This page is quite old hence its rather spartan appearance.
Why not check out our Latest Stories page for our newest articles or search our site for anything.
By
A couple of years ago, I was described by the financial editor of one national newspaper as "The Grumpy Old Man of Personal Finance." This tickled me, as I was only 36 at the time! However, with the latest series of Grumpy Old Men being shown on BBC2 on Fridays at 10pm, I find myself agreeing with almost every observation that its guests make, so I guess that makes me a trainee Grumpy Old Man (GOM)! Anyway, with my GOM hat planted firmly on my head, here are my pet hates and protests about personal finance: I hate hidden fees Financial advertisers are simple beasts: they lead with all the attractive features in the big print, while consigning all the nasty stuff to small print which can only be read with an electron microscope. Hence, it's absolutely vital to plough through the small print looking for nasties, because, as the old saying goes, "the Devil's in the detail"! Perhaps the greatest fans of hidden fees (and fines) are credit-card issuers. If you don't look beyond the headline promotion, you might miss the following: To find out the real nitty-gritty behind the plastic, be sure to read the Summary Box (also known as the honesty or Schumer box), which lists all financial details and charges. Sick and tired of paying interest on your plastic? Then transfer your balances to a 0% credit card! I hate automated call-handling services When I call a financial firm, I want to speak to a person who actually knows what they're talking about, not a recorded message or a computer programme with dozens of menus and options. I'm the customer, so why should I key in all my details and do all the work? And don't get me started on the infuriating piped music which you hear when you're on hold for what seems like an eternity... grrrr! Fed up with your bank? Find a cracking current account in our Banking centre! I hate the "bait and switch" trick Savings providers love to catch out their customers with the old "bait and switch" trap. You open a top-notch savings account, only for the account to be withdrawn and replaced with a very similar-sounding account a few months later. Then, behind the scenes, the bank or building society starts to cut your rate on the sly, which only comes to your attention months or years down the line. This really pulls my chain, because it often hits the most vulnerable hardest, such as elderly and disabled savers. Fancy earning 5%+ a year on your savings? Off to our Savings centre you go! I hate 0870/1 and 0845 telephone numbers Although 0870/1 numbers are described as being charged at "national rates", and 0845 numbers being labelled as "local rate", they are far more expensive than geographical calls. Indeed, calling an 0870 number at any time can cost up to 10p per minute, so a ten-minute phone call can set you back a pound (0845 calls are priced at around 5p per minute). Hang on for just one second, why should I pay these rip-off rates to contact organisations (and even government agencies)? Rather than fall for the 08xx rip-off, I find substitute geographical numbers at www.saynoto0870.com! Read this article to learn how to get cheap and free calls. I hate exit penalties Financial companies make it oh-so-easy to buy their products, yet it's often fiendishly difficult to get out without paying some kind of penalty or waiting endlessly for your money! One example would be mortgages with "extended redemption penalties", which mean that you are locked in after your special-rate deal has ended and therefore must pay a fee if you wish to switch. Of course, your lender has a right to recoup its losses, but these penalties are frequently higher than your lender's actual loss. If you'd like a happier home loan, then check out the deals in our Mortgage centre! I hate junk mail and unwanted telephone calls I absolutely loathe and detest junk mail, especially the financial variety. According to a report from the Direct Marketing Association, each year, a typical British household gets over eighty mailshots from credit-card issuers alone. Even worse are the unwanted sales calls from people who claim that they "don't want to sell you anything". Get lost and leave me in peace! Want to kill off unwanted calls and mail? Then read these tips! I hate overpriced insurance, especially payment protection insurance (PPI) According to the Association of British Insurers, UK policyholders spent £31.2bn on general (non-life) insurance in 2004, which comes to about £1,250 per household. However, even though there are almost a thousand different authorised insurers competing for our business, many policies are a complete scam. Take, for example, payment protection insurance, which covers your repayments on your credit card, personal loan or mortgage if you are unable to work due to accident, sickness or unemployment. I reckon that we spend around £6 billion a year on this cover, yet get back less than £1 billion in claims. Compare that to motor insurance, where we pay premiums of over £10 billion a year, yet receive a similar amount back in benefits. Hence, it seems abundantly clear that PPI is massively overpriced, and often costs six times as much as a not-for-profit policy would. PS: the following policies also get me seething: extended warranties, home service warranties, home insurance and life insurance sold by mortgage lenders, travel insurance from travel agents and tour operators, and so on. Unhappy with your insurance policies? Then visit our Insurance centre today! I hate having to prove who I am Why is it that financial firms always come out with the same old excuses when they ask us for proof of our identity? It's so annoying to have been a customer of a bank for over a decade and yet still be asked to prove who you are when you want to switch an account or open a new one. When you complain about this red tape, customer service assistants always shrug their shoulders and then blame the Money Laundering Regulations or the Data Protection Act. Aaargh! I hate "get rich quick" schemes If I had a pound for every "double your money" or "get rich quick" scheme that I've seen, I could fill a skip with coins! It's so frustrating that so many people get suckered into the latest property, lottery, shares or other scam, often losing thousands of pounds in the process. The way to view these schemes is this: on average, you could double your money every seven years in the stock market, and we know how risky that can be, right? Any scheme which promises any more than that is either highly risky or entirely bogus, so don't be a mug and fall for these pipe dreams! Look into this cheap, simple, tax-free investment! I hate financial paperwork I subscribe to the "piling, not filing" school of document management, because I just can't bring myself to bring my paper mountain under control. This slapdash approach always comes back to haunt me, especially when I need to lay my hands on some important document, for example, when I need to complete my annual self-assessment tax return. Groan! I hate standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages The standard variable rate is the mortgage rate paid by all borrowers who aren't enjoying a special-rate deal, such as a fixed or discounted rate. Getting on for half of all mortgage borrowers pay their lender's SVR, which is typically about two percentage points a year higher than most Best Buy rates. Hence, someone with a £100,000 interest-only mortgage could be paying extra interest of £2,000 a year by loyally sticking with their existing lender, instead of moving to a better deal. Want to murder your mortgage rate? This fee-free mortgage broker will do all the work for you! I hate the widespread lack of financial education I'm willing to bet that The Motley Fool has done more to advance the public understanding of personal finance than any government initiative has ever done. Millions of people subscribe to our regular emails, which act as a showcase for the best of the Fool's writing. Furthermore, thousands of Fools share their experiences for other people's benefit on our discussion boards. However, we can't hope to reach all of the UK population, so Brits continue to build up personal debts and save almost nothing towards their future. Boo! More: Stop complaining and find better bank accounts, credit cards, insurance, investments, mortgages and savings accounts instead!