Goodbye Moneywise

So, after three years of writing about the crazy world of personal finance, I’m leaving Moneywise and the UK to go travelling across Canada.

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The fraudsters have got me

After discovering I’d fallen victim to debit card fraud this morning, I was interested to read that criminal gangs cloned the credit and debit cards of thousands more shoppers last year - fuelling a record 25% rise in fraud.

The amount lost to fraudsters reached £535.2 million during 2007 despite the introduction of the chip and Pin, according to new figures published by APACS today.

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Am I alone in this?

We received a letter from a Moneywise reader this week, sharing their experiences of bad customer service from Northern Rock, when trying to open a savings account.

It made me think that I honestly cannot remember when I was last at the receiving end of good customer service. In an age where we shop around endlessly for the best deals for everything from our mortgage and insurance, to energy and mobile phone tariffs – the savings we make can feel meaningless if customer service is poor.

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Christmas on credit

I was interested to read the Bank of England's quarterly bulletin today, which says higher mortgage payments are starting to put the squeeze on consumer spending.

Simply because although it is to be expected, I saw absolutely no sign of tightened purse strings on Oxford Street on Saturday, where people where handing over plastic and spending money like there was no tomorrow. Admittedly I was among the shoppers, but just to return my broken Christmas party shoes, I promise.

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