Advice at North Manchester Hospital

posted: 13/11/2009

A new welfare rights service for people living with HIV has opened at North Manchester General Hospital.

The specialist advice worker is Karina Knight and she can help with things like:

• benefits
• housing 
• debt and
• consumer problems.

Call 0161 234 3923 to book an appointment with advice worker Karina Knight.
 

Provident Financial Charges 545% Interest

posted: 29/07/2009

People in poverty, as many living with HIV are, who take out loans from door-step lender Provident Financial are charged "extortionate" interest rates, say Barnardo's, the children's charity who work closely with George House Trust.

Provident Financial reported a rise in profits despite the credit crunch squeeze on household budgets. The company, known as "the Provvy" to many, agreed some of its customers were being charged annualised interest rates of up to 545%, but said it played a valuable role in improving people's living standards – and keeping some of them out of the clutches of loan sharks. Its business practices have certainly impressed some City analysts. Numis Securities today hailed it as "probably the most profitable bank in the world".

Provident Financial, whose consumer credit arm sells small loans door to door, said pre-tax profits rose 3.5% to £53.1m in the six months to 30 June. It has more than 2.1 million customers, 400,000 of whom hold its credit cards. Peter Crook, chief executive, said that despite the challenging environment, the company expected to deliver "continuing quality growth" during the next few months.

His firm has seen a big rise in loan applications since the high street banks began to tighten lending criteria. The home credit industry is where rejected applicants from the high street lenders – some with poor credit histories – can turn for loans.

Call for consumer investigation

Barnardo's today called on the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the practices of lenders that "prey on the poor". It was concerned about the pressure on people to take out "punitively high-interest" loans. The charity said the firm's "extortionate" interest rates "are typical of many doorstep lenders which will continue to flourish unless the government steps in".

Barnardo's chief executive, Martin Narey, said many low-income families were forced to "take what they can get" because banks did not want their custom. The charity cited examples of Provident loan calculations, claiming that, for a £500 loan over 31 weeks, the total repaid would be £775, an interest rate of 365% APR. For a £500 loan over 23 weeks, the total would be £747.50 – an interest rate of 545% APR.

Crook acknowledged Provident Financial was "not the cheapest lender in town", though this partly reflected the fact that an agent called at the customer's home every week to collect their repayments.

The credit crunch means these fringe lenders thrive, as people find it even more difficult to borrow from traditional high street lenders. Crook said customer demand was "a little bit weaker than you might think. People are unsure about whether they will still be in work in three months' time". Many of those wanting to borrow from his company already had too much debt. Its home credit division was turning down about two-thirds of applicants.
 

Money problems?

Provident Financial and similar doorstep lenders offer people in poverty a very bad deal, but one that is hard to resist when there seems to be no alternative.

An experienced former Citizens Advice Bureau money adviser reports that once people are in their clutches it is very difficult to extract yourself without help - the weekly doorstep collector works hard to be your "friend," but turns on the pressure to collect the weekly payments, and tries to "help" by offering a new loan, so you always owe them money and can rarely escape. They work on commission. Of course they are friendly and keen to help - they are making a good living off you and others.

George House Trust can provide considerable support with money problems - our welfare fund, access to other funds such as Crusaid - financial help. People living with HIV in NW England wanting advice and assistance should contact our services team for our specialist debt and money advice.

George House Trust Debt and Money advice
Help with dealing with your debts and managing your money, from a specialist adviser from Manchester Advice.

Thursdays 10.00am - 12.00 midday

Mondays 2pm - 4pm.

Please call to book an appointment - 0161 274 4499.

Source

Useful Pre-Pay Visa Cards

posted: 28/07/2009

Many people with HIV find getting debit and credit cards almost impossible, including migrants with HIV, and the gap could now be filled by pre-pay cards. These allow you to buy things and pay bills by plastic, including on the web, but you don't need a good credit score, or have enough regular income. You simply pay for credit to be added to the card as you can afford this.

O2 has launched a pre-pay Visa card for adults, called Cash Manager, which may finally make these products a viable choice for millions.

The chief attraction of Cash Manager is that it's free of charges. Until now, pre-pay cards have tended to levy an "issuing fee" (usually £10), monthly fees (up to £5 at some providers) and "reload" fees. They have largely been used as an alternative to travellers' cheques when overseas.

Good option for migrants

But now Britain's unbanked – especially recent migrants, but all those refused by banks – can obtain a Visa card for free. They'll be able to load it with cash at thousands of Paypoint and ePay terminals around the country, which will then allow them to buy goods over the net or over the phone.

The catch is that you have to have an O2 mobile. The cheapest deal the network offers right now is its Sim-only Pay & Go deal, although you have keep it active by topping up £10 every three months.

If you don't want to sign up with O2, there are plenty of other pre-pay deals, although all come with some level of charging.

Try the website what-prepaid-card to compare deals.

• Virgin has a MasterCard, which does not charge a monthly fee but has a start-up fee of £9.95.
• The Post Office offers its Travel Card, which has no issuing fee or monthly fee, but charges a 1.5% fee when re-loading money. Its big attraction is that it is an Electron card – so you can avoid the £5 that Ryanair charges on each leg of a flight.

Final Demand – mental health and debt

posted: 27/05/2009

Chris Fitch, a researcher for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, is the author of Final Demand, a booklet written to help health and social care staff, and accompanying resources for to use in support.
He talks here about his background and experience in debt advice with people who are depressed, anxious, or who have other mental health problems, all of which are very common among people living with HIV.
 

How did you get involved in debt and mental health?
Doing field work in 2003, I met people living with "debt and a diagnosis", and not getting help. At the time, I figured there must be a solution, but when there wasn't one, I tried to fill the gap a little.

What is Final Demand about
Final Demand is a pocket guide about debt and health. It shows health and social care workers how to help indebted clients, with the aim of preventing financial or mental health crises. It has been sent to 110,000 GPs, nurses, psychiatrists and social workers.

What is the relationship between debt and mental health problems?
Debt can be stressful, anxious, and downright depressing. Although associated with economic circumstance, debt can trigger major life changes, and individuals often struggle with a toxic cocktail of financial and personal issues. Four million adults could be living with debt and mental health problems. One in eleven British adults are seriously in debt. Half of adults in debt have a mental disorder, while one in four people with mental disorders also have debts.
 

Are you expecting mental health issues to increase in the recession?
Unemployment, repossession, and debt will increase demand for mental health services. As the recession continues, people not used to financial difficulty will increasingly be hit hard mentally. We can stop short-term distress becoming long-term disorders by maintaining existing mental health services, health advice and support for the jobless and indebted, and investing in linking money advice with health services.
 

What should professionals do?
They should consider debt as an underlying cause in stress-related illness, ask simple questions about debt in routine assessment, refer people to an appropriate debt advice service and don't just refer and forget, but support the adviser and the client/patient.
 

How can we improve the situation?
Governments should invest in tackling debt and mental health, as they have with unemployment and mental health. Banks should acknowledge that one in six of their customers have mental health problems, and take this into account when recovering debts.
 

At the Final Demand website you will find

• Final Demand booklet - an online web version
• Final Demand booklet - a pdf version you can download and print
• Tools for workers - Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form
• Getting help

Final Demand is funded by the Financial Services Authority and published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Source