News

The Health and Safety Executive released statistics last week that highlighted a worrying growth in the number of people killed at work.

In the 12 months ending March 2011, 171 people were killed at work in the UK. That is an average of more than 3 people per week. The figure for the previous year was 147.

The 171 workplace fatalities spanned a number of industries:

• 34 in agriculture
• 27 in manufacturing
• 50 in construction
• 3 in gas and electricity supply
• 10 in water supply, sewerage, waste and recycling
• 47 in the broadly name ‘services.’

An injury at work does not need to be fatal to be serious, though. If you have had an accident at work, you may be entitled to make a claim. At Moneybright, we can help with workplace claims, however serious the injuries. Get in touch today to find out more.

Figures from the Financial Ombusman Service released recently confirmed that, in the last year alone, there were than 104,000 complaints to the financial Ombudsman about PPI (payment protection insurance).

The complaints are not unexpected, with consumers now being made more widely aware of their potential right to make PPI claims.

PPI claims can be made by those who were mis-sold the PPI policies in recent years. This mis-selling was widespread, often deliberate and undoubtedly at huge financial cost to consumers.

At Moneybright, we can help you to make PPI claims. If you’re not sure whether you could be eligible, get in touch today and find out how we could help.

Christmas is notorious for the higher credit card bills. There’s so much demand on our finances between the presents, cards, decorations and supplies for the big day. But the last thing anyone wants when it comes to January is a financial hangover from Hell. So what can you do to stop that happening?

Start the Shopping NOW

Encouraging you to shop might seem like an “alternative” way to combat the credit card hangover! But if you start early, you can spread the cost of Christmas over multiple months, rather than putting the entire burden on your December pay packet.

Pen and Paper

You can’t beat lists! No, that’s not just an obsession I have with putting pen to paper to scribe these things – they genuinely do help. Write down EVERYTHING you are going to buy, ensuring you’ve not missed a single thing and, most importantly STICK TO IT!

Impulse purchases will result in a nasty financial hangover.

Compare Prices

We have no excuse now not to compare prices given just how easy comparison engines online have made it. You might not think that saving a couple of quid here and there will make all that much difference but it adds up, especially when you’re buying dozesn of presents.

Try Not to Resort to Plastic

Purchases on plastic will invariably end up costing more, what with interest and even potential penalty charges. If you can avoid it, do!

The Financial Services Authority today given people more time to take their PPI claims to the Financial Ombudsman. Presently, anyone seeking to make a PPI claim has 6 months from the time their clami is dealt with by their bank or provider, to then refer it to the Financial Ombudsman. However, this temporary extension for PPI cases will last until 27th October 2010.

A consumer may only go to the Financial Ombudsman service after receiving a final letter from their bank and not being satisfied with the outcome. Anyone who received this final letter between 28th November 2009 and 28th April 2010.

This comes after consumers have complained about the way providers have been dealing with PPI claims. Banks rejected 60% of claims last year, however of the cases referred to the Ombudsman, 90% were settled in favour of the consumer.

It was recently reported that the PPI claims cases could cost the industry billions as a result of widespread mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance policies in recent years.

The latest Council of Mortgage Lenders figures indicate that mortgage lending his £9.2 billion for the month of February 2010. The figures include both secured loans for residential property purchase and remortgages as well. £9.2 billion marks a 6% increase on January’s figure of £8.7 billion.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders acknowledges that an increase in lending throughout February, the shortest month of the year, is unusual. However, this can most likely be attributed to the fact that the end of the stamp duty holiday for properties valued between £125,000 and £175,000 had a considerable impact on the figures for January and February.

The figures are down on last year’s numbers but as the UK emerges from the recession, it is hoped that the market will recover and that mortgage finance will become more readily available.

According to figures from Nationwide, the average house value in the UK in February was £161,320.

The Financial Services Authority, which last week announced further consultation on the PPI claims fiasco and how consumers should be compensated, estimates that the widespead misselling of PPI will end up costing the industry £4 billion.

The cost, it estimates, will be broken down roughly as £3 billion in compensation to consumers who have not yet complained and in the region of £1 billion in comepensation for those who have complained already. The FSA estimations indicate that this will be broken down roughly as follows:

• £430 million cost to insurance brokers.
• The rest to various PPI providers.
• Around £120 million could fall to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
• Costs associated with administrative element of handling compensation.

The costs are high, though this is not exactly unexpected given the scale of the problems with the selling of PPI policies. PPI mis-selling has included cases where:

• Consumers have been led to believe that accepting PPI will increase their chances of a successful application for a loan or credit card.
• Consumers have been led to believe that PPI is compulsory.
• Consumers have been sold policies they would never be eligible to claim on.
• Consumers have been sold policies without even realising it.

And that list is far from exhaustive. With this in mind and the growing media coverage surround PPI, it is likely that claims will increase over the coming year as more consumers realise that they may be eligible to reclaim PPI.

A CCJ, or County Court Judgement is an order issued by a county court, which tells you how much you should pay and you should pay money owed to a creditor.

But how does a CCJ affect your credit record?

There is a nationally held register of all CCJs that is known as the Register of Judgements, Orders and Fines. This records many CCJs issued and they remain there for six years.  In order for a CCJ to appear on there, however, it must have been issued in default where no defence was entered at all (that is to say that the debtor failed to submit Admission Forms), defended and settled with payment being made in installments, or enforcement action must be being taken.

If you pay up in full within a month of receiving a CCJ, you will not be held on the register. If you pay in full beyond this time, your CCJ remains for six years but is noted on the register as having been ‘satisfied.’

If your CCJ appears on the register, the information that will be held about you is your name and address, date of the CCJ, amount it relates to, whether or not the CCJ has been satisfied and also the case and court number.

If you have a CCJ appearing on the register this will have a detrimental effect on your credit score.

Unfortunately, a CCJ rings alarm bells with many creditors and can make it particularly difficult to get credit. Even in cases where an individual with CCJs is able to obtain credit, the interest is likely to be much higher than that offered to those without such judgements.

CCJ stands for County Court Judgement. But exactly what is a CCJ?

It is essentially a judgement issued by a county court, when a debtor fails to pay money they owe to a creditor. If you have failed to pay what you owe to a creditor, the creditor applies to the county court for them to issue the CCJ. The court then has the responsibility of determining whether or not there is a debt owed and, if so, how it is to be repaid.

When someone takes action against you with the county court, the court will issue you with a Claim Form. This is to let you know what the court believes you owe the creditor. You’ll also be sent an Admission Form.  This is basically your opportunity to explain your side of things – ie whether you have paid, whether or not you accept that there is a debt and any mitigating circumstances you feel there may be. There’s no point burying your head in the sand over this because even if you don’t send the form back, the CCJ may still be issued in what is known as a ‘default judgement’.

Essentially, you have 5 options when issued with the Admission Form. You can either:

• Pay up – simply pay the amount in full.
• Request payment in installments.
• Dispute the amount you owe.
• Dispute whether you owe anything at all!
• Claim against the creditor – ie claim that they owe you money.

If there is a dispute, you may have to attent a court hearing. Otherwise, you will not need to attend at all and repayment will be considered in your absence.

Following consideration of evidence from the Admission Form and from the creditor, the court issues a CCJ, which will state the amount you must pay and how you must pay it.

There are so many different types of cards available now, that it can be almost impossible to keep on top of which one does what and how much they’re costing you! Credit card, store card, debit card, pre-pay card… So what are they all?

Debit Cards

Quite simply, the card associated with your bank account. They are not credit cards as they take the money straight out of your bank account as you pay for something. Many current accounts also issue debt cards that act as cheque guarantee cards and most of the time, they work in cash machines to make cash withdrawals.

Credit Cards

Credit cards do not take the money straight from your bank account when you use them to pay for something. Instead, you are essentially borrowing that money and you repay it at a later date – often with interest. You’ll often get a monthly statement showing exactly what you owe on your credit card and the minimum monthly repayment is £5 or 3% of the balance (whichever of those two is the greater). Credit cards can usually be used in cash machines too, but you will generally pay quite a fee for a cash withdrawal on a credit card.

Charge Cards

These are frequently confused with credit cards. However, with a charge card, you will receive a monthly bill that you have to settle there and then in full and, on top of that, you will probably be charged an annual fee. Many of them come with predefined maximum spending limits.

Store Cards

Store cards are somewhat like credit cards – except that they are issued by one store and can often only be used to make purchases in that store. As with a credit card, you will receive a monthly statement and will have a minimum repayment to make. Again, interest often applies.

Pre-Pay Cards

These are sometimes known as “electronic purse cards,” and are simply an alternative to cash. You load money onto the card and then use the card to make payments. This is ideal for those who are a little uncertain about entering details online for cards that they have associated with a bank account. In addition, they are ideal for those whose credit rating is too poor to be able to obtain any other type of card. This is the newest of the cards on this list.

That should clear up some confusion – though the way we pay for things is ever changing and by this time next year, there’ll probably be something else new!

Consumer driven Britain means more of us than ever are now turning to credit. We borrow money for all sorts of reasons, in the form of mortgages, credit cards, store cards and loans. But before you sign on the dotted line, there are a number of things you really should be absolutely sure to check. Here’s a ‘before you borrow,’ checklist:

1. Is your loan secured or unsecured? This is crticial. Essentially, a secured loan would be one that could be secured against your home whereas an unsecured loan has no such “security,” behind it. If you go into arrears on repayments on a secured loan, you risk losing your home.
2. Have you read the contract? And I’m not talking about skimming over it. If you are in the bank and the cashier’s tapping her pen impatiently on the table, it can be a little off putting, yes. But don’t feel pressurised to hurry up over signing the contract. Take it away from the bank, read it properly, reread it and get a second opinion on anything you’re not sure about. Don’t sign something you have not fully read and understood.
3. Will you be charged to repay the debt early? If you were lucky enough to come into some money a year in to your three year loan contact, would you be able to pay it off without incurring any charges? Believe it or not, some lenders do charge for early repayment. It’s worth avoiding those at all costs. Double check!
4. Is the interest rate static? Some forms of credit have an interest rate that can change! While a reduction in your interest rate would be a welcome bonus, there’s also the risk that the interest rate could rise suddenly, leaving you with a more expensive repayment than you initially anticipated. If you are happy that you can afford the interest rate as it is at the time of signing, make sure you are on an agreement where it cannot increase. This is one way in which thousands of consumers are caught out every year in the UK.
5. What are the consequences of missing a payment? Obviously, nobody plans to miss payments (I hope!) but because life is unpredictable, you should know exactly what would happen if you were to miss one. It’s critical that you’re full aware of any penalty charges that might apply in the event that you do miss a payment. If the charges are excessive, don’t sign. Excesive penalty charges can result in a slippery slope between one missed payment and some serious debt problems.
6. Is this the best deal available? Check the competition. Their offering on the same credit deal might be better!
7. How much will you pay back? One of the most important questions you can ask is how much you will pay back in total. It is easy to be blinded by interest rates and monthly repayment figures and to miss the total amount. If you borrow £3000, for example, how much is the total repayment going to be? If a lender tells you that your monthly repayment will be £100 a month for 5 years and then throws a load of numbers and terms at you, you’d be forgiven for thinking all was well. But when you really add that up, that’s £6000 total repayment! Twice what you borrowed! It’s imperative that you have an exact figure in front of you for what, exactly, you will repay in total.

Signing credit agreements or loan agreements is a big deal. Don’t put pen to paper until you know exactly what the terms are in clear and plain English.