There's continuing concern about scams from the bodies charged by the government with giving guidance about the new pension freedoms.
The danger is that fraudsters pressurise the over-55s to withdraw cash from their pension schemes and sink it in dodgy investments.
Citizens Advice and The Pensions Advisory Service told MPs today that they were receiving more calls for help from people who said they were being targeted, though there is hope that public warnings are having some effect.
Rachael Badger, Head of Policy Research, Citizens Advice
We have seen a bit more of a growth in problems with scams, particularly around people aged over 55, since April.
And we are seeing more customers who are becoming repeat targets of scams.
And it's things like people are being asked by fraudsters to give access to their pension pots for high promised rates of return, options to invest in property abroad and fine wines, that sort of thing.
Michelle Cracknell, The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS)
We are receiving more calls on our helpline about investment scams but we are receiving more calls before the event (being scammed) rather than after the event...so that's good news.
Showing posts with label Citizens Advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Citizens Advice. Show all posts
Monday, 7 September 2015
Thursday, 3 March 2011
£67 for a loan which never arrived
Citizens Advice is demanding a ban on cold calling by credit brokers and up front fees for loans, saying that people are being pressurised into parting with cash for loans which never materialise.
Here's the story of one target of the scam, Yvonne Weekes, who lives in Cornwall...
I was filling in a survey on the computer and one of the things that came up was: "Would you be thinking of getting a loan any time in the near future?". I thought: funny it should come up just when I'm thinking of getting some money and I clicked on it.
The following morning I had a phone call from a loan company, offering me £1,000.
I said I only needed £200. I said that I do pyrography. I burn pictures on wood and I needed a new machine
She said the least they could lend was £500. I said I didn't need that.
She said maybe you're thinking of a holiday. You could do with a weekend away somewhere.
Then I thought I'm going away with my daughter and granddaughter. It would be useful. She was very, very persuasive.
She asked for all my details. Then she said the only thing we need to do is to get your bank details because we charge a fee of £67. We don't take that out of your bank, we take that out of the payment of the £500.
I thought I'm not keen on giving my details and I said I don't really want to give away my bank details.
She said said have you ever bought anything on ebay? It's the same thing, she said, except we deal with thousands of people every day and we never have any problems. It won't cause you any problems at all. So I gave them my bank details.
Five days went by and I rang them up and it was an answering machine. I left a message: when do I get this money?
I went into the bank and checked where I stood. £67 had been taken out of my bank account. Of course I didn't get any loan: it never came through at all. I phoned them 20 times.
They sold on my details and the first thing I knew was I got another phone call: "We understand you're looking for a loan, Yvonne".
It just went on and on. I got 60 phone calls.
It's very, very stressful because not only have you not got the money you applied for,but you're getting harassed by people.
It gets to the point where you're not just upset. I was really, really upset: I couldn't believe I had been so naïve as to be taken in by them.
Then I started to get angry. They're doing that to me. What if they do that to someone who's ten years older than me and they're desperate for the money?
Do not under any circumstances give out your bank details. If somebody rings you and they want information just tell them to go away and you're not interested.
Here's the story of one target of the scam, Yvonne Weekes, who lives in Cornwall...
I was filling in a survey on the computer and one of the things that came up was: "Would you be thinking of getting a loan any time in the near future?". I thought: funny it should come up just when I'm thinking of getting some money and I clicked on it.
The following morning I had a phone call from a loan company, offering me £1,000.
I said I only needed £200. I said that I do pyrography. I burn pictures on wood and I needed a new machine
She said the least they could lend was £500. I said I didn't need that.
She said maybe you're thinking of a holiday. You could do with a weekend away somewhere.
Then I thought I'm going away with my daughter and granddaughter. It would be useful. She was very, very persuasive.
She asked for all my details. Then she said the only thing we need to do is to get your bank details because we charge a fee of £67. We don't take that out of your bank, we take that out of the payment of the £500.
I thought I'm not keen on giving my details and I said I don't really want to give away my bank details.
She said said have you ever bought anything on ebay? It's the same thing, she said, except we deal with thousands of people every day and we never have any problems. It won't cause you any problems at all. So I gave them my bank details.
Five days went by and I rang them up and it was an answering machine. I left a message: when do I get this money?
I went into the bank and checked where I stood. £67 had been taken out of my bank account. Of course I didn't get any loan: it never came through at all. I phoned them 20 times.
They sold on my details and the first thing I knew was I got another phone call: "We understand you're looking for a loan, Yvonne".
It just went on and on. I got 60 phone calls.
It's very, very stressful because not only have you not got the money you applied for,but you're getting harassed by people.
It gets to the point where you're not just upset. I was really, really upset: I couldn't believe I had been so naïve as to be taken in by them.
Then I started to get angry. They're doing that to me. What if they do that to someone who's ten years older than me and they're desperate for the money?
Do not under any circumstances give out your bank details. If somebody rings you and they want information just tell them to go away and you're not interested.
Saturday, 12 February 2011
What is a U-turn?
The Treasury is adamant that it has not executed a U-turn in deciding to extend support for 500 specialist debt advisers.
This comes after the decision to axe the Financial Inclusion Fund which paid for the advisers across England and Wales, followed by an announcement this morning that £27m had, after all, been found to keep the service going for another year.
The Treasury told me last night: "The reason we haven't made an announcement until now about the funding we were always going to provide is because it was important to get it right". (See my report.)
What happened was that the Financial Secretary, Mark Hoban, said on 19th January this year in a written answer in parliament:
"The Financial Inclusion Fund will close at the end of March this year. The Government will work closely with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that tackling financial inclusion remains a high priority".
Ministers allowed a situation to arise in which the debt advisers were sent their redundancy letters, then stopped taking on new cases, as I reported at the beginning of this month.
There was a spate of campaigning by charities and MPs, pointing out that cutting debt advice when debt problems were expected to increase was a questionable policy. And there was a Westminster Hall debate.
So the advisers were preparing for life on the dole, the service was disrupted and winding down, and frantic lobbying was taking place.
During these weeks there were plenty of opportunities for ministers to give the reassurance that they were "always going to provide" the funding. But it wasn't given privately, as far as I know, and certainly not publicly.
In fact, the people managing the advice service were on a roller coaster ride, thinking first that there would be zero support, then perhaps 50%, before they got wind of today's announcement.
Of course, the Financial Inclusion Fund is still being closed. The £27m has been found from a contingency fund and an underspend (whatever that means amidst the current cuts) at the Department for Business and is for one year only. So it is true to say that the original funding has not been renewed.
But some will take the view that this reprieve for debt advisers comes after ministers listened to the warnings they were being given and changed their minds.
This comes after the decision to axe the Financial Inclusion Fund which paid for the advisers across England and Wales, followed by an announcement this morning that £27m had, after all, been found to keep the service going for another year.
The Treasury told me last night: "The reason we haven't made an announcement until now about the funding we were always going to provide is because it was important to get it right". (See my report.)
What happened was that the Financial Secretary, Mark Hoban, said on 19th January this year in a written answer in parliament:
"The Financial Inclusion Fund will close at the end of March this year. The Government will work closely with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that tackling financial inclusion remains a high priority".
Ministers allowed a situation to arise in which the debt advisers were sent their redundancy letters, then stopped taking on new cases, as I reported at the beginning of this month.
There was a spate of campaigning by charities and MPs, pointing out that cutting debt advice when debt problems were expected to increase was a questionable policy. And there was a Westminster Hall debate.
So the advisers were preparing for life on the dole, the service was disrupted and winding down, and frantic lobbying was taking place.
During these weeks there were plenty of opportunities for ministers to give the reassurance that they were "always going to provide" the funding. But it wasn't given privately, as far as I know, and certainly not publicly.
In fact, the people managing the advice service were on a roller coaster ride, thinking first that there would be zero support, then perhaps 50%, before they got wind of today's announcement.
Of course, the Financial Inclusion Fund is still being closed. The £27m has been found from a contingency fund and an underspend (whatever that means amidst the current cuts) at the Department for Business and is for one year only. So it is true to say that the original funding has not been renewed.
But some will take the view that this reprieve for debt advisers comes after ministers listened to the warnings they were being given and changed their minds.
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