So the Chancellors done his worst and increased National Savings, VAT and more- at least until after the next election! And theres not a lot we can do about it - or is there?
Here at moneymaxim we are seeing customers make real and substantial changes in their outgoings through a few small changes - check out our Beat the Budget article on our website today, and see where our customers are saving most. We have a growing number of customers in our £1000 savers club - could you be the next!
Finally remember a pound not spent is worth a lot more than a pound earned - especially with National Insurance rates rising!
Thursday 10 December 2009
Monday 7 December 2009
British Gas lead prices down - will others follow?
After a period of relative calm on the energy price front British Gas has revised its Websaver product resulting in it being the price leader in almost half the countries distribution areas. Good news for customers at this stage of the winter, as those moving now will get the reduction during the coldest time of the year.
However is this a cynical move on the day Ofgem tasked the energy companies with reducing prices to reflect the lower prices they have been paying for wholesale fuel recently? Well the tariff does have pretty high cancellation fees at £30 a fuel if you want to cancel - although these only apply until June, whilst the discounts last until February 2011. And whilst it is cheaper in some areas it in not that competitive in others. But overall we feel its a step in the right direction, and further evidence that the lumbering giant of the energy world has woken up to the fact that it does need to be competitive on price as well as relying on its brand!
Will others move down too? Ofgem demanded action in the New Year, and it would not surprise us if others dug their heels in until February, well knowing that by then the biggest energy spend of the year has been done, and any reductions will have far less impact on our pockets - and their income!
We suggest looking now at the savings on offer and move now if you want to maximise your winter savings. Check now on our energy calculator pages
However is this a cynical move on the day Ofgem tasked the energy companies with reducing prices to reflect the lower prices they have been paying for wholesale fuel recently? Well the tariff does have pretty high cancellation fees at £30 a fuel if you want to cancel - although these only apply until June, whilst the discounts last until February 2011. And whilst it is cheaper in some areas it in not that competitive in others. But overall we feel its a step in the right direction, and further evidence that the lumbering giant of the energy world has woken up to the fact that it does need to be competitive on price as well as relying on its brand!
Will others move down too? Ofgem demanded action in the New Year, and it would not surprise us if others dug their heels in until February, well knowing that by then the biggest energy spend of the year has been done, and any reductions will have far less impact on our pockets - and their income!
We suggest looking now at the savings on offer and move now if you want to maximise your winter savings. Check now on our energy calculator pages
Wednesday 2 December 2009
Ryanair card fees - change for the better or another moneymaking scam!
So Michael O'Learys latest move is to ditch Electron cards in favour of Prepaid Mastercard Credit Cards as the only fee free way to pay for flights on Ryanair - is this a good move for the consumer or just a way of increasing the companies income at a time of economic hardship?
On the face of it there is little to applaud in the move.
Giving a months notice does let those who are aware of Ryanairs plans time to apply for an alternative card, but there will be many who won't take action quickly enough, especially at Christmas - and as a third of Ryanairs 60 million tickets are currently bought using Electron I am pretty sure that Ryanairs income from this area will rise in the early months of 2010.
Then there is the lack of consumer protection - Prepaid cards basically offer the same protection when buying something as cash - none - so consumers will loose the ability to look to their card provider if the airline fails (and unlike bank accounts these cards are not part of the depositors protection schemes).
Then there are the under 18s - cardholders need to be 18 to hold a Prepaid mastercard.
Then there are fees - even our recommended card - the CaxtonFX Global Traveller charges £1.50 for a UK transaction (although unlike the next best ICE card does not charge a 2% loading fee). The CaxtonFX card also has no annual fees, or application costs. For our full article please read our 'Beat the Ryanair surcharge article' in moneymaxim articles section.
Also the minimum amount you can credit a card is £100, which means you may well be left with a surplus balance on the card earning no interest.
So is there an upside?
The only ones we can think of is that the personal checks carried out before a card is issued looks more at anti fraud than credit rating, the cards are easy to get hold of, and the card is a reasonable back up when abroad (but not as good as a prepaid card in Euros or US dollars if thats where you are travelling to)..buts thats pretty small consolation. (See our travel money abroad article for more details)
However they are certainly a better option that paying Ryanair £10 per round trip ticket, and as part of the O'Leary strategy is probably to make us wonder if its just easier to pay them the fee....
That makes it worth it on its own - and we are applying for ours today!
CaxtonFX Prepaid Mastercard
On the face of it there is little to applaud in the move.
Giving a months notice does let those who are aware of Ryanairs plans time to apply for an alternative card, but there will be many who won't take action quickly enough, especially at Christmas - and as a third of Ryanairs 60 million tickets are currently bought using Electron I am pretty sure that Ryanairs income from this area will rise in the early months of 2010.
Then there is the lack of consumer protection - Prepaid cards basically offer the same protection when buying something as cash - none - so consumers will loose the ability to look to their card provider if the airline fails (and unlike bank accounts these cards are not part of the depositors protection schemes).
Then there are the under 18s - cardholders need to be 18 to hold a Prepaid mastercard.
Then there are fees - even our recommended card - the CaxtonFX Global Traveller charges £1.50 for a UK transaction (although unlike the next best ICE card does not charge a 2% loading fee). The CaxtonFX card also has no annual fees, or application costs. For our full article please read our 'Beat the Ryanair surcharge article' in moneymaxim articles section.
Also the minimum amount you can credit a card is £100, which means you may well be left with a surplus balance on the card earning no interest.
So is there an upside?
The only ones we can think of is that the personal checks carried out before a card is issued looks more at anti fraud than credit rating, the cards are easy to get hold of, and the card is a reasonable back up when abroad (but not as good as a prepaid card in Euros or US dollars if thats where you are travelling to)..buts thats pretty small consolation. (See our travel money abroad article for more details)
However they are certainly a better option that paying Ryanair £10 per round trip ticket, and as part of the O'Leary strategy is probably to make us wonder if its just easier to pay them the fee....
That makes it worth it on its own - and we are applying for ours today!
CaxtonFX Prepaid Mastercard
Monday 2 November 2009
Great to see National Savings back
Great to see National Savings back at the fore in world of bonds - many traditional savers like the security and reliability of NS&I, especially in the current climate, so its fantastic to them offering the best rate around for one year money.
We are seeing many savers reluctant to tie up their savings for longer periods, not knowing exactly whats around the corner, so I expect this bond to be very attractive. Probably a good idea to get in quick if its one for you!
Read the full moneymaxim article: National Savings back to the fore in short term bonds
We are seeing many savers reluctant to tie up their savings for longer periods, not knowing exactly whats around the corner, so I expect this bond to be very attractive. Probably a good idea to get in quick if its one for you!
Read the full moneymaxim article: National Savings back to the fore in short term bonds
Friday 25 September 2009
Who would want to run an energy company?!?
Must be a hell of a job! The CEO's are all there explaining to OFGEM (their regulator) that they can't possibly reduce the cost of power to UK consumers - when along come a couple of little known companies who promptly undercut them! Puts them in a rather difficult position, and no doubt hurriedly rereading exactly what they did say so it see what manoeuvring room they had left themselves!
Now I do understand that part of their problem is that they have bought a lot of their supplies forward (i.e. committed to a firm price for their raw supplies some time in advance, ensuring that they could predict the cost for both themselves and customers into the future, allowing them to offer capped or fixed tariffs), but it also leaves us consumers thinking - Why stay with my current company when they are more expensive, and they themselves are saying they can't reduce prices further?
Well it is true that the customer service records of first:utility and Ovo, the newest entrants have let to be properly tested (first:utililty have not really been a mass market player until now, and Ovo are brand new), but none of the major power companies are truly outstanding in that respect (the highest overall satisfaction score any of the big players got was 52% in a recent Which? survey). Its also true that both these companies, unless they are buying energy forward at today’s prices might need to increase rates in the coming months, and that in first:utility’s case you really need to stay with them about 13 months to unlock a 15% discount, but other than that if the big energy companies are being truthful about their inability to reduce prices there is little reason to stick with an overpriced deal now.
Perhaps not how the companies intended their message to read but that’s the problem when they have to balance a regulator, a set of demanding shareholders and the poor old customer (who is stuck at the end of the line!)
The average saving moneymaximisers customers are making is steadily increasing as well - about £140 last month to £157 today so it might be a good idea to run your usage through our calculator and see whether you are currently getting the best deal you could.
Now I do understand that part of their problem is that they have bought a lot of their supplies forward (i.e. committed to a firm price for their raw supplies some time in advance, ensuring that they could predict the cost for both themselves and customers into the future, allowing them to offer capped or fixed tariffs), but it also leaves us consumers thinking - Why stay with my current company when they are more expensive, and they themselves are saying they can't reduce prices further?
Well it is true that the customer service records of first:utility and Ovo, the newest entrants have let to be properly tested (first:utililty have not really been a mass market player until now, and Ovo are brand new), but none of the major power companies are truly outstanding in that respect (the highest overall satisfaction score any of the big players got was 52% in a recent Which? survey). Its also true that both these companies, unless they are buying energy forward at today’s prices might need to increase rates in the coming months, and that in first:utility’s case you really need to stay with them about 13 months to unlock a 15% discount, but other than that if the big energy companies are being truthful about their inability to reduce prices there is little reason to stick with an overpriced deal now.
Perhaps not how the companies intended their message to read but that’s the problem when they have to balance a regulator, a set of demanding shareholders and the poor old customer (who is stuck at the end of the line!)
The average saving moneymaximisers customers are making is steadily increasing as well - about £140 last month to £157 today so it might be a good idea to run your usage through our calculator and see whether you are currently getting the best deal you could.
Wednesday 16 September 2009
What we are all about...
Blogging is going to be an important part of moneymaxim - understanding what you - our potential customer base - think and that has been at the centre of how we created moneymaxim - but we want you to tell us what we need to do to make it better still!!
At a really early stage it became clear that you, our potential customer base, were:
1. Tired of signing up to a supplier (bank, insurance company or utility company) only to find the goal posts were constantly changing with interest rates moving, renewal rates being less competitive or great prices were only being offered to new customers. You wanted to be rewarded for loyalty - but the vast majority of big business refused to do just that.
2. You wanted someone you speak to - finding suppliers on the internet has never been easier - but when you want to ask a question - that becomes difficult - go to FAQs - talk to someone who can barely speak English - why not a freephone in the UK!
3. You wanted someone who would keep an eye on things for you - so thats what we will do - when a supplier moves their rates adversely we'll let you know - when a new company launches who undercuts the market we'll let you know
How can we do all this free? Quite easily - we get paid by suppliers when we introduce a new customer to them - so we can pay our staff, run our website and invest in our business - not maybe make the millions that the utilility companies and banks make, but thats not our aim - we want everyone to be a little better off rather than make some people very much richer and a lot of people a little poorer!!
Want to know more - visit us at http://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/ and register with us - or call us on 0800 520 0699 - as I said - we love to talk - and don't hesitate to tell us if you think we should be doing something differently - we would love to hear what you think!
At a really early stage it became clear that you, our potential customer base, were:
1. Tired of signing up to a supplier (bank, insurance company or utility company) only to find the goal posts were constantly changing with interest rates moving, renewal rates being less competitive or great prices were only being offered to new customers. You wanted to be rewarded for loyalty - but the vast majority of big business refused to do just that.
2. You wanted someone you speak to - finding suppliers on the internet has never been easier - but when you want to ask a question - that becomes difficult - go to FAQs - talk to someone who can barely speak English - why not a freephone in the UK!
3. You wanted someone who would keep an eye on things for you - so thats what we will do - when a supplier moves their rates adversely we'll let you know - when a new company launches who undercuts the market we'll let you know
How can we do all this free? Quite easily - we get paid by suppliers when we introduce a new customer to them - so we can pay our staff, run our website and invest in our business - not maybe make the millions that the utilility companies and banks make, but thats not our aim - we want everyone to be a little better off rather than make some people very much richer and a lot of people a little poorer!!
Want to know more - visit us at http://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/ and register with us - or call us on 0800 520 0699 - as I said - we love to talk - and don't hesitate to tell us if you think we should be doing something differently - we would love to hear what you think!
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