New Year’s resolution – get your finances in place by following these simple tips

Here we are in the New Year and again, we have a resolution to sort our finances out, once and for all. With the whole of Europe on an austerity drive, personal financial planning has never been more important, so below are 5 tips from Money Vista that will help you get your finances in order for 2012.

1. Forward plan to save each month

It can be daunting working out if or how much you can save every month, so you may need some help. There are various online tools that can assist you with your financial planning. This savings calculator, lets you explore how much your savings may be worth in future or, alternatively, how to reach a savings target.

2. Get that debt down to a minimum

As simple as it sounds, the first step in getting your debt down is not to require any new debt. Make it an absolute resolution not to take out any more loans and stop paying for things with credit. Cut up those credit cards immediately. Do not cancel your credit cards but if you ask, you can sometimes get a better deal. Try to get as close to a 0% rate as possible.

3. Have a financial clear out

Have you lost track of how many direct debits and standing orders are coming out of your account? It appears most of us have and the average person has 6 coming out at various points in the month. In some instances you may be paying for things you really don’t need, so make a point of reviewing each of these payments and cancel the ones that no longer benefit your life.

4. Protect your assets

There are many things to consider when protecting yourself in the future. Have you made a will? Do you stand to be hit by inheritance tax? Do you think you will need medical cover in the future? Do you think your family will? If any of these issues affect you, it is worth seeking financial advice. Money Vista is an online service worth contacting for help and advice on protecting your assets.

5. Think about retirement

Old age is something that none of us want to think about but unfortunately it’s inevitable. Life expectancy is rising, meaning we are going to live longer. Retirement planning is definitely something worth considering, knowing that you are better protected in the future.

Tags: service, austerity drive, forward plan, medical cover, planning, place, debt, rate

Money Advice service now available for consumers

There is no doubt that there are many people these days that are desperate for financial advice, as they have a range of money issues that they need advice and help with, including debt advice, pensions advice, and advice on savings and other financial services. However, it has become increasingly difficult for people to get the advice that they needed over recent years, especially in respect of debt with demand for these services soaring.

However, the government has now launched its Money Advice Service, which is designed to provide consumers with advice relating to a wide range of financial issues that may be causing confusion or problems. Consumers are able to use the service online or can use it by phoning or visiting an advisor in person. The aim of the service is to offer free, impartial advice to those that have issues relating to their finances.

The service deals with a wide range of different areas relating to finance, and it is available to anyone that needs advice regardless of what their financial situation is. The service also offers access to a range of tools and resources for consumers to use in order to help them with their financial queries and issues. The service has evolved from the Consumer Financial Education Body, which was launched in 2010.

The service’s chairman Gerard Lemos said: “The Money Advice Service is here to make people’s lives easier and better. We’re not here to sell people anything and we won’t charge anyone – we are here to help people take decisions about their money and plan for a better future for themselves and their families.”

Another official stated: “It is important that everyone in the UK has the knowledge, skills and confidence to make the financial decisions that are right for them. We welcome the launch of the Money Advice Service as a new way to give consumers information about managing their money and choosing the financial products that are right for them.”

Tags: anyone, service online, advice, financial, service, launch, way

Out of date food savings consumers money

With many households still reeling from the financial impact of the credit crunch and the recession in the UK many are still looking for ways to reduce their outgoings. Read more

Tags: Food industry, supermarket, food, Grocery store, date items, demand

More people putting money towards funerals instead of savings

According to a recent report an increasing number of consumers are now putting money towards their funeral costs rather than putting it into savings. It appears that the recession has caused a new trend to emerge, and rather than leaving their loved ones to foot the bill should the worst happen many people are already putting money aside for their funeral rather than putting their spare money into a savings account. Read more

Tags: increase, money, year, london, savings, report, service, space

Credit card increases need to be questioned

Over the past few days credit card firms have pledged to make changes to the way that they hike up interest rates on credit cards, which has come under intense fire recently. However, whilst credit card firms are trying to make changes to stop these overnight interest rate hikes, there are people that may have recently already had their credit card interest rates hiked for no apparently reason, often adding a small fortune to their repayments. Read more

Tags: rate, reason, statement, service, Credit Cards, creditard firms, interest rate, credit card fees

Cash from some Icelandic banks gone into the abyss

According to recent reports many of the UK savers that tried to transfer their money from the collapsed Icelandic banks, Icesave and Kaupthing Edge, have discovered that the money has not hit the accounts into which it was transferred. Many consumers who had put savings into the Icelandic banks due to the high rates of interest paid started to transfer their cash in the run up to the collapse following rumours that sparked fears over the collapse, but in some cases the money has been transferred out of the Icelandic account but not appeared in the recipient account. Read more

Tags: lawful bank instruction, fears, rumours, service, News

Government should give ‘proper insurance’ to soldiers

Service men and women who are fighting abroad should be provided with “some kind of proper insurance” by the government, the investment director of Buckles Investment Services has said.

Richard Eling of the independent financial advisory said that people engaged in the war effort should not have to seek their own insurance cover when going abroad with the army and that the government should pay for their policies.

“It’s a bit rich to send someone to Iraq on £18,000 a year and then ask them to pay for their own insurance cover,” Mr Eling commented.

A total of 176 British soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war in Iraq.

Mr Eling has said that many soldiers who were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan and used the private insurance company Pax have not had everything covered by their subsequent claims that they thought would be included when they bought the insurance policy.

Tags: Financial economics, total, Richard Eling, effort, army, everything, service, war in iraq

Check your credit profile to stamp out fraud, urges expert

With a recent report finding that account fraud is on the up, a financial expert has urged consumers to regularly check their credit profiles to help stamp out the crime.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, said that current financial conditions are pushing people to extreme lengths to get hold of credit, but that consumers can protect themselves by checking their credit profiles to make sure that fraudulent activity is not taking place.

According to research by the UK’s fraud prevention service CIFAS, the number of instances of facility takeover, or account takeover, increased by 146 per cent in the first three months of 2008 when compared with the same period last year.

“If you are a consumer and you haven’t recently checked your credit reference, go and have a look at it just to make sure there is not anyone out there making fraudulent applications on your behalf,” Mr Kuo advised.

Tags: Cifas, law, service, Instances, report, David Kuo

Consumers are unlikely to switch accounts unless “they suffer”

Despite an awareness of the benefits of switching bank accounts, consumers are reluctant to take advantage of what this move will bring, one financial expert has claimed.

According to moneysupermarket.com, the majority of providers in the UK want consumers to come in on a service proposition, not a price proposition.

This tends to be a less tangible, lightweight offer to spenders as it merely says ‘we have better services’, said the financial advisers.

Kevin Mountford, head of savings and current accounts at Moneysupermarket.com, said that there is an awareness of the benefits of moving accounts.

“However, it does not seem that people have the impetus or the appetite to do so unless they suffer and gets a poor service from their provider,” he continued.

Of those surveyed by the Watchdog, 46.8 per cent did not think they should be charged for going over their overdraft limit without authorisation, while 28.2 per cent felt that it was difficult to get a complaint with their bank resolved.

Tags: watchdog, advantage, service, Driving, overdraft

Credit card spending hits record levels

British consumer spending on credit and debit cards hit record levels during the last quarter of 2006, reveals new research.

Findings from the Association of Payment Clearing Service (APCS) showed that out of the total £91.5 billion spent during the Christmas period – an increase on the £86.6 billion spent at the same time last year – £32.3 billion was on credit cards.

Up to £2 million of this figure was spent on food and drink during December 2007, a rise of 25 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Chris Tapp, of Credit Action, a debt charity, said that as the financial squeeze on household budgets is tightened many people may start to use their credit cards to pay for shopping.

He said that, despite retailers’ sales figures being down, credit card spending has increased.

Speaking to the London Stock Exchange, he said: “This is not good news. People using their credit cards to meet their monthly bills is the first sign of a spiral of debt trouble.”

Meanwhile, Nationwide has been voted the UK’s most responsible credit card provider.

Tags: debit, increase, credit, consumer, food

Numbers threatened by identity fraud rises

Direct Line has responded to the latest Home Office figures on identity theft by adding Identity Fraud Assistance to its home insurance policy.

The latest figures from the government indicate that identity fraud is the UK’s fastest growing crime and it currently costs the economy up to £1.7 billion per year.

Andrew Lowe, head of home insurance for Direct Line, said the numbers threatened has increased over the last eight years.

“Victims of identity fraud could encounter debt collectors, court actions and difficulties getting a mortgage, credit card or bank account if their credit report is not corrected,” he warned.

Meanwhile, figures from Cifas, the UK’s fraud prevention service, show that 136,966 incidents were reported in the period between January and September 2007, almost a ten per cent increase on the findings for the same period in 2006.

In some cases of identity fraud, without expert help and advice, it may take the victim as long as 400 hours and cost up to £8000 before things are put right.

Tags: bank, Victims, economy, service, fraud, identity fraud rises, identity theft, help

Millions switched banks in 2007

According to recent report millions have dissatisfied customers have switched from their existing bank to another bank this year, indicating the high dissatisfaction levels with the banking industry.

Read more

Tags: banks, overall figure, figure, service, switch bank accounts, Poor customer service, report, bank accounts

Christmas get savers back “into the habit”

The availability of Christmas saving schemes has been welcomed as a way of getting people back “into the habit” of saving by a consumer charity.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said access to easy credit has made people’s habit of saving redundant.

It welcomed consumers using saving schemes during the festive period as a way of getting people back into the practice of saving money.

James Ketchell, spokesperson for CCCS, said actually putting money away was what was important rather than how consumers do it.

“The important thing is for people to save. It doesn’t matter what way they choose to do that, everybody is different,” he added.

Christmas saving funds can help consumers avoid financial card debts in the New Year. Spreading the cost of Christmas across 12 months can be especially useful for those on a low income the CCCS declared.

Meanwhile the Post Office recently announced the launch of its Christmas saving scheme. This will begin in the New Year in time for the festive period in 2008.

Tags: James Ketchell, Consumer Credit Counselling Service, financial card debts, personal finance, christmas

Are insurance company customers happy?

Insurance companies have been under fire for various reasons over recent months, and many have expressed dissatisfaction with their insurance provider.

However, it is increasingly difficult to determine just how unhappy customer actually are with their insurance providers because many providers now refuse to provide information on their customer satisfaction levels, making it difficult to determine how effective their services are.

According to recent reports around fifty percent of the leading insurance companies in the UK will not provide information relating to how satisfied or dissatisfied their customers are.

However, these companies had already agreed to provide the results as part of a survey that was being carried out by Association of British Insurers. The nationwide survey was designed to evaluate customer satisfaction levels within the insurance industry.

Amongst the insurance companies that have refused to provide these details so that their customer satisfaction levels can be compared to rival insurance companies are Norwich Union, Standard Life, and Friends Provident.

The customer satisfaction survey was designed to try and improve services within the insurance sector. Around 85 percent of insurance companies in the UK signed up to the survey, but despite their agreement many have not provided the necessary details relating to customer satisfaction levels.

A Friends Provident spokesperson stated: ‘We do not believe it is helpful to look at the highlevel results in any sort of league table form as we recognise that there are many reasons why results can vary.’

A spokesman for Zurich Insurance stated: ‘The results are intended to help companies understand their progress against commitments they have made. They are not intended as an accurate measure of benchmarking.’

An official from consumer group Which? said: ‘We think results for each company should be published in a standardised way with individual firms’ scores disclosed.’

Tom Smith
3rd July 2007

Tags: service, home, results, Insurance, company, cost

Brits don’t know how to detect ID theft

Almost all of us are aware that ID theft is a problem in the UK but worryingly, 42 million of us do not know how to check if we have been targeted.

New research by Capital One reveals that large numbers of us are clueless about how to discover if we have become a victim of the crime and only ten per cent know what action to take if our ID has been stolen.

“It is concerning how many people we asked had no idea how to tell if their ID had been stolen, or what to do about it if they had unfortunately become a victim,” said Sanjiv Yajnik, principal managing director at Capital One.

“The tell-tale signs of ID theft often include unexplained items appearing on bank and credit card statements, receipt of bills and receipts of goods or services you haven’t asked for, being told you are already claiming state benefits you weren’t aware of or being refused a financial service despite having a good credit history.”

The study found that 99 per cent are aware of what ID theft is and 41 per cent are concerned that they will become a victim.

However, despite this, millions of Britons fail to take precautionary action to protect themselves from ID thieves.

Around 2.5 million people still throw confidential documents away without shredding them, five million leave personal information lying around and 4.5 million regularly carry personal documents around with them in wallets and handbags.

Capital One points out that this is leaving many people open to ID theft which can lead to thieves getting credit cards and loans in your name.

This in turn can lead to problems for the victim when it comes to getting a mortgage or other financial product in the future.

Tags: ID thieves.Around, Social security, cent, service, Credit history, history, 5 million, Sanjiv

Citizens Advice urges caution with consolidation loans

With record numbers of consumers struggling to pay off unsecured loans, a consolidation loan can sometimes be seen as a reasonable way out, but Citizens Advice
has warned debtors to consider all options before signing up to the agreement.

Speaking to The Observer, Peter Tutton, a social policy officer specialising in credit and debt for Citizens Advice, stated that an alarming number of people were signing up to consolidation loans when in fact, these agreements could make them worse off financially.

“There are problems with secured consolidation loans – we’re seeing lots of evidence that where people do get into [financial] trouble, they’re being pushed into consolidation,” said Mr Tutton.

Problems arise when consumers take out a secured consolidation loan for an unsecured debt and find that if they cannot meet the repayments, their home is now at risk.

James Ketchell, a spokesman for the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, added that in some circumstances, consolidation loans could be beneficial as the interest rate is often lower than with an unsecured loan.

Having said that, he stressed that in general, it was only a solution for five or six years, since consumers usually then built up more credit card debt and personal loans and put themselves into an even worse situation than before.

Consumers are advised to seek independent advice if they are concerned about their financial status and to consider all of their options before signing up to a fiscal agreement.

Tags: Peter Tutton, finance, debt, financial trouble, Citizen's Advice Bureau, service

Apacs introduces new payment system

Making payments over the phone and online will soon become a quicker process, thanks to the implementation of a new payment system.

The UK payments association Apacs has revealed that the new system is on track and it believes that those doing their banking online and over the telephone will enjoy using the new system.

Apacs says that the UK will now be brought up to speed alongside the frontrunners around the world when it comes to making payments.

Bankers can expect to see payments made almost in real-time, removing the hassle, and sometimes confusion, of waiting for money to enter or exit your account.

“This service will be great for any customer wanting to move money quickly – perhaps to pay a bill or move money between accounts,” said Paul Smee, chief executive of Apacs.

“Like the internet, it will be available all day, and will move a payment within a few hours and on any day of the week.”

As well as online and telephone banking, the new system will speed up the movement of standing orders.

Apacs claims that standing orders will be processed within the same day, a vast improvement on the three days it currently takes.

So far, a host of major banks are onboard with the scheme, with HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Barclays among the 13 to get involved from the very beginning.

Tags: scheme, Economy of the United Kingdom, customer, apacs, lloyds tsb, Business Finance, service

How does your age affect your premium?

As many UK motorists are aware there are a range of factors which come into play when companies decide the rate premium you pay. The first step of this process, at the application stage is to take all your details – which the company will do with a paper based form or over the internet. Read more

Tags: risk, service, claim, young person car insurance, Disaster Accident, system, paper, assessment