This email was sent to Money Box subscribers on 3 June 2011

Dear Listener

They’re back! After a two-year absence the newsletter munching Gremlins have returned and swallowed last week’s newsletter without even blinking. In fact with a faint smile. They were partially bypassed because it is now published on the Money Box website. So avid fans read it there. And both of them did. Unfortunately even that copy will be overwritten by THIS newsletter today. So you just won’t be able to read all about….no, I’ll censor it too. So there.

 

We reported in March that Halifax was paying an average of £2000 to 300,000 customers after it discovered it had misled them about their mortgage. Now it has emerged, thanks to a question I answered on Lunchtime with Mark Patterson on the Londonderry station BBC Radio Foyle, that the ‘goodwill payment’ is not going to be a payment at all but will be taken straight off the mortgage. To get the money you need to ask and the letter telling you the good news about the payment does not explain how to do that. Now taking the money off your mortgage might be a sensible idea. But if you have a credit card debt or have just lost your job or had a major expense you might feel the cash would be more use. And surely Halifax should make that choice plain on the face of the letter?

 

It’s half-term. So all those members of staff with children are on leave. I don’t know why. You get more peace on a week off if the children are at school. Ah well. So we are short-staffed. But not short-itemed…

 

***IN THIS MONEY BOX THIS WEEK***

 

Is random fair? We are talking Olympics – or London 2012 as it likes to be called – and the ‘peculiar’ (© London Mayor Boris Johnson) system for allocating 6.6 million tickets among the 1.8 million people who applied for 20 million of them. In particular we are asking why are the ticketing helplines closing at 4pm over the weekend when thousands of people have still not sorted out their payment problems?

 

If a 17 year old enters into a contract to buy stuff online using a debit card is that contract binding? Hint: the answer is neither ‘yes’ nor ‘no’.

 

If you want to keep the money you are saving in your pension fund safe from the ups and downs of investments why not put it in cash? One reason is an annual return of 0.83% and charges of 0.8%. Not a very attractive offer. Though at least you are not losing money! But why does a pension fund – Aviva Deposit in this case – get such a low return on cash when you or I can go online and get 3.5% for money tied up for a year – and more for a longer term? And why does it charge so much for such poor performance?

 

And still with investments, the Investment Management Association has decided to reclassify funds operated by its members. Instead of Aggressive, Balanced, and Cautious it is going to brand them simply A, B, and C. Easy. We ask the man in charge how this will help. And what will be in the D funds (yes there will be one) when that category is added?

 

There may be more, there may be less. The final agenda is still a bit fluid. Find out what sinks and what floats by listening on Saturday just after noon or the repeat on Sunday at 9pm or any time to the podcast www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/moneybox. Check out our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox to follow links, download transcripts, send us stories or ideas you want us to look into and Have Your Say on debit cards for the under 18s.

 

Money Box Live on Wednesday takes your questions on the cost of sending and spending money. Call 03700 100 444 when lines open at 1.30pm on Wednesday, or send an e-mail using the link on the programme page.

 

This newsletter is available at bbc.co.uk/moneybox/newsletter around the time it hits your inbox (tell your friends who don’t subscribe) and you can join more than 7500 others who enjoy my random but timely thoughts on money and a few other things whenever I’m awake at www.twitter.com/paullewismoney .

 

Best wishes,

 

Paul

 

PS Don’t forget the trail for the programme on BBC1 Breakfast just after 0845. And I am back on breakfast on Thursday around 0640 and around 0820 (though those times are very subject to change) with another story and answering emails from viewers.

 


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