Christmas and what matters most

It is Christmas time again, a time when you feel obligated to buy presents for family and friends.

I find Christmas to be one of those times when we lose our senses. I say this, because it seems we have forgotten what Christmas is all about.

The Christmas’ I remember and cherish most are those where the focus was not on presents but on family spending time and doing things together. I remember them because they were about activities – playing games, carol singing, playing with fire-works, listening to folk tales and so on.

While I did received presents, what I remember are the experiences. The sad thing is we no longer look forward to enjoying Christmas with family. If anything, a number of the people I know can’t wait for Christmas to come and go, as it has become a stressful time for them. Not only do they spend unnecessarily, they do so under stress.

What I find interesting with all these Christmas hysteria is buying presents with money you don’t have. To make matters worse, most of the presents bought are unwanted and will never be used. From what I heard on the news the other day most will be advertised for sale on eBay come January.

Why then do you put yourself through it? Especially when you know, it doesn’t have to be so. I will tell you why. Obligatory buying….the act of buying because you feel obligated. You feel guilty turning up for Christmas without a present in hand. According to you, family and friends would punish and disown you for not buying them a present.

Such an idea is further from the truth and we know it. No relative or friend who genuinely cares about you wants you to put yourself in financial difficulty by spending too much on him or her. What they want in reality is your love and care, which can be expressed without a present.

If you care to exercise thought, to look deeper, you would realise the winners in all these are retail outlets. They get to make large sums of money while you languish in debt, and family and friends stuck with presents they will never use.

Having the opportunity to see another year draw to a close, getting to spend time with family and friends, and celebrating religious believes is what Christmas is about, not buying presents. Focus on what matters most.

Banks find another way

Who is thinking of making money from you – Part 2

It seems banks have found another way to rob their customers.

Until recently, banks were permitted to charge their customers exorbitant penalty fees. Thanks to the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) this is no longer possible. The OFT is investigating current account penalty fees and is expected to clamp down on banks when their investigation is completed.

Realising the door to the riches they have enjoyed over the years will be close, banks have resorted to opening a new door of riches by providing customers a “Premier” account.

What is a premier account you ask? A premier account is a current account with add-ons, such as free mobile insurance, breakdown cover, discounts at hotels, etc. your bank charging you a monthly fee for the privilege of these add-ons.

The interesting thing about this account is, unlike a penalty, which you pay when you go overdrawn and which may not happen so often, you are paying a monthly fee, so the bank has a secured monthly income from you. And as I understand it, banks are already taking in almost 900 million pounds-worth of fee income annually. Thanks to you.

Of course, you will have to sign up for such an account before your bank starts charging you. The point is do you really need a “premier” account? What benefit is a mobile phone insurance to you? After all, you can get a new phone for £20. Why would you pay for a service you may never use? Even if you did need breakdown cover for your car, wouldn’t you get it for the same price or cheaper by going direct to the AA, RAC et al

I always tell people who moan about not having enough money or who want to save up to start by scrutinising their bank statements for unnecessary payments. This is one such payment you do not need to make.

Beware the banker salesman

Who is thinking of making money from you?

I find it disturbing that I not only have to be alert about salesmen/women trying to sell me stuff, I also have to worry about my bank as well.

I got a letter from my bank the other day, it read sometime like this….

Welcome to Private Banking…. As a desirable customer, you would enjoy the following services…a personal banker, discounts to hotels, restaurants, insurance and so on. It then went on to say that for this service a charge of £12 a month would be required.

Now here is the fascinating bit. I had not asked to join this “private banking service” and I sure was not going to make use of the phantom benefits listed in the sales letter.

Why is it that people are only concerned about you when you have a healthy bank balance? You would think your bank’s job was to help store, protect and grow your money. Wrong! There job am afraid is to make money from you, to suck you dry and make you indebted to them forever. They give you an umbrella when it is sunny but take it back when it starts raining.

I remember going to see my bank account manager about 6 years ago, to ask for a property loan. As you might guess, they asked me to take a walk. The irritating thing was I wasn’t asking for a lot and a proven property investor was going to mentor me, so the risk was low. May be I would be sitting a pretty property portfolio now.

Anyway, that is all in the past now, back to this sale letter from my bank. I wonder how many of you ever analyse your bank statement for “private” or “preferred” services that mean nothing to you but are costing you money every month.

As we draw nearer to the end of the year and the start of a new year, may I propose you are alert as to the services sold to you by your bank. Something as simple as a diary from the bank can have cost implications you are now aware off. I should know it happened to me.

If you did not know, now you do…there are many people interested in your money, and some of these people are those you least expect.

Contest that fine

You can get a refund most of the time, but only on one condition – you ask for it.

I had a booked a hotel on a last minute trip to London. On getting where the hotel was my partner suggested we walk past the hotel, check out the condition before going in to confirm our booking.

What we saw was not encouraging, paint to the stucco fronted elevation was flaking, the sash windows were rotten and the reception looked grotty and un-kept. As expected, we decided not to go in but to look at other hotels in the area. We found one two streets away, well presented and clean, and the rate was only a few pounds more than the one we had booked.

While I was happy to have found a better hotel, I still had the issue of cancelling the booking on our original hotel. I did think I was going to lose my deposit – small amount – but I wasn’t expecting to be charged “administration / cancellation fee” which was quite high. The main issue being I hadn’t given enough notice for cancellation.

Anyway, I complained about the extra fees and asked to speak to a decision maker at the head-office, as I could see I wasn’t going to get any joy for the rep on the phone. As far as he was concerned, nothing could be done.

Maria, from the head-office called me about an hour later. I think she was Spanish. She waived the fee and cancelled my deposit, which meant I came out of the deal not having to pay anything.

I remember my sister had a similar situation where a rep told her nothing could be done. However, when she spoke to a decision maker, her fine was reduced. Sometime back, I had to contest a late fee with my bank, I got the same result - the fine waived.

These are everyday situations you and I go through but only few of us go the extra mile to contest a fine even when we are in the right. This is why car parking and traffic management is big business because a high percentage of their fines are never contested because you and I are to scared to do so, or should I say we see it as a time consuming bother.

Did you know it is also part of the strategy to have reps prevent you taking your complaint further? Their job apart from selling to you is also to paint an impossible picture of you getting what you want if you feel they have acted wrong.

My point - always contest any unfair fine. Ask to speak to a decision maker and eight times out of ten the decision will be in your favour. However, there is one condition – you will need to be polite and friendly. Ask nicely, as my mum used to say.