What are the biggest consumer finance issues for the election?

Matari

Debt agencies should have to go to court to put a black mark on people's credit records: as it stands it is too easy to threaten people with this. Having to go to court would focus lenders' minds about who they lend to and also make the consequence of defaulting more concrete for debtors.

MIW_2

Why has this government frozen this allowance for over 8 years and what will all parties do about it in the future.
This has become a stealth tax on the thousands of us who are forced to use our own cars on company business. Every cost associaed with running a vehicle has soared yet this government has frozen AMAPs at the 40p/25p level for the private sector - yet allows public sector employees to claim over 60p/mile

Zimacs

Why are couples living together, married or not, on a single wage able to shelter £20200 a year in ISA's, but a single person on the same wage can only shelter £10100? Both face all the same household, Council Tax and National Tax costs.

grandnational

What will be the terms of the corollary to the assertion that an increase in employers' national insurance contributions is a "tax on jobs", namely the necessarily enforceable undertaking to use the money which would otherwise have been so paid in creating new jobs in their organisation?

dreadlocklover_2

Would any party be prepared to charge £1.00 not 50p for the above.
Also would any party be prepared to enforce working conditions for claimants of dole.
Whoever would, gets my vote.

Jillyt_2

I would like to know what the Government is going to do to help single people who have no children, and therefore no benefits. We still have a mortgage to pay, energy bills, petrol etc., the same as two, three, four people, one person living in a house has exactly the same bills as two or more people. All we get is a 25% discount for Council Tax. It is so difficult making ends meet on a single wage.

otheradam

A question for any political party:

Do you see any connection between a country that's running a budget deficit and a family that is caught up in credit card debts?

Public debt costs £31 billion a year according to wheredoesmymoneygo.org :eek:

lyndorset

INHERITANCE TAX

It would be very helpful if the threshold was made much higher. Also if parent divided estate between children, better for threshold to apply per recipitent not for the total estate value. This is something that should only hit wealthy - currently effects more and more ordinary people.

lyndorset

MARRIED PERSONS TAX

In my case my husband unable to work, due to health, but not eligable for benefit either. I work 3 jobs and pay alot of tax.

Surely a fairer system would be for a couples tax for formally married couples. This of course also protects "the family". If my tax allowance was doubled to incorporate his, we would be so much better off.

To me this is an obvious fairer system that would positively affect many people.

KimYeovil

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.