MSE being ripped a new one on C4

Lokolo

wes88. The thing is, if you went to an IFA or anywhere, and paid someone to find the best rate 6 months ago. They would have said the exact same thing so I don't see where the problem lies?

Unless you got advice from God himself you wouldn't have known not to put your money in there if you were looking for the best rate for savings?

tomstickland

wes88 wrote: »

He is just a forum owner .. if you want to save 50p on a pizza you are in the right place. If you want serious AND ACCOUNTABLE financial advice go elsewhere.

A sensible person who takes responsibility for their own decisions can obtain a massive amount of information and opinion for free here. At no point does it claim to be accountable advice.

IPP-Believer

That a very good point Lokolo I dont think an IFA would ask for a payment to advise where to put cash savings unless it was part of an overall package because it is difficult to add any value when the customer is looking for the greatest possible return

I think the whole industry got a bit slap dash where safety of cash funds is concerned. Still I think everyone will have learned their lesson and hopefully everybody will get their money back in good time.

BlondBoy

I think the site is great and have a lot of genuine respect for Martin.

But I do think he may, after recent events, have a little pause for thought over the old phrase 'with power comes responsibility'.

In no way is he to blame for the collapse of the banking system, but by so vocally empowering people who otherwise wouldn't have a voice, I feel he's fostered a bit of a Pied Piper effect that needs to be reined in.

A little bit less of the cult of personality and perhaps a slightly more formal approach to financial advice in the appropriate areas of the site may be a good thing. While the disclaimer about 'journalistic research, not financial advice' is sound enough in itself, that's not what many people view it as. If Martin says it's good, it must be good. Because it's Martin/MSE.

Sadly, when Martin's caught flatfooted (like everyone else has been over the collapse of the system) it's then too easy to shoot the messenger, who's tried to make the complex very simple. Perhaps too simple (with that wonderful thing called hindsight)?

I hope he's not taking it too badly. As said elsewhere, cut him and he bleeds like anyone else. And it isn't his fault. But with the potential of paid-for current accounts looming (in part as a kneejerk reaction against the charges campaign he took a leading role in), there may be more hard knocks coming. Banks are going to make their money somehow - and perhaps the imperative to do has gained more ground over recent days. From one hand to another.

Maybe time to rethink the focus of the content of the site slightly, so the best-intentioned actions are a little less prone to hubris?

Just saying, that's all....

wes88

Lokolo wrote: »

wes88. The thing is, if you went to an IFA or anywhere, and paid someone to find the best rate 6 months ago. They would have said the exact same thing so I don't see where the problem lies?

Unless you got advice from God himself you wouldn't have known not to put your money in there if you were looking for the best rate for savings?

Vaild point ...

BUT .. before his advice went belly up ...

1. He calls himself on TV a "financial guru"
2. He was receiving money from Icesave
3. He had a "warning" in small print which was very reassuring in tone .. that it was in small print tells you how much importance he placed on it

.. after it goes belly up ..

1. He now says he was just listing interest rates in numerical order
2. He now says always gave a strong warning about the guarrantee scheme
3. He was caught "totally by suprise" by its collapse .. as we all were of course .. but we all dont go on TV calling ourselves "financial guru's" and give financial advice out.
4. He now says he never gave any recommendations to invest there at all

And I am not really saying is wrong or to blame or anything .. he never was anything more than a guy looking at brochures and recieving affiliate income from his picks

He should be a bit more honest about what happened and not try to distance himself from his previous "financial guru" posturing to the new "Im just a guy on the street reading the papers and passing on what I read" personna.

If he is still labelling himself as a financial guru on TV it would be ludicrous .. surely we can agree on that?

Its a site for saving a few quid here and there .. anything else is just pundit / guesswork stuff.

Lokolo

Yeh to be fair I wouldn't ever go to Martin for advice or whatever. I mainly use this site for information, of which I then do my own research to back it up... which to be fair is what people should do.

And to be quite honest, the scheme was there and everyone originally gaureenteed £35k. Now I don't know about you but if I had more money than that I wouldn't be on a forum asking for advice where to put my money... I would go and see someone.

So all in all I will say; yeh Martins alright, great site and everything but anyone who was idiotic enough to use a forum and is now complaining about 'losing' their money is pathetic.

tomstickland

I don't hold Martin Lewis responsible for anything at all. He compiled the data and wrote an article which people could read. Any further action is entirely the responsibility of the individual. It's up to them to read the small print and decide what the risks are.

If he is still labelling himself as a financial guru on TV it would be ludicrous .. surely we can agree on that?

He is a financial guru in terms of personal finance and getting the best deals.

This site is much more than one for "saving a few quid here and there". I've saved and made £1000s using information from here. There's a huge amount of opinion and advice available. The key thing is understanding that the individual has to take advice from numerous sources, think it through and then act on their own decisions.

I know were in dumbed down Britain where someone else should take the blame for anything that happens, but that doesn't make that attitude right.


Nobody's losing any more than the original guarantee anyway.

Plus the real "anger" should be with Iceland which decided that it's own guarantee could be binned.

wes88

tomstickland wrote: »

He is a financial guru in terms of personal finance .

.

Kind of agree with you .. except this sentence made me laugh ... maybe we have a different understanding of what the word "guru" means!!

Money_Grabber13579

I think C4 were totally out of order in that. Jon Snow should be hauled over the coals for dreadful piece interviewing. (Maybe he needs a visit from Joe Kinnear!) He's basically trying to hold Martin accountable for the problems for the entire banking world, as if he caused it. People don't pay for the advice, so how can they blame it for they just dive into it? There's no such thing as a free lunch. If they don't like the site, they can leave, nobody's got a rope round their neck. I've got money in Icesave too, but any sensible person should have known about the limits of compensation (It's been in the media enough) and if they didn't act on the information, then it's tough cookie I'm afraid.

IPP-Believer

I dont think it was too over the top he's dished it out so should expect some stick back.

He was just making the sort of points that people on here have made.

To be fair Martin stood his ground well. With a site like this he was always going to get caught out on something and being a large site it is going to be very public when it happens.

I just think it shows that providing information in this area leaves you open to being accussed of giving advice if things go wrong.