Going to put your house up for sale? Then as from today new rules apply to Home Improvement Packs.

From today you can’t even put your house on the market until you have a Hips pack. That means delays as well as the cost which will be somewhere between £175 and £200.

According to the national Association of Estate Agents, 65% of estate agents believe that the changes would put people off selling their house. To me there is no doubt that the additional hurdle won’t help, but even before, a seller would have to get a Hip pack a some stage so it’s not extra cost - it just means that now you need a Hips pack to even start selling your house.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a supporter of Hips. I do not believe that the packs are anything more than the property version of political correctness. They supposedly show a buyer the energy efficiency of a house but there are doubts as to how reliable the reports are. And it is clear that very few buyers ask to see the report. So if they don’t want to see it surely it has no value?

Of course, a Hips would have had value if it included a worthwhile survey as it was originally intended. But there were legal complications with that proposal and the property survey part of the Hips got dropped. It seems to me that what’s left isn’t worth all the hassle.

Has any of you out there read a Hips pack? And have any of you used it to help you decide which property to buy? Now hands up all who want to kick out Hips …………

It seems that the energy companies are stuffing millions of pounds into their deposit accounts by fixing our direct debit payments too high.

According to the consumer magazine Which?, 70% of account holders are in credit with their electricity and gas providers. As a result the energy companies are sitting on a pile of cash which you and I own! And they don’t pay us interest on our credit balances – but you can bet your bottom dollar that they are receiving interest on their cash mountain.

Energy companies are supposed to calculate our direct debit payments on an estimate of our annual consumption and divide that by twelve. But the power industry doesn’t seem too good at maths! Which? Found that 20% of us who are in credit were owed more than £100 and 10% were owed more than £200. This has led to complaints that clients are being ripped off.

This anger about over payments has been increased because of the failure of power companies to pass on the full benefit of a 50% fall in the cost of wholesale energy prices since last summer.

As you might have guessed, the Energy Retailers Association has denied a charge of profiteering by over-charging through direct debits. Nevertheless, the industry’s regulator Ofgem, has taken an interest. It has launched an investigation following complaints by MP’s and consumer groups.

Bur wheels grind exceedingly slow. The energy companies are in no hurry to sort this out and I doubt whether Ofgem will get up early to investigate. After all who heard of a quasi-government department getting their skates on?

Credit cards with no transfer fees and low follow up interest rates have become a very popular option amongst credit card buffs. These cards typically charge interest rate at 6.5% on the balances transferred from rival cards.

I think the best deal like this currently on offer is Barclaycards Long Term Balance Transfer (6.5%). This interest rate is lower than any overdraft or loan rate you’ll find. The credit card also provides you with far more flexibility regarding repayments, allowing you to repay the money in broadly your own time. For the first 10 months any purchases are interest free but thereafter, new purchases attract interest at 16.9% and your balances at this higher interest rate will not be repaid until your 6.5% balances have been repaid.

Also of interest is Citibank’s Life of Balance Mastercard. This has a low life of balance rate of 6.9% but there is also a transfer fee of 2.5%.

Abbey and Virgin Money still offer the best interest free deal. Both these deals last 15 months. Abbey charges a transfer fee of 2.98% and Virgins transfer fee is 3%.

Oh, by the way, unless your credit is perfect, don’t bother applying for any of these cards – you’ll stand no chance!

If you take the average deposit being demanded of first time house buyers and add to that the cost of paying the first years’ mortgage repayments, then the result works out at 111% of the borrowers’ average salary. A year ago, the figure was 61% and even that was a lot higher than the long term average of 38%.

This huge burden is the result of the mortgage lenders demanding much higher deposits. On average lenders are demanding deposits of 24% of the purchase price of the property. So on average house price of £128,000 this means a deposit of around £30,000.

And once the first years mortgage payments are added in, the total is more than the average first time buyers’ gross annual income of £33,000. It is true that once you have one, mortgages are cheaper because both interest rates have fallen and house prices are down 20%. However, the increased deposits mean that only those who have been saving for years will be able to start on the housing ladder.

This must increase the popularity of shared equity deals where the first time buyer buys a percentage of the house and the developer or finance house, owns the remaining percentage of the house. In most of these schemes, the “owner” has the right to increase the percentage of the house they own by buying more of the house as their finances allow.

For others, the only option is renting a house or an extended stay with relatives.

Saga has written to 230,000 of its customers who hold a Saga credit card telling them that if they don’t have an income of at least £12,000 a year, their credit card will be cancelled.

For some time now Saga, the company which sells exclusively to the over 50’s, has promoted a Saga credit card to its clients. For some years now Saga’s card has been operated for Saga by Liverpool Victoria, the company that’s better known as an insurance company. But LV has decided to withdraw from the credit card market, presumably as a bi-product of the credit crunch.

Saga’s credit card is now operated by Allied Irish Bank and the bank has set a minimum annual income criteria of £12,000. This means that the thousands of Saga credit card holders living on modest incomes will have to face losing their credit card.

This will not be well received by them. Indeed, my Aunt, one of those affected, is most irate. She thought Saga were on the side of the elderly so to be forced to relinquish her credit card is most galling for her.

A spokesperson from Saga said, ”In the current financial environment credit card firms have to be sure that the people to whom they extend credit are able to pay it back. Different lenders adopt different lending criteria.”

My Aunt is less than impressed …………….

Recently Norwich Union has written to all its clients on its Hospital Cash Insurance Plan telling them that they are lowering the upper age limit from 71 to 65. This has lead to a storm of protest. But consider the facts.

The Hospital Cash Insurance Plan provides cover of up to £50 per day if the policyholder is hospitalised due to an accident and £25 if hospitalisation is due to illness. In this plan all policyholders are charged the same premium irrespective of their age. The problem has been that someone in the 65 to 71 age group is six and a half times more likely to be hospitalised than someone who is 35. That inevitably means that as everyone in the scheme pays the same premium, the younger members must be subsidising the older ones.

Norwich Union says that if they had not made the decision to reduce the upper age limit, then premiums across the whole scheme would have increased. As it is, with this change, premiums remain at their current level.

Some commentators have claimed that this is age discrimination. But is it? Surely it is a commercial decision which benefits the majority of people in the scheme who are under 65. Without the age change, they would be faced with paying more.

This highlights the issues involved in the Governments Equalities Bill which is currently being pushed through. As its name implies, this Bill is trying to outlaw discrimination but the insurance industry is trying to resist the Bill. It would seem that one of the results of the Bill would be that under the proposed law, insurers would be banned from using age as a basis for pricing insurance. As the Association of British Insurers point out, age is a relevant risk factor that insurance underwriters should be able to take into account when pricing a policy.

If this Bill goes ahead, I wonder how it will affect the pricing of life insurance policies? If anyone out there knows, please let me know.

We’ve always been told that the whole purpose of speed cameras is to reduce road accidents and injuries. But evidence released recently proves that simply is not true!

Witness the Gatso speed camera on the M11 at its junction with the North Circular near Woodford, Essex. That camera is reported to catch up to 3,500 a week, generating over £1 million per year in fines. A good little earner!

And what has happened to accidents? They’ve risen! Casualties at the location have virtually doubled and accidents have risen by a quarter. Police believe that crashes have increased because motorists are slowing down anticipating the camera and then accelerating once they have passed it. (Now who would believe that drivers would do that?)

If you are arguing the case for speed cameras on the sole basis of safety, then the experience o the North Circular debunks your argument. Roads would be safer without them. Well at least on faster roads which allow motorists to significantly slow down and then accelerate.

Bearing in mind that this M11 camera is the most profitable in the UK, does anyone want to have a bet with me that it will be removed to increase road safety?

I rest my case.

From 6 May, Nationwide are planning to impose charges on their credit cards and from 1 June on their debit cards when they’re used abroad.

I’m disappointed about this, I must admit. I’ve always been the one to brag that it doesn’t cost me any commission when I use my card whilst we’re on holiday – wherever we go. When I opened my “Nationwide” account, some years ago, it wasn’t one of the major factors – but it was there none the less. Had I opened that account recently, with the commission-free deal in mind, I would most definitely not be amused.

In actual fact, having read further, it’s not all of “abroad” they’re referring to and there will be no changes if I’m travelling within Europe.

Nationwide are not alone – Saga are another company that make no commission charge within Europe, but do charge on world wide usage of their card. Thomas Cook is making changes from next month, too.

The winners, at present, in offering free-charge card use world-wide, are the Post Office. They don’t charge commission on either their Classic MasterCard or their Platinum MasterCard.

Nationwide say that the credit crisis is to blame. They can no longer absorb the fee which Visa charges them for each transaction.
Another credit crunch victim.

Here’s a nice fresh cheque book, all ready for you to use. No need for a new account – it’s linked to your credit card. Watch out – there’s a catch about.

The vast majority of these cheque books are sent out unsolicited and a third of the people that make use of them do so without checking the charge there will be on them. Typically this is the normal interest rate for your particular card account plus two per cent.

If you’ve been tempted by the “blurb” that comes with the cheque book package, inviting you to swim in clear blue seas, with a deserted beach and palm trees in the background, or that flight to New York to shop ‘til you drop – right up to solving the second car problem – stop and think. You’d hardly use a credit card to pay for debts that are going to take an extended time to pay off – or would you?

Even if you were treating yourself to something that you can pay off in a few months, why use a piece of paper that costs two percent more in interest than the credit card you already have?

As you’ll have gathered, I’m not impressed very much with this expensive way of borrowing. It would be very much better to take out a straightforward loan if you need to borrow money.

So, what to do with these cheque books? Surely you have a paper re-cycling bin? Shred the cheques and bin them. If you find that you need to borrow money, there are far better and more sensible ways to go about it.

I spent most of last Sunday at a horse jumping competition, as is often the case since my niece took up horse-riding. For “niece” read “the whole family” as everyone tends to get roped in. The first event started at something like 8.30 and luckily she wasn’t in the first couple of them, so we arrived at around 10am and even had time for bacon butties in the horsebox whilst she warmed up her pony.

The show was aimed at youngsters and far from being the children of the wealthy, which many people expect, they’re offspring of hard working parents, keen to see their children do well in their chosen hobby. They’re well turned out (ponies and riders, that is) and arrive in an assortment of horse boxes and trailers – some of them quite smart, some looking decidedly on their last legs but they must have an MOT and the associated costs – or whatever the equivalent is in horse boxes.

Talking amongst the parents, many of them are finding it a real struggle at present to keep up with stabling and feeding costs and the sheer expense of everything horse-related but they’re a friendly bunch and it’s good to see children who are keen to do well and who behave like kids should. Friendly competition (usually), a few tears, lots of encouragement. They learn to mix with and support other riders and care for their animals.

Lots of the Mums are doing two or more jobs to support the hobby and there’s quite a lot of make-do-and-mend with all the gear. With the effect of the credit crunch, it’s very likely there won’t be so many of them at the next event – there are a record number of ponies and gear up for sale. We’d not been to this particular venue for a few months and the tack shop has closed already. The café has been scaled down – but many families take food with them and eat in the horse boxes anyway.

My thoughts turned to the insurance issue, as it tends to. The horses and riders are insured – they have to be, to enter the events. All the boxes are insured and obviously the venue is – that’s a lot of money laid out for just one Sunday event out of hundreds going on throughout the UK. No wonder lots of these shows have been sponsored in the past by insurance companies.

The credit crunch is producing losses for everyone. For these lucky kids, for family life and for the insurance industry.

But how did she do? Two events, two refusals and one jump down. Still, you can’t win ‘em all. Jess had a good day.

It goes back years. First of all, it was convenient. They had a branch in a large supermarket near to where we lived. With the coming of the debit card and eventually on-line banking it became irrelevant where the actual bank was situated.

It’s been a good relationship really. Until now. Everything’s changed due to a break in at our village supermarket. The thieves broke in and stole the in-store cash machine. I went in to use the cash point and there it was – gone. In its place was a large stack of family packs of crisps. Not to worry, it would be replaced – or wouldn’t it?

A day or so later my husband needed to speak to a customer accounts adviser at the same bank (they don’t seem to have bank clerks any more) and mentioned the problem– she assured him that to their knowledge the cash point was still there, in store.

We looked. It wasn’t there and still isn’t. I miss it being in its place in a well lit store which opens until late every single night. The girl at the till says it might come back, but probably not.

And the point of all this?

The Office of Fair Trading report into personal current accounts says that only 6 per cent of bank customers switched accounts in the past year, even though they could probably find accounts at other banks that are better suited to their needs and possibly would charge them less.
At the same time, it’s estimated that around twenty per cent of energy customers changed providers in one 12 month period. Mind you, I did that once, and never again.

The general view is that customer inertia is the main reason behind customers staying put - with some staying at the same bank where they opened their first account.

Maybe the time has come to shop around?

Stuff the turkey took on a whole new meaning last Christmas, according to the latest figures.

Picture the Christmas Eve of just a few years ago; the tree is dressed, the house is spruced up for the big day. Mince pies and sherry are ready for Santa’s visit. In the kitchen, the vegetables are all prepared and it’s time to stuff the turkey and set the table for the feast. A day or so of relaxation, maybe the odd walk and a little TV lies ahead.

Winding on a year or so and it’s – stuff the turkey, the sales have started. All hands to the computer. It’s said that John Lewis celebrated its busiest ever online hour from 7pm on Christmas Eve as its clearance sale started. The action continued through the great day, with numbers visiting their site being 12 times that of a year ago. Boxing Day topped the lot, with on-liners in general doubling the Christmas day figures.
It seems the Queen’s speech had a little competition too – her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs were not doubt delighted to report that over 600 people used a part of their Christmas Day to file their tax returns on-line.

Happy Christmas for next year!

Dot

Author: Catriona Singfield

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as ME and stigmatised as ‘Yuppie flu’ in the 80s, has now been recognised as a proper, and serious, life-damaging illness. Unfortunately for sufferers, some major insurance companies are behind the times, as Miss A found out.

Diagnosed eight years ago, Miss A suffers from a virulent form of ME that has left her wracked with pain and totally unable to complete a normal day’s work, let alone hold down a job. With just £180 a week in benefits – which has to cover all her expenses, including assistance with the illness – she depends on the support and care of her boyfriend and family. Yet with a good, permanent health insurance policy in place, Miss A believed that she would be protected from this tragic situation

Miss A’s former employers believed that they were providing the best health insurance for their workers, with a policy from Swiss Life providing a permanent income in the event of a claim of 75% of final salary. But, after initially agreeing to pay out, insurance firm Swiss Life decided to drop Miss A’s claim. For the last five years, they have refused to pay her the money she is owed, and she has lost £40,000 so far.

Surely, you might think, we should hear Swiss Life’s side of the story? It’s certainly worth reading …

Disregarding personal privacy, as well as the debilitating disease and its effect on Miss A’s life, the insurance company set up a spying programme to capture evidence of her activities on video. They then used this to claim that she was leading a fit and active lifestyle, well able to work for a living and support herself. For example, footage of Miss A making a visit to her Mother’s house after attending a doctor’s appointment was used to suggest that she was perfectly healthy.

As both laymen and medical experts know, ME sufferers may be flat out in bed one day, and able to rise and perform light tasks the next, while being forced to rest yet again a few days later. Thus video evidence of Miss A simply out and about would not suggest to any medical professional that she had recovered.

Swiss Life have also criticised Miss A for providing them with evidence of long-term illness that they find insufficient. In 2002, she started a course of restorative treatment designed to get her back on her feet, but sadly she was unable to finish the course before a relapse hit her. Swiss Life claim that this is evidence not of Miss A taking steps to get well and being knocked back, but avoiding treatment.

You might think that the findings of a respected Harley Street ME specialist might be enough to pacify the insurers. But even with this assessment, Swiss Life are denying Miss A her rightful payments.

Swiss Life are a subsidiary of a company called Resolution, who have said that if Miss A wishes to take her claim to the Financial Ombudsman, then they will not try to prevent her case from being heard. But as Ombudsman compensation is limited to £100,000, Miss A is understandably reluctant to take this route. She does not know how long the condition will persist, and has little reason to trust Swiss life after her treatment so far!

Miss A, and others like her, are being hit by the same prejudice – the idea that such conditions as ME are merely ‘designer diseases’, excuses for the sufferer to get sympathy and avoid a day’s work. This could not be farther from the truth, as any doctor will agree. Real people are suffering real illnesses, and being denied payments that are rightfully theirs.

Until unscrupulous insurers are brought to heel, what can you do to prevent this from happening to you? Your first port of call should be a good online insurance broker. They will search policies for you, to your specific requirements, comparing companies and quotes. Make sure that they are aware of your concerns, and they will be able to help you find an insurance company that has a sympathetic, up-to-date attitude to conditions like ME. Not only that, but they may be able to hunt down an online bargain too!

More Life Insurance Articles
Request a Life Insurance Quote

Technocrati Tags[life-insurance]

Author: Dot Piper

In the forty years since Barclaycard introduced the first credit card to Britain, there have been many changes. From being something to be regarded with suspicion they’ve changed into something we don’t appear to be able to live without.

The British seem to have taken to these cards like ducks to water and now 3.7 million people are claimed be in possession of 6.7million cards. Some people use their cards to switch balances between accounts and therefore save money and some simply sign on to new credit cards which have opening offers attached to them and, in reality, make little use of them. If you travel abroad regularly, it’s a good idea to cover both Visa and MasterCard in case of difficulties.

For the first five years, until 1971, Barclaycard retained its exclusivity but now there are 1300 different sorts of credit cards available across Britain. On average, card holders spend £60 per transaction and the amount spent in a year comes out at around £4,600.

Probably the most famous credit card in the world, American Express, was established in 1995. American Express was around before then, but as a charge card, the balance of which had to cleared monthly.

From the introduction of the Barclaycard in 1966 with its £100 credit limit, the average credit limit has now risen to £1,500 per card. Not everyone is successful with their credit card application though, as last year there were 1.7 million credit card rejections. There is around £1.4 million a year lost in fraudulent transactions. The recent introduction of the chip and pin should, hopefully, reduce these figures and new methods of card protection are being developed all the time.

The “flexible friend” has changed the face of shopping in the UK. Practically all retailers welcome credit card transactions. They can be used for shopping on the internet, booking holidays and an added bonus is the insurance which is included when paying with your card. It’s easier to use your card for everyday transactions, such as re-fuelling you car and it’s easy to keep track of payments with your monthly statement. If you pay your bills on time and avoid stretching yourself too far financially, your card really is your friend.

On the minus side, for someone who struggles to organise their finances, credit cards offer a temporary escape route and can create debt problems. Care is needed to avoid this, but if problems develop, our advice is to seek help before a molehill becomes a mountain!

A few more facts for you –

There is an Arab oil magnate who has a higher than normal credit limit on his Barclaycard – supposedly £1million

You may have heard of an American man nicknamed Mr Plastic Fantastic. His real name is Walter Cavanagh. He is reported to hold 1397 credit cards, with a maximum spend of $1.65million. We won’t even think what the repayment would be!

There’s a UK credit card which charges 46.19%. This tops the most expensive list! Interest rates average a more affordable 15.5% at present.

Competition in the credit card market has resulted in some excellent introductory deals at present. Applying for them is simple and the best way to discover them is on the internet.

Used wisely, they really do make life easier. Happy Birthday, Credit Cards.

Credit Card FAQ’s
Credit Card Articles

Technocrati Tags[credit cards]

Author: Richard Norfolk

Student life is usually gregarious, with plenty of like-minded company to relieve the possible tedium of study. However, when it comes to dealing with debt, each student has to sort out his own salvation. The theory says that after graduation, the students of today will be the high earners of tomorrow. Doubtless in some cases this is correct but……..

The unavoidable expenditure on student loans to cope with day to day living costs, plus the credit card bills and overdrafts which occur when those costs become too great, have a way of accumulating. This results in students leaving university with, on average, debts reaching £10,000 or more. This is the current debt level. Expectations are that this will increase threefold within a very few years.

Unfortunately no-one can bank on a highly paid job to clear their debts immediately on leaving university. Even if such a job is ‘in the offing’ there is likely to be a significant delay before the actual earning power comes to fruition. In the meantime, i.e. when first starting at university, it is necessary to evaluate the costs you will be facing and plan how best to cope with them.

First – the cost of the course itself, that is the tuition fees. Below a certain level of family income there will be nothing to pay; above this level there is a sliding scale. In earlier years the total cost was paid by the government but this had to be altered when increasing numbers attending university pushed the total costs upwards. It was also claimed that increased earnings as a result of gaining a degree would leave ex-students better able to pay their costs during their working years.

Currently there is however a ceiling on payments, which restricts the value of same to 25% of the cost of the course. This is still a significant sum at around £4,000 but thankfully any balance will be paid by the government.

Don’t forget that this cost is purely to pay for your proportion of the course work – day to day living costs have still to be covered. This and any other needs should be discussed with your Local Education Authority as soon as you know what your tuition fees will be.

The LEA will then calculate the value of loans available to you. You then contact the student loans company and arrange for the necessary funds to be paid into your account ready for the start of the new student year. These are unsecured and will be provided at an interest rate which ties in with inflation, and will not be repayable until the end of the tax year after you graduate.

At this point the repayment threshold comes into operation, so that no repayment will be required until your earnings reach the specified level. Even then your repayments will not (under present legislation) exceed the actual amount borrowed, and will be set at a value that is suitable for your earnings level. If you should decide that despite your educational achievements, the life of an impoverished artist (or other poorly paid artisan) would best suit you and your earnings never reach the threshold figure, then, if you reach the age of 65 without starving to death, your debt will be written off!

So much for student loans – what else is available to you? Credit cards are an obvious source of credit (otherwise they would be called by a different name) but they really should be avoided if possible. With no special terms for students in most cases, the interest rates are high and the amount of credit available to students is low. A lot of money can easily be spent paying interest charges whilst having a maximum debit balance, which makes you pay out regularly but allows you to spend nothing.

A bank loan is another possibility but this too is dangerous ground. The possibility of an interest free student overdraft of £2000 is very attractive, but go just over the limit and the rules will be applied rigorously. This means you are likely to be hit by a very high interest rate PLUS charges for an unauthorised overdraft. The whole of any overdraft will have to be paid off as soon as you leave university, otherwise the entire sum will attract interest charges.

You are going to have to exist without real income for quite some time. Arrange your finances to the best of your ability for the avoidance of interest charges and your lifestyle for the avoidance of unnecessary expenditure. It will seem like a long drag but well worth the effort in the long run.

More Loans FAQ’s
More Loans Articles

More Mortgage FAQ’s
More Mortgage Articles

More Credit Card FAQ’s
More Credit Card Articles

Technocrati Tags[mortgages] Technocrati Tags[loans] Technocrati Tags[credit cards]

Author: Dot Piper

September 2006 will see the introduction of new laws regarding child restraints in cars.

Current laws state:-

· Children aged three to 11 (inclusive) and less than 150cm tall are permitted to travel in an adult seat belt if no child restraint is fitted.

New legislation says:-

· Children aged three to 11 and under 135cm have to be seated in child seat or booster (designed to be used with an adult belt), suitable for their age and weight.

Children taller than 135cm (4ft 5ins) or aged 12 or over must wear an adult seat belt where one is fitted.

The driver is responsible for ensuring these rules are complied with until the child reaches the age of 14, when they must take responsibility for their own safety.

The Department of Transport believes that, by making sure that children are securely restrained and not allowed to use adult seatbelts until they are sufficiently tall for them to work in the proper manner, 2,000 child injuries and deaths will be prevented.

The penalty for failing to comply with these regulations will be a fixed penalty fine of £30 or, if the case proceeds to court, a fine of up to a maximum of £500.

Exceptions will be allowed in emergencies, cars without seatbelts, and when children are passengers in taxis.

Information on child-seat safety can be obtained from the Child Accident Prevention Trust, www.capt.org.uk or from the government’s website www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk there’s a question and answer section on government website which is very comprehensive and seems to answer every question you could think of.

There’s a good choice of car seats available, and you should always ensure that they are made to conform to the European Union safety standards. For a young child it’s probably worth investing in a seat that can be adjusted as your child grows.

For an idea of what you’d have to pay for a seat which would take your child from 9 months to 12 years, the Recaro Start seat can be bought for around £200.

There’s the Evolva 23 seat, from Britax, which is adjustable and suitable for children weighing from15kg to 36kg and up to 135cm (4ft 5ins). The back of the seat can be extended as the child grows, so that the head is always supported. This costs around £65.

For a baby of up to 9 months, or around 13kg, a rear facing approved car seat is acceptable, fitted on either the front passenger seat or in the back of the car. It must no be used in the front if an airbag is fitted.

It’s extremely important that the seat is fitted properly, and many suppliers offer a fitting service. Do remember that it’s important that before you have the seat fitted; make sure it fits your child.

The 18 September is the date that the Department of Transport is aiming for, so remember, after this date you need to comply with the new rules.

These laws are to be taken seriously. Parents and regular carers are not the only ones who need to be “car seat ready”. You may occasionally take your, say 9 year old, grandchild out with you. The big difference there is that, prior to September 18; no special steps had to be taken. After this date you’ll need to equip yourself with a seat or booster.

If you are in the unfortunate position of being involved in an accident, and if your child or children are not travelling in an approved car seat or booster, your insurance may not be willing to pay out, resulting in what could be a considerable personal claim against the driver, whose responsibility it is.

Parents and (even occasional) carers please take note.

More Car Insurance FAQ’s
More Car Insurance Articles

Niche Car Insurance

Woman Drivers
High Performance Drivers
Classic Car Drivers
Young Drivers
Mature Drivers
Max no claims bonus Drivers

Technocrati Tags[car insurance]

By Dot Piper

According to the consumer watchdog, Which, about 5 million of the 28 million of us who have been targeted by fraudsters, have lost money as a result. Someone is clearly finding fraud highly profitable.

So what are the most common scams and how do you avoid them? Here are five to be thinking about.

The “Money locked up in an account” scam.

This is a really common fraud. It normally starts with an e mail giving a long and involved sob story about someone or some business, which has a very large amount of money tied up in an account and, through the most unfortunate of circumstances, they cannot get the money out. To do so, they need a UK bank account to have the money paid into. Of course, if you help them they will give you a big slice of the money. And the money is always held in a some obscure country, often in Africa.

Once you have replied and taken the bait, they come up with a story that for the money to be transferred to your account, they need you to send a payment, often thousands, to cover the administration or legal costs of enabling the money transfer. The actual details always change but the essence of the story remains remarkably consistent.

Will the payment arrive and will you ever get your money back? Of course not! In fact after you’ve made a first payment, they’ll ask for more! The up front payment needs to be increased and unless the extra is sent, the money you’ve already sent will be lost. You think you’re now in a catch 22 situation. But if you send more money, we can guarantee you’ll never see it again.

Millions of these emails go out each month, so if you get one delete it.

Boiler Room scams
This is a hard-selling technique to persuade you to buy investments on the promise of great returns that turn out to be worthless. Others sell shares in companies that don’t even exist. There are also related scams which involve investment currency or futures or options.

More often than not the initial contact is by telephone and a typical target will be a middle aged professional man ho has some investment experience. They often trace their targets by examining the share registers of UK quoted companies.

If you receive a cold call from a company trying to sell you investments, ask for their registration number with the Financial Services Authority. If they won’t supply the number, put the phone down. If they give you a number call the FSA’s helpline and check out that the firm is indeed registered (0845 606 1234). Never commit yourself until you are absolutely sure that the company selling the investments is reputable. 9 times out of 10 it will not be – so you have been warned!

Credit Card Fraud
The requirement to use PIN numbers will greatly reduce card fraud. But purchases through the Internet use the “card holder not present”, not PIN numbers.

That means that if a fraudster gets your card details he can happily buy on the Internet and fade into the mist with the goods he has purchased and sell them for cash.

To reduce your chances of being caught by this sort of fraud, you should sign up with Verified by Visa or Mastercard Secure Code. You’ll find further advice on www.getsafeonline.org and www.cardwatch.org.uk.

Phishing
Fraudsters are also very active on the Internet trying to persuade you to divulge details of your bank accounts, PIN numbers and security codes.

The fraud starts with a bogus e mail supposedly from your Bank. The e-mail normally asks to you confirm your account details for security purposes. Sometimes it says that unless you complete the confirmation, your account will be frozen. But security is the least of their aims – once they have your details, they’ll simple empty your account!

Be aware that Banks will never ask you to send details of your accounts etc to them by e-mail. If for any obscure reason they did need some confidential information, they would ask you to visit a Branch.

Identity Theft
It has been estimated that an identity theft takes place in the UK every four minutes.

If fraudsters can pretend to be you, they can apply for credit and open bank accounts in your name. This inevitably leaves a trail of debt and criminal activity all conducted in your name.

All they need is a credit card statement and a utility bill in your name. Watch out for the bin men! Better still, buy a shredding machine and shred any personal letters, bills and documents you want to dispose of.

Author: Adrian Taylor

Forget life’s luxuries, with the cost of even the bare essentials spiralling ever upwards, credit cards and loans are now the preferred option to cover day-to-day expenses. But with ever increasing interest rates, credit unions offer a real alternative – especially if your credit rating is too low to obtain credit via the ‘normal’ means.

Credit unions are controlled by their members and by operating as financial co-operatives, provide low-cost loans and attractive flexible financial products to their members by combining savings.

To become a member of a credit union, you have to fulfil the criteria of what is known as a ‘common bond’. Simply put, a ‘common bond’ is having something in common with the existing members of the union and that could be living in the same area as existing members, belonging to the same organisation/association or being a work colleague of an existing member.

As such, even if you have poor credit rating or are not a regular saver, a credit union may accept you as a member whereas a larger financial institution may not.

Both regular and irregular savers are welcomed by credit unions and the aim is that all savers – whether regular savers or not, are paid the same percentage on their savings as a yearly dividend. Typical this is 2 to 3% but as the rate paid is dependent on profits, this can be as much as 8%.

There are no restrictions on the amount you save and as such, you can pay as little or as much as you like. The frequency at which you make payments is also flexible and whether you pay in weekly or monthly or whenever you can, payments can be made at your convenience – whether at local shops or handy collection points. Payments can also be taken directly from your wages.

As long as you can prove you are able to save you can borrow money based on the amount you are able to repay comfortably and all services can be tailored to your circumstances and requirements.

In keeping with all mutual societies, although each credit union must ensure that enough money is available to ensure financial stability, the credit union itself is a non-profit organisation. Any profits made are used to reduce the rates of interest at which money can be borrowed and to increase the rates of interest paid on savings.

For loan repayments, the typical interest rate is only 6% with interest rates capped to 1% per month. So this means that a loan of £1000 can incur no more than £10 of interest per month. Members can also benefit from free life insurance.

Credit unions are governed by various legislation, most notably the Credit Unions Act 1979. This specifies that their accounts must by audited on an annual basis by a qualified auditor, that adequate insurance is in place against theft and fraud and sets out the objectives of the credit union.

Also to safeguard the future of the credit union and the member’s savings, all savings cannot be lent out and the remaining money must not be invested in high-risk ventures. Any residual money must be invested in government or similar reliable investments or must be put into bank deposit accounts. This also ensures that the money can be returned as and when needed.

Key points to bear in mind when considering joining a credit union

· You must meet the common bond requirements – either yourself or be closely related to an existing member that meets the requirements. You cannot therefore join whichever credit union you feel is most suitable for you.

· Although rules vary from credit union to credit union, you generally have to save money before obtaining a loan so a credit union is not a simple cheaper alternative to a bank loan etc.

· Regardless of whether you need money for your business, all saving or borrowing with a credit union must be done by an individual member and not in the name of the business.

· Cancelled checks are not retuned to you by some credit unions.

· As a rule, credit unions have few branches and very rarely any ATMs.

· The services offered by your credit union may be limited when compared to your local bank so ensure you know what is on offer. It may be more advantageous to maintain accounts at both your credit union and your bank.

To prevent the credit union movement within the UK from growing in size or competing with the products offered by the various banks or profit making organizations, restrictions are imposed by law to ensure that the movement remains relatively small scale.

To obtain a list of credit unions in your area, contact your local council or citizen’s advice bureau who should be able to provide the necessary information. Alternatively if you or your partner are employed, there may be credit unions that cover your industry. If so, your trade union representative or payroll department should be your first port of call.

More Loans FAQ’s
More Loans Articles

More Mortgage FAQ’s
More Mortgage Articles

More Credit Card FAQ’s
More Credit Card Articles

Technocrati Tags[mortgages] Technocrati Tags[loans] Technocrati Tags[credit cards]

Author: Richard Norfolk

Read the title again and then keep it firmly in mind. Do not rush into owning a store card. Consider your decision very carefully, and always bear in mind that the use of any credit card is quite likely to have cost implications for you.

First of all we should be clear about what we mean by ‘store cards’. There are two main types – the usually innocuous type most often called Loyalty cards, and the far more ‘dangerous’ credit style card. The loyalty card is not being considered here because it does not normally act as a means of separating a customer from their hard earned cash.

This is the card where typically you get points based on the amount you have spent and can let these points build up. Then, when you have sufficient you can then use them for an in store purchase or discount. This is a harmless little perk which rewards you for repeatedly shopping in the store.

The credit style of card is a very different kettle of fish. Often they are afforded some camouflage by having loyalty card type benefits included in their system of operation. Thus the store may make a big point out of the fact that using their card will get you a discount on your purchases ‘today’, ‘this week’ or even ‘this month’. They are unlikely however to have anything approaching the same level of publicity regarding the potential costs to you should you fail to meet their payment dates.

The cost of late payment can be horrendous – the Annual Percentage Rate (or APR) can be as high as almost 30% on some store cards, which does not compare well with the usual credit card rate of 15% to 20%.

However, credit cards are now most definitely a way of life and it cannot be denied that they are very convenient. They can enable purchases which would otherwise have involved drawing the requisite amount of cash from the bank – although some husbands may say that this can be a bit too convenient at Sales times! The disappearance of so many bank branches will have given an added attraction to the credit card.

How does this affect store cards? Where once debt was regarded as shameful and to be concealed, the increased use of credit cards has got people used to the idea. Many people run into the red on their card and have to pay interest on top of their repayments.
This procedure then ‘rolls over’ into their use of store cards, and they find to their dismay that their payments are now being hit by the high interest rates. If they then find it impossible to pay the outstanding balance in full at the month end, the interest charges can accumulate and extremely serious problems can result.

Don’t forget that the inability to pay can hit you like a bolt from the blue. You may be jogging along happily, buying the items that you feel that you need and paying off your store card at the due time – then WHAM – redundancy, illness, family problems, loss of earnings. Through no fault of your own you cannot pay the amount due.

It all sounds like terrible ‘doom and gloom’, but treat it as a warning not to go in for any financial commitment until you have thoroughly studied your options.

Don’t be swayed by short-term benefits which lead you into long term problems. Are they really benefits, or is the store price higher than the price charged by their competitors? Ignore ‘pie in the sky’ rewards which you may never qualify for.

Unless you have reserve ‘rainy day’ money which can be accessed instantly to cover payments due, you may well have to face interest charges if you fall behind with payments because your income drops – just the time when extra costs are the last thing you need.

However, be prepared to sign up to a store card which offers a good discount on an item which you were going to buy anyway, but control the situation. If necessary you must take your discount and ensure that you make all your payments when due. Then cut your store card up, to avoid being dragged into the deep water of debt.

If you want to have credit then look closely at conventional credit cards and especially at the interest charges they make.

Consider, consider, consider. It’s your money – use it wisely.

Credit Card FAQ’s
Credit Card Articles
Cheap Credit Cards

More Relevant Articles
Choosing a credit card

Technocrati Tags[credit cards]
Technocrati Tags[store cards]

In recent years we have been swept away with the notion of “buy now, pay later” and it has allowed us to have what we want when we want it.
Credit cards are no longer a luxury item for the rich and famous but an accessory we almost can’t live without. Because of the growing amount of people with credit cards, the market is becoming more and more competitive and people are becoming more confused about what is and isn’t a good deal.

To take advantage of this information overload, cards are now targeting where the problems start – in store.
Store Cards are increasingly becoming more popular, particularly in department stores, as a convenient way to shop and gain rewards in your favourite or most frequented store. So what’s the catch?

Store cards don’t pose a problem if you are disciplined enough to pay off the balance within the interest-free period (typically between 35 and 55 days).

But, if you can’t pay the outstanding balance each month, the interest due on the unpaid debt can soon mount up. And it won’t be hard to do with the annual percentage rate (APR) hitting the 30 per cent mark on some store cards.
Store cards are regulated under the Consumer Credit Card Act, which sets out rules for any loan under £25,000. The taskforce is also examining whether a complete overhaul of this is needed.

Impulse Buying

Offered at the point of sale, store cards can be obtained after an application has been filled in and a credit check has cleared, which can literally take as little as 10 minutes. You can start spending on you store card as soon as you’ve signed the dotted line.
Recent research by the Office of Fair Trading has revealed that many people who take out a store card had no actual intention or want in making a big purchase before they reached the shops. In fact, 42% of people who take sign up for store cards never had any intention of doing so before they were asked at a point of sale and persuaded by the sales person.

It’s up to you

Store card rates vary, but according to data provider Moneyfacts some of the worst offenders are Comet’s Timecard which currently charges an APR of 29.9% and Debenhams whose store card charges an APR of 28%.
Better value store cards include John Lewis (includes Waitrose) with an APR of 13% and Marks & Spencer at 18.9%.
Most financial experts agree that credit cards with lower APRs are generally a better deal than store cards. But, you may be tempted by some of the benefits of a store card which could include introductory discount on goods - typically around 10% - or extra money off during the sale period.
Keep these points in mind

Before signing up for a store card take some advice from the Office of Fair Trading:

1. An initial discount may be a good deal - but it will depend on how quickly you pay off the balance.
2. Be APR wise - just how much will you pay on an un-cleared balance?
3. Is there is an interest-free period? When does it end and what will the interest rate be afterwards?
4. Check all details of the agreement - APR, interest free period, penalties for default and late payment - and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
5. Remember to consider carefully the costs and benefits of any Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) offered. It is optional and will cost you money.
6. Compare with other payment methods.
7. A store card can be a serious credit commitment for which you may need to budget.
8. Beware of pushy sales staff and don’t be lured into taking out a store card you don’t want – remember, the person selling it to you will probably be rewarded if they sign you up.
9. There is no need to sign on the spot - if in doubt, take the agreement away, read it and seek advice on it before you sign.
Carrying around a purse or wallet-full of credit and store cards can be a temptation to spend more than you can really afford. And, like any credit card, a statement will only come once a month making it difficult to keep track of how much you’ve spent overall.

Various credit cards and store cards are designed for various people with different needs. If you are considering a store card look into all the options and read the fine print. Is that new pair of shoes really worth what you’re paying plus a possible 30 per cent? Shop around, and get you and your money the best deal.

Credit Card FAQ’s
Credit Card Articles

Technocrati Tags[credit cards]