Written by Joseph Perry on October 14, 2010.
With the colder weather setting in and winter fast approaching people across the UK may wish to ensure they avoid becoming the victim of a rogue trader, with particular concerns about the welfare of older people.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has joined forces with Age UK to warn Britons to beware of unscrupulous doorstep traders.
It suggests some untrustworthy individuals offer a seasonal line in winter-proofing homes and advises consumers to ensure they are fully aware of who they are dealing with before making an agreement.
Although doorstep canvassing is not illegal and many legitimate businesses do so, rogue trading is a growing problem.
According to advice line Consumer Direct, it received more than 5,300 complaints about traders offering home maintenance work door-to-door last year.
This was a 16 per cent rise on the previous year and may have been a result of an increased vulnerability due to the especially cold weather conditions. Read more…
Written by Joseph Perry on October 14, 2010.
People refinance their existing mortgage for various reasons. But you should also know the benefits you get out of refinancing. You may reduce the loan term when you opt for refinancing, that is if you have a mortgage with a 30-year fixed rate plan, you can reduce the loan term to a 15-year fixed rate plan. Some people also refinance for renovating their home and getting better returns. You may also refinance to change from an owner-occupied home to a rental home.
What mistakes can you avoid?
You may refinance for any of the above said points, but getting a professional help when doing a serious thing is mandatory. Don’t try to give any importance to other’s whims but do as the financial institutions suggest. Below are given 5 silly mistakes you’re prone to make while refinancing:
1. Not shopping around for a lender
This can really put you in a very bad situation if you don’t compare different lenders when you’re refinancing. If you go
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Written by Adam Sullivan on October 13, 2010.
Ms. Kathleen M. Hackett brought suit in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota’s Western Division against Standard Insurance Company (Standard), alleging that Standard had wrongfully denied her long-term disability benefits claim. In the first round, in 2007, both parties moved for summary judgment. The District Court granted summary judgment to Standard on August 15, 2007. Court held that although Standard operated under a conflict of interest, under Woo, Hackett’s disability attorney had failed to prove that a serious breach of fiduciary duty had occurred.
On appeal against the order of the District Court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the matter back to the District Court for its reconsideration of the conflict of interest issue. This was ordered in the light of Glenn v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company decision.
In remand, Hackett’s disability attorney served a set of interrogatories and request for production of documents upon Standard. The a
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Written by Scott Barnes on October 10, 2010.
With unemployment at an all time high more and more people are turning towards entrepreneurism as a way to take control of their financial future.
However, one of the many obstacles facing startups is lack of capital and relying on personal credit to fund a business is extremely difficult when you are faced with a bad credit problem.
Not too long ago FICO released information showing that over 25 percent of consumers now have a credit score of 599 or below. Read more…
Written by Joseph Perry on October 8, 2010.
A lot of people have succumbed to debt and are getting more and more restless to get out of out. Debt freedom is the most important aim in everybody’s lives now. To achieve debt freedom, you’re supposed to follow certain steps. By following these steps, you can also know the real meaning of savings and thus spend frugally.
Ways to help you achieve debt freedom
You may not know how you fell into heavy debts but since you have incurred the unpaid bills, it’s better to pay them off as fast as possible. Read on to know few smart ways toward debt freedom:
1. Assess your financial situation
This should be you main aim in life when you’re dealing with finances. If you have a budget that you can follow and strictly stick to, you’ll never fall in debts. But when you incur debts, you should assess you financial situation and write down how much you owe and how much you can pay toward it.
2. D
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Written by Joseph Perry on October 8, 2010.
A law professor at the University of Chicago has sold his east Flossmoor home for $250,000.
Craig Futterman and Kenyatta Futterman sold the five-bedroom, 3.5-bath home at 1752 Sylvan Court on Sept. 7 to Carlos Montoya and Jessica Arteaga.
The Futtermans bought the home for $242,000 in July 2000.
The 2,568-square-foot, Spanish-style home was built in 1928.
Futterman, a clinical professor of law, was appointed to the law school faculty in 2000.
Previously, he was director of public interest programs and a lecturer at Stanford Law School, where he earned his law degree.
He also has been an attorney in the juvenile division of the Cook County Public Defender’s office and in private practice.
Account manager sells 3-bedroom in Oak Forest
An account manager for an Internet service provider has sold his home in Oak Forest.
Brian Lucitt and Katherine Lucitt sold the three-bedroom, two-bath home at 5337 W. La Palm Court for $218,000 on Aug. 9
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Written by Scott Barnes on October 3, 2010.
Two fundamental rules of web design eagerly taught by most experts until not so long ago were: a) web design doesn’t work the same as print design, and b) when designing a web page, be mindful of prevailing conventions. Both rules are still valid to a certain extent, but not absolutely.
Print design doesn’t suffer from the limitations of low screen resolution or from the unpredictability of users’ browser size and rendering capabilities, which are just a few differences between print and web design. Also, web designers traditionally couldn’t get too caught up in the creative side of design. If they did, they could lose sight of the fact that web site visitors need familiar landmarks and clues to navigate a site. Without these visual clues, they could end up feeling lost in a maze of images – the meaning of which remains hidden to them.
Thankfully, internet speeds are faster now and the higher screen resolution monitors are often used. One fantasti
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Written by Joseph Perry on October 3, 2010.
It can sometimes prove satisfying to get a bargain while shopping, whether it’s a price reduction on a product or three for the price of two.
However, a new investigation by the consumer watchdog Which? has indicated some supermarket products are not as appealing as the shopper may think at first glance.
The body believes some product claims have illegally misled consumers.
It based its assertion on data supplied by supermarket price comparison site mySupermarket.com, which revealed more than 600 examples on August 1st this year where the consumer would get better value buying smaller versions of products.
Which? cited three examples of bigger products it believes illegally misled consumers and noted the packaging of products at Asda and Sainsbury’s claimed they were ‘great’ or ‘better’ value than their single item equivalents, despite this not being the case. Read more…