These points are totted up and a pass will help you get credit whilst failing will work strongly against you
Posted in General on 24. Jul, 2010
These points are totted up, and a pass will help you get credit, whilst failing will work strongly against you. This is known as credit scoring.Contrary to popular belief, credit reference agencies do not pass judgement on creditworthiness. What they do is provide lenders with financial and personal information about anybody. There are two main credit reference agencies, CCN and Equifax, which took over Infolink last year.Their first point of reference is the electoral roll This shows that you live where you say you do. It also shows everybody else with the same surname who lives at your address, and who lived at your previous addresses.County Court debt judgements and bankruptcies during the last six years against those addresses are also marked on your credit file. If the debt was paid within one month of judgement, it can be cancelled by the court and removed from the records. After that, the court issues a Certificate of Satisfaction, which should automatically be recorded on credit reference agencies’ files.As well as any previous searches on your file, credit agencies keep details of whether your credit accounts, past and present, and those of family living at your address have been kept up to date or in arrears.
But other information has been gathered without your knowledge, usually by a credit reference agency.
The lender will give you an initial credit examination, which consists of being allocated points for various bits of information. Some information will have been provided by you, such as your job, age, and whether you own your home. Have you ever been refused credit? Ever wonder who it is who gives the thumbs up or down to your new car? As the salesman scuttles back to his office to “see about the finance”, what does the financing company see in you to make you a worthwhile credit risk – or not?
The answer is that the financing company, or anybody from whom you wish to borrow money, may see an awful lot about the financial and legal transactions of both you and your family. Employees should seek to settle the wording of any reference before a departure date is agreed.Employees provided with cars should investigate the possibilities of buying the car. Some employers may be prepared to sell a car to an employee at its book value, which is often considerably less than its market worth.It may be possible to persuade an employer to part with items of office equipment, such as personal computers and fax machines, which have a limited resale value.In addition, the departing employee should explore the possibility of obtaining out-placement assistance or the use of office facilities.If the employer wishes the former employee to agree to any restrictions on his or her activities following dismissal, the employee should seek to negotiate an additional payment in return for compliance..
It is often believed that these benefits cease on termination of employment. However, in many cases it is possible for former employees to remain a member of the scheme at no extra cost to the employer until the poicy renewal date.For many employees, a reference is a crucial tool in the search for a new job, although employers are under no legal obligation to provide one. It is always worth bearing in mind the former employee may well turn out to be a future client or customer.”Beyond employees’ strict legal rights, there are a number of ways in which a termination package may be improved.It is usually cheaper for an employer to purchase private medical and life insurance cover than for employees to buy their own. They can also offer to assist in a smooth handover of their responsibilties. Most employers are anxious to avoid the expense, publicity, and loss of management time involved in legal proceedings.Richard Monkcom, a partner and employment specialist with City solicitors, Druces & Attlee, says: “When dealing with a termination of employment, I advise employers that it is wise to part company with an employee as far as possible on amicable terms.”Disaffected former em-ployees can cause serious damage to an employer’s business reputation. They can offer not to divulge matters relating to their dismissal to other employees or clients.
Sarah’s tale of instant dismissal is being retold all over the country.
Stunned employees are often asked by embarrassed employers to accept a final cheque in return for acknowledging they have no further claims against the employer.Most are too shocked to take in the details of settlement proposals at a dismissal interview. They should resist committing themselves until they have had time to consider whether better terms might be negotiated.It is often possible to put together a severance package that offers a better deal to the employee and creates no extra burden for the employer.Employees usually have a number of cards to play. As W H Smith employees, fearful for their jobs, will attest, rosier economic forecasts are no guarantee of job security. One day, Sarah was a senior marketing executive; the next she was being led to a taxi clutching a black plastic bag containing her personal possessions and a P45. For income trusts the awards go to Newton Income, Credit Suisse Income, United Friendly Equity Income and Lazard’s UK Income.A stars for general investment trusts is awarded to Edinburgh-based Personal Assets.
The best income trust is Value and Income, the best investment trusts for growth include Henderson Strata, Foreign & Colonial Smaller Companies, and Electric & General.. Poor performers include Save & Prosper, Friends Provident, Invesco, Govett, Mercury and Murray Johnstone.The traditional Which? red stars for best buys for good performance and low risk among general UK unit trusts are awarded to Cazenove’s UK Income & Growth, the Pearl’s UK International, AXA Equity & Law’s General, Norwich Union’s UK Index Tracking Fund, Baring’s Portfolio and HTR’s Income and Growth trusts.Among growth trusts the stars go to St James’s Place UK & General Progressive, Fidelity UK Growth, AIB Grofund Equity, Eagle Star’s Environmental Opportunities and Capel Cure’s Special Situations. However, unit trusts investing in the same regions made 10.4 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively.Investment trusts invested in general stocks around the world generated more than 13 per cent but capital growth trusts only just over 10 per cent.The best-performing management groups include Britannia, Framlington, GAM, Gartmore, M&G, Perpetual, Scottish Equitable and Stewart Ivory. Investment trusts investing in Japan averaged less than 2 per cent and the unit trusts made fractional losses.Investment trusts specialising in North America made 14.8 per cent and UK general investment trusts made 11 per cent.