The causes of a bad credit rating are no mystery, it’s often down to those debts and unpaid bills. There’s no magic formula for fixing it either but by following these five simple steps to control that debt, you could get the healthy and sustainable credit rating that’s the cornerstone of everything from big-ticket purchases to starting your own business.
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How do you improve your Credit Rating?
September 15th, 2009Stop loan sharks
September 11th, 2009Loan Shark 101
Loan sharks, or the ‘home credit industry’, are people who lend money without a licence from the Office of Fair Trading. They lend money illegally and at much higher interest rates than licenced financial institutions.
Loan sharks’ operation tactics
Save money by hunting for bargains
September 4th, 2009There are lots of ways to save money and bargain hunting is just one of them.
Everyone likes a bargain. However, whether it’s laziness or cultural pressure to spend big, we have little or no inclination to go out there and find the bargains that will ease our personal finances.
Bargain hunting need not be confined to those on a lower-income. People in all wage brackets love to get a good deal.
Different types of bargain hunters
There are 4 types of bargain hunters:
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Recession causes insurance claim woes
August 28th, 2009The recession is causing insurance companies to be more vigilant about claims. Last year saw an increase of fraudulent insurance claims. So, if you’re thinking about pushing the car off a cliff, don’t. It’s been done.
Last year, the Association of British Insurers found 107 000 fraudulent claims, amounting to £730m. This number is up by about 30% from the previous year and has been rising every year for the past 4 years.
Fraud is a temptation during a recession. According to the ABI, people are using the payout money to settle debts or, in some cases, buy things that they can’t otherwise afford.
Home insurance suffers the most from false claims. Insurance companies detected 55,000 false or exaggerated claims last year alone. However, motor insurance claims reached £360m last year. One owner submitted a claim for a car that had been stolen from a car park, later admitted that he was planning to pay off his debt with the payout.
Another man, who had been holidaying in West Africa, submitted a claim for ‘recovery expenses’. The insurance company denied his claim because it included services at a local brothel.
The ABI’s director of insurance, Nick Starling, knows that fraud thrives in a recession. This is why insurers are making sure they find insurance cheats.
The prevalence of fraud in the insurance industry pads insurance premiums by about £40 a year. This is why insurers work to ensure submitting a false claim is nearly impossible. If they can do that, the premiums will be more competitive for honest customers.
The ABI first started collecting figures in 2004, with detected fraud costing companies £260m. This figure then rose to £410m in 2005, £470m in 2006 and to £560m in 2007.
Norwich Union maintains that the majority of claims are still genuine. Sue Cowes, a fraud investigator at Norwich Union, looks out for unusual remarks, patterns in a series of claims and the age of the policy.
Some money saving ideas
August 19th, 2009In the UK, the average family would only have enough money to last for 3 weeks if they lost their jobs. The fact is, as a Nation, we do not manage finances well.
So, be different.
Save money.
This needn’t mean extreme cuts. Just start off small and increase your savings incrementally. The first thing to do is draw up a proper budget.
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