Watch out for the pension sharks

When this all started “agents ” used to position themselves outside unemployment exchanges stopping people as they left , I was leaving one after repairing a phone there and got stopped . Now its “BB” I was never taken in by all those –“free you pension ” adverts even HMG own adverts , you lose out in percentages , do you think any company that intercedes for you is doing it for charitable reasons or humanitarian reasons ? No to me they are all sharks and rip off merchants playing on the —have a lovely holiday abroad etc –and when that holiday is over you are left with less cash for old age . Its okay if you are rich and can afford it but think on – some worker in industry has worked all his life and comes from a poor back ground ,any money he has built up is in his pension and now they want him to spend it before he gets old ? That just leaves him in poverty and a cruel old age . What I think about “those people ” isnt printable and now the same people have stirred up young people in the media to cry — look at those “rich ” pensioners ” it isnt fair !! Commercialism has a lot to answer for. its to make older people feel guilty –WHY ?? they saved and worked all their lives , have they not got the moral and “god given” right to spend their money without being ripped off??

It is a world with a good sprinkling of wicked people – fraudsters, criminals and those who are “legal” but exploit those who are not too savvy. Equity release for your home; great to get your hands on some cash but who really wins financially? Webuyany…car/house, but at prices that disadvantage you. Cash for houses at below market value. PPI misselling where a big chunk of your legitimate claim goes to someone else. Extortionate payday loans.

As well as cracking down on the fraudsters we need to help educate people in the ways of the world. Scams will always be there in one form or another, one step ahead of the authorities; the law won’t stop them. But we can make people more aware of what goes on, and try to make people think harder and seek advice before doing something they might regret. Seeking professional advice – from people who understand such matters better than us – makes sense, just like going to the doctors. To moan that it costs money…..well, it could save you an awful lot more.

I am afraid, Mary, that we have to accept that free advice is worth what you pay for it. That does not mean that the advice provided for a fee by an independent financial adviser will always be better but at least they are accountable. What advice you need will depend heavily on the level of your existing savings as you go into retirement and then the balance [if any] between your expenditure and your income. If those two are significant then seeking professional advice might be worth while, otherwise spending some time looking at the information leaflets in one or two mutual building societies might be all the help you need. The weekend newspapers have useful financial advice supplements that can often provide guidance for people in your situation.

This basically boils down to why has this country still not banned the phone as a means of selling to people. If you or I ring a company then fine, otherwise illegal.