:00:10. > :00:13.On television, on iPlayer, on catch`up, on demand,
:00:14. > :00:16.it's your weekly guide to making the most of your cash.
:00:17. > :00:20.Fees release me ` the broadband companies that charge
:00:21. > :00:27.We'll find out if you can avoid the exit charges.
:00:28. > :00:30.The higher costs of everyday life if you have a disability `
:00:31. > :00:34.we'll see one attempt to keep those costs down.
:00:35. > :00:37.And doing what they say on the tin ` what it means
:00:38. > :00:53.If a company provides a shoddy service, you'd think you
:00:54. > :00:58.But, for some broadband companies, not only do you have to pay
:00:59. > :01:01.for the bad service, they also make you pay an extra charge
:01:02. > :01:05.And they call in the heavies if you don't pay.
:01:06. > :01:07.Citizens Advice says the average cost of getting out of
:01:08. > :01:10.a broadband contract was ?190, but it found some cases where customers
:01:11. > :01:13.It had 3,000 complaints about internet and broadband
:01:14. > :01:17.from customers in Wales and England last year.
:01:18. > :01:19.Nearly one`quarter of them were complaints
:01:20. > :01:24.Just under one`fifth of complaints were about how
:01:25. > :01:30.the companies handle complaints themselves and put them right.
:01:31. > :01:33.Around three in 20 complaints were about the cost of the service
:01:34. > :01:42.Laura Bunt is head of policy at Citizens Advice.
:01:43. > :01:48.It might stagger some people that if a service is not up to scratch you
:01:49. > :01:53.have to pay more to get rid of it. We will come to that in a second.
:01:54. > :01:56.When our company is allowed to impose extra charges, and how do we
:01:57. > :02:02.know in advance that we will be clobbered by them? Consumers should
:02:03. > :02:04.not be being punished for switching from poor broadband service, or when
:02:05. > :02:10.they have experienced persistent faults with their service. We have
:02:11. > :02:14.seen too many examples of people being hit by cancellation fees when
:02:15. > :02:18.we have dealt with consistent issues. A woman saw us who was hit
:02:19. > :02:22.with eight B even though it was not in terms and conditions that she
:02:23. > :02:25.would be asked to pay a fee but her service was so poor that she was
:02:26. > :02:34.having to a local Internet cafe, and paid for that service, rather than
:02:35. > :02:37.rely on what she had at home. So anally broadband company and paying
:02:38. > :02:43.someone else as well? You mentioned terms and conditions, is it always
:02:44. > :02:48.in the contract that you will have to do maybe things? People should
:02:49. > :02:53.always check terms and conditions, and if you are experiencing problems
:02:54. > :02:56.with your Internet service you should tell the provider as soon as
:02:57. > :03:02.possible so we can try and resolve it. Make sure you keep a record of
:03:03. > :03:05.where the issues have occurred and when you have spoken to the buy .com
:03:06. > :03:10.and check your terms and conditions to make sure they are not in breach
:03:11. > :03:15.of contract. Trying to work out whether there is some advance
:03:16. > :03:19.warning that you might face these charges, or whether the company
:03:20. > :03:24.could argue, you signed up to it, it was there in advance, and you can
:03:25. > :03:28.complain about it now but your signature is on the contract, so
:03:29. > :03:33.top. A good broadband service should be one that works for you, so you
:03:34. > :03:38.need to ensure you are getting the service you expect, check with your
:03:39. > :03:41.neighbours, shop around, make sure you are getting what was advertised
:03:42. > :03:48.in terms of the quoted speed and service that you receive. You
:03:49. > :03:51.mentioned the important steps of, if you do complain, keep a record,
:03:52. > :03:55.write everything down, because that information, you don't know when it
:03:56. > :03:59.will come in useful and it is important it is written down at the
:04:00. > :04:04.time so it has a per Rafferty. What happens if the companies take this
:04:05. > :04:08.to extremes and it is passed to a debt collector because you have
:04:09. > :04:12.fused to pay this charge? Cancellation fees can be really
:04:13. > :04:16.difficult, because it can turn into a shop that, and for many people who
:04:17. > :04:20.are trying to manage with stretched budgets that can be challenging, it
:04:21. > :04:25.can be difficult to pay immediately. If you are hit with a fee, or if you
:04:26. > :04:29.are struggling to pay immediately, come and talk to Citizens Advice, we
:04:30. > :04:34.might be able to negotiate with the supplier on your behalf or work with
:04:35. > :04:38.you to sort out a repayment plan. Thank you very much for joining us.
:04:39. > :04:42.Government figures this week showed more than 27,000 people in England
:04:43. > :04:45.and Wales became insolvent in April, May, and June this year.
:04:46. > :04:47.If you are struggling to pay your debts,
:04:48. > :04:50.One, don't ignore it ` it won't just go away.
:04:51. > :04:53.Two, you don't have to pay to get debt advice.
:04:54. > :04:59.Several charities will help you sort out your finances free of charge.
:05:00. > :05:02.Ernie has just given us another chance to become a millionaire.
:05:03. > :05:04.The Premium Bonds have brought back the second million`pound
:05:05. > :05:08.The odds of winning reckoned to be 40 billion to one.
:05:09. > :05:12.But if you don't win, you still keep your money, and you're still
:05:13. > :05:17.And, important for working mums and dads, and for low paid workers,
:05:18. > :05:19.you've got more time to renew your tax credits, if you need it.
:05:20. > :05:22.The deadline for many was the 31st July.
:05:23. > :05:25.That has been pushed back to 6th August because of a strike.
:05:26. > :05:28.If you don't renew your tax credits in time,
:05:29. > :05:35.If you have a disability, just living
:05:36. > :05:38.Chances are you'll pay more for everything
:05:39. > :05:44.That's what a new commission is trying to find out.
:05:45. > :06:00.Gene has a syndrome which causes her joints to dislocate regularly. The
:06:01. > :06:03.most mundane tasks in the kitchen and around the house can be tiring
:06:04. > :06:10.and painful. She says dealing with the condition takes a big chunk of
:06:11. > :06:16.her income, too. I have two by the ergonomic seating for my wheelchair,
:06:17. > :06:21.which was ?90. I was given a box standard rigid walking frame, but
:06:22. > :06:25.there is no way to store it in my flat so I had to go and purchase a
:06:26. > :06:31.folding walking frame, which was ?35. When I need it risks rents, I
:06:32. > :06:34.had to buy them. I have been told I need specialist knives to prepare
:06:35. > :06:39.food in the kitchen more easily and more safely, they are ?25 per
:06:40. > :06:46.blade. We never seem to have the money to be able to buy them.
:06:47. > :06:53.Specialist items can really mount up in cost. The charity Scope says
:06:54. > :06:57.disabled people face a living cost previa of about ?550 per month.
:06:58. > :07:01.About two thirds of that is covered by the main benefit and welfare
:07:02. > :07:06.system, but what about the rest? That is a question posed to this man
:07:07. > :07:09.who, after 30 years in the financial services industry, is chairing a
:07:10. > :07:15.commission investigating the extra cost of disability. I want to
:07:16. > :07:18.achieve three broad objectives. First of all, highlight the size and
:07:19. > :07:22.attractiveness of serving the disabled sector with additional
:07:23. > :07:28.goods and services, and provide greater competition. Secondly, we
:07:29. > :07:32.want to expose the extent of bad practice, where unscrupulous
:07:33. > :07:35.companies charge disabled people more for the same goods and
:07:36. > :07:41.services. Thirdly, we want to harness the power of the purple
:07:42. > :07:46.pound and help disabled people the consumers. Many disabled people say
:07:47. > :07:50.sappy shopping does not bring down high insurance premiums, but the
:07:51. > :07:54.industry insists it is fully open for business. I think insurers are
:07:55. > :07:57.always looking to improve the service they offer to all of their
:07:58. > :08:01.customers are always looking to develop products to meet people with
:08:02. > :08:07.particular needs, for examples insurers may have different
:08:08. > :08:12.disability groups, some are able to offer low`cost contents insurance to
:08:13. > :08:15.people in social housing, and insurers are always looking to
:08:16. > :08:20.develop products to meet different people's needs. They are there to
:08:21. > :08:28.include customers, not exclude sectors of society. Jean just wants
:08:29. > :08:31.to ensure companies compete for her custom to make her financial outlook
:08:32. > :08:46.more comfortable, because she knows that, physically, life will continue
:08:47. > :08:50.to be tough. If you are buying a new boiler or redoing a bathroom, you
:08:51. > :08:53.will look for the kitemark which means that an item has been checked
:08:54. > :08:58.and assessed and meets the high standards of the British standards
:08:59. > :09:01.institution. Now, it will be used on savings accounts and insurance plans
:09:02. > :09:08.that are easy to understand and do what they say on the tin. Carol
:09:09. > :09:13.Sergeant run a government backed review of products, which came up
:09:14. > :09:16.with the idea of the kitemark. Your review was pretty straightforward
:09:17. > :09:19.and has said a lot of policies are too confusing and it is not clear
:09:20. > :09:25.what they are charging and consumers need a bit of help in navigating
:09:26. > :09:28.finding the best one for them? Yes, we found that consumers found that
:09:29. > :09:31.products are complicated and the market is competitive, and they did
:09:32. > :09:37.not have enough trust and confidence in them, so the proposition was to
:09:38. > :09:41.produce simple, straightforward products which literally do what
:09:42. > :09:45.they said on the tin, no frills, no gimmicks, no nasty surprises, but
:09:46. > :09:49.then reassure customers that they really do deliver that by having
:09:50. > :09:54.them certified and kitemark by the British standards institution. So if
:09:55. > :09:59.you see the kitemark on the brochure or in the advertising literature,
:10:00. > :10:02.what does it tell you? It is telling you that product meets the standards
:10:03. > :10:08.that we set out in that review, that there are no unfortunate bells and
:10:09. > :10:11.whistles, that there are no hidden charges, that it is all very
:10:12. > :10:15.straightforward, that you will get exactly what you think you are
:10:16. > :10:18.paying for, and that that has actually been investigated by the
:10:19. > :10:22.British standards Institute to award the kitemark in the first place, but
:10:23. > :10:28.then they do ongoing monitoring of quite a rigorous nature. They don't
:10:29. > :10:32.hand these things out to anybody? They certainly don't, they have been
:10:33. > :10:36.around for over 100 years and will not risk their reputation by putting
:10:37. > :10:42.their kitemark on something that does not deliver. To be clear of
:10:43. > :10:45.what it is not doing, it is not giving you a financial
:10:46. > :10:49.recommendation, it is not advice? It is not telling you that this is the
:10:50. > :10:54.best return all the lowest fee? It deliberately does not put the price
:10:55. > :10:58.cap on the product because we want healthy competition and previous
:10:59. > :11:03.initiatives with price caps simply didn't work, but it does require the
:11:04. > :11:08.price to be entirely straightforward, with no hidden
:11:09. > :11:11.tricks, no bells, no unreasonable charges, no nasty surprises, so you
:11:12. > :11:17.can see exactly what you are going to pay, and that is it. Is this
:11:18. > :11:23.about changing the behaviour of the banks and financial companies? It is
:11:24. > :11:27.a mixture of two things. It is about helping to deal with the fact that a
:11:28. > :11:31.significant part of our population is under provided in terms of rainy
:11:32. > :11:37.day savings, the stuff that gets you through life, and in terms of
:11:38. > :11:40.insurance, so only a very small proportion of people with dependents
:11:41. > :11:45.have insurance at the moment. If they can be made more confident in
:11:46. > :11:49.products, if the product can be made more straightforward to buy and to
:11:50. > :11:53.manage, so that you don't have to worry about whether the terms are
:11:54. > :11:56.going to change and so on, and you can easily get out of the product if
:11:57. > :12:00.you change of mind, we think more people will buy them. At the
:12:01. > :12:04.challenge now is for the rest of the industry to come up and start
:12:05. > :12:10.offering their customers these very, very straightforward, totally
:12:11. > :12:22.trustworthy kitemark product so we can get some good competition. And
:12:23. > :12:26.have they bought into this? The report was one that involved the
:12:27. > :12:30.collaboration of charities, consumer groups, the industry with the
:12:31. > :12:36.regulated government observers. They all signed up to the report. As a
:12:37. > :12:40.good idea, Barclay's have gone ahead and have done the first product. The
:12:41. > :12:44.challenge has now been laid down to the rest of the industry, were you
:12:45. > :12:50.and why you not offering your customers straightforward products.
:12:51. > :12:56.Thank you for coming in today. That is all for today. You can keep
:12:57. > :13:00.up`to`date on our website on the page now.