General Financial Matters ...

Has anyone received this year's (2023) winter fuel payment yet or will it be paid late? My quarterly energy bill is due soon so I hope it will come soon.

Every one of us uses local government services. So why do so few of us pay Council Tax? I have just received my 2017/18 Council Tax bill which I am required to pay, regardless of my income or my ability to pay. I benefit from a single occupants discount. There are millions of adults (including many wealthy) who do not pay any council tax, merely because they happen to share a home. They consume but pay nothing. Essentially they are 'freeloaders'. The situation is further exacerbated when central government pushes more financial responsibility onto local authorities. Taxpayers make a saving and the burden is shifted to far fewer council tax payers. Taxpayers pay according to their means whilst council tax payers pay regardless of their means. So when your MP proclaims "fairness" in their pre election campaign, remind them of council tax. They will not want to know.

My husband works in our local golf club. It's only a small club but we have around 150 members and so have a need to collect monthly membership fee payments. Does anyone, either now or in their previous working history, have experience working in Accounting or an Accounts Payable department? He's looking to find out more about a company called Interbacs, who offer very efficient and easy to get to grips with direct debit solutions.

I've been reading about the different interests rates that are on offer at present. If you have an existing Equity Release Mortgage then an interest rate of 6% means that the amount you owe will double every 12 years BUT if your lucky and have an interest rate of 3% then the debt doubles every 20 years. That's a huge difference. If you are in this position it's worth looking into changing your Lender which is very straight forward as Equity Release mortgages can be changed just like conventional mortgages.

I am very unhappy that these plans are totally unregulated. I think they should be avoided as they do not necessarily provide good value for money. In addition, they are often overlooked by relatives when they are dealing with a deceased's estate. If you really are worried about the cost of your funeral discuss it with your family and perhaps open a savings account specifically for this purpose. Assuming you have sufficient funds in your Estate when you die, your family can ask a bank or building society to release money to pay for your funeral before they have administered your Estate.

For many years my wife and I have enjoyed reasonable interest rates on our NS&I accounts - but not anymore. 0.01% is totally unacceptable. However, I don't feel inclined to move our money into an internet only account with an unknown foreign bank just to get say 1% interest. The solution I have come up with is to transfer our money into a maximum holding of £50,000 of premium bonds. By holding £50,000 each we stand a good chance of winning prizes equivalent to 1% annual interest and of course we might hit the jackpot. Since moving our money in December I have already won one £25 prize and I'm looking to win a few more in 2021. It certainly puts some fun into savings when the rates are so low.

Problems with WFP

I rang the number yesterday and noticed they had changed the text to inform people that they would now get their WFA by 31 st March 2021, which incidentally is the last day of the old Tax year.

I have not received payment for this years winter fuel allowance. On the 7th December I received £10.00, why I do not know. I have sent three emails asking for the payment but no answer yet.

So far we have not received the Christmas Bonus despite having our pensions paid weekly. Has anyone noticed late payments this year ? (2020)