my economics for you - Finance Articles 37954

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Many people in the UK, in fact as many as one in three UK taxpayers have paid too much tax! The Taxation People, are a forward thinking online accountancy service that specialise in helping people who might be eligible for a tax refund. They offer a online service, with a simple and easy to follow process that will get you the refund you are entitled to. I would urge you to check out The Taxation People, where if you have been or are currently employed The Taxation People can help you get a Tax Refund. The Taxation People are a trading name of Greer & Taylor LLP a respected and trusted accountancy service provider who offers a number of online services. Initially they are only offeering the Tax Refund service that can be found at www.thetaxationpeople.com, but Greer & Taylor LLP are about to lauch a cost effective Self Assesment Service, keep an eye on www.greer-taylor.com for more information.

Homeowner Loans
Another bill has just landed through the letterbox and your still haven`t paid the monthly direct debt to the utility firm. You`ll have to sort out funds for your credit cards next week and then there are the catalogue payments to make. It`s the same story each and every month where you struggle to keep on top of your regular payments. Having taken out dribs and drabs of loads over the last few years you now have to pay a number of companies back. What if you could amalgamate all of your loans into one fixed monthly payment? Suppose you could reduce the amount that you pay each month by spreading the payments over a longer period of time. Look into the various Homeowner Loansthat are available at the moment and you could end up paying less in repayments each and every month. Price comparison sites are the places to look if you want one of the Homeowner Loans. They`ll scour the marketplace searching for Homeowner Loansthat will suit your individual needs. Combine all of your debts into one slightly larger loan amount and you should have more money each month that can be put away for a rainy day.

Many banks have started charging customers a fee, some up to $5 if you use their human teller. Some banks will allow you a 1 time per month person to person contact. This was a simple business decision made on the part of management to encourage customers to utilize electronic banking services such as ATM`s and banking by phone. This move prompted quite an annoyance to many bank customers. The national media feasted on the event and created animosity between the reminiscent, way-things-used-to-be-folk, and the net-surfing, need it in a hurry, "can`t you do that any faster" customers. Banks say they have learned that automation, computerization and electronic banking, though intimidating to many, is not only cost effective but more efficient and fool-proof than ordinary human tellers.

?Since many of us refuse to deposit our paycheck, withdraw money or make a loan payment through the ATM, banks are forced to raise fees because it costs a lot of money to continue paying a human workforce for tasks that could be executed electronically?. Says Mark Webb, CFO of First National Bank.

This has created 18 Billion dollar problem that consumers failed to recognize. Online, Automated, Phone, Electronic whatever you want to call it banking misleads and even encourages customers from checking their paper statements and reconciling their accounts every month. I would go as far as saying the ?can?t you do that any faster? customer do not even open their monthly paper statement.

This leaves the banks the perfect opportunity for unethical and unfair business practices. I?m sure at this point you are asking how. As you can know if you are following my research on bank fees, I?m about to tell you. By failing to open your paper statement, you miss the opportunity to rummage through your home looking for your grandmothers reading glass (magnifying glass for you youngsters) and reading those thin, slick little inserts laced with changes bank in your bank?s procedures. Such as Fee increases. By pushing electronic banking down your throat they also encourage you to just ?check your balance? everyday and go from there. I have actually called a bank over fee issues and my inability to keep up with the lightening speed they deduct them from your bank account, and had a teller say to me ?don?t you check your balance online every morning.? I?m sticking with ?the way things used to be? approach as long as I can.

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