11 April 2008
The decision by the Bank of England to cut the base rate of interest to 5% is a "ray of hope" for consumers but may not be enough in the present economic climate, it has been claimed.
Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com Ann Robinson noted that in the past year, such individuals have been hurt by a large rise in essential financial outgoings (£1,783).
Moreover, a good deal of service providers have not echoed recent reductions in base rate in their products, she added, something that could lead to more woe for people, possibly if they have taken out personal loans.
"While all this is going on it's very easy for consumers to feel helpless. But, in fact, we can all help ourselves by taking a good look at our household budgets to see where we can cut costs," she commented.
She added that consumers could help themselves by looking around for the most competitive deals, especially in terms of financial services.
The National Association of Estate Agents recently called on the Bank of England to lower the base rate of interest, which it did yesterday to 5%.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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