A new survey released this week by the Daycare trust has found that the childcare costs for England, Wales and Scotland are showing no sign of abating any time soon.? The current costs for England total ?4,756 for an entire year of nursery, based on a single child under two years old spending 25 hours a week at nursery although Welsh and Scottish parents paid less – ?4,056 and ?4,368 respectively.

The trust is using this information to call for politicians to take childcare investment as a serious election issue, and have asked all major parties to make a commitment regarding the future investment and spiralling costs of childcare in the United Kingdom.

Unsurprisingly, further investigation into the results of the survey reveals London and South East of the country to be where the highest childcare costs are with average weekly prices reaching well over ?100. Meanwhile in the north, childcare costs were greatly reduced, costing a maximum of around ?76. The difference in regions was far less significant in Scotland and Wales.

Interestingly the cost of enrolling children in various after school clubs has actually fallen in Wales and Scotland but has risen by over 10 per cent in England. Such clubs offer interesting activities for children while allowing parents more time to work before having to pick up the kids from school, often enabling them to save even more time by missing out on the school rush.

Chief Executive of the Daycare Trust, Allison Garnham said:

?Over the last year, families across the UK have been hit hard by the impact of the recession, with parents facing the strain of losing jobs, having their hours cut back or facing pay cuts – all of which is compounded further by childcare costs shooting up.

We know that whatever the outcome of the election, there are tough spending choices to be made. However, we hope that all parties will recognise what a central issue childcare is for parents, and take up our policy recommendations as they build their manifestos.”

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

People interested in putting money away for a rainiy day have already been beaten about a lot during the recession. With interest rates at record lows meaning that making any money from savings has become a thing of the past and encouraged many people to start spending more. However, there are more than just low interest rates for savers to worry about now, as inflation spikes can also make it worse for the thriftier amongst us.

The higher levels of inflation will mean that that the value of money in savers accounts will be lowered while the low interest rate is doing nothing to compensate. Some industry experts have suggested to consumers that they use the money to pay off debts or shift the money into the stock market instead. However, people with serious savings are unlikely to be the same people that are seriously in debt, while the stock market represents a significant risk in some cases.

The Bank of England noted that inflation will likely rise as high as per cent in the next few weeks but then quickly sink down below the 2 per cent inflation target.

Recent research has suggested that most of the best savings accounts have already been pulled. Kevin Mountford from Money Supermarket said:

?This sudden fall in savings rates will have caught many by surprise, and coupled with December’s unexpectedly sharp rise in inflation means 2010 looks like it may be a difficult year for savers.?

Of course, low interest rates do mean that mortgages are costing people significantly less and those looking to get a new mortgage can find some very good deals right now.? The average inflation rate for a tracker deal with a deposit of 25 per cent is now 3.63 per cent, the lowest that has ever been noted since records began in 1997.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

BT sent out letters to its customers this week informing them that their peak time period now ended at 7pm rather than 6pm, meaning the millions of people enjoying free off peak calls will need to wait another hour in the evening to be able to enjoy the service.

The service now runs from 7pm to 7am so it still remains a 12 hour free call period for customers on the relevant contract, and BT are within their legal rights to change their products and pricings, but it hasn?t stopped many people being upset by the new changes, which could see people who regularly use the phone between 6pm and 7pm see their phone bills go up by as much as ?80 a quarter.

Nearly 5 million customers are part of BTs evening and weekend price plan, which lets users make free calls to any UK landline on evenings and weekends. Evenings has always been classed by BT as starting at 6pm, but from April onwards the BT definition of an evening will start at 7pm and continue for an extra hour in the morning.

The thing that has customers most angry is the way the announcement was made by BT. Many customers received the information regarding the changes buried within pages of new deals and other random marketing materials from BT. BT Customer ?Tony Sell told the BBC:

?I t really annoys me the way BT always put out notices like these as though they are good for the customer and always hide the price increases in the smaller print towards the end.?

From what BT have said customers will be allowed to leave the contract simply by informing them they are unhappy about the changes. BT will then remove them from the contract for no charge and without them needing to provide evidence. Of course, if you do happen to ring up to cancel you?re likely to get a lot of sales pitch and ?offers? before finally cancelling the account.

Those looking for a new supplier should check out price comparison websites if they are after a better deal, but remember that the majority of internet providers in the UK require a functioning UK landline.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

A new rule announced this week in the final regulation from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) means that anyone who decides to swap ownership of their house to then rent it back have to have a guaranteed tenancy of at least five years. The new rule will begin from the 30^th of June this year, and aims to prevent consumers from being preyed on by companies who force them to leave their homes shortly after they begin a rent back scheme.

Ed Harley from the Financial Services Authority said:

?For some people in financial difficulty, staying in their home remains very important and selling their home and renting it back in this way can be right for them.

But we are aware of some firms exploiting vulnerable consumers at a difficult time. So, it is right that we introduce these further protections, and we will take swift action where they are not met.?

This is just one of the rules laid down by the scheme, however. There are a number of additional elements to the FSAs regulations, which have been in progress since September 2009. The new rules include a ban on heavy advertising and sales techniques, a two week cooling off period and a ban of leaflet dropping and cold calling.

These regulations have come as a direct result of an enquiry in 2008 that found many companies operating rent back schemes were being dishonest. Companies were buying homes at a discount and then selling them on within months, but promising the owners beforehand they would be free to stay in their homes.

The firms typically prey on people who are going to be facing repossession of their homes, but not they will fall under the regulation of the FSA, so scams and disreputable companies will hopefully be far less likely.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

NatWest customers who happen to also own an Egg credit card have unable to make payments via the Egg website for over two months due to a database glitch that yet to be fixed.

Egg has noted that fault will be fixed in the next few days. The problems started because the Egg website would not recognise Visa debit cards from NatWest as a legal form of payment due to problems with the card number.

Every card has what?s called a ?Bank Identification? number which are used by websites to search through databases and find the details of a specific bank ? if no details can be found using the BIN then the card is labelled as not recognised and the payment is declined. BIN numbers are changed regularly.

The problem is, the Egg website is finding legitimate BIN as invalid because the system they use through Experian Payments hasn?t been updated with the new BIN numbers. Experian have passed the blame onto NatWest saying that it was up to the bank to get in touch with them and supply updates for the system.

A Spokesperson from Egg said:

?As soon as we were made aware of this issue we have been working with the third-party who provided the data to rectify this problem as quickly as possible. We expect it to be resolved by early next week.?

NatWest, who are changing their main debit cards from Maestro to Visa for all of their 13 million customers, stated that they had notified Egg about the problem weeks ago and where waiting for the company to act on their concerns and update the system.

NatWest customers can continue to pay their Egg bills through the online banking system while the problem is resolved.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

As Tax Returns are handed in this week, scammers have targeted those people filling out their returns through a massive fraud email scam. The emails warn recipients that they need to fill out their tax return shortly and are then sent to a website where they are a tricked into entering a vast amount of personal information; including credit card and bank details.

So far victims have had their accounts entirely emptied of cash or had their credit card limits maxed out and the details of such cards and people will then likely be sold on to other criminal gangs. It was revealed two years ago that these data could be sold on the black market for as little as 50p per person.

Revenue & Customs, the government department that controls tax returns has warned all customers not to respond to any emails about tax returns and has informed customers that it will only contact them regarding their tax returns via regular post:

“We never use e-mails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances. We strongly urge anyone receiving such an e-mail to send it to us for investigation before deleting it.”

The department estimated that the numbers of phishing emails sent out in just the last few weeks could be well over 20,000. Scammers in the UK and abroad in countries like Austria and Mexico were shut down last year, but many scammers are very difficult to bring to justice due to difficulty in tracing people online on an international basis.

Just under 6 million people in the UK file tax returns every year, primarily used for the self employed or those who receive money from many different sources rather than a single job. Consumers filling their returns after the end of January could face a ?100 fine.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

Insurance scams, online theft, tax fraud and evasion are costing the UK as much as ?30bn every single year, according to the latest official figures.

The National Fraud authority believes that the figures work out at costing around ?621 per adult in the UK. This is the first time such figures have ever been properly worked out on a national scale.

Over half (58%) of all fraud was carried out in the public sector, costing around ?17bn a year. The NFA believe these losses were paid for through the rising costs of products and services and through tax fraud.

Loses from tax fraud account for the highest overall loss at ?15.2 billion, while in the private sector the financial services industry were the biggest hit with a total of ?4.8bn in fraud ? something that the Financial Services Authority is taking very seriously, leading to an increase in the amount of brokers been fined and banned from the industry due to fraud.

It was also noted that consumers lose ?3.5bn in targeted fraud every single year, such as lottery and loan scams. 12% of all fraud victims were individual consumers.

Previous fraud estimates have always been much lower than the figures we?ve seen this week, normally floating around the ?13bn mark.

NFA Chief Executive, Bernard Herdan explained the differences in figures between this study and ones conducted previously:

?Although the figure appears on the face of it far greater than the previous estimate, we know this is because we have included many additional figures that other studies have not,

With this vital information, we can develop clearer priorities to prevent, detect and deter fraudsters. We will use the data to help identify those areas of fraud that cause the most harm to the UK economy.?

As consumers its worthwhile taking time over any deals as well as making sure relevant contact information is available before purchasing, including a full postal addresses and landline telephone number. Using a credit card on any purchase over ?100 will also provide additional protection for online purchases.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

The Haiti Earthquake has devastated the country, and news of the deaths and devastation has been everywhere in the last few weeks. Countries all over the world have launched their own aid packages or campaigns and many citizens are also looking at ways they can donate or raise money to help out.

One of the best ways to donate to the cause and maximise the amount of money you give is to use the UK?s gift aid scheme. The scheme is available to all UK taxpayers and allows charities to get some tax relief on the donation. This applies to almost all forms of charity giving but the recent drives for donations in Haiti make it worth pointing out again.

Using the system, a ?50 donation will result in the charity receiving ?64 with no extra monetary input from you. This is because the charities get the same amount of basic tax that you would normally have paid if the ?50 had been a part of your paycheque. The government are also providing 3p for every ?1 donated until the spring of 2011.

You can use the gift option by donating through the Disasters Emergency Committee where the minimum donation is currently ?5.

Of course, if you?re already struggling with your finances, you shouldn?t feel the need to donate. It?s much better for you to get your own finances in order first and donate when you feel financially capable than to be pressured into the idea. If you can?t donate a large sum of money but still want to help you can always ask friends and family to also donate a small amount, combining the total at the end.

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

The idea of text fundraising might be quite a new one, but it?s starting to see a massive explosion in its use that could see it overtaking much more established methods of donating to a charity, especially during a crisis situation.

After the devastating earthquakes hit Haiti earlier this month the American Red Cross launched its campaign within hours. Citizens were able to donate money through the regular methods of cheques and credit cards, but they were also given the option of sending a text message, the amount of donation in the message would then be added onto the user?s telephone bill.

Mobile operators waived the standard charge of sending a message and the news of the new way of donating spread through online communities such as Facebook and Twitter incredibly quickly.

Director of MobileActive.org, Katrin Verclas explains the concept in more detail:

?They text, and in this case the key word ‘Haiti,’ to a short code which is a five-digit number. And then they will be asked essentially to confirm the $5 or $10 dollar contribution.

And then at the end of the month when they receive their bill, there will be a charge in the amount of $5 or $10 dollars that the customer pays as part of their regular phone bill.?

It?s not the first time SMS messaging has been used for this purpose, but it is one of the first times it has been successfully used by US aid groups. European aid agencies had turned to SMS for donations long before, during the Indian Ocean tsunami five years ago.

What do you think? Does using your phone bill and messaging encourage you to donate or would you do it regardless of the method used? Does using your phone make you feel differently about donating or change the amount you would donate?

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.

The UKs infatuation with credit, especially via the form of the credit card, is something that has placed a lot of consumers into serious debt. Many people are often only paying the minimum amount on their credit card every month while never actually paying any of the balance off, simply being charged interest each month.

Director of Credit Action Chris Tapp believes that despite the problems associated with credit card use the UK has a ‘love affair’ with the system and predicts that despite debt problems and the recession it’s unlikely that will see much of a decline in the use of credit cards.

Mr. Tapp Said: “It had been assumed that because of the recession, people would be cutting back. The retail figures over the Christmas [period] don’t really seem to indicate that.”

Mr. Tapp’s comments were made as the Bank of England noted an increase in credit card interest. The average interest on a card rose from 15.89 per cent in November 2009 to 16.26 during December. Although a very small increase, many believe that it could still be enough to affect the lives of many UK consumers trying to pay off their credit card debt.

Of course, with responsible use a credit card can be a great way to pay for items and increase your credit rating at the same time, making it easier for you to find good credit deals in the future.

What do you think? Are you still using a credit card or have you decided that they are more trouble than they are worth? If you’ve ever been in debt, would you ever consider going back to using a credit card in the future or are you steering well clear of the service?

©2012 MoneyBlog. All Rights Reserved.