11/01/2014 Your Money

Kermode. Now on BBC News, it's time for this

week's Your Money. Hello and welcome to Your Money,

your weekly guide to making the most of your cash here every weekend on

BBC News television and available all week on the BBC iPlayer.

Fixing the flood damage. The man from Direct Line is here to tell us

how to claim on your insurance and how quickly they will deal with it.

The cost of gambling. We'll hear from people who got help

when it became too much. The cost of Christmas. How to save

money by moving your debts around. One fact today that shows just how

big the risk of flooding still is. The River Thames is carrying ten

times the normal amount of water. The insurance industry has not told

us yet how much these New Year floods might cost, but consultants

say it will be worse than the 2007 floods. If you've been flooded,

you'll know just how damaging it is. It costs ?40,000 to repair a typical

home and get it warm and dry again. Darran Hull is Property Insurance

Adviser at Direct Line. Some practical stuff first. If

people have been flooded, what should they do?

They should contact their insurance company and register the claim and

get practical advice. What about repairs? Are you able to

get in touch with someone you know to come and fix things that really

do need to be fixed right away? We would advise not to put yourself at

risk because we are talking about flooded homes. Any temporary

repairs, we would be looking to have a contractor come out, and a claims

advisor. Alternative accommodation might be needed.

Some homeowners might want to get on with it appears right away rather

than wait for you and your associates to turn up? It depends on

the severity of it. If we are talking about high levels of water

into the property, our customers are best leaving it to our experts to

start that initial drying out. Alternative accommodation, you fix

it or does the homeowner arrange it? We would do that, thought the

customer might have local arrangements? Does the clean start

with the phone call, or do you have to write? When the customer makes a

phone call, they will know immediately how their claim will be

handled. A claims advisor will be appointed in the event of a large

claim. How much detail to the need for that initial call? If you have

just been flooded, and you are in a panic, you might not have the full

details of just how badly you have been affected? They need to do is

register that claim. We have experienced advisers who can guide

the customer. They need the advice we give them. Should they take

photographs of the damage to mark absolutely, that will help the

claims advisor when they come out to see what the extent of the flooding

was. How long will it take insurance companies to deal with this? When

Hull was flooded a few years back, people were still out of their homes

a year later. The most important thing is to register the claim as

soon as you can so looking at the claim moving. But how long does it

take you to fix it? It will take some time to dry out the property.

This is what we will educate customers on, how long it will take

to dry the property before we can effect repairs. But they will

obviously pay for alternative accommodation whilst they are not in

their home. Thank you for joining us.

If you only remember one thing today, remember this. If you have to

fill up a tax form, you have only got until the end of this month,

31st January, to fill the form up online and pay the bill. There are

automatic fines if you miss the deadline unless you've got a

reasonable excuse. The goldfish ate it doesn't count as a reasonable

excuse. If you are late, you could be fined even if you don't actually

owe any tax. It's up to you to check if you have to send in a form.

Remember, if you get child benefit and one of you earns more than

?50,000 a year, you have to fill up a self-assessment form too.

The last of the big six energy firms has finally cut its prices. Npower

will cut bills at the end of February. By 2.5%. You'll remember

when bills went up last December they rose by more than 10%. If

you're on a dual-fuel bill, you will get an average cut of 38 quid.

Customers on fixed prices will get the price cut too. Only three of the

big six have cut prices for their fixed rate customers. All npower

electricity customers will also get a ?12 rebate, but not until the

autumn. No win, no fee say the lawyers. Yet

some of them still charge when you don't win. The Legal Ombudsman says

it dealt with around 600 cases last year where lawyers wrongly billed

clients for significant and unexpected costs. As a result, it

ordered firms to pay almost ?1 million in compensation. If you need

to complain about your lawyer, the Legal Ombudsman website tells you

how to do it. Car insurance bills could fall

because the Government is putting driving licences online. It means we

will not need the paper bit of the licences after 2015. But it also

means insurance companies will be able to check our licences and see

our traffic offences when they give us a quote.

Fancy a flutter? Like playing the odds? We're spending more and more

on gambling. Some, however, are spending more than they can afford

or control. Here's Kevin Peachey. It can be easy to get in a spin with

gambling. Find us a bit of financial fun become an expensive excess? It

is just so simple. 44-year-old Justyn Larcombe was a compulsive

gambler with a lot to lose. I had a lovely house, I had a Porsche, my

wife had a Mercedes, we have lovely holidays, two young children.

Everything we wanted. It did not take long for it all to be gambled

away. I lost my house, over three quarters of ?1 million, and the

trust of my wife and my children. I will never be able to have another

bet again, not even a lottery ticket. That leaves him in a

minority. The National lottery has made

betting a mainstream pastime. Slightly more men than women gamble.

A typical household spends... That figure is rising and is more than be

spent on going to the cinema, theatre and museums combine. You do

not have to go to a casino to place a bet any more. You can gamble

online at any time. Technology has contributed to one in 20 young men

facing the risk of an addiction. They are comfortable with the

technology but do not understand the risks. All the big companies will

have a responsible gambling page on their website, so go there and read

it and find out how to set time and spending limits. There are also ways

you can exclude yourself from websites.

Should the industry do more, especially when they see numbers

face to face? A good shop will now its customers and will see when

someone is getting out of control. Measures are in place now and we are

introducing a new code to set even higher standards.

If you are tempted, experts say it is vital to carefully consider what

is at stake. Free money. There, that got your

attention, didn't it? This isn't so much free as getting back money that

should never have been taken from you. Seven million people are to get

refunds and compensation for buying insurance they didn't need or

already had for their banks and credit cards. The insurance was sold

by the financial company CPP, which operated through 12 high street

banks and card companies. Policyholders should receive between

?100 and ?300 each. If you are thinking, is that me? Am I entitled

to this? It's for insurance that was bought or renewed since 14 January

2005. These are the products that are

covered. If you have got a big debt on your

credit card after Christmas, one way to save money is to switch it over

to a cheaper credit card. It's called a balance transfer.

James Daley is a personal finance expert.

What deals are out there? The good news is that at the moment we have

the best credit card deals we have ever seen. You can get 0% interest

on balance transfer for up to 30 months, and that is before you have

to pay a penny in interest. But there will be a fee, a balance

transfer fee. But there is competition on those as well.

Typically between 2.5 and 3%. But you can even pay as little as .05%.

But that is not necessarily the total cost? You have to watch out

that you set up an direct debit as soon as you get that card. If you

miss a single payment, you will miss all the benefit of the balance

transfer. And back charges? Yes, you have to be really careful. Keep up

with all those interest payments. Do you always get the rate that is

advertised? For some people, absolutely not. The credit card

company does not have to give the deal advertised, it is only to 51%

of people who apply that have to be given that deal. Then you get to the

end of the deal, the balance transfer deal, the rate can go up.

There were people who had debt and moved it from credit card to credit

card and did not pay it back. Is there a risk to your credit rating

if you do that? Not necessarily. You are waiting to get from one deal to

another and you have only got one credit card at a time and that is a

responsible person. News and information on borrowing and

spending is online. You are watching BBC News, the

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