Y-Financial Freedom

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Southend

An Introduction Benefits and Financial SupportHelp with BudgetingBank AccountsBank Accounts - BenefitsuSwitch Types of Online FraudDifferent Types of Credit Card FraudPersonal Details - Tips and AdviceCitizens Advice BureauIndex

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13

02

Contents

CV building experience which is so vital in today’s job market.

Please email press@southendymca.org.uk or call 01702 301301 for more information.

This booklet is also available to download at www.southendymca.org.uk, with additional information and resources.

This booklet has been created by participants from Southend YMCA’s SVC (Southchurch Vocational College) students.

The content of this booklet was researched and compiled during the summer of 2012.

The aim of this booklet is to give financial advice and support for young people who may need it especially if living independently.

Southend YMCA offers numerous opportunities to young people including education, volunteering, sport through to music and catering. These opportunities upskill young people and give them the

03

Introduction

Benefits And Financial Support

How to make a new or repeated claim for benefitsYou can ring Jobcentre Plus the following number to make a benefit claim:Phone: 0800 0 55 66 88Text phone: 0800 0 23 48 88 if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech difficulties.

Calls are free from a landline. Charges may apply when calling from a mobile phone, but Jobcentre Plus will arrange to call you back if you ask.

Phone lines are open from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday.

The call will take about 40 minutes. You should call from:• home, if possible; or• from somewhere where you are comfortable and where other people cannot overhear your personal information

You will speak to an operator who will guide you through making a new claim or renewing the details of a claim that has recently closed. During the call you will be asked to provide information including:• your National Insurance number• details of your rent or mortgage• details of your past or present employment• details of other income and savings

There are different types of benefits that people can claim.

Benefits are divided into four groups:• benefits for people of working age• benefits for people who have retired or who are planning to retire• benefits for families and children• Benefits for disabled people and carers.

Different benefits types include:• Job seekers allowance• Income support• Disability living allowance• Working tax credits• Child tax credits• Housing benefit.

Where to go to get advice about benefits1. Citizens advice - www.citizensadvice.org.uk2. Job centre plus www.directgov.uk3. Direct Gov www.directgov.uk

££

Call Jobcentre Plus to claim for benefit:

0800 0 55 66 88

04

Help With Budgeting

Advantages of budgetingIts a good idea to have a personal budget so you can keep track of your debts, bills, gas, electricity, telephone, council tax , water rates, insurance and similar expenses.

Outgoings Start by working out what you spend for bills such as: gas, electricity, telephone, water rates and council tax.Income Lists of income:Check your payslips to get an accurate figure for wages.Look at statements for benefits, child tax Credit and similar income Work out your total income for a week/ month then take away outgoings to work out whether you have any spare money.

If you have a shortfall If your outgoings are higher than your income, you have to look at the most important and not the less important things. Most important is household bills and housekeeping.

£Work out your outgoings - bills

for gas, electricity, telephone, water rates and council

tax

05

06

Bank Accounts

Listed here are some of the more commonly known current bank accounts and their details.

Provider

BarclaysBank Account

Santander(Everyday Current

Account)

HSBC Bank PLCBank Account

Royal Bank of Scotland

Select Account

NatwestSelect Account

Interest Rate (AER)

0%(No interest

earned)

0%(No interest

earned)

0%(No interest

earned)

0%(No interest

earned)

0%(No interest

earned)

AuthorisedO/D

(Overdraft) Rate

19.3%

0%(Plus £1 per day

usage fee)

19.9%(“Fair Fees Policy”

applies)

19.9%

19.9%

OverdraftFeatures

None

Fee Free BufferMax Transferred Fee Free Buffer

Fee Free Buffer

Fee Free BufferInterest Free Buffer

Fee Free BufferInterest Free Buffer

07

Barclays - A straightforward Current Account from Barclays with no monthly fee. Account can be customised with a range of Packs that cover gadgets, home appliances, travel and more. Simply add the Features that you want and leave out the ones that you don’t.

Representative Example: Up to £200 – 0% interest pa (variable) Over £200 and up to £5,000 – 19.3% interest pa (variable).

Santander - A simple and straightforward current account that helps make managing your money easy and convenient. A free arranged overdraft, overdraft matching service, dedicated Switcher Service.

Representative example: 0% EAR (variable) arranged overdraft. No Daily arranged overdraft fee for the first 4 months. Then £1 per day capped at 20 days for each monthly statement period applies thereafter. Assumed arranged overdraft credit limit: £1,200. Actual amount may differ.

HSBC - Easy switching, handy extras. Get all the benefits you’d expect from a bank account and more, including access to one of our highest-earning savings accounts.

Representative example(assumed overdraft £1,200): 19.9% EAR variable.

RBS - All the essentials to make everyday banking easy for you.

- Visa debit card- Overdraft- Fraud alerts- Standing orders and Direct Debits- Monthly statements- Emergency cash - if debit card is lost, you can withdraw up to £300 from RBS, Natwest or Ulster Bank cash machine

Natwest - Save money on the things you may already spend on. European travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, five music downloads every month from hmvdigital, three DVD rentals and up to 2 hours online streaming every month from LOVEFiLM. Get access to these benefits for just £8 per month.

Bank Accounts - Benefits

08

uSwitch is a free, impartial online and telephone comparison and switching service that helps you to compare prices on a range of products and services.

They can help you save money on gas, electricity, heating cover, insurance etc. By working closely with other suppliers from these services they can make the switching process as convenient as possible for the customer. In some cases they can offer exclusive deals that aren’t available directly from the supplier.

How to switch your gas and electricity?First of all, you’ll need these to begin with:- Your full postcode- Your latest gas and/or electricity bill- Having your annual consumption in kWh will give you the most accurate comparison, but this is not essential.

Next you need to answer some of their questions:1) What is your postcode2 What are your current suppliers and energy use?3) What type of energy plan and how do you want to pay?4) List of suppliers to choose from.5) Few more details about yourself and confirmation of “switch”. Application is sent to your new energy supplier, who will notify your old supplier about switching accounts.6) Pay your final bill to “old supplier”; cancel any direct debits to “old supplier”; take final meter reading for old and new suppliers.

uSwitch

09

Some fraudsters rely on the internet to commit their crimes. Learn about some different types of internet frauds that and how to protect yourself and get safe online.

Online frauds can include:

- Account takeover- Advance fee frauds- Bank card and cheque fraud- Business directory fraud- Business opportunity fraud- Charity donation fraud- Clairvoyant or psychic scams- Click fraud- Domain name scams- Fraud recovery fraud- Government agency scams- Health scams- Holiday fraud- Identity fraud- Inheritance fraud- Internet auction fraud- Internet dialler scam- Land banking scams- Loan scams- Lottery scams- Mass marketing fraud- Miracle health scams- Money muling- Online shopping fraud- Plastic card fraud- Romance scams- Vehicle matching scams- West African or 419 scams- Work from home scams

Types Of Online Fraud

Bank

Card

/Che

que

Charit

y Don

ation

Gover

nmen

t Age

ncy S

cams

Identi

ty

Loan

Scam

s

Online

Shop

ping

Applications FraudThis form of fraud involves using stolen or fake ID such as passports, birth certificates, driving licences etc to open a fraudulent account with an unsuspecting victims’ identity. Criminals can also use information that they have stolen, either through burglaries or the process of dumpster-diving (link to dumpster diving), enough details that they are able to carry out an identity theft. Fake Copy-Cat Web SitesOne recent trend in on-line fraud is the emergence of fake ‘copy-cat’ web sites that take advantage of consumers that are unfamiliar with the Internet or do not know the exact web address of the legitimate company that they wish to visit. The consumer, believing that they are entering their credit details in order to purchase goods from the intended company, are instead unwittingly entering their details into a fraudster’s personal database. He is then able to make use of this information at a later stage, either for his own purposes or to sell on to others interested in perpetrating credit card fraud.

There are many different types of credit card fraud, these vary from where both the card and criminal are present to where the criminal has acquired a card holder’s details and is able to purchase goods fraudulently over the phone or Internet. The Internet and telephone shopping has proved a breeding ground for credit card fraud. The reason for this is not only the anonymity that is made possible through not having to go to the shop in person but through the pressure that retailers have found themselves under to have a quick turn around between the time of an order being placed and the time that it arrives at the customer’s door.

Lost and Stolen Credit CardsIn 2001, thieves stole £114m in the UK through the use of lost and stolen credit cards. Most fraud on lost and stolen credit cards will take place at commercial outlets or Internet and telephone shops prior to the genuine card holder reporting its’ loss. Cards are often stolen during burglaries or pick pocketing in the street and then used almost instantaneously.Mail Non-Receipt Credit Card FraudThis form of fraud had its’ heyday in the early 1990’s peaking in 1991 when it cost the British banking industry £33m alone and represented 20% of total plastic fraud. This represents one of the success stories for those fighting credit card fraud. Since 1991 the banking industry, governments and mail delivery services have combined to try to stamp out mail non-receipt fraud as much as possible.

Different Types Of Credit Card Fraud

10

£In 2001, thieves stole £114m in

the UK through lost and stolen

credit cards. Cards are often

stolen during burglaries or pick

pocketing.

Online banking - make sure you use a proper online banking website so you know your money is safe and make sure your pin is protected. You know a website is safe where there is a padlock symbol next to the web address bar and the URL starts with https://

Bank Statements - always check properly that in a bank statement only you have been spending money and that nobody has forged your account. When throwing away bank statements always shred them.

Cash Machine - when using your card at a ATM machine make sure you keep your pin covered at all times. Also, have a good look at the machine to see if anything’s dodgy. Fake fascia, pin camera or people who are around you.

Email Scams - never believe the email scams you get sent if you receive any, always contact your bank and ask them, you will never get a real email where you will have to give all your bank details as they don’t ask this.

Personal Details - Tips And Advice

Online banking - example of padlock symbol

11

£In 2001, thieves stole £114m in

the UK through lost and stolen

credit cards. Cards are often

stolen during burglaries or pick

pocketing.

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This increase is partly due to the increased number of money advisors in bureaux to see clients on this matter as a result of FIF funding.

In December 2007, the government announced that it would be continuing funding for FIF between 2008-2011, and in May 2008 this commitment was enhanced with additional resources.

The CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers.

As part of the government’s ‘financial inclusion fund’ (FIF), which was first established in 2004, £45 million was set aside for 2006-2008 to expand the capacity of the advice sector to deliver face to face debt advice. This support is targeted in particular at financially excluded clients. Over 82,000 clients have had appointments with money advisors as part of this service between May 2006 and March 2008.

Citizens Advice successfully bid to lead 10 of the projects in England and Wales. It has meant that it has enabled the employment of an additional 350 money advisors, working in many of the most deprived communities. In 2007, debt enquiries to CAB in England and Wales hit a record high, increasing by 20% from the previous year to a total 1.7 million. The number of debt problems brought to the bureau has doubled in the last 10 years.

Debt is now the number one issue advised on in bureaux, accounting for 1 in 3 of all enquiries, and the CAB network is the largest single provider of free, independent and expert debt advice in the UK.

Citizens Advice Bureau

13

Southend Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)For information and help with finances1 Church Road, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2AL01702 610 61010am - 4pm Monday to Fridaywww.southendcab.org.uk

Consumer Credit Counselling ServiceUK’s leading Debt Advice Charity, Free Debt Advice & Solutions0800 138 1111www.cccs.co.uk

uSwitchCompare prices of gas, electricity and insurance providers and receive help with easy switching of the best deals0800 051 54938am - 9pm Monday to Thursday8am - 6pm Friday9am - 5pm Saturday10am - 4pm Sundaywww.uswitch.com

DirectGovOfficial UK government website for citizens who need help with benefits and finance/budgetingwww.direct.gov.uk

Money Saving ExpertWebsite helping you to save money on anything and everything by finding the best dealswww.moneysavingexpert.com

Index - Useful Contacts

This booklet has been funded by Youth In Action, designed and collated by the Southend Priorities Project at Southend YMCA.

CreditsEditorial: Southchurch Vocational College StudentsDesign: David Cheung

An online, downloadable version of this booklet is available with extra content at: www.southendymca.org.uk

Southend YMCANewlands, 85 Ambleside Drive, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2FYTel: 01702 301301