24/10/2011 Inside Out East

Hello. I am in Cambridge and this week's programme is all about

saving money to. This man says he can help you avoid paying for care

in your old age. I am here to show you how you can avoid care fees.

Toogood To Be True? Is a degree worth the money? We ask why over

half the graduates from universities across the east end up

out of work. And money-saving guru Alvin has

produced a special guide to help you avoid paying student fees.

�75,000. Right now, money is on everybody's

mind and that is what we are talking about on tonight's

programme. Needing care when you are all there could cost around

�50,000 a year, so when someone tells you he has a way of getting

someone else to fit the bill, that sounds tempting. That is what some

of you thought when you got in touch to tell me about a Norfolk

company promising just that. One in four of us will need long-

term care, and if you have more than �23,000 in savings and

property, you will be expected to pay for your care. That is a worry

for some people who would rather keep their assets in the family.

am Steve Long, founder of the Universal Group. I am here to tell

you how you can avoid care fees. This man claims he knows how you

can avoid care fees. He says he is better than a solicitor. Your local

solicitor will not be able to do this. Solicitors come to us to do

it. Lovely, thank you, darling. Five years ago, the Dillons wanted

to change their wills. They found Steve Long, whose business had a

new product to avoid care fees. said you could get out of paying

fees by setting up a trust that would stop the council from getting

their hands on your money. He said it would be �3,000. That is a lot

of money, so my first reaction was, we would have to think about that.

In the end, he managed to talk us into agreeing with him, but I have

since found that, if a trust was set up for that sole purpose, that

would disqualified itself. Beryl O'Shea from Cromer also had a

visit from speed long. He said the money would all be ring-fenced and

the Government could not get hold of it for fees. He said, there is a

possible, we would like to have it tonight. It was �3,500. We have

asked several solicitors and they told us similar trusts would cost

from �700 to 1,200 pounds. Care home fees can run into thousands of

pounds, so it is only natural to worry about these costs as we

approach old age. Steve Long holds seminars on the subject. We went to

some of the seminars and listened to his claims about himself and his

products. This one was in Bristol. We do seminars like this for

solicitors. A top barrister walks along with us. Not one solicitor

who deals with elderly clients knows how to do it. It is a

specialist niche and only five of us in the country deal with it.

That is not true. At Caroline Bielanska is a solicitor

specialising in Wales and administration of estates.

-- in wills. Membership of solicitors for the elderly and

other organisations have thousands of members who would be able to set

up such a trust. Also, they have to have a very good working

understanding of social care assessments and funding.

She wants to make sure that Peter's inheritance...

In Steve Long's seminars he makes many claims that make him and his

company sound very well-connected and important. I work with the top

barrister in the country. We do these seminars for solicitors.

We spoke to the Bar Council and they told us that no-one would

claim to be the country's top barrister. He does not seem to be

quite as well connected as he claims. But he does sound well

qualified. I am a qualified accountant and a lawyer. He is not.

We have checked with the UK accountancy organisations and the

solicitors'' regulatory authority. He is a member of STEP. How

accurate are his claims? Are under cover producer as given and -- an

elderly person who is unwell could use a trust to avoid fees. Provided

he has not already been assessed and is not receiving care, it would

be straightforward. The local authority will look at the reasons

why the trust was created and, if they feel it was done for the

purpose of putting the asset beyond their reach, they could, of course,

take it into account in an assessment and treat the person as

if they still owned the asset. irony is that if the motive is to

avoid paying care home fees the trust may end up doing precisely

the opposite. That is exactly how Steve Long markets is product.

here to show you how you can avoid fees.

In the end, it is the local authority to decide. We ask that

the Local Government Association just what the rules are. They told

us that, if you put your assets into a trust deliberately designed

to avoid care fees, the local authority can treat you as if you

still on the assets. That seems clear, so we wrote to Mr Long to

ask why he gives misleading statements in his seminars. His

office told us he was out of the country until the end of this week.

Then his office claimed that some of his mistakes up words --

mistakes were due to any infection. I hope his seeding is better

because he is still in the country and he is giving a seminar at this

hotel in Gloucester. I hope his hearing is better because I have a

few questions. His office said that Universal

Asset Protection is totally committed to excellent customer

care and that their fees are not excessive. But Mr Long has not

given specific answers to most of our questions. I have to ask your

question, Mr Long. Why is it you are selling a product called How to

avoid care fees when, by marketing it as that, you are, in fact,

possibly rendering it useless? is not the advice we have received.

It is nice of you to come unannounced into a seminar here.

have been in touch with you, Mr Long. We have asked quite a few

questions about the validity of these trusts. By advertising

yourself us how to avoid care fees you are shooting yourself in the

foot, aren't you? It is not the advice we have received. Who have

you received advice from? This is from the government. Who is wrong -

you or the government? You have put me on the spot. Yes, because you

Office told us you were out of the country and you are here giving a

seminar today. I am not prepared to discuss on television the

intellectual property we have. All I can say is that the trust that

the use as a 100% track record, we have documentary evidence of local

authorities accepting the trust. You market yourself as one of only

five companies that specialises in this type of elderly care trust and

that is not true either, is it? say that we are one of five

specialist providers but provides this type of thing for people. Many

specialist firm of solicitors would be able to do this. Strange that he

said the opposite when he did not know he was being recorded. Your

local solicitor will not be able to do this. It is a specialist niche.

There are probably five of us in the country to deal with that.

Which Mr Long should we believe and what can we learned? If you are

thinking of putting your property into a trust deliberately to avoid

care fees, remember they are not suitable for everyone and they may

not work. Mired first reaction was to say no -- my first reaction. He

eventually wore us down. If you have met in you will know that he

is a very pleasant man and If there is something you think we

should investigate on Inside Out, sent me an e-mail.

Coming up: Money-saving expert Alvin gives us an exclusive guide

to paying less for your education. The amount you have to pay back

Getting a job at the moment is not easy so giving yourself the edge is

vital. More people than ever are going for degrees to give

themselves that edge. Inside Out has commissioned a survey that

suggests that almost three-quarters of 16th 18-year-olds think their

job prospects would be better if they got a university degree. But

they are not cheap. We have been finding out if they really are

worth the money. It is graduation day in Cambridge.

Students have passed through this city for more than 800 years, all

hoping to go on to great things. But in the current economic climate

what really lies ahead for these students and for those at are seven

other universities? Tonight, we find out how it more than half of

students in the east are struggling to find a decent job. How many jobs

did you apply for? Around 150. as the price of a degree rises to

almost �30,000 we ask if it is worth going to university at all.

Employers are waking up to the fact that there are still people who

have not gone to university. -- skilled people.

I want to find out what the jobs market is like for graduates so I

have come to St Thomas More High School in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex

Three years ago Edward graduated hoping for a career in scientific

research. This laboratory at his old school is the closest he got.

He is a classroom assistant, and relatively low paid role for which

a degree is not required. I applied for lots of jobs in that area of

when I left university. I was not successful. I looked at the

graduate schemes at various companies. They were competitive.

he ended up spending two years working at a supermarket while he

looked for a graduate level job. Most employers said he lacked

experience. How many jobs did you go for? Proper be 150. It is

frustrating. -- probably. It can be demoralising when you have applied

for a lot of jobs and not heard back from any. You think, was it

worth it? I could have left school and gone into an apprenticeship.

I'm thinking, should I have done that? We got hold of surveys that

show what graduates do six months after leaving. Some of the results

are alarming. Last year, more than 6000 graduates in the East failed

to get a graduate level job, more than half. Many decided to continue

studying. One in three ended up unemployed or under employed, in a

job for which they do not need a degree. Some do better than others.

When it comes to the University of Hertfordshire, 46% ended up in

graduate level jobs. The University of Bedfordshire had 44%. Cambridge

was third with 43%. That is largely because graduates here are by far

the most likely to stay in education, with more than one-third

continuing studying. At the bottom of the table was the University of

Essex where 30% end up in graduate level jobs. Some Essex students

stay in education, but there is still a big difference. Why do

universities like bed that should do better than you?

universities need to do more. It is also true some universities have

higher numbers because they have a high set of vocational training. In

a medical school, all these students are guaranteed employment.

To be fair, you have to look at the University mixes. Essex does offer

a number of work-related degrees such as electrical engineering. You

charge students �9,000 a year. Surely they expect a good job when

they graduate. They can expect an excellent experience when they are

here and there will be many things our university will do to connect

students with employment opportunities and training during

their time and support afterwards, so they can go into careers of

their choice. That emphasis on helping students get jobs is

evident. Essex University offers hundreds of students work

experience in its offices during their studies. It also pays them.

This student got a place in marketing. It's gave me a good

insight into the professional world. It has moulded what I want to do.

It changed my ideas about what I want to do. It has played a bigger

role in what I would like to be. His university the best way to get

a job? I have heard that some graduates in Cambridge are losing

out to young people who did not go to university. Jamie is one of

those. With a national diploma, he beat several graduates to his job

at a computer networks company. His course cost 1500 pounds, one sixth

of the cost of a degree. Why do you think you beat the graduates?

Become so I have good qualifications through college. --

because. And also work experience. Work experience counted. I aimed to

go to university. But the cost is going up. It is not worth it any

more. You can get good jobs with a levels. You can get more

qualifications while working. principle of his college says the

university degree is no longer a golden ticket. It has become in the

last decade, bet you have to go to university in order to get into the

job market. That is not the case. Employers have woken up to the fact

that there are skilled people who have not gone to university. They

will not go to university because they are scared of the debt.

Surveys from some universities show the numbers of unemployed graduates

have doubled since the recession. Is it worth getting a degree? These

companies believe it is. At a jobs fair like this one, they still try

to recruit new graduates. training and a green gives you is

something where you can express yourselves. To get through the

challenges degrees offer is what we are after. Over the past decade,

people with degrees earned �12,000 more than non-graduates. Back in

Essex, Edward is making the best of it. He is not the scientist he

wanted to be, but he is happy and might switch to teaching. Even

though I struggled finding a job I envisaged, the life skills you

learn are rewarding. Even though the fees are going up, I think it

is a good thing to do. Our survey suggests almost half of

16 to 18 year olds are looking at cheaper ways of getting a degree.

We asked money-saving expert Alvin Hall for advice.

Young, confused and afraid. This is what thousands of teenagers fear, a

lifetime on the run. What is chasing them? It is student debt.

Is it really going to be the horror movie we have been led to believe?

Whether you think next year's increase is fair, it is happening.

Young people need to know the facts. I will show what a degree can cost

and how you can avoid the fees altogether. Next year, in England,

universities will charge up to �9,000 per year. Graduates can

faced debts of around �50,000. How much will they pay back? I have

come to meet youngsters in Birmingham. I think it is going to

shock them. Earning interest over such a long time as you pay back

the loan is a number people do not think about. Imagine you graduate

with �50,000 of debt. You get a high-paying job. How much of that

money do you have to pay back? it all of it? All of it and more.

In dressed. Interest. -- interest. �75,000. Is that just for one

person? That is just for one person. The is that for the average degree?

If you take out the maximum loan. What if their careers do not go as

planned and they do not earn more than �21,000 per year. The amount

you have to pay back is zero. What is going on? Basically, the

repayment of the loan works like a tax. The more you earn, the more

you pay back. If you never earned above a certain amount, you do not

pay back a penny. A new task force on student finance is led by Martyn

Lewis. The biggest confusion is the price tag. �9,000 fees, �50,000

debt, with the actual cost. Many people will not come close to

repaying what they borrowed. Some will not pay anything. The fact we

are putting people off going because they are looking at the

price tag is the biggest problem. Most graduates will face large debt.

Is there any way to avoid the fees? Yes. You can study abroad. At a

recent student fare, teenagers discovered how much they could save.

Everybody would rather pay �8,000 less, rather than the UK. The fees

are cheaper. In fact, dozens of universities in Europe offer

courses taught in English. The fees differ in each country. In

Scandinavia, tuition is free. have no fees because the Danish

government pays for the Danish students and according to European

Union rules, we have to treat other citizens alike. The student has

taken the plunge and is off to university in Slovakia. Over there,

she saves a fortune on living costs, spending just �100 per month. I

spoke to her on the internet. What advice would you give to anyone

considering doing what you have done? You should go for it. It is

worth doing. You just get on the aeroplane. You have to be a bit

brave! But I have never looked back. Time is up. I want my money.

Studying overseas may be a way of avoiding debt. But there are down

sides. If you study abroad, the government here will not give you a

loan. Only some courses are taught in English and some employers might

not recognise foreign degrees. You need to do your homework. Another

way is to get somebody else to pay. London's financial heart and is a

good place to look. Believe it or not, these youngsters are students

being sponsored by an accountancy giant. The entire package was a

degree, a salary, the tuition fees were paid and there is a job at the

end and you were helped to become a chartered accountant. Did it sound

too good to be true? There is no catch. You have to work hard. That

is the only catch. The man who runs the programme tells me that the

firm does not offer the stereotypical student experience.

This is an intensive programme. They have to work for us and study

for their degree and obtain their chartered accountancy

qualifications. It requires hard work. That's all we ask of them.

There are bursaries. Students from low-income families can get money

from various sources. It is worth looking on the internet. Is there

another way of avoiding debt? You can pay up front. This 16-year-old

is trying to do that. As well as studying for her A-levels, she

sells beauty products. I started my business to save up for university.

My parents said it would be too much for them to pay. I hope to not

get into debt because it takes a long while to get out of debt.

government allows students to pay up front. Most will have to take

out a loan. One financial expert believes graduates could pay back

far more than anybody has predicted. This financial journalist warned

students to be aware. The problem is that the deal is not a deal.

There are numbers flying about saying you will be charged a

certain rate of interest and payments will start at �21,000.

None of those things are in the contract. In fact, the government

can change the numbers if it wants to in five years' time, ten years'

time. Students could end up paying more. Any big changes would have to

be approved by Parliament. Like many Americans, I graduated with

the equivalent of tens of thousands of pounds of debt. It was daunting.

But if you know the facts, student debt does not have to be scary. I

confronted it. So can you. That is it for this week. You can

catch up on third BBC website if you missed any part of the

programme. And you can find information on the website. I will

see you next week. Next week, they say they are strapped for cash, but

we reveal that our councils are sitting on millions of funding that