The data published today on the ombudsman’s website covers consumer complaints handled by the ombudsman service between 1 January and 30 June 2011. The data includes both the number of complaints received about individual businesses and the percentage of complaints the ombudsman service upheld in favour of consumers.

During this six-month period, the ombudsman service received a total of 149,925 new complaints – an increase of 54% on the 97,237 cases received in the second half of 2010. Of the data published, 98,632 cases related to Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). 93% of the total number of cases involved 157 financial businesses (out of more than 100,000 businesses covered by the ombudsman).

The number of new complaints about each of these individual businesses ranged from 30 to 19,569. Five financial businesses each had more than 10,000 complaints referred to the ombudsman service, which together accounted for 72,026 cases – just under half of all the new complaints the ombudsman received during this six-month period.

The data published today shows that in the first half of 2011 the ombudsman service upheld an average of 47% of complaints in favour of consumers, compared to 53% in the second half of 2010. The decrease in the uphold rate reflects the impact of the legal challenge brought on behalf of some high street banks against the ombudsman service and the FSA earlier in the year. Across the 157 individual businesses included in the complaints data, the uphold rates varied substantially between 2% and 98% upheld in favour of consumers.

Natalie Ceeney, chief executive and chief ombudsman, said:

These latest figures show a significant increase in the number of new PPI complaints referred to the ombudsman during the first half of 2011. This period coincided with the time when most of the high street banks and some other financial businesses had put PPI complaints on hold, because of their legal challenge against the ombudsman service and FSA.

As a result, complaints in this period about PPI were harder fought, and harder to resolve – particularly if we found in favour of a consumer. This data therefore gives only a partial view on the cases which we were working to resolve over this period.

Look at the complaints data now available on individual financial businesses.

The Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ Small Business Report found that more than one in four (27 per cent) of Britain’s 4.7 million* small businesses, were set up after retirement (7 per cent) or redundancy (20 per cent).

And it is the ‘older-preneur’, people aged 55 and over, that are the largest group starting up businesses when not in employment. The poll found that nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of ‘older-preneurs’ set up their business after being made redundant. A further 12 per cent have set up in business after taking retirement. The survey also revealed that almost one in ten (9 per cent) small business owners have started their business with redundancy or retirement money.

Trevor Baylis OBE, inventor and entrepreneur, said: ‘It’s never too late to start your own business. I started life as a stuntman and it wasn’t until I saw a programme about the spread of HIV in Africa that I had the idea for the wind-up radio – I was over 54 at the time. I didn’t set up Trevor Baylis Brands, my company to help inventors until 2004, when I was in my 60s. If somebody’s got an idea for a business or an invention, I’d really encourage them to seek the correct help, advice and support and push ahead with it, the economy relies on entrepreneurial spirit and most of all, it could be very rewarding.”

The Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank research indicates that, in spite of the economic climate, more than 611,000* (13 per cent) small businesses have been set up in the last two years. The Banks’ survey also found that:

Almost one in five (19 per cent) ‘older-preneurs’ say they have transformed a lifelong passion or hobby in to a business
Arts, craft and catering is a popular for ‘older-preneurs’, with 10 per cent starting a business in this sector
Gary Lumby, director of small business banking at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, said: “Many people realise that there is more to life than working for somebody else, and it’s even better if you can turn something you love and enjoy in to a business venture.

“As a society, we are living longer and understand that age and experience bring much more. It should be no surprise to see people wanting to put their experience to good use rather just seeing retirement as a time to switch off.

“And while redundancy is a difficult time for many, for others it provides opportunities; acting as a spur to starting a business they would not otherwise have done. It’s our role as a Bank to help and support people old and young to realise their business goals.”

The OFT is alerting consumers after seeing a 50 per cent year-on-year rise in complaints about loan scams, particularly credit applications which involve the consumer ‘wiring’ or sending upfront fees through money transfer companies. Complaints to OFT-managed advice service Consumer Direct increased from 2,059 between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010 to 3,167 during the same period in 2010-11.

The OFT advises people to be vigilant when dealing with or taking calls from loan companies that want upfront fees and who are not interested in consumers’ credit history.

The OFT’s ‘dos and don’ts’ to help consumers spot scam loan companies are:

Dos:

Do be very careful when dealing with loan companies that charge upfront fees
Do be cautious if a loan company cold-calls you
Do some research about the business offering the loan – look for proper phone numbers and physical addresses and ask for information in writing
Do check that the company has a credit licence on the Consumer Credit Register at www.oft.gov.uk/ConsumerCreditRegister

Don’ts:

Don’t believe adverts which indicate a loan is ‘guaranteed’
Don’t give out your card details ‘for security reasons’ as the company may then debit your bank account without you knowing
Don’t wire money to loan companies using money transfer services when applying for loans
Don’t go ahead with a loan if a company approves it and then demands a fee before you get the money.

David Fisher, OFT Director of the Consumer Credit Group said:

‘We have seen an increase in complaints about companies who are not interested in the applicant’s credit history, that ask for payment of fees upfront and then disappear with the money.

‘We advise people to check out the company carefully before agreeing to anything, including asking for a landline number, a physical address and doing a search about the company online, as well as checking that they have a valid credit licence.’

‘If consumers think they have been approached or tricked by an advance-fee loan scam, they should report it to Consumer Direct.’

In response to a super-complaint from Citizens Advice, in June the OFT published new draft guidance that gives people better protection when dealing with credit brokers.

For advice on loan scams or any other consumer issues call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 or visit www.direct.gov.uk/consumer. Free, confidential debt advice services are available for those facing financial difficulties through their local Citizens Advice Bureau by visiting www.citizensadvice.co.uk.

1. You will be born.
2. You will die.
3. Before you die you will read approximately 75,279 newspaper and magazine articles stressing the importance of making a will.

 
And….. if you have any sense of responsibility towards your family you will cut out these articles and keep them in a file as a reminder that you really must get round to making a will before, well, see 2 above.

The file will be marked: ‘Things To Do: Fairly Urgent’. Unfortunately, if you’re the kind of person who keeps such a file, the chances are you will also have another one marked ‘Things To Do: Not Very Urgent’.  And this is a problem. For this is the file packed with all the fun stuff; the To Dos you don’t mind doing such as the competition entry forms, the money-off vouchers for tubs of margarine and those surveys that come with new kettles. You know the ones: ‘Register your guarantee within the next two weeks and we’ll enter your name in our prize draw to win another kettle.’ If there was a competition to win a will, then you would have sorted it out years ago. But there isn’t. For a start, what would the questions be?
 

If you die without a will you are:

- Intestine
- Intestate
- In a state

 
Come to think of it, ITV’s daytime schedule has probably featured something very similar. But in general, competitions with death at the core aren’t popular. But you must make a will. All those articles say so.

So if you haven’t taken the plunge yet, imagine: -

• you’re happily married
• you love your children
• you’ve paid off your credit cards – even have some savings
• you finally got that espresso machine you craved
• your house is worth a few quid.

Then one morning you don’t wake up. Sad, but it happens. Who gets your money?
 
If you have a will, your legacy is written down in a legally binding document and, unless you’re the protagonist in the latest John Grisham novel, it’s pretty much incontestable. If you don’t have a will, the Chancellor bags a windfall at your family’s expense and your money does not necessarily go to who you wish.

If you have a will, your family will live, happy and secure, long after your departure.

If you don’t have a will, they’ll hate you even more than that time you refused to switch channels to East Enders on the night Pauline went to the launderette for a tearful moan and a service wash – all in the same episode!

Got it?

You need to make a will. But how?

Traditionally there were two options:

1. DIY.
2. Pay a solicitor.

The first option is the cheaper. You pick up a special pack from somewhere like WH Smith, fill in some forms and… Bob’s your uncle. Unfortunately, because you’re not a lawyer there’s always a lingering danger that on Judgment Day Bob’s not only your uncle but also the accidental beneficiary of your entire estate.

Option two is perhaps the safer of the two. You take yourself through the frosted glass door of your neighbourhood solicitor, who will draw up the paperwork, polish it off with a few ‘heretofors’ and charge you a handsome fee.
 
Option three – sorry did I mention the third option? There is another way and it’s ideal for those of us who can never seem to get round to sorting out life’s essentials. Here’s how it works. You sit at home, watch telly or carry out basic domestic chore. Then at a time convenient to you such as Tuesday evening, a trained legal expert from The WILLpartnership who is a member of The Institute of Professional Willwriters pops round to discuss your requirements.

She/he then sorts out what you need Will and Power of Attorney-wise; completes the simple paperwork and The WILLpartnership (who have been around since 1992 so know exactly what they are doing) drafts your legal documents.

You still have to pay – but only a very reasonable fixed fee.  And even if you’re even half-good at decorating, the chances are that your home is more a convivial place to meet than a solicitors’ office and it’s a lot more convenient.

Finally you can clear out the contents the file marked ‘Things To Do: Fairly Urgent’…….
 
And that’s all there is to it – nearly. Now you are free to sit around and wait for (um, please see number 2 at the top of this piece again), but not before you’ve entered all those competitions. You can never have enough kettles.

They were wrong. And it was only after David’s tragic death in a car accident that Maureen discovered just how wrong.

Their home was in joint names so passed automatically to Maureen. But while David’s savings, pension scheme, life assurance and personal accident assurance should have left his wife and children comfortably off, because he died without making a Will,the law intervened.

It took solicitors months to sort out David’s assets at the end of which Maureen was horrified to discover she was set to receive less than half the money as a lump sum and just a small income.

She was also forced to hand over £10,000 to David’s ex-wife Linda who made a claim on the estate. The rest had to be put in trust for Amy until her 18th birthday when she inherited the whole amount. Although David had brought George up, as a stepson,the boy was entitled to nothing.

Maureen was left with a legal bill of more than £9,000 as well as having to pay over £37,000 in Inheritance Tax.

It was only during conversations at this difficult time, Maureen realised how much was at risk if she didn’t make her own Will immediately.

Maureen says now: ‘I was told if I died without making a Will appointing guardians for George and Amy, the courts would decide who would raise the children. It could take weeks or months and they could even be taken into care. George could have been forced to go and live with his Dad. I’d left him because of his excessive drinking and wasn’t happy with the thought of him bringing up my son. I’ve made a Will now detailing exactly who will look after George and Amy if anything happens to me. It’s given me peace of mind – I can now sleep easily’