SpeedieConsulting

Affiliate Angel launches today, which is the UK’s first dedicated Pay Per Lead (PPL) network for finance and insurance offers.

The service offers a range of pay per lead affiliate deals, including access to deals that are not available anywhere else.

Affiliates can take advantage of a range of tools to help get them underway as fast as possible, as well as view their activity in real time, 24/7 allowing them to see their performance activity by creative or merchant and making amends where necessary.

Helen Lewis from Affiliate Angel said: “By offering a PPL network, affiliates are rewarded upfront for quality business, without worrying or having to wait for the merchant to convert.

“Our affiliates are supported by our extensive background in affiliate marketing – we understand how to get creative and can help with the design of landing pages that convert. We will also provide affiliates with a wide range of banners, text, links, and email creative. There’s no need to send people to homepages here.

“By joining us, affiliates are getting access to deals and companies that are not available anywhere else and the number of fantastic offers are growing daily.”

Whilst the programme primarily offers include a range of finance and insurance products that affiliates can earn commission on, the programme also provides offers across other markets. Current deals available include:

• Life Insurance
• Private Medical Insurance
• Corporate Medical Insurance
• Business Insurance
• Mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance
• Bike Insurance
• Consumer Mobile Phone
• Corporate Finance / Business Loans
• Business Utility
• Consumer Utility
• Business Telecoms
• Business Mobiles

Ms. Lewis added: “With our Pay Per Lead network , affiliates potentially can vastly increase their income as they don’t have to worry about merchant conversion rates, only providing quality validated leads!”

For more information about Affiliate Angel – please visit http://www.affiliateangel.com/

A survey carried out via a business networking site* has reinforced the different business stereotypes, with the image of a scruffy IT worker stuck in front of his computer screen all day and longing for his holiday appearing true!

The independent poll was in response to recent research from payday loans lender www.speed-e-loans.com ** which highlighted how 50% of their borrowers are white collar workers and professionals. The poll wanted to see just what an average professional would spend £250 on (this is the highest amount new speed-e-loans customers can borrow).

The results reinforced perceived business stereotypes:

• 100% of IT workers and consultants (who tend not interface with customers and so may not be so bothered about new clothes) said they’d go on holiday if they had £250 spare;
• this is in stark contrast to 100% of those in the image-conscious Business Development and Marketing professions – they’d spend the money on clothes.

Gary Miller-Cheevers from speed-e-loans commented: “The poll was done as a bit of fun to see just what our average professional would spend the equivalent of a payday loan on, but we were surprised just to see how correct business stereotypes are!”

As expected, nearly a third of all respondents (32%) would spend the money on a holiday while 31% would spend the money on a gadget.

Other stats:

• those in the 18-24 age group would spend the money both equally on gadgets and clothes;
• 100% of those aged 55+ would spend it on food and drink;
• of those who said they’d spend the money on something work-related (6%), they were all male and aged 35-54.

*Poll carried out on behalf of speed-e-loans for period 22.01.10-28.08.10 via business networking site LinkedIn.

**Research from speed-e-loans. Data for period 05.02.10 – 20.05.10 showed that that the top 3 borrower employment categories consisted of Office workers and Administration (23%); People employed in Management (14%) and Sales & Marketing (13% of all borrowers). The figures also showed that 7% of all borrowers are Solicitors, Accountants, Doctors or Financial Advisers

From Friday 20 August 2010, Nationwide will reduce rates by up to 0.20% on selected remortgage products. The rate cuts will improve the competitiveness of Nationwide’s remortgage range and the average cut will be 0.15%.

The remortgage product range from Nationwide will include the following:

Two-year fixed rate reduced by 0.19% available at 3.39% (up to 70% LTV)
Three-year fixed rate reduced by 0.09% available at 4.09% (up to 70% LTV)

* £896 product fee
* £99 booking fee (payable upfront and non-refundable)
* No standard valuation or standard legal fees
* New customers can borrow up to 85% LTV

Two-year fixed rate reduced by 0.19% available at 3.79% (up to 70% LTV)
Two-year fixed rate reduced by 0.19% available at 4.29% (70-75% LTV)

* No product fee
* £99 booking fee (payable upfront and non-refundable)
* No standard valuation or standard legal fees
* New customers can borrow up to 85% LTV

Andy McQueen, divisional director for mortgages and general insurance at Nationwide, said: “We are reducing rates by up to 0.20% across our range of products which is great news for customers seeking to remortgage. For example, our two-year fixed rates are now particularly attractive, starting from 3.39% for customers wanting a mortgage of up to 70% of the property value.”

Discounts

Cash-back offers and discounts remain available.

Existing customers who take a new Nationwide mortgage when either moving home or switching at the end of their deal can receive £300 cash-back (1), while first time buyers can receive a £500 product fee discount on selected products.

Notes

Customers can deal directly with Nationwide through branches, online at www.nationwide.co.uk or by calling 0800 30 20 10.

(1).£300 cash-back: available on products reserved on or after 11 June 2010 and payable per application within one month of completion of the mortgages. Please note this offer may be withdrawn at any time.

Key features of the fixed and tracker mortgage product range

* Flexibility:
o Overpayments (no minimum; maximum of £500 per month on fixed and tracker mortgage deals);
o Apply for a Further Advance, the additional borrowing facility.

* Valuation fee:
o Varies based on purchase price of property and not product chosen.
o Non-refundable for home buyers and home movers.
o No standard valuation fees or standard legal fees for borrowers who are remortgaging.

* Free legals cover the conveyancer’s professional charges relating to the house purchase only when using Legal Marketing Services (LMS). The customer will be liable for some additional fees relating to the disbursements, e.g. Land Registry fees and local authority searches. Due to Northern Irish law, Nationwide is unable to offer free legal fees in Northern Ireland.

* A non-refundable booking fee of £99 (payable up front) applies to all mortgage products except those specifically designed for customers switching at the end of a Nationwide deal and further advance applicants.

* Maximum LTV:
o 95% for existing Nationwide mortgage borrowers switching at the end of their current deal or moving home.
o 90% for new and existing customers who use their FlexAccount as their main current account.
o 85% for all other borrower types.
o 75% on new build flats and 90% on new build houses.

* Interest calculation: daily.

* Maximum borrowing limit: £1 million. Product limits also apply.

* Tracker floor: if the Bank of England Base Rate is 0.00% or less during the tracker period, the rate the borrower pays will be 0.00% plus the agreed set percentage above the Bank of England Base Rate. This means that the rate the borrower pays will never go below 0.00% plus the additional percentage rate of their tracker mortgage.

* Base Mortgage Rate and Standard Mortgage Rate
o Any mortgage products reserved on or before 29 April 2009 revert to the Base Mortgage Rate (BMR).
o If a customer chooses to switch to a new Nationwide mortgage product, the new product will revert onto the Standard Mortgage Rate (SMR).
o Both the BMR and SMR are variable rates which may vary in accordance with Nationwide’s mortgage terms and conditions. However, the BMR is guaranteed to be no more than 2% above the Bank of England base rate, whilst the SMR has no upper limit or cap.
o If a customer chooses to switch to a new product, it is not possible to switch back to the BMR at a later date.

* Applications are required for all products. Terms and conditions are available on request.
* Mortgages are subject to underwriting criteria. The actual rate available will depend upon the borrower’s circumstances.

Early repayment charges for fixed rate and tracker mortgages

Throughout the deal period, a maximum percentage of the outstanding loan is payable as detailed below. Fixed rates allow overpayments of up to £500 per month without the need to pay an early repayment charge.

Two-year fixed rate mortgage: 3%
Three-year fixed rate mortgage: 4%
Five-year fixed rate mortgage: 5%
Two-year tracker rate mortgage: 2.5%
Three-year tracker rate mortgage: 3%

Figures released from car finance specialist CarLoan4U.co.uk has shown how hatchbacks are the most popular choice of vehicle when people are applying for car finance.

The top 10 most popular cars by application*:

1. Peugeot 207 S Hatchback
2. Vauxhall Vectra CDTI Hatchback
3. Mini Cooper Hatchback
4. FIAT Punto Active hatchback
5. BMW 118D SE Hatchback
6. Citroen C1 Rhythm Hatchback
7. Renault Clio Dynamique Hatchback
8. Ford Focus ST-2 Hatchback
9. Citroen Picasso Estate
10. Mazda 6 TS Hatchback

Ryan Dignan, Director from CarLoan4U, says: “Apart from practicality of having the extra space compared to having a boot, the popularity of hatchbacks probably has its roots in the recession. Hatchbacks often tend to have a favourable fuel efficiency-haul ratio, so for people who like to load up their cars (for example, people buying in bulk or having a driving holiday in the UK or Europe in order to save money) they are ideal.

“Certainly, you can get some really good-looking hatchbacks, with today’s newer versions looking stylish and often sporty, and suitable for any type of driver, whether young, old, male or female – a far cry from the days when hatchbacks were the choice of middle-aged men who would use them to take their gardening down the tip!”

*Figures Jan – July 2010

In a statement issued today, loans industry expert Gary Miller-Cheevers (and CEO of payday loan company speed-e-loans.com) has responded to the recent furore over payday loans following research from watchdog Consumer Focus. He agrees that while responsible lending is key to stopping people getting in to a debt trap, industry commentators should remember that the so-called “obscene”* APRs quoted by payday loan companies should be taken in context.

The Consumer Focus research revealed that the amount of people taking payday loans has quadrupled in four years, with some 1.2 million people now taking out a payday loan every year, borrowing a total of £1.2bn.

The organisation estimates that the average borrower takes 3.5 loans a year to tide them over and worry that repeat borrowing at so-called “eye watering”** interest rates can leave consumers who postpone payments, or take out repeat loans, caught in a debt trap.

Mr. Miller-Cheevers says the issues highlighted by Consumer Focus do not necessarily reflect customers of every payday loan company saying that, through responsible lending, the amount of his customers who extend their loan for a further pay period is not substantial. “Most of our customers like to think of us a place they can come as and when an emergency occurs, as everyone knows that you can’t rely on your bank to help out anymore”.

He says that his company achieves this low debt-ratio through responsible lending: “We reject approximately 90% of applications and initially limit borrowing to £250. If applicants have unmanageable debts, we do them a favour by turning them away.

“We also restrict repeat borrowing”.

Addressing APRs, Mr. Miller-Cheevers said: “There seems to be a fascination with industry commentators banging on about high APRs but the real picture is that an annual calculation of interest, like APR, doesn’t really deliver a meaningful way of illustrating the cost of a payday loan that could be for as little as 7 days.

“Our payday loans can be a cost-effective short-term fix for people who genuinely have an issue and will get paid at the end of the month, often working out cheaper than getting an unauthorised bank overdraft.”

He summarised: “With MP Stewart Hosie branding APR payday loan rates as “obscene” and Consumer Focus branding them as “eye-watering”, I would welcome the opportunity to invite both Mr. Hosie and members from Consumer Focus to come and see how a responsible payday loan company operates”.

*Quote from Dundee East MP and SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie

** Quote from Consumer Focus’s financial services specialist Marie Burton

Figures released from car finance specialist CarLoan4U.co.uk are indicative of stability in the car finance marketplace, with the average car loan decreasing by less than 3%, on a year-on-year comparison basis.

The data shows that in:

• Jan – July 2010, the average car loan size was £6994.30
• Jan – July 2009, the average loan size was £7201.87

“And this” says Ryan Dignan, Director from CarLoan4U, “may indicate that there is some stability in the car finance market place with car buyers looking to borrow only slightly less for the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year.”

He concludes “It also shows that the second hand car market seems to have remained consistent for the same reason.”

About CarLoan4U

As one of the UK’s leading car finance brokers, we find customers the most suitable car loan to suit their budget. As an independent company, we’re not tied to any one lender and can offer our customers a wide choice of car finance packages at the most competitive rates. We offer customers the flexibility of choosing the vehicle they want from the dealer of their choice – we don’t tie them down to a particular car dealer.

We also offer motor insurance, GAP insurance and mechanical breakdown cover.

The continued success of the UK’s first car hire insurance comparison service continues with the addition of the world’s only price comparison tool for motorhome and campervan excess hire insurance.

The service, from money saving website moneymaxim, can save anyone renting a motorhome or campervan on holiday, anywhere in the world, both significant stress and sizable sums of money.

Mark Bower, Managing Director of moneymaxim.co.uk comments on the innovative hire excess insurance comparison service;

“The uptake on our car hire insurance search engine has been phenomenal to date and we are particularly pleased with the national publicity we have received. We know there is a significant consumer demand for holidaymakers looking to save money and not get taken advantage of by car rental companies looking to maximise their profits.

“We have now extended our car hire insurance service to offer the only comparison site in the world for excess hire insurance covering motorhomes and campervans. The policies launched this week by both Questor Insurance and worldwideinsure.com reduce the excess that a hirer might be liable for from a maximum of £2000 in Europe or £5000 worldwide to just £100. There are however subtle differences between the policies which mean different insurers with be better for different customers. These are highlighted on moneymaxim. We also intend to add further insurers should more join the market.

With thousands of Brits planning extended career breaks and gap years in the coming months to destinations like Australia and New Zealand we believe that our price comparison service will save holidaymakers the worry of facing a sizable excess charges if they have to claim on their rented motorhome insurance policy. The policies are also great value, in almost all circumstances offering both significant discounts to policies available from rental companies and better cover, with items such as wheels, tyres, windows (all of which hire companies tend to exclude) being insured.

“As we support our online comparison site with a telephone support team we have been talking to customers who were totally unaware that they could save hundreds of pounds by using independent car hire excess insurance policies rather than having to accept the high priced waivers offered directly by car hire firms. I am sure they will now be joined by similarly happy motorhome renters.

A key benefit of the moneymaxim service is that it is easy to compare prices and features from around 100 variations of policies in about 60 seconds.”

To search and find excess car insurance visit: http://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/compare-car-hire-excess-insurance

Notes

The moneymaxim.co.uk car hire excess insurance comparison service compares prices from the following companies: Blue Insurances Ltd, carhireexcess.com, icarhireinsurance.com, insurance4carhire.com, insuremycarhire.com, intasure.com, protectyourbubble.com, Questor Insurance and worldwideinsure.com

The motorhome service currently compares prices from Questor Insurance and worldwideinsure.com

Nationwide Building Society has launched an exclusive website offering a range of lifestyle benefits for its FlexAccount customers aged 16-24.

A new bespoke website – www.flex-zone.co.uk – will offer young FlexAccount customers access to a range of benefits such as special deals on mobile phones, music, entertainment and travel.

These include:

• £70 cash back when purchasing any 24 month Vodafone contract.
• 10% off all ‘pay as you go’ handsets.
• Every Wednesday – £1 rental on all DVDs, Blu-rays and Games from Blockbuster.
• Every Wednesday – 2 -4-1 offers at any Pizza Hut restaurant or takeaway.
• Discounts on mp3 downloads from eMusic.
• Plus many more including money off holidays and festivals, which will update on a monthly basis.

Graham Pilkington, Nationwide divisional director, banking, said: “There are an estimated eight million people aged 16-24 in the UK, of which approximately half are not in full-time education. Unlike some banks, which only offer lifestyle benefits through their current accounts to students, the Flex-Zone is available to all customers between 16 and 24, helping them to make their money go that little bit further.”

Nationwide customers who hold a FlexAccount with a debit card and use it as their main current account* could also qualify for better rates, discounted fees and access to exclusive products across Nationwide’s range of financial products.

Notes

• A main FlexAccount is defined as: A FlexAccount with a Visa debit card (excluding cash card+) that has had £750 or more deposited per month for the last 3 months (excluding internal transfers from other Nationwide accounts).

• Nationwide’s FlexAccount is only available to customers aged 16 or over and who live in the UK. They must be 18 or over to apply for an overdraft.
• These benefits are only available to Nationwide current account customers aged 16-24.
• Customers can register at www.flex-zone.co.uk.
• Applications are required for all products. Terms and conditions are available on request.

From Friday 6 August 2010, Nationwide will reduce rates by up to 0.30% on selected mortgages for remortgage and house purchase customers. The biggest cuts are on mortgages available up to 85% LTV and will, in particular, help customers with smaller deposits. The average cut will be 0.19%.

The mortgage product range from Nationwide will include the following:

For those buying a home
Two-year tracker rate reduced by 0.20% available at 3.68% (75-80% LTV)
Two-year fixed rate reduced by 0.30% available at 4.69% (80-85% LTV)
Three-year fixed rate reduced by 0.20% available at 4.89% (75-80% LTV)
Five-year fixed rate reduced by 0.30% available at 5.99% (80-85% LTV)

• New customers can borrow up to 85% LTV
• Existing borrowers who are moving home can borrow up to 95% LTV
• £99 booking fee (payable upfront and non-refundable)
• £896 product fee
• First time buyers taking out a three-year fixed or tracker product or a five-year fixed product receive a £500 discount

For those remortgaging
Two-year fixed rate reduced by 0.20% available at 4.98% (75-80% LTV)

• New customers can borrow up to 85% LTV
• £99 booking fee (payable upfront and non-refundable)
• No product fee
• No standard valuation or standard legal fees

Two-year tracker rate reduced by 0.20% available at 3.88% (75-80% LTV)

• New customers can borrow up to 85% LTV
• £99 booking fee (payable upfront and non-refundable)
• £896 product fee
• No standard valuation or standard legal fees

Martyn Dyson, head of mortgages at Nationwide, said: “Borrowers thinking of remortgaging or buying a home this summer can now look forward to rate cuts of up to 0.30% with Nationwide. In particular, the two-year fixed rate deal with an £896 product fee available up to 85% LTV for house purchasers is very competitive.

“What’s more, cash-back offers and discounts remain available. Existing customers who take a new Nationwide mortgage when either moving home or switching at the end of their deal can receive £300 cash-back1, while first time buyers can receive a £500 product fee discount on selected products.

“Customers who want the lower rates currently available on tracker mortgages, but value the security of a fixed rate, can select a tracker now knowing that they can switch to a fixed rate at a later date without having to pay any Early Repayment Charge. Alternatively, they can, from the outset, opt for a mixture of tracker and fixed rate deals.”

Notes
Customers can deal directly with Nationwide through branches, online at www.nationwide.co.uk or by calling 0800 30 20 10.

1. £300 cash-back: available on products reserved on or after 11 June 2010 and payable per application within one month of completion of the mortgages. Please note this offer may be withdrawn at any time.

Specialist niche insurance broker Cover4Caravans.co.uk, which offers both a web-based and telephone service, today announced the addition of Hobby Caravan insurance to its portfolio of products, with prices starting from under £150.

This is great news for Hobby Caravan owners who may often find it a struggle to obtain competitive quotations from touring caravan insurance companies because of the age-old stigmas attached to these types of caravans, including the perceived higher risk of theft.

Richard Burgess, Director at Cover4Caravans, commented: “Insurance Underwriters continue to look back rather than forward and despite the improvement in security devices, they continually decline to offer quotations for these caravans. This isn’t right.

“We have been talking to Insurers for some time now to obtain cover for Hobby Caravans. Our research suggested that with the right security devices in place, these caravans deserve a realistic premium to be offered*.”

Cover4Caravans believe their rates are competitive and cover typically includes:

• Caravan & Contents Sums Insured up to £17,000
• Accidental Damage Cover
• Theft, Malicious Damage etc
• £350.00 Policy Excess
• Low minimal premiums for Hobby Caravans starting from just £149.62 including IPT
• Optional Legal Expenses Cover.

Full details of the Policy Cover will be provided at the time of quotation.

Richard adds: “We are really excited to add this insurance to our range of what we believe are good value caravan insurance policies and now it is up to the Hobby Caravan owners to support us – as we prove to Insurers that they have made the right decision in supporting our recommendations”.

Quotations can requested online at www.cover4caravans.co.uk or by calling the extremely experienced Cover4Caravans team free on 0800 970 7172.

*The theft risk of a Hobby Caravan is still higher than that of any other manufacturer and because of this certain conditions will apply to a policy, these include: -

• When detached from the towing vehicle and left unattended the caravan must be secured by a wheel clamping device and a hitchlock
• When left attached to the towing vehicle but unattended it must be secured by a wheel clamp
• The Hobby Caravan must be stored, when not in use, either at your home address on your private driveway or on a CaSSOA Registered Site
• The Hobby Caravan must be fitted with an operational Tracking device e.g. Phantom, SmarTrak, CobraTrak etc
• Use of the Hobby Caravan is restricted to the UK only

About Cover4Caravans

With roots going back to 1946, our clients can benefit from nearly 65 years’ of experience in the caravan insurance marketplace. We are independent intermediaries and act on behalf of our clients in arranging their caravan insurances. Our service include advising clients on their insurance needs, arranging insurance cover with insurers to meet those requirements and help with any ongoing changes that have to be made to your caravan insurance policies.