:00:00. > :00:15.Kermode. Now on BBC News, it's time for this
:00:16. > :00:18.week's Your Money. Hello and welcome to Your Money,
:00:19. > :00:21.your weekly guide to making the most of your cash here every weekend on
:00:22. > :00:26.BBC News television and available all week on the BBC iPlayer.
:00:27. > :00:29.Fixing the flood damage. The man from Direct Line is here to tell us
:00:30. > :00:34.how to claim on your insurance and how quickly they will deal with it.
:00:35. > :00:38.The cost of gambling. We'll hear from people who got help
:00:39. > :00:44.when it became too much. The cost of Christmas. How to save
:00:45. > :00:48.money by moving your debts around. One fact today that shows just how
:00:49. > :00:55.big the risk of flooding still is. The River Thames is carrying ten
:00:56. > :00:58.times the normal amount of water. The insurance industry has not told
:00:59. > :01:02.us yet how much these New Year floods might cost, but consultants
:01:03. > :01:05.say it will be worse than the 2007 floods. If you've been flooded,
:01:06. > :01:11.you'll know just how damaging it is. It costs ?40,000 to repair a typical
:01:12. > :01:16.home and get it warm and dry again. Darran Hull is Property Insurance
:01:17. > :01:22.Adviser at Direct Line. Some practical stuff first. If
:01:23. > :01:28.people have been flooded, what should they do?
:01:29. > :01:32.They should contact their insurance company and register the claim and
:01:33. > :01:37.get practical advice. What about repairs? Are you able to
:01:38. > :01:42.get in touch with someone you know to come and fix things that really
:01:43. > :01:45.do need to be fixed right away? We would advise not to put yourself at
:01:46. > :01:51.risk because we are talking about flooded homes. Any temporary
:01:52. > :01:59.repairs, we would be looking to have a contractor come out, and a claims
:02:00. > :02:10.advisor. Alternative accommodation might be needed.
:02:11. > :02:13.Some homeowners might want to get on with it appears right away rather
:02:14. > :02:21.than wait for you and your associates to turn up? It depends on
:02:22. > :02:25.the severity of it. If we are talking about high levels of water
:02:26. > :02:30.into the property, our customers are best leaving it to our experts to
:02:31. > :02:39.start that initial drying out. Alternative accommodation, you fix
:02:40. > :02:47.it or does the homeowner arrange it? We would do that, thought the
:02:48. > :02:56.customer might have local arrangements? Does the clean start
:02:57. > :03:02.with the phone call, or do you have to write? When the customer makes a
:03:03. > :03:11.phone call, they will know immediately how their claim will be
:03:12. > :03:15.handled. A claims advisor will be appointed in the event of a large
:03:16. > :03:22.claim. How much detail to the need for that initial call? If you have
:03:23. > :03:26.just been flooded, and you are in a panic, you might not have the full
:03:27. > :03:32.details of just how badly you have been affected? They need to do is
:03:33. > :03:40.register that claim. We have experienced advisers who can guide
:03:41. > :03:46.the customer. They need the advice we give them. Should they take
:03:47. > :03:49.photographs of the damage to mark absolutely, that will help the
:03:50. > :03:55.claims advisor when they come out to see what the extent of the flooding
:03:56. > :04:02.was. How long will it take insurance companies to deal with this? When
:04:03. > :04:05.Hull was flooded a few years back, people were still out of their homes
:04:06. > :04:09.a year later. The most important thing is to register the claim as
:04:10. > :04:17.soon as you can so looking at the claim moving. But how long does it
:04:18. > :04:22.take you to fix it? It will take some time to dry out the property.
:04:23. > :04:27.This is what we will educate customers on, how long it will take
:04:28. > :04:32.to dry the property before we can effect repairs. But they will
:04:33. > :04:35.obviously pay for alternative accommodation whilst they are not in
:04:36. > :04:42.their home. Thank you for joining us.
:04:43. > :04:45.If you only remember one thing today, remember this. If you have to
:04:46. > :04:49.fill up a tax form, you have only got until the end of this month,
:04:50. > :04:52.31st January, to fill the form up online and pay the bill. There are
:04:53. > :04:57.automatic fines if you miss the deadline unless you've got a
:04:58. > :05:00.reasonable excuse. The goldfish ate it doesn't count as a reasonable
:05:01. > :05:04.excuse. If you are late, you could be fined even if you don't actually
:05:05. > :05:08.owe any tax. It's up to you to check if you have to send in a form.
:05:09. > :05:11.Remember, if you get child benefit and one of you earns more than
:05:12. > :05:19.?50,000 a year, you have to fill up a self-assessment form too.
:05:20. > :05:22.The last of the big six energy firms has finally cut its prices. Npower
:05:23. > :05:25.will cut bills at the end of February. By 2.5%. You'll remember
:05:26. > :05:28.when bills went up last December they rose by more than 10%. If
:05:29. > :05:32.you're on a dual-fuel bill, you will get an average cut of 38 quid.
:05:33. > :05:35.Customers on fixed prices will get the price cut too. Only three of the
:05:36. > :05:39.big six have cut prices for their fixed rate customers. All npower
:05:40. > :05:49.electricity customers will also get a ?12 rebate, but not until the
:05:50. > :05:52.autumn. No win, no fee say the lawyers. Yet
:05:53. > :05:58.some of them still charge when you don't win. The Legal Ombudsman says
:05:59. > :06:00.it dealt with around 600 cases last year where lawyers wrongly billed
:06:01. > :06:03.clients for significant and unexpected costs. As a result, it
:06:04. > :06:06.ordered firms to pay almost ?1 million in compensation. If you need
:06:07. > :06:10.to complain about your lawyer, the Legal Ombudsman website tells you
:06:11. > :06:12.how to do it. Car insurance bills could fall
:06:13. > :06:16.because the Government is putting driving licences online. It means we
:06:17. > :06:19.will not need the paper bit of the licences after 2015. But it also
:06:20. > :06:22.means insurance companies will be able to check our licences and see
:06:23. > :06:31.our traffic offences when they give us a quote.
:06:32. > :06:34.Fancy a flutter? Like playing the odds? We're spending more and more
:06:35. > :06:39.on gambling. Some, however, are spending more than they can afford
:06:40. > :06:45.or control. Here's Kevin Peachey. It can be easy to get in a spin with
:06:46. > :06:52.gambling. Find us a bit of financial fun become an expensive excess? It
:06:53. > :06:56.is just so simple. 44-year-old Justyn Larcombe was a compulsive
:06:57. > :07:02.gambler with a lot to lose. I had a lovely house, I had a Porsche, my
:07:03. > :07:12.wife had a Mercedes, we have lovely holidays, two young children.
:07:13. > :07:21.Everything we wanted. It did not take long for it all to be gambled
:07:22. > :07:28.away. I lost my house, over three quarters of ?1 million, and the
:07:29. > :07:31.trust of my wife and my children. I will never be able to have another
:07:32. > :07:35.bet again, not even a lottery ticket. That leaves him in a
:07:36. > :07:39.minority. The National lottery has made
:07:40. > :07:51.betting a mainstream pastime. Slightly more men than women gamble.
:07:52. > :07:54.A typical household spends... That figure is rising and is more than be
:07:55. > :08:00.spent on going to the cinema, theatre and museums combine. You do
:08:01. > :08:12.not have to go to a casino to place a bet any more. You can gamble
:08:13. > :08:17.online at any time. Technology has contributed to one in 20 young men
:08:18. > :08:20.facing the risk of an addiction. They are comfortable with the
:08:21. > :08:26.technology but do not understand the risks. All the big companies will
:08:27. > :08:36.have a responsible gambling page on their website, so go there and read
:08:37. > :08:41.it and find out how to set time and spending limits. There are also ways
:08:42. > :08:44.you can exclude yourself from websites.
:08:45. > :08:52.Should the industry do more, especially when they see numbers
:08:53. > :08:56.face to face? A good shop will now its customers and will see when
:08:57. > :09:03.someone is getting out of control. Measures are in place now and we are
:09:04. > :09:10.introducing a new code to set even higher standards.
:09:11. > :09:17.If you are tempted, experts say it is vital to carefully consider what
:09:18. > :09:20.is at stake. Free money. There, that got your
:09:21. > :09:24.attention, didn't it? This isn't so much free as getting back money that
:09:25. > :09:27.should never have been taken from you. Seven million people are to get
:09:28. > :09:30.refunds and compensation for buying insurance they didn't need or
:09:31. > :09:32.already had for their banks and credit cards. The insurance was sold
:09:33. > :09:35.by the financial company CPP, which operated through 12 high street
:09:36. > :09:42.banks and card companies. Policyholders should receive between
:09:43. > :09:46.?100 and ?300 each. If you are thinking, is that me? Am I entitled
:09:47. > :09:56.to this? It's for insurance that was bought or renewed since 14 January
:09:57. > :09:58.2005. These are the products that are
:09:59. > :10:12.covered. If you have got a big debt on your
:10:13. > :10:16.credit card after Christmas, one way to save money is to switch it over
:10:17. > :10:18.to a cheaper credit card. It's called a balance transfer.
:10:19. > :10:24.James Daley is a personal finance expert.
:10:25. > :10:28.What deals are out there? The good news is that at the moment we have
:10:29. > :10:32.the best credit card deals we have ever seen. You can get 0% interest
:10:33. > :10:39.on balance transfer for up to 30 months, and that is before you have
:10:40. > :10:43.to pay a penny in interest. But there will be a fee, a balance
:10:44. > :10:52.transfer fee. But there is competition on those as well.
:10:53. > :11:01.Typically between 2.5 and 3%. But you can even pay as little as .05%.
:11:02. > :11:08.But that is not necessarily the total cost? You have to watch out
:11:09. > :11:15.that you set up an direct debit as soon as you get that card. If you
:11:16. > :11:25.miss a single payment, you will miss all the benefit of the balance
:11:26. > :11:29.transfer. And back charges? Yes, you have to be really careful. Keep up
:11:30. > :11:42.with all those interest payments. Do you always get the rate that is
:11:43. > :11:46.advertised? For some people, absolutely not. The credit card
:11:47. > :11:56.company does not have to give the deal advertised, it is only to 51%
:11:57. > :12:03.of people who apply that have to be given that deal. Then you get to the
:12:04. > :12:16.end of the deal, the balance transfer deal, the rate can go up.
:12:17. > :12:21.There were people who had debt and moved it from credit card to credit
:12:22. > :12:26.card and did not pay it back. Is there a risk to your credit rating
:12:27. > :12:32.if you do that? Not necessarily. You are waiting to get from one deal to
:12:33. > :12:42.another and you have only got one credit card at a time and that is a
:12:43. > :12:43.responsible person. News and information on borrowing and
:12:44. > :13:14.spending is online. You are watching BBC News, the
:13:15. > :13:16.headlines: Teachers in England