What are the biggest consumer finance issues for the election?

AngelBadger

Why are you encouraging people to have more and more children that they can't afford with the current benefits system?

What are you going to do about the millions of pounds you are putting into ATOS and this terrible new system which is just making thousands of mistakes which costs millions more in appeals?

handyman123_2

An amnesty for people who have been forced to work in the black economy,(its not allways a matter of personal choice). it's like the benefits trap, once in its so difficult to get out without penalty. There are many people out there who will only be employed if the work for cash in hand. while this seems attractive at first it has long term complications like no NI contributions = no state pension. If a comprimise could be reached, like a payment plan for arrears and no draconian punitive measures against indivividuals, many thousands of UK citisens could stick there head over the parapet and begin paying there due to the UK economy again.

DarkConvict

Stamp duty should work like income tax, there should not be jumps between the thresholds.

Consumers need more financial protection, rather than a 50 page booklet of terms and conditions but a simple approach of what is what. Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS).
Further to this with the sheer number of accounts to make people lose money, scrap bonuses on accounts, have it so banks have 1 current account, 1 saving, 1 ISA etc. The number of accounts confuse the simple system.

ISA transfers, speed them up, there is no reason for them to take months to sort out.

Mobile phones, introduce a try before you buy scheme on the signal. To many people get contracts, told there is a good signal to find the signal is poor.

Better protection for those in debt, like scotland make statute barred debts extinguished so that companies can't keep harassing you for money as this way the debt does not exist so they would be obtaining money by deception. Also add in protection to DMPs like in scotland, so creditors get there money but have to help reduce the debt by not adding charges and interest.

Give trading standards and OFT more power to actually do something, such as debt guidelines by the OFT are great, but debt agencies just ignore them puting profit over guidelines... guidelines are not law so don't have to be followed.
Please carry out threats and actually revoke the licenses of horrible debt collection agencies.

I would love petrol prices to come down, but i feel with the level of national debt the government needs the income to stay afloat.

Given the recent bad weather, get the pot holes in the road sorted it is terrible now.

If the HMRC makes a mistake on your tax, then you should not be liable for there mistakes, i was given too much of an allowance yet answered the form as honestly as possible. Other MPs have spoken out about this!

Stop letting people live on benefits, give them encouragement to get back into the workplace, but don't be stupid and stop benefits as soon as they get work, then refuse to give them back when the job goes south after 2 weeks though no fault of there own.

Build America style freeways over the motorways, allow cars to travel on the top layer and trucks on the bottom layer as a majority of problems caused are by trucks because of the speed they are able to travel at.
Or limit motorway travelling for trucks so they do not travel at rush hours, no trucks between 6-10am or 4-7pm.

Make it so if you drive uninsured the fine is, standard fine + cost of getting insurance, then make them get insurance!

Increase the margin for speed traps, i feel i spend more time watching my speedometer than watching out for real hazards on the road now, its just getting over the top, its not safety it is becoming more like £££.

Seperate out a mortgage/lending interest rate and a saving rate. The banks abuse the base rate to much, and the low rates is pushing savers down. My mom lives of savings so by lowering the rate has cut back significantly and has had to start spending savings to survive.

National email address, limit emails to those from those companies/people you add, so that if a bank sends a default you have proof they sent it rather than just say they did then fabricate one at a later date.

Explain the point of ID cards, im not against them but given i now have a passport and driving license, what purpose does it serve, if you need ID get a provisional license it lasts longer than an id card, if you want to travel get a passport. If the one card would do everything then i wouldn't mind it just doesnt do anything useful.

Free access to credit reports, and cut it down to one credit agency not 3! Of the 3 only 2 really get used, but still why do we need more than 1!.

Give the ICO some powers to actually do something when people misuse our information in many forms from been in accurate to losing it.

Get banks to admit chip and pin doesn't work, it is easier to write down a number than fake a signature. It is proven that cards can be copied and pins intercepted, yet they refuse to admit to it can be done. Maybe we should do it to the cards of a banks CEO Kidding, im not endorsing illegal actions

Fair prices for people travelling on trains, why do people use a car instead of a train. Massive queues in traffic to get to a train station, high prices, cattle cart trains in rush hour, and the same on the way back.

Extreme idea, but add a tax to companies based on where an employee lives, the further away from where they work add a higher tax. So i heard we used to live where we work, but now it seems to be a good hour drive to work everyday, so more traffic... Encourage companies to employee locally or get employees to live nearer to the workplace.

Amanda65

* Student loans - why is pratically every child pushed into FE and therefore debt,
is it just a ploy to keep unemployment figures lower ??

* Education - why can I not have an education 'cheque' that I can give to the school
of my choice each year (either private or state, with a personal top up for private
education if I so choose to do so?) As a parent struggling to put my children
through private education due to my local state school record, I fail to see why the
Government should absolve themselves of helping to educate some children when
they have not provided a suitable state alternative

* Immigration and employment - why do we bring people in from abroad to do jobs
that Nationals do not want to do? If you haven't got a job (and aren't ill / disabled
and unable to work, and one is available, you should be made to take that job or
lose your benefits. Only when no-one capable of working is not on benefits
should we look outside the UK.

* Prescription charges - why do I pay the same tax as Welsh and Scottish people,
yet they don't pay for prescriptions and I do ?

Oneday77

Will any of the regulate the Debt Recovery industry any tighter? Make sure that they can't use empty threats that scare people to death i.e. all standard letter templates must be run past the regulatory body before they can be issued.

Ban TV loan advertising, especially dedicated TV channels.

Simplify owning a car - Insure it, MOT it and fuel it. Include the taxes in one of the 3.

I appreciate some people can't get jobs, however they must take one if offered as well as make applications for jobs monitored. If your on the Dole make it so they have to make efforts to get off.

Immigration - charge the home countries for their up keep if their not working. If the home county gets financial aid, deduct it. Banks offset from consumers accounts why not do the same to countries.

samy888

Why is it that the council pays out ridiculous amounts of money in housing benefit?

The cost of housing in London is so high that the only way to get accommodation is by claiming benefit. No average Joe can afford to pay £250 p/w for a single bedroom and £450 p/w for a 4 bedroom on an average wage. The system forces people to rely on the state.

Its a vicious circle that's bleeding the councils resources. There needs to be a cap on what people are charging to make living more affordable in London. The present system is forcing out the working class and making room for people on state benefits. In the past i've had to turn down work because i couldn't afford the rent, housing benefit wouldn't help me as i was working even though i would only have £15 left at the end of the week!

Its very unfair.

The only alternative to extortionate rent is through buying, but then the average Joe can't get a half decent mortgage because the computer says "NO".
So these same people who are busting a gut to make ends meat are paying higher rate in interest, will have more debt, and struggle for the better part of their life, paying back four times more than they borrowed in interest.

Its bloody insane! :mad:

DarkConvict

Ban TV loan advertising, especially dedicated TV channels.

Can't agree more, sure people need to advertise to make money, and there is the argument of irresponsible borrowing vs irresponsible lending. But so many of these loans make it so like wow i need a bigger tv, buy now, regret later.

Leading onto education, the money and sex blog. Bring back the financial education. Do not bore the kids, you have to make it real, enjoyable so they remember, bit by bit bring in explanations of what is what and why min payments are bad, explain tax codes, apr, compound interest etc. But do not start on these points, you need to start with role play scenerios.

On the note of immigration, i would go back to the original LibDem idea of you need to be a British citizen, i believe back in the 1900-1910 it was set at 20 years to claim benefits, but how about 5 years? Benefits are there to support people who have hit a hard spot, they should never encourage people to live off them for the long term.

sun_tzu

1) Why we can't use our Equity ISA allowance into a further Cash ISA?
If I am very conservative averse to risk, why can´t I have 10.2k in Cash at a fix X%?
What is the difference with having a 5.2k in Cash at a fix X% + 5.2k in a Bond at X% (appart from the fees and comissions the bank earn)?

2) What are they going to with the TV license tax? Why do I have to pay for the BBC when I believe their news coverage + shows do not deserve it?

Spirit_2

Thanks Martin

1)Actions to avoid/mitigate pensioner poverty - compulsory pension contributions

2)Actions to mitigate rising cost of social care - compulsory insurance?

3)How might they alleviate traps for the poorest -e.g.

• Interest rate caps to reduce incidence of the poorest paying the highest rates
• Total borrowing multiples to cap personal debt escalation (afterall why stop at mortgages?)
• pay as you go utilities are always more expensive and used by the poorest.

soco1

I'd like to see less alienation of singles.

1. Given recent talk of married couples tax allowances, why should a married person be allowed to earn more before paying tax than a single person? If anything it's the single person who needs more help as they invariably have less disposable income than two wage earners. Not like they pay half size rents/mortgages or half for utility bills. Gas & electricity will only be marginally cheaper (if at all) for a single householder. If the light is on for one person it doesn't cost anymore if a 2nd person is present, same with tv, heating, oven etc.

2. Why also, given that single households are said to be the fastest growing type of household in the UK, should a single householder have to pay 75% of the Council Tax bill for that property when next door may have 4 adults all sharing the bill. There is no way a single householder generates 3/4 the rubbish that a family of 4+ does. Nor does a single householder utilise the local amenities to the extent a family does.
Yes I appreciate the facilities are there for all and if a person doesn't use them that is their choice but I see no reason why a single householder should effectively subsidise larger households.
A demonstration of this inequity is where a couple split, and for ease of demonstration both move into a property the same band as their joint home which cost £1000/yr in council tax.
Now instead of the council getting £1000/yr it is getting 2 x £750 = £1500/yr but the same two people are no doubt utilising the amenities in exactly the same way.

It smacks of profiteering and should be outlawed. In this respect the Poll Tax/Community Charge was far fairer.