Cash, Cars and Babes

Names, addresses. national insurance numbers and bank account details can all been a means to steal somebody's identity - the prospect of this being a major cause of anxiety for millions of people, believing they can be the subject of fraud.

Despite the fact that identity theieves would have to hack the bank accounts by deciphering passwords, once the information is accessed, the thieves can then imitate the victim, apply for loans and clear out their savings. Identity theft is an ever present risk, particularly due to the rise in online banking and data being stored electronically. In comes Identity Theft Insurance.

In February 2006, BT launched their BT Identity Protection, a years cover being offered for £60. This includes:

• Up to £50,000 cover
• The monitoring of an individuals credit report, and alerting of any changes
• Registering of important documents, such as passports, in case they are stolen
  
• The provision of a personal caseworker in the event of identity theft
• The provision of all paperwork if the individual is a victim of fraud

Although BT are not promoting this product any longer, it is still available if the individual wants it.

But is this insurance worth buying? Yes, it provides the help someone may well need if they are subject to identity theft. But Which? claim it is poor value for money, who say that any monetary loss is covered in the Banking Code, although, the bank can technically charge the first £50. There is a lot of paperwork, but you still have to do it. You still have to do the legwork. All you have is someone on the other end of the phone, telling you to do it.

It could work out to be a lot of money for a service that isn't that great. The best thing to do, is buy a shredder.

I have a lot of issues with the existence of bank charges. Yes, theres a court case underway to try and prove them to be unlawful, which would give the common man the chance to reclaim his charges back, but that doesnt look like it will be solved for a long time yet.

So in the meantime, its interesting to find out just how much it costs the bank, if a cheque/direct debit bounces, and how that relates to the costs we, as consumers, are charged.

It has been found, that the cost of employing somebody to bounce that cheque, may be as little as £2, which is a massive deduction in comparison to what we get charged - approxiomatelly £25 - £30 per cheque. Bit ridiculous isn't it? But, as mentioned in the article, banks will have other overheads, which contribute to the costs of bouncing a cheque, including "...building, heating, lighting, stamps, stationery, telephones, computers etc...". They aren't really the account holders problem though are they? and we shouldnt be contributing to them by way of unnecessary bank charges.

According to a recent study the amount of stamp duty first time buyers are paying has almost doubled since 2002, paying £960 five years back and an average of £1,750 nowadays. Thats an increase of 82%.

The increase has been said to be due to "the period of sustained house growth during the period which has meant that more and more novice homebuyers are liable for the charge"

Its first time buyers in London that were the most susceptible to paying stamp duty, with two thirds of them paynig the 3-4% rate. Ouch.