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Mortgage protection could become mis-selling scandal

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/09/mortgage-insurance-warning

Don’t cut protection in face of rising unemployment, regulator tells insurers

City watchdog Lord Turner attacked insurers today for threatening to water down unemployment protection on mortgages, warning he would investigate any attempt to push through price rises due to the recession.

The chairman of the Financial Services Authority warned the industry it risked repeating the mistakes of past scandals such as the mis-selling of endowment mortgages.

Concern has grown that insurers plan to increase prices for customers with mortgage payment protection insurance and restrict the scope of policies to reduce payout costs, ahead of an expected surge in unemployment in the second half of the year.

He told an audience of insurance executives at a conference organised by the Association of British Insurers that the industry would provoke an angry response from customers, which the regulator would need to take seriously.

“Whilst it is natural for the industry to respond to changes in risk, this raises issues with both unfair contract terms, disclosure and our ‘treating customers fairly’ principles,” he said.

“How many consumers would have taken up this cover if they had known that at the very time they needed the protection the most, the price of it could significantly increase or the amount of cover decrease?

“This is an area where insurers must expect us to intervene to address poor consumer outcomes. And more than that they must think strategically about the impact of their actions on the sector’s reputation.”

The warning is understood to follow moves by the Post Office to raise prices on its mortgage protection policies that cover payments during periods of unemployment or after accidents and during long-term sickness. In April the Post Office gave 30 days notice that it also planned to reduce the level of cover from a maximum £2,500 a month to £1,500. Claimants will also have to wait for 90 days after stopping work before they receive any money. The delay was previously 30 days.

Turner said he was aware the number of people with the insurance had fallen in recent years. In 2005 there were 2.5m policies covering just over a fifth of the 11.6m mortgages in the UK. By 2007 MPPI policies had fallen to 1.2m and 700,000 in 2008.

He said: “While mortgage payment protection insurance has not previously been a major focus of our concerns, it may become one in an economic downturn. As the likelihood of unemployment-related claims increases, some insurers are responding by increasing premiums or reducing cover for existing policyholders.”

The FSA and the Competition Commission have spent the last four years investigating accusations of profiteering by lenders that sell payment protection insurance on loans and credit cards. Last year the commission ruled that selling practices were so bad that it banned the sale of the most profitable product until at least a fortnight after the purchase of a credit card or loan. The industry appealed, but was unsuccessful.

Turner said he would not hesitate to repeat the enforcement measures on insurers that contravened rules on the sale of mortgage payment protection.

He said: “The recent problems may have been primarily in the banking industry and that is where the most significant changes are needed, but in an era of heightened public expectations that the FSA will identify and prevent major problems from recurring, we need to reinforce our capability across all high impact firms.

“And we need to respond to people’s expectations that we will be more forceful in pursuing enforcement against reckless or abusive practices which cause customers harm.

“We certainly need to ensure that our responses are proportionate and are focused on what matters: that they are outcome focused. And we will also continue to look for market solutions where they are available, such as in addressing contract certainty and commission disclosure.”

  • Regulators
  • Insurance industry
  • Mortgages
  • Insurance
  • Payment protection insurance
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Mobility aid sales under fire

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Consumer body says complaints are up 8% on same period last year

The government body Consumer Direct today issued a fresh warning about the “sharp practices” of some companies and operators selling mobility scooters and orthopaedic aids, following a sharp rise in consumer complaints.

The advice service, managed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), received more than 1,500 complaints about mobility aid purchases in the first four months of this year, up 8% on the same period last year. Many complaints related to defective products and customer service issues, while almost a quarter were about sales and business practices. The latter included allegations that traders have duped consumers by making misleading claims.

Callers complained about salespeople engaging in high-pressure sales tactics, spending several hours in their homes, and in some cases falsely claiming to be working for social services, the Department for Work and Pensions or the NHS.

Michele Shambrook, operations manager for Consumer Direct, said: “Mobility aids like these can provide welcome independence and relief to the sick, elderly and disabled, but prospective buyers need to guard against the tactics of some rogue operators.”

She said many of these products were sold to people in their own homes where they could be particularly vulnerable to high-pressure selling techniques. “It’s worth remembering that if you agree to buy something in the home that you later regret, you will have cancellation rights,” she added.

A spokesman for Consumer Direct said the rise in complaints was probably linked to a corresponding surge in sales.

New laws that came into force in October 2008 in most cases give consumers seven days to cancel contracts entered into in the home. Other regulations introduced in May last year prohibit traders from treating consumers unfairly, misleading them through acts or omissions, or subjecting them to aggressive practices such as high-pressure selling techniques. Traders are also required to leave premises when asked. Breach of the new regulations is an offence punishable by up to two years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

A number of mobility aid companies are being investigated by local authority Trading Standards services.

Prospective buyers are advised to consider using companies that are members of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), a trade body working towards official OFT approval of its consumer code of practice. BHTA member companies offer consumers safeguards that go beyond those required by consumer protection law, including access to a free independent redress scheme should things go wrong.

  • Consumer affairs
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Sale and rent back regulation begins

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

• Interim measures will offer protection against rogue firms
• Full regulation to be introduced in June 2010

Homeowners who fall victim to rogue sale and rent back companies may be able to claim compensation from 1 July in the first step towards full regulation of the schemes by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Full regulation will be introduced on 30 June next year, but it was announced today that the watchdog would introduce interim steps to tackle immediate consumer problems.

From the start of next month, people who lose money or their homes through these controversial schemes will be able to take their cases to the Financial Ombudsman Service if complaints to the companies themselves are not handled in a satisfactory way.

Sale and rent back companies, which usually advertise in the back of tabloid newspapers and online, target struggling homeowners by offering to buy their homes and allowing them to continue living in them as tenants, usually on an assured shorthold tenancy lasting six to 12 months.

Homeowners often stump up the cost of a valuation – typically about £500 – only to find the price being offered falls far short of the market value.

Up until now the companies have been unregulated and some homeowners who have gone ahead with the deals have found themselves facing eviction because the new owner wants to sell the property on or has failed to keep up with mortgage payments.

Under the interim regime, firms will have to apply for permission from the FSA to continue trading: they must comply with the FSA’s principles for businesses and will be required to have adequate resources and be run by fit and proper people. The watchdog will be able to stop, ban or fine firms that break the rules.

The move follows Office of Fair Trading (OFT) research last year which identified a number of risks to homeowners entering into these arrangements. The OFT made three recommendations to the government including compulsory regulation, increased consumer awareness and improved information about housing benefits.

A recent FSA survey found that only 42% of people questioned knew that sale and rent back is unregulated, although 58% thought that it should be. The majority also thought they would be entitled to stay in their home for more than five years, while the typical contract is six to 12 months.

Ed Harley, the FSA’s head of mortgage policy, said: “We know that some consumers enter into sale and rent back arrangements without understanding the costs and risks involved. This can be a source of real distress for people in already difficult circumstances.?

“Firms entering our regime will need to run their business in a way that means customers are treated fairly. This includes making clear to customers important details, such as the length of time they can stay in the property, before they enter into the arrangement.”

Homeowner victims

The Observer has been highlighting the plight of those who have already fallen victim to sale and rent back schemes for several years. Unfortunately, the rule changes will not allow those who have suffered from rogue firms to claim compensation retrospectively.

Jean Turner and her husband sold their Norwich home to a sale and rent back company after falling three months into arrears on their mortgage. Although they only owed £1,500 they had been taken to court by their lender and faced repossession.

Jean, now aged 53 and on disability benefits, approached the local council for advice and was given the number of a sale and rent back firm called Home Assured. Its representative visited the Turners and agreed to buy their home; the firm paid off the outstanding mortgage and arrears. The Turners then paid £500 a month in rent to stay in their home, the same amount they had been paying for their mortgage, but had no tenancy agreement or rent book.

Jean, who has since split up from her partner, discovered that although she was still paying rent to Home Assured it had subsequently sold her home to another owner. She received a court summons because the new owner failed to keep up with the mortgage payments, and the final straw came when he tried to raise the rent from £500 to £650, saying that all she had to do was ask the council for more money.

Jean refused and instead went to Shelter for help and now lives in local authority housing. “It was a horrible experience,” she said. “It is about time someone did something about these schemes. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I have over the past few years.”

The danger of people falling prey to unscrupulous firms should also be reduced by the introduction of the government’s £285m mortgage rescue scheme in January. Although only two households had been officially rescued by the end of April, government officials said more will be helped with 70 cases in the pipeline.

  • Property
  • Renting property
  • Borrowing & debt
  • Mortgages
  • Social exclusion
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Summertime and the dressing isn’t easy

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Can you keep your cool in the office, or do rising temperatures have you panicking about what to wear, asks Huma Qureshi

Three days into the British summer and we are already struggling with what to wear in the office. At bus stops and train stations you can spy them a mile off: the suited-and-booted office workers sweltering in the sun, their feet no doubt a little claustrophobic in those leather lace-ups, top buttons undone, red in the face, fanning themselves with a free newspaper.

Dressing to go to a desk-job when the sun is shining is no easy task; the dos and don’ts of the fashion pages are endless, not to mention the stiff corporate dress codes that don’t let you lighten up when the sun comes out to play. Many offices across all sorts of industries instil a year-round “conventional business dress code”, making few concessions for rising temperatures (although women can usually get away with wearing less than office-working men).

Our office operates a relatively informal dress code and we can pretty much get away with wearing what we want. So on sunny days it is open-toes and floaty dresses and guys in bright polo shirts and tees.

But even if you are comfortable in what you are wearing, summertime in and around the office has its problems. Who doesn’t dread being rammed on the bus, train or tube under someone’s sweltering sweaty arm pit (please, no sleeveless tops)? Then there’s the long-standing battle with the air con once you’re at your desk; the colleague sitting next to you who casually slips his shoes off under his desk, prompting a distinctive mustiness in the air; the girl opposite whose worn-out espadrilles must surely be a bit whiffy by now; and the oddball guys who look like they’ve just come back from holiday in Marrakech – all linen trousers and flip-flops, hairy feet and stubbed yellowing toes proudly on show. That’s the media for you.

So are you struggling with a sweaty commute – do sweat patches drive you mad? Does the sight of your boss’s toes in sandals makes you cringe? Tell us your summer office-wear nightmares.

  • Work & careers
  • Fashion
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Post-recession pessimism rife among young adults, study finds

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Report reveals fears among 18-24-year-olds that their standard of living will take 10 years to recover

Most 18-24-year-olds believe their living standards will not return to pre-recession levels for more than a decade, a report has revealed, forcing the next generation to rethink their spending habits.

The Post Office Financial Services report found that nearly 50% of the young people surveyed believe they will reduce their use of credit as a result of the crunch.

Doug Strachan, head of consumer insight at Post Office Financial Services, said: “These findings demonstrate that the recession is already causing a marked change in the attitudes and the potential behaviour of the younger generation in particular.

“Younger age groups have only ever known relative economic good times during their adult lives, so the change in economic climate is therefore likely to hit these groups the hardest, contributing to this overwhelming sense of pessimism. One positive result of this appears to be indications of a desire to change financial habits drastically in the long term.”

Having been forced to learn financial lessons the hard way, the next generation of adults believe they are likely to adopt a more responsible approach to credit and spending. Half of the young adults surveyed felt that the long-term impact of the recession would be that people would have to learn to live within their means and 48% said they were more likely to build savings to protect themselves.

Over 20% of young people said the legacy of this recession for their generation would be retiring into a lower standard of living than their parents and grandparents.

The greatest fear among this age group is the risk of losing their job, with 70% of under-24s worried about becoming unemployed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, one in six 18-to-24-year-olds are now looking for work.

  • Recession
  • Credit crunch
  • Unemployment and employment statistics
  • Young people
  • Work & careers
  • Redundancy
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Work: Women of an uncertain age

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Two women reveal how age crept into their working lives: one having to prove sceptics wrong by setting up her own business; the other coping with an office of twentysomethings

Whether it’s in the workplace or a labour ward, prejudice and discrimination can be part and parcel of daily life for women of a ­”certain age”.

Elizabeth Adeney, a 66-year-old who runs a manufacturing business in Suffolk found herself in this week’s opinion columns after disclosing she is eight month’s pregnant and set to become the oldest woman in Britain to give birth.

So as a new report warns that older workers are more at risk of losing their jobs in this recession, we asked two working women how they rise above the banter, innuendo and skepticism.

Simeone Salik, 66 started her own company two years ago when her husband retired. “Some people like to work; others can’t wait to stop. I belong to the first category. And I wasn’t about to let a small thing like my age stop me when I spotted a great business opportunity not long after my 65th birthday,” she said.

“After leaving school at 18, I had a job and helped to support my then boyfriend – now my husband of 46 years – through university by working as assistant to the PR for Liberty’s of Regent Street and then with one of the first standalone PR agencies, Leslie Frewin. I then worked in the PR department of Masius & Wynne Williams, a large advertising agency, until my children began to arrive. All this was in the 1960s, when women stayed at home to look after their children and it was more unusual to leave them while you worked.

“My husband, an optometrist with several practices by now, was very involved in the administration and running of his business, so I was able to help him after work and at the weekends and learned how a business should be run properly – minimum expenses and maximum profitability, with good customer relations and after-sales service.

“But when the first of our three daughters went to university, I realised that very soon we would be ‘empty-nesters’ and encouraged my husband to sell his business and work from our home in his professional capacity. I became the receptionist and dispenser.

“As his retirement age loomed, I once again wanted a project and, more by luck than judgment, found a plot of land and we built our retirement bungalow. This took us three years to accomplish. After leaving ordering the curtains until the very end, I realised that there was a real gap in the market for temporary, inexpensive blinds, and asked a designer called Janice Dalton if she wanted to go into business with me to fill the gap. My husband, who had never wanted me to work before, was very supportive but my family was sceptical – after all, I was just their mother and at 65 probably not in the 21st century at all. What did I know?

“It took us more than 18 months to set up our business and after an introduction to Dominic Lawrence, who was sourcing the blinds from the far east, we asked him to join us as an equal partner.

“We built a website and even did our own video, with Dom shooting, Janice demonstrating and lots of laughter. We launched the website in November 2008, and to our surprise, started little by little to get orders from around the UK and even from the Irish Republic and Spain.

“One of the things I had learned from working with my husband was that if you keep your costs down you don’t have to borrow from the bank and, in fact, our set up costs were funded three ways from our individual savings or earnings. We spent no more than £3,500 each and the stock was ordered with a 60-day payment deferment.

“All this time the ‘credit crunch’ was becoming more and more real and suddenly banks, which had formerly been the rock of our society, were failing. We could not have launched a business at a worse time.

“However, our blinds, which are cheap, instant and temporary, are just the job for a recessionary period. My PR seemed to be working well and we had some really nice mentions in both newspapers and magazines.

“One Manchester paper called us ‘idea of the week’ and the Dragons’ Den production team in Manchester, who must have seen the story, contacted us to suggest we fill in an application form. At first we thought it a crazy idea, but after much discussion decided to send the form in.

“We were asked to go to pitch and have a screen test at the BBC studios in London and eventually after quite a few weeks, were asked to go to ­Pinewood to appear in the Den. Dom, to his credit, insisted that we rehearsed, rehearsed and researched so that we would be ready to field any questions.

“On the day, I didn’t feel too nervous. At my age, all I was worried about was making a fool of myself and giving my family ammunition to laugh at me forever more. We pitched for over an hour and were really happy when James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne decided to give us investment.

“They have guided us on a weekly basis and have helped us, by involvement with their other investments, with our distribution and the admin.

“By association with them, Blindsinabox is now a ‘real’ company and my eight grandchildren think I am a really ‘cool’ grandmother, especially when teachers in their schools tell them that they have bought the blind, and is it their grandmother they have seen on the TV?

“It has changed my life and I would recommend anyone who thinks they are too old to change or to start a new career to go for it. You will never regret it and will learn lots of new things, like using your BlackBerry to text your family: “C U 2NITE. SPK L8TR”.

Carol Cooke, 57 is a public accountability manager for the BBC.

“Last week I opened an email from a young woman inviting us to celebrate what she called ‘a significant’ birthday, by eating the chocolate cake on her desk. She was 25. As I mooched over, I realised I was the oldest woman in the office. I was surrounded by babies – I wanted to tie pelican bibs round their necks, and warn them about choking on crumbs.

“The Pensions Act decrees that I can’t retire at 60 but have to keep going a bit longer. I enjoy work but when I sit down at my computer, I am surrounded by people barely out of their babygrows, whose voices are still breaking, and whose chosen daytime drink is fizzy pop.

“Being the oldest woman in the office is odd. How did it happen? Was I not paying attention? One moment I was one of the kids, going out after work and drinking a lot. The next minute I am quietly responsible, find it difficult to function after three glasses of wine the night before, don’t want to go to clubs – even if I could find one without my glasses – and look forward to an evening self-medicating on Desperate Housewives.

“My terms of reference are different. I complimented one young woman on the flower in her hair. She explained she was ‘channelling Katy Perry’. I gave a knowing laugh and rushed off to ask the child sitting at the next desk for guidance.

“Then there’s exercise. What does the oldest woman in the office do when people are putting on running shoes and tiny T-shirts? And if I am prepared to put on shorts and just accept I look tubby, I get half way round the run and then collapse. I love the three-gate route – at least you get a break while someone opens the damn things.

“It’s not just the running kit. I have a penchant for clothes with bits of glitter, but conclude that if everyone around me looks as if they are back-packing round Europe during their lunch hour, then glittery tops are passé. The backpack look is popular but you have to possess flawless skin and swinging blonde hair to look good in tones of grey and khaki.

“When I wrote about my ‘oldest women’ problems on a BBC webpage, I received some great responses. One woman pointed out that ‘the traditional cauliflower head perm of our mother’s generation has been replaced by the blonde bob which tops the spreading torso’. Yep.

“Another woman classed herself as a ‘transitional woman’ but found the thought of the transition to being retired and, keeping your nose out of things, too difficult to imagine.

“So yes, I’m on Facebook, and listen to music via YouTube, but choosing the right clothes, and knowing what the fresh-faced babies working the urban guerrilla-look are talking about is something the Pensions Act forgot. And that’s a major omission.”

  • Discrimination at work
  • Work & careers
  • Older people
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Inflation figure is lowest since 1948

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Employers are more likely to curb wage deals after the cost of living fell by more than 1% in the past year

Downward pressure on wage deals intensified after the government revealed that cheaper home loans, lower fuel and food costs shaved more than 1% off the cost of living in the past year.

The Office for National Statistics said that inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index – the benchmark used for most pay negotiations – stood at -1.2% in April, down from -0.4% in March and the lowest level since 1948.

Many firms have already announced pay freezes or cuts in response to the UK’s slide into deep recession ever since last Autumn but the TUC warned yesterday that further cuts in wages would make it more difficult for the economy to recover.

Its general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Entrenched deflation would be a real threat to economic recovery. There are no green shoots here.

“Calls for widespread pay freezes are exactly the wrong reaction today. Of course employees and their unions understand the reality of companies hit hard by recession, but others can still afford reasonable increases that can then feed through into helping the economy recover.”

John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development said: “With 8 in 10 employers using RPI inflation as a cost of living benchmark when setting pay, and unemployment rising faster than at any time for a generation, the ongoing squeeze on pay is set to continue, particularly in the private sector. It is now almost certain that growth in average earnings will moderate to an annual rate of 2% or less by the end of the year.”

The RPI a measure of inflation that includes a basket of goods and services, including mortgage payments, is almost 50% lower than a year ago as a result of the Bank of England’s emergency cuts in bank rate to an historic low of 0.5%.

An alternative measure of the cost of living – the Consumer Prices Index – is used by the government to assess progress in hitting its 2% inflation target, but this does not include housing costs.

The ONS said CPI inflation also fell in April – from 2.9% to 2.3% – having risen to more than 5% last summer when oil prices rose to a record $147 a barrel.Cheaper food, reductions in electricity and gas bills, and special deals from hotels and restaurants led to a bigger fall in CPI inflation than the City had been expecting.

Analysts said that the 30% fall in the value of sterling between the summer of 2007 and the end of 2008 was raising the price of some imported goods, with the inflation rate picking up for household goods despite the weakness in the housing marketand the deflation rate for clothing and footwear also eased back.

Even so, the City expects further falls in RPI and CPI inflation over the coming months.

Colin Ellis, of Daiwa Securities, said: There is little doubt that sterling’s fall last year has kept CPI inflation above target, and has helped to limit the immediate risk of deflation, at least as measured by the CPI.

“But underlying inflationary pressure is still extremely weak, and is likely to remain so, particularly given the rapid and ongoing deterioration in the labour ­market. As such, the MPC may end up needing yet another sharp fall in sterling to get CPI inflation near 2% next year.

Jonathan Loynes, of Capital ­Economics, said: “The numbers should be a reminder to markets and policymakers that excessively low inflation, and even deflation, remains a bigger risk over the next year or two than a sharp upturn in inflation.”

  • Economics
  • Deflation
  • Inflation
  • Currencies
  • Recession
  • Family finances
  • Consumer affairs
  • Household bills
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If you only do one thing this week … change your commute

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Fed up with the monotony of the working day? Change your route to the office and put a fresh perspective on the nine to five, says Joanna Roberts

With the threat of job losses in the air, now is the time to act like the motivated, dedicated, key team player you really are. So, do you arrive at your desk with a spring in your step, eager to face the day and meet its challenges head on? Or do you operate on autopilot, relying on a fixed routine to get you through the morning while you summon up the energy to deal with the day? If the latter sounds depressingly familiar then perhaps changing your commute would help.

Routines are good, mainly because they allow us to do things without having to expend lots of time and energy. If we had to think – really think – about everything we did between getting up and arriving at our desks each morning we’d be exhausted. But these automatic shortcuts can also be dangerous, dooming us to repeat the same behaviour and thoughts again and again until we’re in a deep, dark, lonely rut.

The good news if you’re feeling flat is that a small change can be all you need to reignite your spark. Psychologist and life coach Dr Sally Ann Law says something as simple as changing your route to work can have beneficial effects. “To achieve positive change you have to go through different phases, one of which is unfreezing. If you shake up what you usually do, you open your mind to a new behaviour.”

Whether it’s by driving a different way to work or trying an alternative bus or tube route, Law says by varying our morning journey we might meet different people or pass different shops, and these new experiences will help to open our minds to the “adventure of change”. The adventure being that we can’t predict exactly what positive outcomes will ensue from our new, receptive mindset. It’s all about, like, being open to the universe, man.

Varying your route is one thing, but if you really want to shake things up then change your mode of transport altogether – the benefits could go way further than an increase in motivation. Swap the car for the bus and you immediately ratchet up your green credentials; keep the car and give someone a lift and you can help the environment and get to know a colleague at the same time (tip: choose that colleague wisely).

But it’s the non-motorised alternatives like cycling or getting off the bus early that really hit the jackpot. Not only are bikes and legs recession-busting forms of transport, but by throwing exercise into the mix you kill the commuting and fitness birds with one stone. Combining exercise with something you have to do anyway – getting to work – means you’re more likely to keep it up.

A study by the University of Bristol showed that people who built exercise into their working day had more energy and were calmer, better at problem solving, and found it easier to concentrate than on days they didn’t exercise. Jo Coulson, who led the study, says being active makes people feel much more productive, “and that always feels good in our busy lives”. So, a little variety in your commute could go a long way to improving your day in the office. And what better way to start the day than by combating climate change, apathy and obesity, all on your way to work?

  • Work & careers
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Car scrappage scheme begins

Monday, May 18th, 2009

• £2,000 bangers-for-cash scheme is launched in bid to boost moribund sales
• Lord Mandelson heralds a ‘wonderful bargain’ for motorists

Elderly motorists have led the stampede to cash in on the £2,000 car scrappage scheme which starts today, according to the UK’s largest dealership.

Fed up with earning next to no interest on their savings, they are opting to take advantage of the offer and pay in cash for a new car. Dealers say that small, cheaper models are particularly popular replacements.

Trevor Finn, the chief executive of Pendragon, said many dealers were reporting that the majority of motorists registering interest in the scheme were retired. One Citroen dealership in Reading he visited last week told him that three-quarters of inquiries came from older drivers – a trend experienced by many other dealers, he said.

The scheme is designed to kickstart moribund car sales and revive struggling carmakers. Motorists who own a car more than 10 years old can trade it in to qualify for a £2,000 discount on a new model. The discount is funded jointly by the government and the industry.

The scheme, which is more limited compared to most on offer on the continent, lasts for nine months or until the £300m pledged by the government to fund its share runs out.

Finn said: “A high proportion of the people who have applied are people who are on fixed incomes, particularly retired people who have had cars for a long time and are paying in cash. They aren’t getting much of a return on their savings. But they can help counter this by getting a £2,000 valuation.”

The business secretary, Lord Mandelson, said this morning that the scheme was a “wonderful bargain” for motorists and good news for workers across the car industry. Critics, though, have claimed that the £2,000 saving will be quickly eroded by the depreciation in value of new cars.

Finn admitted that he had originally been sceptical about the effectiveness of the scheme, mainly because consumers would only benefit from a £1,000 discount in many cases. Most manufacturers and dealers are already offering discounts of £1,000 or more. Because motorists do not receive any payment for the old car they hand in, the scheme only makes sense if the old model is worth less than £1,000.

“The idea has got some traction,” he said. “I started off being sceptical but, having seen more of the marketing and having the initial feedback, it’s clear that the scheme is driving showroom enquiries.”

Edmund King, the president of the AA motorists body, said 250,000 car owners would be interested in taking up the offer. “There will be an initial rush to the showrooms,” he said, “but as details come through to the mass of motorists, you will see another wave of interest after two or three months.”

Last week, Pendragon invited customers to register to have their old car valued on its car retailers’ websites, www.stratstone.com and www.evanshalshaw.com. Finn said 5,000 people had registered their details.

Dealers have already started selling old cars to scrap merchants. Cartakeback bridges the gap between the car dealers and the scrapyards and claims to deal with about 70% of the cars heading for the scrapheap in Britain.

Its manager, Graham Price, said: “The indications are that several thousand vehicles have been pre-sold under the scheme. There does seem to be interest from the public, judging by the end-of-life vehicles coming our way.”

He said the volume of cars being scrapped was down about 15-20% this year but he expected that to be offset by the scheme. “The scrappage scheme will certainly redress that, but it does appear to be borrowing business from the future.”

Car scrapyards, mostly family-run business, are a little discussed beneficiary of the scheme. A car, broken down into scrap metal, fetches about £150 with much of the recyclable material heading for Turkey, India and the Middle East. The price is volatile, depending on the demand for raw materials and was twice as high last summer.

However, prices are higher than they were in last autumn, when a scrapped car fetched just £50. Under government regulations, 85% of a vehicle must be recycled, going up to 95% in 2015. Between 1.5m and 2m cars are taken off the road each year.

  • Car scrappage
  • Motoring
  • Motoring
  • Consumer affairs
  • Automotive industry
  • Economic policy
  • Carbon emissions
  • Waste
  • Travel and transport
  • Recycling
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The great green giveaway

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Where to look to make some serious savings

Householders wanting to save money on bills could be forgiven for not making their gas supplier their first port of call. After all, British Gas and the rest want to make more money out of us, not less, don’t they? But energy companies are sitting on thousands of pounds in largely unclaimed grants and benefits – going well beyond the free energy-saving lightbulbs that many already dish out to households.

Energy companies must also offer grants to enable householders to make their homes more energy-efficient in order to hit carbon emission reduction targets under a government initiative, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (Cert), launched in April last year.

Some 40% of this cash must be directed towards vulnerable households, such as those on benefits – but the bulk of the money used for the grants is available to anyone. If your own gas or electricity supplier is not offering anything, look to its rivals. Anyone can take up the offers from any energy company, not just their own supplier.

Water companies are also giving away free water-saving gadgets – and even your local council is getting in on the act by offering discounted compost bins.

Here is a taster of what’s available.

Insulation

What’s the offer?

British Gas runs a DIY insulation scheme on behalf of the office of the London mayor, Boris Johnson, allowing you to insulate your home at a bargain price. You can order a DIY insulation kit which includes insulation rolls, pipe lagging, protective gloves, goggles and instructions. The kits cost £99, but with a £50 cashback from the mayor and British Gas, it will end up costing £49. Alternatively, you can have professionally fitted cavity wall insulation from £250 and fully fitted loft insulation from £274, both of which come with £100 cashback.

Who is it open to?

London residents only. If you receive benefits, you may be entitled to free insulation.

How do I get in touch?

Call 0845 070 5059 to find out if you are eligible.

What’s the offer?

London Warm Zone is a grant funded by EDF Energy and London local councils. It provides free cavity wall and loft insulation to customers on qualifying benefits and people over 70. A price of £183.75 for loft insulation, and £183.75 for cavity-wall insulation, is available for others. (the going rate for a three-bed house is around £434 or for a four-bed, £555).

Who is it open to?

Londoners – but a similar scheme is run by EDF nationwide.

How do I get in touch?

0800 389 7286 for the London scheme and 0800 096 9966 for the national EDF scheme.

What’s the offer?

Council tax rebate from British Gas working with local councils. Receive up to £125 off your council tax bill by having your home insulated by British Gas.

Who is it open to?

Anyone living in the 64 local council areas where the scheme operates.

How do I get in touch?

For the list of participating councils visit British Gas, or call British Gas on 0845 971 7731.

What’s the offer?

Independent company Affordable Energy has an offer running until the end of next year for loft insulation and cavity wall insulation from £189, reduced from standard charges of up to £500.

Who is it open to?

Pricing is subject to a no-obligation survey and quote, and is free to recipients of qualifying benefits.

How do I get in touch?

Call 0800 096 6356 or online.

What’s the offer?

For certain low-income householders, there is even more on offer – this time for free. In last month’s budget, the chancellor announced he was increasing the grant available to anyone eligible for the government’s Warm Front scheme. This is directed at vulnerable households and provides a package of insulation and heating improvements, such as central heating or an upgraded boiler, up to the value of £3,500 (£2,700 before the budget). The amount available to those off the gas network, (using heating oil) has increased from £4,000 to £6,000.

Who is it open to?

Anyone over 60 in receipt of income support, council tax benefit, housing benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based) or pension credit. It is also available to householders with a child under 16, or pregnant women with maternity certificate MAT B1 in receipt of one, or more, of the same benefits. Some other households on these benefits, or who receive disability living allowance, and a small range of other allowances, may qualify.

How do I get in touch?

Go to www.warmfront.co.uk or call 0800 316 2805

Water saving

What’s the offer?

Newer toilets often have dual flushes, but if you have an older model you can reduce the amount of water you flush down the drain by making the cistern smaller. Do this with a brick, or with a “Hippo” – a bag that sits in the cistern.

Who is it open to?

Many water companies offer these for free. Thames Water will send a Hippo or a silica-filled Save-a-flush device to anyone in the UK – and up to 50 of each to its customers. Anglian Water has its own version, Save-a-Flush Freddie.

Thames Water also offers its customers discounted water butts. You can save £20 on a butt and stand that normally retails at £69. Anglian Water offers water butt kits on a buy-one, get-one-half-price deal.

How do I get in touch?

Your water company may do something similar, so give it a call before you buy one from a DIY store.

What’s the offer?

ShowerSmart, a small device that attaches to non-electric mixer showers or bath/shower mixer taps. It saves both water and the associated energy with heating hot water. Testing has shown it can limit the flow rate in a typical shower to 7.7 litres per minute, saving more than 21,000 litres of water per year for an average family of four. This leads to less energy being used to heat water and a potential corresponding cut in average domestic energy usage. Gas and metered water bills combined can be reduced by around £60 per year – depending on household energy and water supplier.

It aerates the water supply, so, crucially, there is no, or little, perceptible difference from the restricted flow for anyone using it.

Who is it open to?

The ShowerSmart has been approved through the Cert scheme and is free to every home in Britain for a limited period – after that, it can be bought for £10. It can be fitted mainly on showers connected to the mains pressure-fed hot water systems and pumped showers. It is not suitable for electric, rainwater or multiple jet showers.

How do I get in touch?

People can apply for the ShowerSmart through the Guardian, by calling either 0800 4080471 or going online

Composters

What’s on offer?

Don’t pay full price for a compost bin at the garden centre before checking whether your council offers subsidised bins. In some areas, bins that normally retail at £40 are being offered for as little as £12 – and some councils even throw in a free kitchen caddy for your food waste.

Who is it open to?

Everyone.

How do I get in touch?

Either contact your council, or visit recyclenow.com and type in your postcode.

Renewable technologies

What’s on offer?

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme offers grants of up to £2,500 until June next year (or until funds run out) for installation of renewable technologies. These include solar photovoltaics (solar panels), wind turbines, and ground source and air source heat pumps.

There is also the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative, which provides grants of up to £4,000 for installation of renewable technologies.

Who is it open to?

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme grants are open to householders across the UK. The Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative is only available to those in Scotland.

How do I get in touch?

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: visit www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk or call 0800 915 0990.

Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative: visit energysavingtrust.org.uk/schri or call 0800 512 012.

Contacts

Energy Saving Trust: go to energysavingtrust.org.uk or call 0800 512012 for details of all the above grants and more and to be put in touch with a local ­energy adviser in your area.

  • Home improvements
  • Energy bills
  • Household bills
  • Property
  • Green building
  • Energy efficiency
  • Energy
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