Whether an injury occurs in the workplace or whilst driving a motor vehicle, it is important for an injured person to hold the responsible party accountable. Because the costs can add up to tens of thousands of pounds, it is only fair that these damages are compensated by the person or persons who caused the injury.

Compensation

In cases where the injured party can prove that he or she is not responsible for the incident, it may be desirable to seek legal counsel to claim compensation to which he or she is legally entitled. Using the help of a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), an injured man or woman can seek aid in selecting a qualified solicitor. With the aid of a solicitor, making a claim and recovering from the financial blow of a personal injury is simple. A solicitor is knowledgeable about which claims are likely to succeed in court and can help an injured person take the best course of action to maximise his or her compensation.

Compensation is available in two basic formats. General damages are meant to cover the immediate costs of the injury, including lost wages. Special damages are paid to offset the costs of additional expenses related to the injury, including costs incurred while travelling for medical care as well as property replacement. The more severe an expert medical examiner deems a case to be, the more the injured party can gain in both general and special compensation. However, if blame is shared by both parties, compensation may be reduced or even denied.

Making a Claim

In many personal injury cases, the injured is not to blame for his or her injuries. If a claim for compensation is desired, the injured must work quickly to begin legal action against the party responsible for the accident. For instance, negligence cases must begin no later than three years after the initial injury. Each type of personal injury comes with a different time table, so it is wise to contact a CAB to accurately determine how much time is available. Keep in mind that a judge may extend deadlines in extreme cases, but this is typically reserved for cases where a person is so badly injured that he or she cannot make it to court.

The first step in a claim is to present the person or persons being held responsible for the accident – the defendant or defendants – with a letter outlining the claim. The solicitor will require specific details about the injury and the incident surrounding it to create this letter, so it is best to keep detailed records of all matters relating to the event. The date or dates of the injury, contact information from any witnesses, and a detailed account of the medical diagnosis and treatment required for the injury are required.

The defendant has a fixed period, usually three months, in which to reply to the letter. In his or her response, the defendant will either accept or deny responsibility for the claim. If acceptance is indicated, the matter can usually be settled out of court. A “Part 36 offer” is made, based on the estimated value of the claim, and negotiation ensues between the solicitors of both the plaintiff and the defendant. However, denial of responsibility for the claim by the defendant requires that judicial pursuit follows.

Solicitor’s Fees

Predictably, legal fees can add up quickly during the claims process, and government aid in personal injury claims cases is not available. In many cases, UK citizens owe more in legal counsel fees than their winning claim pays out. It is estimated that an annual sum of £2.4 million is incurred in personal injury legal fees in the nation from auto mobile accidents alone. Add in workplace accidents, in-home accidents and accidents in public, and this total climbs much higher. Members of trade unions, however, may be eligible for discounts on their solicitor’s fees.

Solicitor’s fees are most often the responsibility of the losing party when a claim is settled in court. In the event that a case is successful, the legal fees of the injured are covered by the person or persons responsible for the accident. However, should the claim be unsuccessful, solicitor’s fees are passed on to the plaintiff. Because the injured party runs the risk of having to pay both his or her own legal fees and those of the defendant in a failed claims case, it is wise to select a solicitor that offers the security of a “no win, no fee” scheme. Solicitors who work with firms that offer such a package are careful to give an honest assessment of a claim’s validity, and are unlikely to involve themselves in a case that has no value. Some solicitors who charge an hourly fee may be inclined to take on a losing case for profit.

Save money, effort and time. Get compensated appropriately for your pain and suffering. Find a reputable solicitor who gets paid only when you do for maximised concentration on your physical and financial well-being.

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This post was contributed by AccidentClaims.org, the best online resource for legal experts and advice regarding your accident claim.

A check-up is performed with the hope of finding that everything is well and there’s no action required. But just as a physical exam can reveal problems that can be fixed by following a doctor’s advice, a financial checkup will help you see trouble spots that need attention. And in the same way that you’re advised to have a physical checkup annually, financial checkups should be performed at a minimum of every 12 months.

If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, student loan, mortgage or auto loan, a credit report was started in your name. Its purpose is to establish your degree of credit-worthiness and is a key component in acquiring credit. Your credit report may be viewed by insurance agents, landlords, lending institutions, creditors, current and potential employers. They will be looking at how promptly you pay your bills, the number of credit cards, the amount of available credit and the total amount of debt you carry.

When to Check Your Credit Report

A financial checkup would be worthless without including an examination of your credit report. It is a detailed reflection of how you’re doing with your credit accounts, and with the Federal law that entitles you to free annual credit reports, it’s painless. But one review every year may be too little, if you fall into any of the follow scenarios.

• Buying a Big-Ticket Item – Check in advance of applying for a loan for potential landmines that may destroy your chances of securing the money you need for a home, car, boat, etc. Look for errors and have discrepancies cleared up before filing out the loan application.
• Possible Identity Theft – Unauthorized purchases, bogus communication from scammers about your financial accounts and lost or stolen credit cards are potential threats to your identity. Red flags like these should be followed up with a review of your credit report where identity theft activity will be exposed.
• Denial of a Loan or Credit Application – Another situation that warrants a credit report review is when the bank denies a loan application. This is especially important, if you can think of no reason for the denial; your credit report may provide an answer if you discover inaccuracies or fraudulent transactions on your report. Also, keep in mind that a recently enacted law requires a lender who denies a consumer based on their credit to provide the consumer a free copy of their credit report.
• Fixing a Bad Credit Situation – With all your financial history at your finger tips, using a current copy of your credit reports will help pinpoint the areas that need the most attention when you’re working to improve your financial health.

What to Look For

Now that you have your report(s) in hand, do you know what to look for? There are specific entries that should be reviewed to prevent identity theft and to ensure that creditors and lenders are viewing accurate information when they make an inquiry on the condition of your financial health.

Personal Identification – Is your contact information correct – your Social Security Number, birthday, current and past addresses and employers. If your name is misspelled, lenders may not be able to access your report.

Credit Accounts – Make sure all the listed accounts are yours and that the account number matches the one you have on record. Confirm that all your open and inactive accounts are reported. Each account adds credibility and length of history to the report which are of value in calculating your credit score. Verify the history of each account as these have the biggest impact on a credit application.

Inquiries – Authorized institutions can request to see your credit report – called an inquiry. Review the inquiries section of your report to verify that the businesses listed have had reason to make the request. Look for unusual entries that may be indication of a scammer working to steal your identity.

Timely Entries – Negative entries have expiration dates. Missed or late payments and debt collection records expire after seven years. If you see expired entries, contact the credit reporting agencies and ask that they be removed. There is no expiration on the positive actions depicted on your report and will remain indefinitely.

Bankruptcy Records – The damage a bankruptcy has on a consumer’s financial future is reflected in the fact that it remains on their credit report for 10 years. Confirm that all debts discharged in bankruptcy are listed that way and not simply listed as delinquent or unpaid.

The importance of an accurate credit report cannot be understated. It holds the information that helps determine your credit score and to form a decision on loan and credit requests. After closely reviewing the details of your credit report and finding an error, it’s important to respond quickly by contacting the credit bureau.

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Noreen Ruth writes for ASAP credit card blog and several popular finance websites. She is interested in educating consumers about using credit responsibly and about legislative action that will affect their ability to borrow money. She has contributed hundreds of articles to various sites that provide content to educate consumers on comparison of credit cards, debt relief services, loans and other finance related topics.

For those who are currently striving to raise their credit score, it is important to get good advice for doing so. Otherwise, moving forward with certain activities – even though they may appear to make sense – could end up backfiring in the long run and actually cause your overall score to drop.

Stop Using All Forms of Credit

One of the worst things that you can do in terms of raising your credit score is to stop using credit altogether. This is because – although you will have no debt – you will also have no credit at all, and this actually counts as a negative towards your overall credit score. And, while it is important to be able to pay off loans that are obtained, it is also imperative to have some form of repayment with which your credit score can be based upon.

Cancel Unused Credit Cards

Although it may appear that cancelling unused credit cards would raise an individual’s credit score, it is actually the opposite that is true. This is because one of the key factors in determining your score is the total amount of credit that you have available to you in relation to the amount that is being used.
As an example, if an individual has a total of $50,000 in available credit, and they have a $5,000 balance being used, the person has a total credit utilization of 10 percent. ($50,000 divided by $5,000 = 10).

However, if this same individual were to cancel a credit card with a $20,000 line of credit – even if that card had not been used for quite some time – it would lower their total amount of available credit to $30,000. It would also drastically increase the person’s percentage of total credit utilization to nearly 17 percent. The higher percentage of credit utilization would thus count negatively towards the individual’s overall credit score.

Apply for New Credit Cards in Order to Raise Your Total Amount of Available Credit

While having a higher amount of available credit can work positively towards a person’s credit score, applying for too much credit – including having too many credit cards – can be considered a negative. This is especially true if the individual has most of their available credit already in use and is primarily applying for new credit cards in order to take on even more amounts of debt.

Apply for Large Lines of Business Credit

Some “experts” may encourage individuals to open up credit cards in the name of a business. In this manner, these individuals could obtain additional lines of credit without harming their personal credit score.

This, however, is not good advice. What many people do not realize is that even with a business account, oftentimes individuals must offer a “personal guarantee” on the repayment of borrowed business funds.

What this means is that in many cases, even the funds that are borrowed under a business name are still connected to the individual’s Social Security number – and thus can be correlated with that person’s personal credit score.

File for Bankruptcy in Order to “Start Over”

There are a myriad of advertisements geared towards those who are in financial trouble. Many of these ads state that individuals may have a chance to “start over” financially by filing for bankruptcy. While in certain cases this may be true, most often these ads are really just a way for the advertiser to collect a fee from individuals who are already in dire financial straits.

Unfortunately, regardless of the surrounding circumstances, the filing of bankruptcy will cause an individual’s credit score to drop dramatically. In addition, bankruptcy creates a blemish that can often remain on a person’s credit report for between 7 and 10 years – causing great hardship in obtaining mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and even future employment.

The Bottom Line

No matter what the state of an individual’s credit score, it is essential to obtain the correct advice when seeking to raise that score. Because credit scores are oftentimes reviewed by financial institutions as well as potential employers, landlords, and utility companies, it is imperative to understand what will – and will not – create positive movements in your overall credit score.

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George Gallagher is a guest contributor to many of his favorite finance blogs. He also helped build the web’s best student loan consolidation calculator.

The payday loan industry is huge at present thanks to the current economic situation. It is estimated that the number of payday borrowers has increased year on year since it reached 1.2 million in 2009. In fact the industry is predicted to outgrow the credit card industry such is its popularity and growth. Parallel to the growth of the industry is the increase in calls to the national debt counselling service. It has increased from 150 per month to 1100, from people who have signed up to payday loans.

Payday lenders are finance companies who lend relatively small amounts of cash to people under the proviso that they make the repayment by the following payday i.e. within 28 to 31 days. The advantages to the customer are that it is an accessible service (i.e. over the internet), there are no credit checks so people with bad credit history can still apply and that the entire transaction is a speedy process taking anything from 10 minutes to 24 hours for the cash to be deposited into your bank account.

The disadvantages to the consumer however are that they are charged high levels of interest i.e. APR, which means that if they postpone the repayments by even a month, the debts can start spiralling and become harder and harder to repay. For example an average APR is 1737% therefore to borrow £200 for one month costs £50. To borrow for two months costs £100, a total repayment of £300. Therefore you can see how easily the debt mounts up. Furthermore, payday loan companies often have hidden charges i.e. charges for admin fees, rollover fees and signing up fees. If these are not declared at the outset, customers feel that they have been mis-sold the product and results in debt and customer complaints. Some payday loan companies can be very vague about how they make these charges and how much the loan will cost the consumer which leads to questionable advertising.

It is these secretive terms and conditions which result in unsuspecting customers accumulating mounting debts that have led to growing complaints and have prompted the OFT to audit the industry.

The (OFT) has surveyed the UKs 50 biggest payday loan companies and their websites to evaluate what they are advertising and if it is ethical. They identified four key areas of criticism:

• The lack of clarity in interest rates of short term loans
• Targeting vulnerable customers
• The lack of credit checks
• The promotion of unnecessary spending

In addition to this the OFT have spoken with consumer organisations, charities including Shelter and MPs to determine if these companies are complying with the Customer Credit Act in regards to irresponsible lending. Currently the guidelines are:

“Inappropriately encouraging borrowers to increase, aggregate or rollover existing debt to unsustainable levels.”

High profile examples of breaking these guidelines include the payday loan company Wonga who deliberately targeted university students with their short term loans, encouraging them to use them for flights to the Canary Islands. The APR on these loans was 4214%. Another example is as far back as 2012 when the payday loan company Tooth Fairy Finance was warned by the OFT for its huge charges for debt collection. This is another example of trying to take more money off people that simply do not have it.

The industry has been accused of not checking the affordability of the loans against the person making the request. This has resulted in customers borrowing a sum of money to consolidate other payday loans but the implications are that this customer owes significant amount of interest to all of their payday lenders. This is a grave situation for the customer as the debts easily spiral. If there had been adequate affordability checks made in the first place, this customer should never have been permitted the loan.

In February 2012, the OFT launched an extensive audit of the industry based on these findings of irresponsible lending. Historically, even when one company has had its licence revoked, they have rebranded and launched themselves under a different name. The OFT is now taking steps to monitor this and clamp down on these bad practises and put rules in place that protect consumers.

There is great relief in the finance industry that the OFT have made this announcement. Hopefully it will rationalise the industry, eliminate the bad practises and allow those companies that are honest and provide a good service to flourish. There is absolutely a place in the market for bone fied payday loan businesses that meet trading standards to provide a good and fair service.

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Oliver Carding is an experienced content writer and SEO consultant based in the United Kingdom. His current project fast pay day loans review aims to provide consumers with unbiased and informative advice about the unregulated pay day loans industry.

The Junior ISA

Setting up a junior isa is the first step in handling your child’s money responsibly. There are benefits to setting aside money for your child, up to the yearly limit. You can choose to set up the cash version of a junior ISA or the stocks and shares version.

The cash version of a junior ISA involves setting money aside much like you would a savings account. The money will earn interest but with a lower rate of return than its counterpart (stocks and shares). The money is not subject to any type of income tax and if you find yourself in need of the money for something like band equipment or a special summer camp, you can easily transfer the money into one of your current accounts.

The other option for a junior ISA is the stocks and shares account. Here, the money deposited is converted into stocks and shares. The balance grows based on the type of investments made. The tax savings involve the gains the account makes. There is no tax on the dividend or capital gain that comes from the account.

Both options are a low risk way to set your child’s money aside in a valuable way. At 16, you have the option to turn the funds over to your child. However, there are benefits for waiting until they turn 18. Once 18, your child can choose to convert their account into an adult ISA savings account and continue taking advantage of the tax-free savings. Both children and adults may find themselves surprised when they realize the amount they have saved over the past few years.

529 College Savings Plan

As a parent, you want to be able to give your child the opportunity to experience higher education. With tuitions costs continuing to increase, this can be a real challenge. The money your child accumulates can also be placed into a 529 College Savings Plan. This is a great way to take advantage of the tax break, usually offered at the state level, for making a deposit into a 529 account and any growth is tax deferred.

A traditional plan gives your child money to use in a variety of ways after high school graduation. Whether they stay in state or decide to attend in another country, the account will help pay for some of the expenses. You choose the type of investments you make as well as the amount of risk you are willing to take with the money you deposit.

When your child turns 18 and wants to attend college or a trade school, they will have money in the bank to help offset the cost. If you invested well, your balance will have grown and your child will have a head start on financing their college experience.

Savings Account

You can always set up a traditional savings account in your child’s name at any local or online bank. Many parents choose to place most of their children’s money in a junior ISA or a 529 College Savings Plan or both. However, a savings account is a great way to teach your child about money and give them a more concrete understanding of saving. While you are not going to find benefits in deferred taxes or in skipping over the capital gains tax, providing your child with a lesson on using money wisely is a valuable option.

Ideally, put some money into each account. A junior ISA sets aside money for your child to do with as they please when they turn 18. They can use the money to purchase a car or pay for tuition. At some point, they can even use it as part of a down payment on a home. The 529 College Savings account is a great way to give them a boost when it comes to paying for college. You can’t go wrong when you set aside money for education. Finally, a traditional savings account is a good way to get your child into the habit of saving from a very early age.

Your child’s money is your responsibility but so is their introduction and instruction in finance. In each of these instances, you have the opportunity to demonstrate exactly what saving money can do and how it can affect the future. Instead of just telling your kids about the importance of saving, you are showing them.

At some point, before they turn 18, explain to your child what you did with their money. Show them the account statements. Let them see exactly how money can grow over time. An older child may want to add their own contribution to the accounts when they see what can happen when you save. Your wise investments can pay off in a big way.

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This article was written by Katie Malcolm, a writer for moneysupermarket.com – a comparison website offering information on everything from junior isas to mortgages.

The organization is loosely organized and does not follow a rigid structure. A Debtors Anonymous meeting can vary in size, length, and topics discussed. The only basic purpose of these meetings is to offer support to anyone who is willing to change their debt incurring practices. There are fellowships that offer meetings and support all over the country.

The Debtors Anonymous way of help is very basic, and circulates around the idea that those sharing a similar problem can help each other simply by listening, encouraging a change of harmful behavior, and making the addict feel less alone in a difficult situation. Mostly groups encourage following the twelve step program, which begins with admitting one has a problem, which is the step most addicts have to face if they are ever able to receive help.

The easiest way to obtain accurate information on Debtors Anonymous is to look through the organization’s website which includes a Frequently Asked Questions section, a locator of nearest meetings, and even a quiz to help a potential addict decide whether they may be in need of help. It is also possible for someone who believes his or herself to be an addict to begin their own group in their area if there are none available close by.

Although the website is very comprehensive and well designed, the ultimate support is of course centered in the consistent attendance of meetings. There is no better way of facing the problem than attending meetings. According to the Debtors Anonymous guidelines, one should attend at least six meetings before making a decision of whether continued attendance will be helpful because initial stages of addiction recovery will of course be difficult and initial meetings may seem futile.

Debtors Anonymous does not cost anything because it is funded by the contributions of current or former members as well as others in the community who wish to give aid. This is quite helpful, especially since debtors may be experiencing financial problems due to their addiction. The free and non committal membership makes it very easy for anyone who is able to face their destructive behavior to get the help that they require. Ultimately, once a person is able to admit that they need help, getting it is made as simple as possible by Debtors Anonymous.

Debtors Anonymous, much like other Anonymous programs, is a well recognized and supported organization that has been proven to help many people with their debt incurring problem. The program is a testament to what people can do if they simply set their mind to it and work to overcome obstacles together. We are social creatures and even our deepest, most troublesome problems may be resolved by connecting with others and offering our own support.

The idea behind Debtors Anonymous is simple and yet very effective. If one believes that they are experiencing symptoms of a debt incurring problem, they may find help quickly and easily by simply using their search engine and reaching out to a branch of Debtors Anonymous closest to their home. Taking the step to get help may be the change necessary for the ultimate improvement of a person’s life.

The four pillars according to Dr. Bernstein are theory, history, psychology and business. He strongly suggests being an A+ student of all four if you hope to be a successful investor in the modern day marketplace.

The first pillar, Theory, is a fundamental concept that adds to your scientific awareness of investing when you understand the correlation between risk and return. The higher your exposure to the risk of loss, the greater your earnings. He ascertains that investing is a social science that must keep up with the behavior of society as well as movements of the overall market place. Under the same heading of “Theory” is diversifying, which investors traditionally do very poorly. If a portfolio is truly diversified properly, the investor is better protected from sharp declines in the market.

The second pillar, History, calls attention to the fact that there is a reference for the performance of the market place. The market follows a generally consistent set of reactions in response to certain historical events. The successful investor studies this history and understands how cultural events affect stocks, bonds, real estate values and other asset classes. To support his view, Dr. Bernstein points out the often irrational behavior of the investing public when these events occur. He shows how the invention of new technology has created an environment of point-and-click investing which in turn has led to the rise of the less thoughtful private investor.

When he approaches the subject of the third pillar, Psychology, he ventures to expound on the behavior of the point-and-click investor’s state of mind and the mentality of investors as a whole. He believes that the most common behavior of investors leads to overconfidence, unreasonable buy and sell decisions, overzealous trading and paying far too much for low value shares. He states that investors should, “Confront your own dysfunctional investment behavior”.

As he addresses the fourth pillar, business, he points out that investors can often be too trusting, allowing stockbrokers to lead them by the nose into poor investments recommended by advisors or their own self-serving reasons, not for the client’s benefit. Urging that the world of finance is a profit generating business and much of it is focused on generating commissions for the company; not as much energy is focused on generating profits for the client. He contends that although they have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients, they are free to make decisions that function outside that realm on a day-to-day basis.

The four pillars, theory, history, psychology and business take a close look at how the public selects investments and our response to holding or selling them in tumultuous times. Dr. Bernstein uses humor and education to illustrate his points. His book is a well researched book, factually, which looks closely at the historical behavior of the market and its current state. He gives common sense advice for what it takes to gain some degree of success as an investor.

Dr. Bernstein doesn’t recommend any particular sector for investing, but he does encourage true diversity of the portfolio. By approaching investing as a science that needs to be studied to understand, he arms the reader with the power to grasp their contribution to managing their own wealth accumulation. The best aspect of this book, The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio is its ability to arm the investor with the tools needed to not only survive the market, but also thrive in the market.

The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio Price: $29.95 You Pay: $9.07 (70% savings!)