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No pay day for
high interest lenders
LIVERPOOL City Council has awarded £1 million
to a consortium of 7 Credit Unions to help more than 20,000 families
and hundreds of small businesses. The aim is to prevent people
taking out unaffordable credit at extortionate interest rates,
running the risk of falling prey to illegal loan sharks. It is
known that some companies offer loans, with rates of up to 16,000%,
driving people even further into poverty.
It is estimated that over a 3 year period the scheme will:-
Support 23,214 individuals
Assist 620 companies and 40 emerging businesses
Lever in £2.15 million of additional investment
Safeguard140 private sector jobs
It is estimated that the £1
million investment will lead to around £3 million of money being
lent. This is because the Credit Unions will be able to recycle the
money once loans start to be repaid. A total of 12,557 loans are
expected to be made.
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Paul Brant, said:- “This is a
pioneering initiative which will help and support the most
vulnerable in our community who are being hit by a triple whammy of
rising unemployment, increased costs for food and fuel and cuts in
welfare benefits.
The banks have also toughened up their lending criteria and this
means many people and small businesses are unable to get affordable
credit.
All of this means that the temptation to go to a loan shark or pay
day lender is higher than ever, and people are increasingly
resorting to them out of desperation.
We want to provide a support route for vulnerable people to help
them out of crisis and get their finances back on an even keel.
I am delighted that seven of the City’s Credit Unions have come
together to put together a bid for this funding.
They are based in the heart of communities and so are well placed to
provide funds and advice to those who are most in need.
They are going to be making a massive difference to people’s lives
and will prevent some on the breadline from going under.”
The 7 Credit Unions are:- Riverside Credit Union
Enterprise Credit Union
Knowsley Mutual Credit Union
Partners Credit Union
Lodge Lane Credit Union
Central Liverpool Credit Union
Norris Green Credit Union
David Buttle, Chair of the
Merseyside Chapter of Credit Unions, said:- “We are pleased to
be working with Liverpool City Council on this initiative.
These are difficult times and we are finding that people who have
never, ever needed to borrow money before are having to do so
because their personal circumstances have changed, for example
through loss of employment.
This is a real boost for the Credit Union sector in the city and we
will be able to reinvest the money we get back in repayments into
making further loans."
Research carried out by the regional illegal Money Lending Team;
which Liverpool Trading Standards works with; have found that:-
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Illegal moneylenders are widespread and operate in areas that have a
high proportion of rented accommodation and target the most
vulnerable members of society
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Moneylenders vary from those who lend £10 over a few days and demand
£12 on repayment to those who provide substantial loans to those
looking to set up businesses
►
The majority of people using moneylenders are in receipt of income
support or benefits and are introduced through word of mouth
►
Moneylenders resort to intimidation and violence in order to secure
payment. Other common traits include adding indiscriminate charges,
targeting single mothers and introducing payment through sexual
favours
►
Moneylenders often use victims of money lending to assist them with
maintaining their criminal lifestyle and anonymity, for example
illegal money lenders’ vehicles are often registered at a clients’
address
►
There is also anecdotal evidence which suggests that illegal
moneylenders have an impact on the wider community in which they
operate with victims resorting to petty crime to enable them to meet
payments
An example of this can be found when looking at
Sarah Cowan who had secured £1,500 from Riverside Credit Union in 2005 to
set up an out of school club providing breakfast, after school and
holiday care for children at Hunts Cross Primary School.
‘Out of School Kids Club UK Ltd’ has grown and recently
expanded in to Much Woolton Catholic Primary School.
She employs nine staff looking after 150 children, and recently took
out another loan from the Credit Union when expanding the business
in April.
Sarah said:- “The terms offered by a Credit Union are much
more flexible and favourable than those offered by the banks. It is
also a lot easier to arrange than going in to see the branch
manager.” |
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Direct sellers
offered chance to settle tax bills
PEOPLE selling directly to customers and who
haven’t paid all the tax they owe have been offered the opportunity
to come forward and pay up under an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
campaign. Under the time limited opportunity, direct sellers, often
called:- “agents”, “consultants”,
“representatives” or “distributors”, can pay
the tax they owe and benefit from lower penalties available to those
who come forward, rather than wait for HMRC to catch up with them.
Direct selling involves selling directly to customers without the
need for a shop. Selling can involve demonstrating a product in a
customer’s home, sometimes at a party, while some agents sell door
to door, often using catalogues. Direct sellers take commission on
the sales they make.
Marian Wilson, head of HMRC Campaigns, said:- “If you are
involved in direct selling and have not told HMRC about all of your
income, you may not be paying the right amount of tax. The Direct
Selling campaign is an opportunity for you to bring your tax affairs
up to date, on the best possible terms.”
Direct sellers are generally considered to be self-employed. This
means they are responsible for telling HMRC about what they earn and
for calculating and paying their own tax. For information on the
responsibilities of being a self employed direct seller, people can
visit:-
bit.ly/Pe2ROG and also watch a
YouTube video:-
bit.ly/PtpzVO
To take part in the campaign, direct sellers should tell HMRC about
the tax due and make arrangements to pay any tax, interest and
penalties owed by 28 February 2013.
How do they do this? From 26 September 2012, by completing a
disclosure form
online.
For further help and support about the campaign, direct sellers can
phone:- 0845 602 3353, where a dedicated team is available to give
information.
Nearly £510 million has been raised by HMRC from
campaigns, and a further £120 million from follow-up activity.
Campaigns launched so far have targeted offshore investments,
medical professionals, plumbers, VAT defaulters, coaches and tutors,
electricians and online traders.
HOW STUDENTS ARE PLANNING TO REDUCE
POTENTIAL £53,400 GRADUATION DEBT AND LEAVE UNIVERSITY JOB READY
AS the 2012 intake of university students
faced a potential graduation debt of over £50,000, according to the
NUS, the Avon Student Jobs Survey 2012, has now been released and it
shows that 80% of students expect to work, with a quarter (25%)
concerned about juggling jobs and university work.
80% of the 1,000 students surveyed, aged 18 to 24, across the UK,
added that they are worried that if they don’t have relevant work
experience on their CV, graduate job employers will look
unfavourably on them. Student’s needs for flexible working, which
also allow them to CV build, is leading students to look at less
traditional jobs, such as direct-selling, although the survey does
show that bars and restaurants are still top choice amongst
students.
Says Angela Tucker, Head of Recruitment and Sales at Avon, which has
6 million self-employed home selling Sales Representatives across
the world:- “We have seen students enjoy self-employment
throughout our 54 years in the UK, but there is definitely a rise in
interest amongst students to join organisations like ours which
enable you to run your own business, set your own financial targets,
and demonstrate skills which ultimately help employability; being a
business owner at 18 and juggling a degree with your own enterprise
is very attractive to HR departments.”
Says Rebekah Testar, Senior Executive Sales leader from
Leicestershire, with a team exceeding 2,300 Avon Representatives
across the UK:- “Over the coming months I expect to see around
1500 applicants looking to join the Avon network and about 40% of
those are likely to be students wanting to earn extra money to help
with university costs; whilst building up their business experience.
Students are drawn to the flexibility Avon offers, and find it easy
and exciting to start their business with an initial cost of just
£15!”
AVON STUDENT JOBS SURVEY 2012 - KEY
FINDINGS:-
► 80% of students already have, or will
look for part time work whilst studying for their degree
► Almost a quarter of students are
ensuring their part-time work builds up skills on their CV and rate
CV building over potential earnings
► Over 50% rated flexibility as the top
criteria for choosing a part-time job over potential earnings during
University
► 64% of students believe that if they
work for more than 15 hours a week their studies will suffer
► 83% of students are already concerned
about getting a job after graduating with the anxiety increasing
each year they spend at University
► 80% of students are worried that if they
don’t have relevant experience on their CV, graduate jobs employers
will look unfavourably on them
► More people worked during their gap year
for experience than to earn money
► 75% of students agree that gaining
experience on your CV is more important than going travelling in
your gap year
► 25% students find it hard to juggle
part-time work with studying commitments
► 50% students would consider setting up
their own business in order to pursue the career of their choice
instead of seeking work with an employern |
