The Cold Shoulder?

Daniel Liddicott
May 2023  •  3 min read

Call me (or rather, don’t)

Public service announcement: News broke yesterday of the Government’s plan to ban all cold calling related to the sale of financial products. This measure was already in place on any sales cold calling related to pension products, however the government is now due to extend the ban to cover any unsolicited calls of this kind.

The idea is that when this measure is put into place, anyone receiving an unexpected sales call regarding anything from insurance to investments will know that the call is not genuine and is indeed an attempted scam.

You might say that this is a case of better late than never. The government stated that “fraud costs the UK nearly £7bn per year”. Financial scams have the potential to be hugely damaging and significantly life-changing.

Back in our Spring 2021 edition of Spotlight, we published an article about Emmeline Hartley, who was happy to share her story of being the victim of such a scam (see page 10!).

So, in light of this, you can rest assured that should you receive a cold call of this nature, hanging up the phone immediately is a perfectly justified course of action. Or should you have the time and inclination, you could take the would-be fraudster on a wild goose chase for the details that they will never obtain from you. Or you could try putting them on hold. Just a couple of ideas.

The Cold Shoulder?2023-12-01T12:12:33+00:00

Who do you trust?

Dominic Thomas
Jan 2023  •  5 min read

Who do you trust?

To my mind we have always lived in a world of false information. Stories and myths, urban legend all exist to serve someone’s perspective. Since the days of modern ‘propaganda’, we have been warned of careless talk and the enemy around the corner. In the last few years, largely though not exclusively due to the arrival of the internet, facts and mis- or rather disinformation coexist. We have to decipher and frankly that is not as easy as it should be. Most conspiracy theories contain an atom of something that seems to be plausible, but is then expanded and extracted.

This week we have witnessed more political folly as Government attempts to reign in some of its own that have crossed the line of reason. When we see extremity we tend to regard things as ‘obvious’.

I present Richard Rufus, former Premier League defender for Charlton Athletic, indeed in 2005 he was voted “Charlton’s greatest ever defender”. Like many a sports celebrity and Premier League player, he was well remunerated. High profiles and substantial income in our current culture, come hand in hand with an expensive lifestyle and costly habits.

After a career in football, many players struggle to adapt to life outside of the spotlight and without the same financial rewards. Few are able to continue to earn anything like their player wages. Whatever the reasons, like many players, celebrities and frankly most people, Mr Rufus appears to have spent most, if not all of his income. Whatever savings he had were clearly not sufficient to support his lavish lifestyle, which he was unwilling to relinquish.

A lavish lifestyle provides the appearance of financial success, but what is visible is largely immaterial. I’m often struck by how many people have a car that costs north of £60,000 yet have very little savings; who spend on cars and holidays more than they save for their future … but I digress!

Mr Rufus turned his hand to financial scamming. Not the sort of arms-length, call centre scamming, but the up close, personal relationship, scam your family and friends type of scam. The detail of which can all be found online following the Court’s decision to find him guilty of a £15m fraud which has resulted in a seven year prison sentence. Defender turned offender.

I don’t know Mr Rufus, I have no axe to grind. He wasn’t a financial adviser and reports indicate that the process of the scam was much like the advice you might seek from a friend at the pub … or more likely gastro pub or bistro. The mechanics of the scam involved foreign currency (often the case), no legitimate regulation (also often the case) and persuasion with what the eyes see and what the ears wish to hear. “It clearly works for him, look at his lifestyle”.

The fact is that at the heart of this there are problems that are universal. Firstly, few if any of us wish to reduce our lifestyle, however you define it. Most people are not good at holding onto the money that they earn, inherit or win. Most of us are not good at discerning the cost of a lifestyle either now or in the future. It’s far easier for us to account for how we would spend an imaginary lottery win than how much it will cost us to live as we are for two, three or four decades once we are retired, or frankly what we spend each month now. We are all tempted by the illusion of get rich quick solutions, starting your own business, writing a best- selling book, setting up a social media account where the ‘likes’ are followed by pounds, or of course the next big one, cryptocurrency or whatever you fancy.

The truth is much harsher. It’s a long, slow process, full of setbacks as well as successes. As for advice from friends and family … well I don’t know them, actually scratch that, I do know some of them, you refer them to us … but suffice to say that qualified, regulated, impartial, non-judging, prudent, long-term, evidence-based, evidential advice is likely to be of greater value with no vested interest in whether you holiday in Bournemouth or the Bahamas; Charlton or Cuba.

Who do you trust?2023-12-01T12:12:38+00:00

Life assurance – not all it seems

Dominic Thomas
Dec 2022  •  11 min read

When life assurance is not all it seems

Life assurance is one of the few solutions to the question ”how can I help?” when posed to a family that has just experienced permanent, life-changing loss.  Over the three decades that I have been advising clients, this is, without doubt, one of the most challenging.

Most of us live as though we have an abundant supply of tomorrow. Rarely does anyone really wake and decide that life assurance (or any financial protection) is the major task to get done today.

Death is of course a subject that literature and our culture regularly address, yet in those intimate spaces of our lives, it’s a topic rarely discussed, perhaps one of the last taboos. This was never more starkly revealed to me when (many years ago) someone told me not to talk of death and Wills because he believed that it would make it a reality. Naturally he never became a client (I only work with mortals).

LIFE ASSURANCE – BAD SISTERS

I was intrigued by a series on Apple TV called ‘Bad Sisters’.  I enjoyed the series, but wanted to address the premise of the drama – which confused me initially. I will not ruin the story at all by simply saying that a claim against a life assurance policy is being challenged by the adviser, which in my world does not reflect the truth.

A WASTE OF MONEY?

Advisers arrange financial protection (life assurance, critical illness cover and income protection). These are all policies that everyone takes out hoping to never have to claim on them, because to do so means something awful has happened to you. We all actually want the cover to be a ‘waste’ of your money… though using as little of it as possible to secure the right, most appropriate balance of cover.

MAKING A CLAIM

In the event of a claim, it is the insurer that assesses the legitimacy of a claim against the policy terms. In the case of life assurance, it is fairly evident if a claim is valid (the assured has died). In more nuanced cover (income protection and critical illness), the assured is alive and unwell, the question is therefore “is the condition being suffered covered?”. In both circumstances fraud is not uncommon, though I would suggest it is pretty rare and most claims are paid out fairly swiftly and appropriately. An oversimplified for instance, is that a broken arm is not grounds for a claim for a critical illness or inability to work long term, the loss of an arm, however may be grounds, particularly if you are a surgeon.

BROKER BEWARE…

The series, whilst set in Ireland and therefore not regulated by the FCA, has the insurance broker Claffin & Sons investigate a claim for life assurance. Whether in Ireland or here in the UK, this is an alarm bell for authenticity. The small family run insurance broker is reluctantly run by son Thomas Claffin after his father committed suicide. Early on it is evident that all is not well, a database of no policies and concern about the collapse of the business. This is not how things work, unless fraud is being committed.

I can assure you that in the event of a claim, I and probably any adviser will be eager to get you funds from the insurance claim as this is probably the most obviously meaningful aspect of our work, protecting you and your family when disaster strikes, providing funds to make the financial pain disappear.  Advisers will certainly want to ensure that a claim for the more complex cover is worth claiming for (broken arm example), but will then seek to hassle the insurer for agreement and payment of funds to you the claimant. Some insurers are better than others in terms of efficiency, but we have never had a valid claim refused.

Claffin didn’t arrange cover, they simply committed fraud, taking and living off the premiums and hoping that their clients didn’t make a claim. That is fraud (honestly I am not spoiling the excellent series and plot).

A PAPER TRAIL WELL DOCUMENTED

You will have a policy document with an insurer and be paying monthly premiums or in some circumstances, annually. These will show on your bank statement and are not paid to the adviser or broker. Even with all the mergers and subsequent name changes for the insurance company you are paying, you will receive a plethora of correspondence, the main challenge being to keep up to speed of who say Commerical Union, Clerical Medical, Friends Provident, Skandia (and so on) now are. You have a unique policy number. If in any doubt get in touch. If you are unsure if you have enough financial protection or perhaps too much now, please ask.

As for the series by Sharon Horgan, I thoroughly enjoyed it. My purpose here is not to suggest otherwise, merely to explain how an insurance claim would work in practice. Here is the trailer for the series, with a cast that includes….

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

Life assurance – not all it seems2023-12-01T12:12:41+00:00

NOWHERE SPECIAL

TODAY’S BLOG

NOWHERE SPECIAL

The backdrop of a constant flow of awful news, was given some temporary relief through film. “Nowhere Special” is a marvellous little film from Director Uberto Pasolini and I think it’s quite an important one. There is some wonderful acting and storytelling. Uplifting, because against this tide of awfulness, there is the ability to see a different life, to walk in the shoes of someone else. Yet it is most definitely a tale of sadness.

In a nutshell, John (James Norton) is a single parent, raising his primary-school aged son Michael. John has a terminal illness and is attempting to find a family that will adopt his son.Certainly, it’s a horrible situation, one in which I am reminded that life gets turned upside down by changes to health. The only good thing about cancer is the opportunity it usually provides to prepare for death in a way that most of us do not.

Toby, (one of my closest friends) died from cancer in 2006. That’s already fifteen years ago! He was 37. His original diagnosis was in 1996, it was rare – multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN). We were both grateful that I’d persuaded him at just 26 to take out some financial protection which mercifully paid out once he was diagnosed. It wasn’t anything like “enough” in my view, but at the age we were at the time, neither of us really expected the array of problems that come with poor health and the impact on family finances. We simply didn’t know better. There were many difficulties and awful experiences, as well as many wonderful ones. It doesn’t seem 15 years ago.

NOWHERE SPECIAL

HOW WILL WE BE REMEMBERED?

A topic of conversation was regularly how his two children would remember him. He created a memory box for each of them, wrote journals and placed important mementos into their boxes (something that John does in the film too). To my mind it was a valuable use of his time, despite his sapping energy levels. I was reminded of this experience watching the film. Michael, (the son) is younger than either of Toby’s two children at the time, though both they and mine lived through the experience of regularly wondering when the end may arrive. Unlike Michael, Toby was married and not alone in raising his children or facing cancer. It became clear to me that whilst he had the diagnosis, cancer was a daily reality for them all.

This is not an attempt to get you to take out insurance. To be blunt, I’m more concerned that you (and I) have good relationships with those we care about and, if I may, encourage you to leave some form of memory box of who you are. I know life is a journey, that we change and evolve over time, but as Chirstmas time is upon us, take a moment to ponder how those closest to you might remember you. Perhaps a memory box should be a work in progress – a reminder of who we are and who we are becoming. Christmas is of course a time for good cheer, but its also a milestone in all our lives (however we feel or whatever we believe about it). It acts as another measure of time and the direction in which we find ourselves.

I don’t think it too bold an assumption to presume that you have had difficulties in your life, that you have known loss and grief. As a financial planner, it is a regular part of my work and over the last 3 decades I have seen and felt the impact. We plan for these awful events but experiencing them is usually rather more emotional. That’s why I urge you to get your Will done, your Power of Attorney in place and a suitable amount of protection. I hope it’s something you don’t have to experience for a very long time, but death eventually comes to us all.

Life can change very suddenly, as your planner I help you prepare for the worst whilst hoping for the best. As for today, live it as fully as you are able, make good memories.

Anyway, here is the trailer. It’s worth your ticket price and some. 9/10. I think it’s rather special. Its certainly available via Curzon and I hope other platforms too.

Get in touch to talk over any issues that this raises for you. For clarity I have had permission to from Toby’s widow to relate this story. If you know anyone with MEN, there is a very good charity (AMEND) that has much more information.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

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Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

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NOWHERE SPECIAL2023-12-01T12:12:58+00:00

BANKS HAVE TO DO BETTER FOR FRAUD VICTIMS

TODAY’S BLOG

BANKS MUST DO BETTER FOR FRAUD VICTIMS

The Financial Ombudsman Service, which manages disputes between financial firms and customers, is ruling against banks in 73% of authorised fraud cases, data exclusively obtained by Which? demonstrates. This means if you have been tricked into sending money to a scammer, you may be able to get a refund from your bank.

The biggest banks are signed up to the voluntary Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code, which is designed so victims of authorised push payment fraud (APP) are treated fairly and consistently when they ask for compensation. If your bank refuses compensation, you can escalate your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

But the number of customer complaints about banks’ handling of authorised fraud – the vast majority of which are APP – landing at the FOS more than doubled in the 2020-21 financial year, from 3,600 to 7,770. And three-quarters (73%) of these were upheld in favour of the customer.

Financial Scams and fraud

VAST SUMS OF FRAUD – SOMEONE HAS TO PAY

APP fraud – being tricked into transferring money to a fraudster – is fast becoming one of the UK’s biggest frauds. Losses hit £355.3m between January and July, outstripping losses to card fraud. Banks are required to refund you for losses to unauthorised fraud such as card fraud, but not APP fraud. You will have noticed that we ran a couple of items in our client magazine Spotlight about fraud and scams.

The voluntary CRM code was launched in May 2019 and requires signatory banks to provide effective warnings to customers, identifying vulnerable customers and acting quickly when a scam is reported. In return, you are expected to pay attention to take care, have a reasonable basis for believing the payment is genuine, and pay attention to warnings.

Crucially, signatory banks must reimburse customers even if both parties have done nothing wrong. Data shows that many victims have been wrongly denied compensation but haven’t approached the FOS. Escalating a complaint to the FOS is free, and can be done online, but not all victims will be aware of or able to use the service. That’s why Which? wants the government to swiftly take the necessary action to enable the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to introduce mandatory APP fraud reimbursement for all firms using Faster Payments.

If I were a betting man, (which I am not) I would conclude that Banks will find a way to recoup some of their costs from customers, this normally takes the form of higher interest rates or charges on all forms of borrowing. Alternatively, to end the myth of “free banking”. There is no such thing and its about time we all had a grown-up conversation about it.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

BANKS HAVE TO DO BETTER FOR FRAUD VICTIMS2023-12-01T12:12:59+00:00

STATUS AND HEALTH

TODAY’S BLOG

STATUS AND HEALTH

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I have always underestimated how important it is to listen to your body. Your body is there to protect and serve you. Cues for hunger, tiredness, pain etc … are all important messages that your body needs you to pay attention to (your body is after all just doing its job).

Unfortunately, more often than not, we lead busy lives where something else or someone else’s needs come first and unfortunately in my case, this pattern of behaviour of ignoring pain and tiredness has led to me to becoming quite unwell.

We live in a society where our status is very much dependent on how busy we are (or are perceived to be). We are often ‘rewarded’ for putting our bodies second to our jobs, to our social lives, to our families … but persistently neglecting our own health ultimately impacts our jobs, social lives and our families, so it is in fact an important truth that we must look after ourselves first (in much the same way as in an emergency on board an airplane, parents are encouraged to put on their own mask before helping their children with theirs).

At the moment, I am trying to find the right balance of work, physical activity, rest and food that my body can tolerate, but maybe if I had paid more attention to what my body needed sooner, then maybe I wouldn’t be in quite the position I am now.

There is a clear analogy to be drawn here with financial planning in general and with the services we provide at Solomon’s in particular.

Your financial health and well-being is important and needs to have attention given to it … you cannot ignore the ‘niggles’ otherwise they become chronic.  In much the same way as compounding interest creates huge gains over time; compounding your ‘problem areas’ creates the opposite effect – amplified and worsened by virtue of being neglected (or fed!).

Encouraging introspection in the world of financial ‘stuff’ can often be uncomfortable (and sometimes downright painful); but just like good physio, there is a huge benefit to be had in the process.

Improving ‘financial behaviour’ is one of the most challenging elements of the work that we do for our clients … we often find that propensity for certain behaviour traits is ingrained and can take many years to overcome … that is why we are ‘in it for the long haul’ with you … we will encourage and support whenever we need to and as some of our clients will attest, Dominic can be ‘firm and assertive’ when called for to ensure that a client doesn’t make a costly financial mistake!

We are not just about ‘the numbers’ here – your financial wellbeing is our concern … it needs to be looked after and monitored; reviewed and adjusted as time goes by since the ‘niggles’ change over time.

Abigail Liddicott and Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

STATUS AND HEALTH2023-12-01T12:13:00+00:00

KINTSUGI

TODAY’S BLOG

KINTSUGI

I first spotted a reference to this 400 year old Japanese art form whilst I was watching the delayed 2020 Olympics in the Summer (I can’t believe I had never heard of it before) … the BBC did a really nice VT about it and it really resonated with me.

I recently had a conversation with a close friend who had experienced a very traumatic bereavement and she said that she still felt like she was a ‘mosaic’ in her grief … a broken tile that she was haphazardly putting back together – we talked about Kintsugi (Japanese for ‘golden repair’) and it was a light bulb moment for her … that there was a sense of beauty in the rebuilding of her fractured life.

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

The old adage “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” holds good in the depths of our humanness; but Kintsugi is a stunning physical representation of this.

From a very practical viewpoint, I can’t abide ‘waste’ of any description – time, money, resources etc; so Kintsugi appeals to me on a very basic level!  If only I could afford to buy a piece of this art for myself!  Maybe I’ll have to add it to my bucket list of ‘new skills to learn when I have the time’ (note – I am not creative at all, but I do like to fix things so maybe this is the perfect hobby for me?)

We generally try and find a way to relate our blog posts to financial planning and sometimes it’s difficult to find a parallel; but this one is easy … when new clients come to us they often have a random and disorderly selection of ‘pieces’ that we help them to put together into something meaningful … and there is great pleasure to be had for us and them when the final ‘piece’ is ready – I’m not sure financial planning is quite what you would call an ‘art form’ but there is here too an unexpected beauty in the process …

Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on our blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to us about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

KINTSUGI2023-12-01T12:13:01+00:00

EXISTING CUSTOMERS ARE “FLEECED”

TODAY’S BLOG

EXISTING CUSTOMER PENALTY

If you have ever found yourself screaming at the radio or television as an advert comes on about your existing insurer, finally it seems, your exasperation has been heard. Yes you were right, new customers were getting a better deal than you (on your home and car insurance). Perhaps on your banking or mortgage too.. but let’s park that for another time.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is bringing an end to the practice of car and home insurers charging loyal customers more than new customers. ‘Price walking’ – commonly known as the ‘loyalty penalty’ – is a pricing practice where existing customers are increasingly charged more, the longer they stay with the same insurer. If you have been a client for a while, you will have heard me mention “the inertia that financial services companies rely upon”. I normally make this comment in relation to someone that has not reviewed their pension or investments for a while, or taken an annuity from their pension company (now that doesnt happen as much these days).

Following a consultation launched in September 2020, the FCA has confirmed this unfair practice will be banned from 1 January 2022 –  saving customers an estimated £4.2bn over 10 years. So, if you are a tad cynical like me, then we can look forward to adverts towards Christmas time that focus on the last hurrah of rip-off insurers…. of course I’d also suggest that we may all end up paying more.

Has your insurer offered a better deal?

NEW CUSTOMER DEALS FOR ALL…

Insurers will have to offer existing customers wanting to renew, a price that is no higher than they would pay as a new customer coming through the same ‘sales channel’. The ‘sales channel’ is just how you reached your insurer, which could be through their website, over the phone, through a comparison site or via a broker. These can all have an effect on the premium you pay and will continue to do so. So, for example, if you’re renewing over the phone, you’ll be offered the same price as a new customer switching to that insurer by phone.

There is of course a but… But this might be a higher premium than a new (or existing) customer taking out a policy online. If you really have the time to call a massive insurance company on the phone, they are likely to charge you more for the pure joy of the experience. As well as the new rules on pricing practices for home and motor insurance, the FCA is also bringing in new rules to make it easier to cancel the automatic renewal of their policy, which should make it easier to shop around. The pricing and auto-renewal changes will come into effect on 1 January 2022.

WANT MY ADVICE?

Well, do not waste your time with comparison websites. These are not whole of market and cheap is not necessarily best. This is insurance. You do not want it, but you need it and if you need to make a claim, you will want it paid out. So, use an insurance broker. Yes they will not be the cheapest option, but their real-life experience is…. priceless. They will get the most suitable arrangement from the market. If you do not have a broker, I can recommend one, who I have used for years – Richard Hiscox at 1StopInsurance. Put his details in your addressbook now or just call or email him to let him know your renewal dates.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

EXISTING CUSTOMERS ARE “FLEECED”2023-12-01T12:13:02+00:00

IS YOUR COUNCIL TAX BILL RIGHT?

TODAY’S BLOG

IS YOUR COUNCIL TAX BILL RIGHT?

The average Band D council tax set by local authorities for 2021/22 will be £1,898 an increase of £81 or 4.4%. The total Council Tax requirement for the year is a whopping £34.4bn – billion! An increase of 1.3billion.

If you believe your property is in the wrong band, you can challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency to get your property revalued and moved into a different, cheaper band. There are some criteria you have to meet, so you’ll need to have some concrete evidence for your challenge to be successful.

For example, if there have been changes to your property that would make it less valuable than the original valuation – part has been demolished, or it is a house that has subsequently been converted into flats. Or there may have been a change to the property or local area that would have changed the valuation of the property, such as roadworks that have been built that would have affected the rateable value of the property.

Council Tax

TWO SIDES OF A NEIGHBOURHOUD

If there have been changes to your property that would make it less valuable than the original valuation – part has been demolished, or it is a house that has subsequently been converted into flats. Or there may have been a change to the property or local area that would have changed the valuation of the property, such as roadworks that have been built that would have affected the rateable value of the property.

You can also get your band changed if mistakes have been made when the rating was carried out. If your council tax band has been incorrectly calculated, not only will you enjoy lower bills, but you’ll get the money back that you had overpaid, all the way back to when you started paying the wrong amount. If you’ve been in your property for a couple of decades, this could be a big chunk.

But beware – challenging your council tax band can deliver bad news as well as good – you could end up increasing your council tax bill by the agency deciding that you should be in a higher band. This could even affect your neighbours, with the potential to make you quite unpopular down your street. That planned street party for the end of the pandemic, may create a few awkward moments.

Here’s a link to the Council Tax site.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

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IS YOUR COUNCIL TAX BILL RIGHT?2023-12-01T12:13:03+00:00

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

TODAY’S BLOG

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

This is an increasingly common tale. It is one about a scam, one that you really should be aware of. Scammers generally take two basic guises – a confidence trickster and an expert in a subject you do not understand enough about. This scam is the latter. It is about technology, something that you and I use, but probably have vague or general understanding of, because we do not really know how it works – simply that it does work.

The scam takes the form of a phone call from someone working at your broadband supplier. The truth is probably that you are with one of a handful of broadband companies, there is a high chance of mentioning any one of them that you are a customer. At this point the caller can either effectively politely end the call or has reassured you that you are dealing with an existing supplier.

BROADBAND SCAMS

HELPFUL HARMFUL AND HORRENDOUS

The caller informs you that your broadband is not working as well as it should, and they can help make it faster. Who of us does not want faster broadband? (irrespective of the inaccurate promise on the tin). Help is at hand if you download an app and place your phone near your router so that the performance can be monitored (how helpful right!). You comply and are informed that you are due a refund for poor performance (good news) so a code is provided to enable payment to your bank. You are kept on the phone, which whilst you think to yourself is a little frustrating and a little ironic in the age of high technology, you are of course getting something in exchange – a refund and faster broadband. You wait. At some point you are insulted as a muggle or something similar, and the caller hangs up. You have an immediate rush of realisation and call your bank to discover that it has been emptied. Emptied! Just hold that feeling a moment before reading further. Your bank account emptied….

You did not authorise a withdrawal, you were expecting a credit. Your bank may or may not be impressed and act accordingly. It is international fraud and not within the FCA jurisdiction.

NOT MERELY BASED ON A TRUE STORY, IT IS A TRUE STORY

The above is an abridged true story that another adviser shared with me, it happened very recently. Please do not accept the information that a caller provides you with. Anyone calling from one of your suppliers should know some rather basic information from you, be that your name, address and account number (for the service). Do not give them any of your time. Do not download anything that you have not understood sufficiently. Never reveal your bank information over the phone, guard it as though you would your prized possessions.

#*&^(:jh:d!!

There are many words for scammers, if you are ever victim of one, you will think of many of them. You are not a fool. You have been fooled and we all can be (look at how we vote!). However, you must act. Most scams offer the promise of more money or improved service. Rare is the day that these come without cost. They are never free.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT2023-12-01T12:13:13+00:00
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