Category: Personal

There has been sharp rise in the scam calls pretending from HMRC. In most of the cases the caller asks to disclose information about yourself or your finances.

Criminals now use every means at their disposal to obtain details that will enable them, ultimately, to cause you financial harm. For example, they might:

Pretend they are the tax office and offer you a tax refund or threaten you with legal action if you do not pay tax, you apparently owe.

Pretend you have inherited from a distant relative and all you need to do is send them certain personal details.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phishing-and-bogus-emails-hm-revenue-and-customs-examples/phishing-emails-and-bogus-contact-hm-revenue-and-customs-examples

Call your mobile or landline using automated software and offer you some form of reward, financial penalty, or legal action unless you immediately select a number on your keypad.

With your personal details, name, address, etc., they can pretend they are you and borrow money in your name. With your bank details they can transfer money from your bank account.

Criminals can do this from the comfort of their homes, all they need is a computer. And so, be cautious when responding to any request for personal information or bank details. If in doubt, do not respond. Instead, contact a trusted adviser, call the tax office or your bank using contact details published on official websites.

If you need further information, feel free to contact us.

The Government announced a Debt respite scheme launched, aptly named Breathing Space.

Breathing Space will give those facing financial difficulties space to receive debt advice, or mental health crisis treatment, without pressure from creditors or mounting debts.

There are two types of breathing space: a standard breathing space and a mental health crisis breathing space. Where there is a difference between them, we’ll refer specifically to either a standard breathing space or a mental health crisis breathing space. Where there is no difference, we will simply refer to breathing space.

Under the scheme, people will be given legal protection from their creditors for 60 days, with the most interest and penalty charges frozen, and enforcement action halted. They will also receive professional debt advice to design a plan which helps to get their finances back on track.

And recognizing the link between problem debt and mental health issues, these protections will be available for people in mental health crisis treatment – for the full duration of their crisis treatment plus another 30 days.

People across England and Wales who are struggling to repay their debts could be eligible, and the Government expects 700,000 people to benefit in the first year of the scheme.

Most debts will qualify for this debt respite scheme including credit and store cards; personal and payday loans; overdrafts; utility bills, rent and mortgage arrears; and government debts like tax and benefits.

If you need any further information, feel free to contact us.

One of the measures announced at the Budget was the introduction of a new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to help home buyers purchase property. The scheme was officially made available from Monday, 19 April 2021. The new scheme is designed for prospective home buyers who only have a small deposit and are therefore unable to obtain mortgage finance. Under the scheme, lenders will be able to offer new 95% mortgage products.

The scheme is open to first time buyers and home movers across the UK. Home buyers can purchase properties valued at up to £600,000 and both new-build and existing properties are eligible. The scheme will initially run until 31 December 2022. The government has confirmed that the end date for the scheme will be reviewed and may be extended.

The government will provide lenders with the option to purchase a guarantee on the top- slice of the mortgage (over 80%). Lenders will also take a 5% share of net losses above this 80% threshold. This will help to ensure that lenders are not incentivised to originate poor-quality loans. Lenders will also need to pay the government a commercial fee for each mortgage in the scheme. The mortgage guarantee will be valid for up to seven years after the mortgage is originated.

There will be a cap on the size of the government’s contingent liability under the scheme of £3.9 billion although this is not expected to impinge on delivery of the scheme. The scheme is similar to a previous Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee Scheme that closed to new applicants on 31 December 2016.

The scheme is available from lenders on high streets across the country, with Lloyds, Santander, Barclays, HSBC and NatWest already launching mortgages under the scheme and Virgin Money following next month.

Commenting on the launch of the scheme, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said:

‘Every new homeowner and home mover supports jobs right across the housing sector but saving for a big enough deposit can be hard, especially for first time buyers.

By giving lenders the option of a government guarantee on 95% mortgages, many more products will become available, boosting the sector, creating new jobs and helping people achieve their dream of owning their own home.’

Home owners and landlords in England can apply for a grant to make their home more energy efficient. The Green Homes Grant will cover at least two-thirds of the cost up to £5,000 per household. For low income households these grants will cover all costs up to £10,000. The scheme runs until 31 March 2021.

The Green Homes Grant provides homeowners, including the owner occupiers and social/private landlords, vouchers to install one or more of the following primary measures:

• solid wall, under-floor, cavity wall or roof insulation
• air source or ground source heat pump
• solar thermal

Homeowners and the landlords will need to apply for a voucher online. Once the works are agreed, vouchers will start to be issued. HMRC has updated their guidance to confirm that they will start to issue vouchers from early November 2020.

In addition, households can apply for a further voucher to install secondary measures for additional energy saving. Households will need to install at least one of the primary measures above to qualify for further funding for secondary measures. These secondary measures include the following:

• double or triple glazing/secondary glazing, when replacing single glazing
• upgrading to energy efficient doors
• hot water tank/appliance tank thermostats/heating controls

Secondary measures can only be subsidised up to the amount of subsidy provided for primary measures. (e.g. if a household receives £1,000 for primary measures, they can only receive a maximum of £1,000 towards secondary measures).