| Reclaim Your Rip-Off Premiums!
Thanks to new rules introduced by the financial watchdog, lenders will find it harder to fleece borrowers who buy insurance to protect their personal loan or mortgage repayments. On Wednesday, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that it had reached agreement with a number of trade associations to improve the fairness and transparency of refunds given to holders of payment protection insurance (PPI) policies. PPI is optional insurance which covers your monthly repayments if you are unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment, and pays off your loan if you die. As I explained in this article, although PPI policies appear to offer valuable protection, they are massively overpriced, poorly designed, frequently mis-sold, and difficult to claim against.
Payment as important as purchase
Consumers who invest a lot of time in choosing a car should be equally careful when selecting their financing method, according to finance experts.While the most common form of forecourt finance is quick and easy to arrange, it is not always the best deal according to MoneyExpert.com.Hire Purchase agreements, in which the loan is secured against the car and the car is not owned until the last payment, can be set up at the car dealers, but often have APRs in double digits.Dealerships themselves also offer the possibility of deferring a portion of the car's value until the end of the term when the buyer can choose to pay the sum, return the car or swap it for another.While this scheme does involve lower repayments, it is only suitable for buyers who are aware of and can predict their financial situation.According to MoneyExpert.com, the best option is to look ahead and get an agreement on principle on a personal loan.Personal loans do not carry arrangement fees, have lower APRs, and walking into the dealership with an approved loan can give the buyer leverage in price negotiations as they will be treated as a cash buyer.Robin Amlot, senior editor at Moneyextra, concluded: "Drivers should not let the smell of a new leather interior lure them into poor financial decisions at the last hurdle."By taking the time to arrange finance before visiting the forecourt, motorists can be sure that they will enjoy every mile in their new car and be certain that they are getting more metal for their money." .
Read Government’s response to NDC’s press conference on Energy ...
In our view, Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, the Press Statement that was issued yesterday by the flag bearer of the (NDC) is one that smacks of mischief, designed to dissuade Ghanaians from concentrating on the issues of substance and cooperating with government to bring an end to the current situation. Indeed, the contents of the statement are characteristic of the tradition of a party that is rooted in falsehood, deception and diversionary tactics which the NDC is ironically accusing us of. It is therefore not strange that the pot should be calling the kettle black in this instance.
Mr. Chairman, Ghanaians have known these traits of 'falsehood, deception and diversionary tactics' of the PNDC/NDC for nearly two decades and that is why the good citizens of this peace-loving country have chosen to vote for a truly democratic party, the New Patriotic Party; a party that is committed to truth, fair play and transparency.
A Loan at Home
Lending money to family and friends is a timeworn tradition--one that probably has worn out more relationships than it has helped. Still, if you've been fortunate enough to sock away some cash, can you say no to a child wanting to launch a business or a close friend who has run into temporary problems? You can. But if you decide otherwise, consider that most business start-ups fail and that temporary problems have a way of becoming fatal ones. In other words, a lot of these loans go bad. About 14% of personal loans end up in default, according to Circle Lending, which formalizes loans between family and friends. That compares with about 1% of bank loans. So don't be surprised if your largesse ends up lost. That may be fine if the borrower is in your will anyway and the wealth transfer doesn't run afoul of federal limits on tax-free gifts.
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