.
"After about six months on the drug, I had had enough and I wanted to purge my system. I didn't think it was doing me any good, and I felt awful. My doctor was still worried about my problems but understood my wish to try a different approach.
"I came off it and went straight back to the spending. Only when I tried a 12-step programme of therapy did I register improvement with everything - a vast improvement, because, two years on, I'm not on any medication at all and I feel normal.
"I still get the impulsive urges to go shopping, but I have learned to control them mentally. I'd never go back to the pills now."
Anya, 32, singer
Anya has been on Cipramil for a year, although she is trying to come off. She says:
"I didn't do anything about my shopping problem for years, because I lived so far away from my GP. I'd just go out and buy things for a buzz - mainly food, alcohol and clothes - and simply could not stop shopping. But at the end of the day, I'd get home and just leave the purchases in the corner of my room, still in the bag.
"I remember trying to explain to friends the moped I'd bought. I didn't have a licence!
"I can't believe I didn't make the effort - I knew perfectly well I had a problem, because I was utterly embarrassed by my behaviour. I moved house and went to a GP who referred me to a psychiatrist. He prescribed me a new drug - Cipramil.
"The side-effects were a problem, although the lure of buying things diminished. I found I could go into shops and come out after a few minutes instead of hours. I experienced nausea for the first 10 days, although it wasn't terrible.
However, I made a mistake when I didn't cut down on my alcohol. One evening I was enjoying my favourite drink - an alcopop - when suddenly I felt very sick, and very drunk. Worse than this, my libido vanished.
"I wanted to try to come off the drug to prove that I could survive without medication and to get my sex-drive back. My doctor reduced the dosage, but it coincided with a bad time in my personal life and I started having panic attacks. This was unusual as I'd felt under control when I was on the drug.
"My doctor explained that I didn't have to come off it at exactly that time, and I decided to stay on it for the time being. I don't like being dependent on it - but it's better than being utterly dependent on the shopping."
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Petrol costs: Greening may force retailers to pass on price cuts - BBC News
Transport Secretary Justine Greening has said she will consider legislation to force petrol retailers to pass on cuts in the wholesale price of fuel.
The Department for Transport says pump prices paid by motorists have fallen by just 7p despite a 10p fall in wholesale prices since April.
Ms Greening told the BBC she would consider taking further action to ensure motorists "get a better deal".
But petrol retailers said her remarks showed a "lack of understanding".
Petrol prices have fallen back since hitting record levels in March, when unleaded rose above £1.40 a litre.
'Blurred world'The AA said wholesale costs across northern Europe had dropped more than 16% during May, but petrol retailers had been slow to pass this on to motorists.
Its president, Edmund King, welcomed Ms Greening's comments, saying: "Over the past seven years we have asked governments to act against the blurred world of UK pump prices, which every driver knows shoot up like a rocket and fall like a feather."
A Department for Transport source told the BBC the industry would have a matter of weeks to come up with a voluntary code of conduct to ensure wholesale falls were passed on within a fortnight to the motorist.
But if a scheme could not be agreed, he indicated the government would look at legislation, although the source was unable to say how long that might take.
Ms Greening told the BBC she wanted a voluntary scheme to be agreed.
She said: "That's what we're going to look at first, but if that doesn't work we will look at some of the things other countries have done like Germany, Austria and Denmark, who have taken more mandatory action in this area.
"I'm really determined that motorists get a better deal."
VAT callShadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: "Petrol stations should be lowering their prices when wholesale costs of fuel fall, and it is unacceptable if they are refusing to do so, especially when they are quick to pass on any increase.
"Ministers must also accept their share of responsibility for eye-wateringly high prices at the pumps thanks to their decision to hike VAT on fuel."
She added: "Ministers should temporarily restore the lower rate of VAT to fuel to give much-needed relief to households feeling the squeeze, as well as acting to ensure price cuts are fully passed on to motorists."
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Retail Motor Industry Federation's petrol division, said: "Suggestions that the falling price of oil and wholesale price movements on the continent should dictate further pump price cuts across the UK by independent forecourt operators is damaging to this struggling sector and shows lack of any real understanding of fuel price mechanisms."
Beds, Sofas and Sectional Sets Arrive at Wholesale Furniture Brokers' Canadian Warehouse - PRWeb
Wholesale Furniture Brokers
Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) May 30, 2012
Wholesale Furniture Brokers' container importing program has expanded with the arrival of new beds, sofas, and sectionals at their Canadian warehouse. "The new stocked products add more choices our Canadian customers can order with shorter shipping times. We're also introducing the products at prices close to our US prices as we're able to save on shipping costs bringing them to our warehouse," says Matt Holmes, Wholesale Furniture Brokers' Marketing Manager. On order are bunk beds, bedroom sets, memory foam mattresses, and sofa sets.
The Mirabel platform bed by True Contemporary is available in queen size and is upholstered in espresso faux leather. It is also designed with double baseball stitching and solid wood legs. The bed retails for $399 in Canada.
The Taylor sofa set by Coaster Company includes a chocolate microfiber sofa and loveseat. A matching chair is also available. The set is constructed with a coil spring cushion and rounded arms with pillow-style padding. The sofa set retails for $899 in Canada and $889 in the US.
The Lodi charcoal sectional sofa by Urban Cali includes a reversible chaise and loveseat. The sectional can be assembled with the chaise on the right or left side. It is designed with solid wood legs. It retails for $849 in Canada and $649 in the US.
The Calgary bunk bed by True Contemporary features twin and full size beds that can be separated into two beds. It is made with solid pine wood and finished in dark oak. It retails for $699 in Canada and $689 in the US.
Wholesale Furniture Brokers has also restocked the Burbank, Sunnyvale, and espresso and black Sacramento sectional sofas at their Canadian warehouse.
On order and expected to arrive in June are the Fraser kids bunk beds, 8", 10", and 12" memory foam mattresses, Divine sofas, and Retro II bedroom sets.
"The products we've been stocking in our Canadian warehouse have been quite popular with our customers due to their value pricing, ability to ship quickly, and free home delivery," states Holmes.
About Wholesale Furniture Brokers
Wholesale Furniture Brokers offers price leading furniture with free shipping to online customers direct from the manufacturers in the USA and Canada. World-class customer service is provided to customers by telephone, email, and chat. Shoppers can choose from a growing collection of traditional, modern, and contemporary furniture styles for inside and outside of the home at Wholesale Furniture Brokers. Consumers do not need to pay a membership fee to buy from Wholesale Furniture Brokers.
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