:00:11. > :00:14.calls. Hello and welcome to Your Money `
:00:15. > :00:17.your weekly guide to making the most of your cash here every weekend on
:00:18. > :00:21.BBC News television AND available all week on the BBC iPlayer. The
:00:22. > :00:24.service that's supposed to stop unwanted phone calls. You keep
:00:25. > :00:29.telling us it doesn't work. The boss of the Telephone Preference Service
:00:30. > :00:32.is here to defend it. Saving money for the future. It's
:00:33. > :00:37.never too early to start. But what's the best way to do it? The mother of
:00:38. > :00:42.the one on the left finds out. And how can you save if you don't
:00:43. > :00:49.have any money spare at the end of the month? We'll get some tips.
:00:50. > :00:52.PPI. Cheap holidays abroad ` no catch. Shares that are an
:00:53. > :00:57.unbelievable bargain. Investments in diamonds that are yet to be
:00:58. > :01:02.discovered. There's no end to the ways that people try to part us from
:01:03. > :01:06.our money over the phone. If only there was some sort of system we
:01:07. > :01:10.could sign up for that said ` please don't call me, I'm not interested.
:01:11. > :01:14.But there is! It's the Telephone Preference Service. I've signed up
:01:15. > :01:17.for it. You've signed up for it. And yet the nuisance calls keep on
:01:18. > :01:49.coming. Some of you got in touch when we last mentioned this.
:01:50. > :02:03.And those were the polite comments. The Telephone Preference Service is
:02:04. > :02:07.run by this gentleman. You are launching a new certification
:02:08. > :02:12.scheme. How's that going to make difference? It is an accreditation
:02:13. > :02:17.service for the telemarketing industry and brings all of the
:02:18. > :02:20.existing legislation and best practice into one place to allow
:02:21. > :02:24.companies to be assessed. It is there to combat the damage to
:02:25. > :02:27.reputation done by companies like the one you just mentioned that
:02:28. > :02:29.cause a lot of nuisance calls and complaints and are bringing the
:02:30. > :02:34.legitimate telemarketing industry into disrepute. How does it change
:02:35. > :02:40.the fundamental issue, which is that Telephone reference service does not
:02:41. > :02:44.seem to work? The Telephone Preference Service is not a call
:02:45. > :02:48.blocking system, it is basically a service that allows people to
:02:49. > :02:52.register their telephone number, it is a free service and watch your
:02:53. > :02:57.number is registered it is the law. It becomes a legal requirement for
:02:58. > :03:01.companies to screen their lists and against the CPS file before making
:03:02. > :03:06.the calls. The problem we have is that with companies that are willing
:03:07. > :03:08.to ignore the law in order to take advantage of short`term financial
:03:09. > :03:12.opportunities like some of the ones you mentioned, particularly PPI, and
:03:13. > :03:17.often some of the calls come from overseas and are there to basically
:03:18. > :03:20.just collected data through some sort of survey or a questionnaire
:03:21. > :03:25.that is passed on to other companies that make further calls. That is the
:03:26. > :03:28.fundamental problem. You say it is the law that if you register with
:03:29. > :03:34.the service, these companies should not call you. They still call. They
:03:35. > :03:38.do still call. There is not just one solution to this problem, there is
:03:39. > :03:44.not a silver bullet. There are many things being done. One of the things
:03:45. > :03:47.is the introduction of TPS assured, so that we can help differentiate
:03:48. > :03:53.the legitimate telemarketers from those rules that we discussed. But
:03:54. > :03:58.also there are many other things. `` those rogues we discussed. Everyone
:03:59. > :04:04.with a stake in this problem, from government through to telecom
:04:05. > :04:07.providers, one of the most serious things is enforcement. The Telephone
:04:08. > :04:11.Preference Service does not have powers of enforcement. All of the
:04:12. > :04:15.complaint data we collect we pass on to the Information Commissioner and
:04:16. > :04:25.they are the organisation to issue fines of up to 500,000 pounds. So
:04:26. > :04:30.you have no enforcement powers of your own? No. We run the service,
:04:31. > :04:35.collect the numbers, and we talk to the companies that make the
:04:36. > :04:39.complaints `` that get the complaint but all of the information is passed
:04:40. > :04:41.to the Information Commissioner. Though these cold calling companies
:04:42. > :04:46.should look at you register and note who does not want these calls, but
:04:47. > :04:49.you cannot force them to do it and they carry on making the calls and
:04:50. > :04:54.there is nothing you can do about it. There is nothing that the
:04:55. > :05:00.Telephone Preference Service can do. What is the point of it? Today legal
:05:01. > :05:07.requirement. But these companies keep ignoring it. `` it is a legal
:05:08. > :05:10.requirement. Why is the law not enforced? The organisation with the
:05:11. > :05:14.power to enforce the law is the Information Commissioner. One of the
:05:15. > :05:20.things that the government is trying to do at the moment is lower the
:05:21. > :05:22.threshold of the burden of proof for the Information Commissioner because
:05:23. > :05:25.at the moment they have a high burden of proof to issue a fine. The
:05:26. > :05:29.Information Commissioner has been issuing a lot more find recently, he
:05:30. > :05:35.had been working hard on the issue of nuisance calls. But if the law
:05:36. > :05:39.could be amended slightly to lower the burden of proof so they did not
:05:40. > :05:43.have to prove significant damage or distress, they could law that to a
:05:44. > :05:47.nuisance, I believe they will be able to issue a lot more find that
:05:48. > :05:52.that would have a huge effect on the number of nuisance calls. Is it not
:05:53. > :05:55.time to change the law a stage further and license direct marketing
:05:56. > :06:03.companies and create a regulator with the power to strike them off if
:06:04. > :06:06.they pester people? I think that that is something that has been
:06:07. > :06:13.brought up in the past, the current government is not really, does not
:06:14. > :06:18.want to introduce a amount of extra burden on businesses with additional
:06:19. > :06:25.legislation. `` introduce a huge amount. Just out of curiosity, who
:06:26. > :06:30.pays for the Telephone Preference Service? It is paid by the companies
:06:31. > :06:36.that benefit from the calls being made. So this is self regulatory,
:06:37. > :06:43.you're a creature of the cold callers, just a PR front. It is a
:06:44. > :06:48.legal requirement. Any company making outbound sales calls need to
:06:49. > :06:51.use Telephone Preference Service. These companies pay for you, that
:06:52. > :06:57.means that you are never, ever going to get tough with them. I would be
:06:58. > :07:02.happy to get tough with them. There are other people get with them, the
:07:03. > :07:04.more people will want to use the Telephone Preference Service and the
:07:05. > :07:10.less nuisance calls there will be. OK. If someone is getting these cold
:07:11. > :07:17.today, aside from unplugging the phone, how should the deal with it?
:07:18. > :07:21.How can people stop these calls? The first thing I recommended they must
:07:22. > :07:24.make sure they are registered on the Telephone Preference Service. Then
:07:25. > :07:27.they have the ability to make a complaint about any of the calls.
:07:28. > :07:32.They can complain to the Telephone Preference Service or if it is about
:07:33. > :07:41.a recorded message, that goes to the Information Commissioner. Thank you
:07:42. > :07:45.for coming in. So now we are six. The last of the
:07:46. > :07:49.Big Six energy firms has said it will put up its prices. E.ON has yet
:07:50. > :07:53.to tell us by how much prices will rise ` the wicked tease ` but it's
:07:54. > :07:56.coming. Three of its rivals ` SSE, Npower and EDF ` says they'll cut
:07:57. > :07:59.their bills if the Government reduces green taxes. That might
:08:00. > :08:02.happen in the autumn statement on the 5th of December. But the public
:08:03. > :08:05.spending watchdog ` the National Audit Office ` has warned we face 17
:08:06. > :08:09.years of energy and water bills going up by more than other prices
:08:10. > :08:12.or wages ` as we've got to pay for new pylons, wires and pipes. Savers
:08:13. > :08:16.suffered too long from low interest rates, meaning you've got less to
:08:17. > :08:20.live on? Don't bank on an earlier rise in interest rates just because
:08:21. > :08:22.the economy is revving up. The Bank of England had said interest rates
:08:23. > :08:26.would go up if unemployment fell below 7% ` now the bank's key
:08:27. > :08:29.figures say unemployment might fall to that level faster than expected `
:08:30. > :08:34.but they might leave interest rates on hold anyway. What else is
:08:35. > :08:45.happening with money? The cost of renting a house or a flat is up
:08:46. > :08:48.again, 11% higher than last year. And one of the biggest banks is
:08:49. > :08:51.scrapping the fee for bouncing a cheque or other payments. HSBC and
:08:52. > :08:58.First Direct customers won't have to pay the current ?25 fee ` from
:08:59. > :09:01.November 24th. It's something grandparents ask every Christmas and
:09:02. > :09:04.every birthday ` should we save some money for the little darlings? What
:09:05. > :09:07.IS the best way to save for children? The Government has a
:09:08. > :09:11.savings plan for young people. It's the Junior ISA. One problem. Few
:09:12. > :09:15.seem to have heard of it ` or know how it works. That may or may not
:09:16. > :09:21.include new mum and Your Money reporter ` Maryam Moshiri. We asked
:09:22. > :09:25.her to look into them. These babies are too young to know
:09:26. > :09:29.what a piggy bank is for but many parents and grandparents believe
:09:30. > :09:32.saving for their children or grandchildren now is the best way to
:09:33. > :09:39.ensure they do not lose out in later life. Take`up of Jim Muir ISA since
:09:40. > :09:44.their launch has been disappointing, with research showing some parents
:09:45. > :09:54.find them too confusing to consider. `` take`up of junior Isa. There is
:09:55. > :10:01.not a lot of time to go and investigate all of those issues. So
:10:02. > :10:09.it gets really confusing where to start. You end up doing nothing.
:10:10. > :10:14.Junior ISAs come in two forms, a cash ISA and a stocks and shares
:10:15. > :10:19.one. The latest research shows that of the nearly 300,000 people who
:10:20. > :10:23.chose to invest in an ISA, only a small number to us to invest in
:10:24. > :10:27.stocks and shares. This did make the fact that stocks tend to outperform
:10:28. > :10:31.cash, meaning the returns you get if you're kept back is invested in the
:10:32. > :10:40.stock market could be much higher. For example, cash deposited in
:10:41. > :10:44.stocks and shares Junior ISAs would give you a return of over 15%,
:10:45. > :10:49.whereas the same amount invested in the Best Buy cash E.ON will divide a
:10:50. > :10:54.return of just under 3%. Inflation, the rate at which prices increase,
:10:55. > :10:58.is growing faster than the amount you get in interest. Over a
:10:59. > :11:03.long`term and for a child that could be the next 18 years until they get
:11:04. > :11:08.the money, that money could buy a very small proportion of what it
:11:09. > :11:12.would buy today. Stocks and shares are risky and many parents are
:11:13. > :11:17.unsure and prefer not to take that risk. It can beat him for parents
:11:18. > :11:22.try to work out which kind of E.ON Jews. If they choose stocks and
:11:23. > :11:31.shares, issued over the long`term do better. `` which kind of Junior ISA
:11:32. > :11:36.to choose. You have to look at the charges. They can make a difference
:11:37. > :11:39.over the longer term. Junior ISAs are not the best way to save for
:11:40. > :11:43.your children. The advice is to save for your children. The advice and
:11:44. > :11:51.image you shop around for in the long`term even the smallest amount
:11:52. > :11:57.can make a big difference. It is harder to save money when
:11:58. > :12:02.energy bills and food prices are rising so much. Many of us just
:12:03. > :12:07.don't have spare money to put aside for a rainy day. Research from HSBC
:12:08. > :12:12.this week says one in three adults would not last a week if we mist a
:12:13. > :12:24.single pay packet. Around 9 million households have less than ?250 set
:12:25. > :12:33.aside for safety set. A quarter of those people have nothing in saving
:12:34. > :12:37.at all. Some people will have money left over, they just don't know it
:12:38. > :12:44.is there. The first thing is to do a budget. Absolutely. Ideally, we
:12:45. > :12:49.should have enough money to cover ourselves or six months, really. So
:12:50. > :12:54.you should do a budget, work out how much money you need a month to keep
:12:55. > :13:01.the roof over your head, multiply that by six, and that is the amount.
:13:02. > :13:10.So if it costs ?1000 a month, you would need 6000 in a savings account
:13:11. > :13:21.which you can access. That will sound like an impossibly high figure
:13:22. > :13:26.for some will stop `` for some. Even one month is better than nothing. If
:13:27. > :13:31.you lose your job, it usually takes six months to get back on your
:13:32. > :13:42.feet, but even one or two months that you do not touch until it goes
:13:43. > :13:45.pear shaped is a help. If you take a cold, hard look at how you spend
:13:46. > :13:51.your money, some people will find things they can cut back on. You are
:13:52. > :13:57.right, many are genuinely struggling, but with others it is a
:13:58. > :14:01.lack of organisation. So if you look at what you don't have to spend on
:14:02. > :14:12.and cut back on that for a couple of months. Concert tickets? Yes, going
:14:13. > :14:18.out to eat, just go cold turkey and put the money aside. There are other
:14:19. > :14:24.ways of looking at this, and that is to do something which owns you some
:14:25. > :14:31.money. Yes, on my website, we are always advocating making some extra
:14:32. > :14:43.money on the side. It could be making cakes, walking dogs. ?15 per
:14:44. > :14:47.dogs per hour on it is good money. There are lots of ways of doing it
:14:48. > :14:54.and it will help you sleep at night. That is all from the
:14:55. > :15:01.programme this week. Advice on savings, borrowing and spending all
:15:02. > :15:03.week long on the website. And you can get updates by following us on
:15:04. > :15:09.Twitter.