What are the biggest consumer finance issues for the election?

Ame1904

I have yet to hear how any of the parties (including the 'fringe' ones) are going to pay for the 'bribes' they are offering. For example will the proposed cut in NI be paid for by increasing VAT? If so this rise will affect more people that the NI rise. If not then how will the costs be recouped? I would have less antipathy if the parties were honest and told us the straight truth- that the country, although recovering, still has a long way to go and the true cost to us is.........:mad: :undecided

heartsman

Funny enough,i have just got off the phone to the spineless ico office.
BUT they agreed with me their should just be one credit agency and overseen by one department as is ofcom with communications and ofwat for water ect.

These leeches have got away with to much and are playing on the fact the 4 government bodies couldnt care less about what they get up to.

This will change after the election,the ico person i spoke said of many complaints about credit agency scum

Ame1904

KimYeovil wrote: »

The three issues you mention are non-issues.

• Bank Charges
• Financial Education in Schools
• Unfair Energy Prices

Nothing wrong with bank charges (normal, sane people stick within their budgets); no need for specific financial education in schools (time shouldn't be wasted on such nonsense - they are included as a matter of course with some arithmetic studies); and what's unfair about energy prices - (well, I suppose you could ban social tariffs and restructure tariffs to levy extra charges instead of discounts).

Martin, you have really perverse priorities if those are the top three things that come to mind.

Just a note about financial education in schools. Economic Well-being classes are run in Upper schools/Secondary schools. This started for the current year 9 students, Personal well-being classes are also run which cover finances for year 10, these support any other financial studies that happen in the school. I believe these lessons take place in most schools now.

ej51nsy

I have paid all my contributions since I was 16 (1966) into the the government black hole and due to the interest rates and returns on private pensions it looks like I will have to rely on this more when I retire in 5 years. They have now reduced the NI contributions required for the max pension yet why can't they tier the state pension more to the people who was born in this country and paid in all their life rather than pay to all and sundry. It makes sense to pay more to people who have contributed through their working life rather than pay to people who have contributed only 1-30 years. Also if people do not take job opportunities state pension should not be paid to them for that period of non working.

Many thanks.

Trevor Cooke

123cherryj

When are the goverment going to stop privatising the NHS? This was Mrs Thatcher that implemented this, so why are we still going further down this road??

The private finance initiative (PFI) is costing tax payers a fortune in the long-term to build new new schools/hospitals. Although the schools and hospitals are lovely, Why are the goverment not using cheaper ways to borrow the money and will this process continue? Especially when the hospital/schools will not be owned at the end of the contract.

When are the government going to stop giving drug addicts methadone and put them into rehab?

Why are so many people being sent to prison for petty crimes and why again are more prisons being built, when they are already overcrowded?

When are the government going to restict benefit payments to families who continue to have large families and do not work?

When are the government going to employ more nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals to cope with the increasing demands within the NHS?

Why is there so much more money allocated to social care services than NHS services?

Why are Social care workers paid higher salaries than NHS staff?

When are the government going to stop the huge payments and bonuses going to executive/managerial positions within the NHS?

With the price of petrol prices increasing. Why do the goverment not provide help/travel vouchers for job seekers to enable them to get to the job centre fortnightly to sign on and avoid them spending the little benefit given on petrol or bus fares. (I have to travel 16 miles there and 16 back and am forced to drive as I cannot get a bus that would get me in time to sign on at 9.15am!!)

When will CBT/counselling and other psychological therapies be available freely to those individuals with mental health difficulties who do not want to be pumped with pills?

I think that is enough to be going on with.

minijem

Please ask the parties why they will not put the standard rate of vat on books, newspapers and periodicals, given that vat is payable on e-books, CDs, DVDs, internet subscriptions, etc.
Why should Dan Brown and JK Rowling be zero-rated? Or !!!!!! mags for that matter? As for newspapers, they are so last millennium - yesterday's news on dead trees and you can't even wrap tomorrow's fish and chips in them.

minijem

Why not get rid of VED on cars and light vans? We need to tax usage of vehicles, not ownership. There could be a Council Tax supplement for those who keep vehicles on the public highway. Fuel duty reflects carbon emissions so automatically favours smaller and more economical vehicles and is much simpler to collect.

TravZ

Why is it that britains answer to every problem to to tax the hard working people of britain, all the government does is tax people then give it away to the people who shouldnt have it....
immigrants, prisoners, long term unemployed, bossed of the NHS, Police, Councils, and Social Services, MP's, kid-on i am disabled!.
whay doesnt the government give the taxs payers money to the tax payers??? just a thought!

why is it when we have a problem in a certain area then we have to build on it? i.e the additional runway at heathrow, do we need on really?

RoseDuffy

Betting / gambling should be taxed , i never understood why the 10% tax was removed in the first case, and as its not a necessary the tax levy should be at least 20% to help government out of state its in.

Eazygoin

The recession has hit hard, and taxes will go up. Will politicians promise if they increase taxes eg: VAT that it will return to previous rates once the economy improves? Taxes only ever seem to go up, so let's hear someone say they can also come back down when things get better.