Finance Archives - Useful Tips

It’s One Year until the Deadline: Now is the Time to Claim PPI

There is now just one year left to make your PPI claim. Are you sick of hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robotic head yelling at you to ‘do it now?’ Thankfully, you don’t have to endure it for too much longer.

His face can be seen on TVs and billboards across the UK, encouraging consumers to make their claims before the cut-off date, set for 29th August 2019. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported that, so far, nearly £32 billion has been paid to consumers. The latter half of 2017 and early 2018 saw an increase in payments being made to customers, indicating that the advertising campaign caused people to take action.

But, with 64 million PPI policies sold, there is still potential for thousands more claims to be made before the deadline next year. If you haven’t yet made a claim or believe that PPI isn’t relevant to you, we explain why it’s worthwhile checking and how you can make a PPI claim.

Why Bother Checking for PPI?

So many people have made successful PPI claims, despite not knowing they had bought PPI in the first place. The scandal was so large because the extent of mis-selling was extreme. Often, PPI policies were automatically added onto financial products without the knowledge and consent of consumers. It was commonly sold alongside mortgages, credit cards and loans. [Read more…]

Checklist your way to healthy financial footing

By admin

If your bank balance is looking slightly worse for wear, it’s not always easy to see how to turn things around. Debt can take its toll on your physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing, so it’s important to take control of your finances and get on the right financial foot.

Fortunately, the prepaid Mastercard® providers over at icount can help you to do just that. They’ve created the simple guide below, complete with a ‘healthy financial footing’ checklist that can help you to transform your finances over time. Read on and get checking to get a head start on a bright financial future. [Read more…]

Personal loan based on income

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There have been some serious issues in American society and its financial health is under question. There is too much debt around but equally there are valid reasons why people want to take out personal loans. The question is their availability. Interest rates are fairly low for those who apply successfully. The financial sector has changed in recent years and for many that change is for the better because the basis of being successful is increasingly affordability rather than history.

Everyone carries their credit score with them, good or bad. It is like a badge that will tell those who are interested something about you. It is something that lenders refer to when you apply for money but so do many potential employers are part of their decision process on a job application. In many cases it has become a badge that people do not want to wear. The reason for that often has its roots in the recession. When the Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) crisis struck there was widespread misery. Unemployment doubled to over 10% and many received foreclosure notices before then losing their homes because they could not pay their mortgages. Every time they failed to pay a bill on time that failure was entered into their credit history resulting in a reduction of their credit score.

A Different Environment Prevailed

While few were entirely innocent because they had taken on credit and were unable to meet their obligations prior to the recession there was a very positive feeling about the economy and its growth. There was no reason not to have a mortgage that stretched them because property prices were rising quickly so their assets were going to grow. When the crash came and many who had thought they were in secure employment became unemployed the trouble started; and it continued until real estate prices fell. The surplus of property on the market with few buyers around ensured they were not going to start to rise particularly quickly. [Read more…]

3 Simple Steps to Ensure the Workplace Is Safe for Your Employees

By admin

A healthy work environment means a healthy business. Here are the factors worth keeping in mind to ensure this is achieved.

In an unsafe environment, work can be hazardous to your health, or even lethal. Well over half a million people (611,000) across the UK were injured while on the job from 2014 to 2015, according to official figures, and 142 people unfortunately lost their lives.

While shocking, these numbers are around half of what they were just two decades ago. That’s thanks to new rules and regulations concerning workplace safety, and vastly improved working conditions. Employers are legally obliged to provide suitable places of work for the people in them. Let’s take a look at three essential steps to take to ensure your business is compliant with these laws.

1. Your Duty of Care

As an employer, the law says you have a “duty of care” towards those who work on your commercial premises. After all, the very last thing you want is for your valued employees to become injured. Not only will they be unable to work, but they may have grounds to make personal injury claims against the company, too.

At a fundamental level, ensuring the workplace is in an optimal condition and staff won’t be reaching for the nearest No Win No Fee solicitor because of an injury means maintaining the structural integrity of the building itself. All it takes is a loose brick or piece of ceiling plaster to cause harm to staff. Regular maintenance, including of the interior workspaces themselves, is therefore essential.

That also applies to the many types of equipment and machinery that businesses use — everything from photocopiers to forklifts. An electric shock or worse could be devastating to employees, and lead to any number of expensive personal injury claims. So with the premises and what’s inside it, the keyword for health and safety is: maintenance. Holding on to something that’s old in the hopes of getting a few more years out of it, or pushing back on maintenance schedules to cut costs, can often backfire and be exceptionally dangerous.

2. Illuminating Workplace Safety

In order to avoid workplace injury and personal injury claims from staff, it’s important — and also required under law — to provide proper lighting in all areas where people are working. What’s “proper” lighting, then? Not just any old light bulb, but lighting that’s as natural as possible and not so harsh that it causes glare and headaches. The lighting must also be provided in all areas where people move about, or may potentially do so, such as in emergency stairwells. Outside the building must also be adequately lit up for employees and pedestrians passing by.

You won’t be troubled by your employees hunting for a personal injury solicitor to handle a work-related injury if you look after their hygiene needs and general welfare during the hours they’re toiling away for you. Toilet facilities must be kept clean at all times, and have hot and cold running water along with such necessaries as hand-soap and towels.

Staff must also have suitable areas where they can rest and eat, and any catering facilities must adhere to government regulations. Additionally, you may wish to consider pregnant or nursing employees, and provide separate facilities for them.

3. Create a Great Place to Work

Making the place where your staff generate the business that keeps you in business as comfortable as possible will go a long way towards making them happiness and productivity. Attention needs to be paid to such things as temperature inside offices and other places of work — heating as well as cooling — and an adequate supply of ventilation.

Plus, if any of your employees work outdoors in any capacity, you’ll also need to provide adequate cover from high and low temperatures, as well as rain and severe weather.

With all of this, you’ll be well within the health and safety regulations and steer clear of personal injury claims. Even something as seemingly innocuous as an uneven floor or computer cables sticking out is all it takes for someone to fall over and become badly injured.

It all adds up to a win for you, and your valued workers.

Fraud Awareness – Phishing scams on the rise

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Phishing scams are on the rise and this is why companies like Wonga have put strategies in place to deal with their image being used as the mask of an online scam. These scams are not only targeted at individuals, but some scammers will also target companies. The way phishing scams work is that the scammer will send an email or SMS asking the recipient to send personal details or will let them know about some financial offer, such as loans. In these cases, they will often ask for bank account details or for the recipient to send a deposit in order to get access to the loan.

The importance of awareness

It is important to be aware of phishing scams so that you don’t end up duped. There are many reasons why these scammers exist. In some cases, it is to get money by asking for deposits, admin fees etc. In other cases, it is to retrieve personal information. The scammer may empty the bank account or go in and read emails. They may even use the information for identity theft, so it is imperative to be aware of these types of scams.

Raising awareness

Many businesses are raising awareness of phishing scams and it is important for individuals to have the same kind of awareness. There are some key ways to understand if your email or SMS is potentially part of a phishing scam:

Strange email address – even if the email has the logo of the company they are ‘apparently’ sending from, such as Wonga, PayPal etc., the email will probably not reflect that. It may look strange or have the wrong spelling.
Salutation – scammers will quite often not actually know your name, so the email is likely to just be directed to ‘Mr’ ‘Mrs’ etc. If it was from a legitimate company, they would have your name on file.
The sender – many businesses, such as banks and other financial organisations won’t actually send emails, as they need to be very strict with confidentiality, so if you get one through from them, it is probably a scam.
Nature of email – if the email says anything like ‘urgent notice’ or ‘please respond urgently’, it is probably also a scam.

This is what a typical phishing scam looks like and it will probably be all too familiar for most people.

Fig.1 above, a phishing email that used Wonga South Africa as the disguise to target South Africans. Note: No data leak or vulnerability occurred on Wonga’s website, data leak source is currently unknown.

Scammers will go to all sorts of lengths to get your information, so the best way to deal with emails like this is to call the company directly and check whether or not they sent it.

What to do about a phishing scam?

If you think you may have been the victim of a phishing scam, you should contact the company directly and send them a copy of your email or SMS. You should never respond to the scammer, as this response could be enough for them to get some additional information from you. You never know how these people may work. It is better to be safe than sorry, so just ignore it.

Financial Online Safety

By admin

In our digital world today, keeping ourselves safe online is of the utmost importance, for there are so many places in which a breach can be discovered. Although we can never truly remove the chance of our identity and finances being stolen or used, we can take measures to ensure that risk is at a minimum.

Recognised Brands

It is always vital that you seek out brands and companies you’re familiar with, or at least who someone else knows well. This isn’t to say that every unknown website is a danger, but that a renowned brand, like Betway, will undoubtedly have higher security measures in place to ensure customers are protected. Should a friend or family member come to you and say that they have found this casino site or such like, make sure that it is with a name you can easily find online – read reviews, look through forums, anything to ensure it is safe. The same is also important for any type of website, not just those dedicated to gambling, which in turn leads us to another way to keep safe.

Payment Methods

Sites that pose the most risks are normally those that involve financial transactions of some kind, normally that of payment for goods. With this there are then no end of options you can decide upon before committing to your final purchase. What this means is that, with so many options available, some are understandably safer than others, which is why it is important to figure out which are better for your needs. Out of all those listed, credit cards and e-wallets, such as Paypal, are your better bet for online safety. This is because cards have extra protection in place from banks, and e-wallets enable you to store your valuable information in one place, instead of inputting them everywhere.

Unique Passwords

This is probably the most obvious of the tips to financially security, but it is a significant one nonetheless. Having a simple password may be simple to remember, but it is also easier for others to guess, whereas a long password combined with letters, numbers and symbols makes your accounts more secure. Should it prove too difficult to remember the codes, don’t worry as software is around that can store all your different passwords all in one place.

Your money is among some of the most valuable items you have to your name, and thus taking extra precaution to ensure its safety is an important ritual to get into the habit of.

How to Run a Successful Business – Case Study William Hill

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If you are looking to run a successful business, then you will be wise to look at other successful businesses to see how they have managed to do so well. A great example of this is William Hill as they have managed to adapt to changes in the market and demand for betting which have changed since the Internet flourished.

William Hill was well established as high street betting office business before the internet launched. However, as the Internet grew, high streets had less customers due to online retailing and the convenience of this. This meant that all high street businesses had to adapt and William Hill did just that. They still offer the over the counter betting services that they always have done but they also launched a very successful online business. They are currently one of the leading online betting and gaming providers to the UK online. Many customers prefer the flexibility of being able to bet online as they can do it at any time and from home. To start with that was the only option but as mobile phones improved and it was possible to use apps when away from a static Internet connection the options grew as well. William Hill was there every step of the way making sure that they developed with the changing market so that they had options available for every possibility that their customers wanted. They also expanded abroad into Australia, UK, Italy and Spain although they still have 82% of their business in the UK.

So you can see how William Hill sports betting has adapted to a changing market and this is something that all businesses need to be able to do. Some business owners feel that if one part of their business is not doing so well it is a failure of them to change and that they need to keep persevering. Although perseverance is a great asset, it is really important to understand that customers change their habits frequently and so it is not a failure of the business if things start to do less well but it could very well be an indication that there has been a change in what customers want. This means that it is very important to be flexible and willing to adapt so that the business can continue to flourish. [Read more…]

So You Want to Build a Business – Here’s How To Get Started

By admin

If you ask most people what their ultimate dream is, they’re usually going to give you two different answers: they want to own their own home, and they want to run a business. Usually people start a business so that they have the money to buy their own home and then some. You can definitely increase your quality of life with a business, but a business can also become one of the hardest things that you’ve ever done in your life.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to start a business. The wrong way would be to just dive in without having any idea of what you actually want to do. Far too often people are in a financial crunch and they think that running a business would be better money as well as more freedom. You have to understand that once you quit your job, you’re the boss and that means that everything is essentially your responsibility. You get to scoop up a hundred percent of the praise, but you also get stuck with one hundred percent of the blame too. That’s a point that a lot of would-be business owners skip over.

Before you do anything else, you should make sure that you actually start a business plan. This might not be a formal business plan, but any planning that you can do before the big leap is definitely a good thing. Figure out what products and/or services you can offer to the audience of your choice. You might even need to look around at your competition to see what they’re offering and how you can get into the same field s them. Reaching out and building a network professionally is a good way to see what will be involved as you make the switch to entrepreneurial life.

Getting a great mentor can help you sidestep a lot of issues in your company, because you won’t have to go in blind so to speak. Your mentor should be someone that is already running a business, or retired after running a business. Someone that’s coming up alongside you can be good to bounce ideas off of, but they shouldn’t be your main teacher — in fact, they might be making the same mistakes as you!

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to give yourself enough time and enough savings to enter the business world on your terms rather than having to make moves out of desperation — that’s the best way to get started!

Don’t Let Software Costs Eat Up Profits – Switch To Good Software Asset Management Instead!

By admin

Are you thinking about profits and your business? If you are, don’t worry — you’re definitely not alone in this at all. There are a lot of business owners that are thinking about their profits and wondering if they could be higher. Well, one area that often brings profits down is expenses, naturally. If you are spending too much on certain aspects of your overhead, then you’re going to be losing profits …sometimes, without even realizing it!

Isn’t there a better way to save money and therefore raise profits at the same time? Of course there is. If you’re in a business where you are depending on computer technology in order to get things done, then you’re definitely going to need to implement software asset management.

This is a proven method of saving money, because you will not just be out purchasing software blindly. You will need a plan in place to curb costs, but that’s not like it has to be difficult to implement.

The best way to get your plan done with is to get targeted software asset management services that will make most of these issues as effortless and streamlined as possible. Organization of the process is going to be absolutely critical when you know that you need to make changes. Otherwise, you’re going to find yourself not being able to do anything with any type of speed. This will lead to a lot of breakdowns in communication down the road.

Most business owners that have deployed software asset management solutions have actually discovered that going down this path reduces their software expenses dramatically. Software usage reports let the IT personnel immediately figure out what applications that are actually redundant and therefore targets for removal. Why pay for software licenses that are not going to lead to higher company productivity as a whole?

Software asset management is still going to take time and dedication, as at least until you get used to the format and workflow requirements.

Making these changes in your company is also going to take some time, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be taking the time to actually implement the changes. Over time, your software asset management plan will truly pay for itself, but you have to remain patient! Good luck out there!

Debt Management Consolidation

By admin

How do you rate yourself as a money manager? Are you able to allot funds for all your outgoing expenses efficiently, or do you often have problems working on your monthly budget? In an economy which relies mostly on a credit system, it is quite easy to fall into a debt trap wherein you are acquiring more debts than what you can actually pay. When this happens, most people fail to pay at least the minimum amount on their credit card bills. The account may go into collections status, they might receive harassing phone calls from creditors, and some may even just give up then allow their accounts to go delinquent.

When you are dealing with mounting debt, do not lose hope because there are several alternatives that you can opt for, short of filing for bankruptcy. You should always consider bankruptcy only as a very last resort. Exhaust all your other options first because bankruptcy will stay for up to ten years on your credit record, greatly diminishing your purchasing power.

Benefits of Debt Management Consolidation

One of the alternatives that you can look at in order to pay off most of your debts is debt management consolidation. There are different ways to consolidate debts, but one way is by combining several small loans and debts from different creditors into one bigger loan with one debt consolidator. This system is used far more than it ought to be, as borrowing money is not usually a great idea when you are in debt. The other way to consolidate your debts is through a debt management plan, which tends to be more effective for more people.

The following section will give you an idea about how debt management consolidation works. First, here is a quick list of the benefits that you will get to enjoy through debt management consolidation:

No matter how many credit card accounts, store cards, loans or overdrafts on your checking account that you owe, you can combine all these into one easier to pay monthly payment.
With the help of a debt consolidation company, you do not have to negotiate for the consolidation of loans and lowering of monthly payments as well as interest rates; a financial expert from the company will do it for you.
You can reduce what you pay in interest on the several credit card accounts that you have.
Since the debt management consolidation company will be able to assess your overall financial picture, it can easily be determined when your debts will be fully paid.

[Read more…]