Dyne Drewett

Tougher rules for payday loan firms

Daniel Coate — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 06:00:48 +0000

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has told Payday loan firms to change their behaviour as it attempts to tackle “rouge lenders” and get tough on “aggressive debt collection”.

The biggest firms are being given 12 weeks to change their practices or risk losing their licences.

Some firms could be referred to the Competition Commission after the OFT found problems with the way payday loan companies compete.

The OFT covered 90 per cent of the payday loans market in the UK and found poor practice including; failure to work out whether people could afford the loans, aggressive debt collection practices and failure to explain how repayments are collected.

Clive Maxwell, the OFT’s chief executive said too many people were granted loans they could not afford to repay.

He said: “We have found fundamental problems with the way the payday market works and widespread breaches of the law and regulations, causing misery and hardship for many borrowers.”

The OFT also said payday lenders relied on many people not being able to pay off their original loans on time, forcing them to take out new loans.

Although they are often described as one-off short term loans, costing an average of £25 per £100 for 30 days, it said up to half of payday lenders’ revenue came from loans that last for a longer period.

The government has also set out plans of its own to clamp down on the practices of payday lenders.

It wants lenders to face new restrictions on how they advertise, and it is to consult with the industry on a new code of practice.

Consumer Affairs Minister, Jo Swinson, said: “The government will work closely with the Office of Fair Trading, Advertising Standards Agency, Committees of Advertising Practice, and industry to make sure advertising does not lure consumers into taking out payday loans that are not right for them.”

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Legal aid cuts planned for criminal courts

Daniel Coate — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 06:00:36 +0000

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced further plans to cut the £2bn legal aid bill in England and Wales.

Savings of up to £350m have already been earmarked by removing legal aid for a range of civil cases including those involving social welfare debt, employment, family problems, clinical negligence, divorce and housing problems.

And consultation on plans to cut criminal case costs will start next month. Restrictions could be made on lawyers competing for contracts and criminal’s cars could be sold to recoup costs.

Other measures include making criminals pay the entire cost of their defence if they refuse to take part in means testing.

Mr Grayling said in a statement: “Criminal defence represents by far the largest element of our remaining legal aid spend, where we are still spending over £1bn a year.”

The civil legal aid cuts, which begin in April, led Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger to speak out claiming the plans could restrict access to justice.

Lord Neuberger thinks any which cuts threaten the rule of law should be rethought.

He said: “We are working to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system as a whole, to move towards swifter resolution of cases before the courts.”

Mr Grayling said the consultation paper on plans – including introducing price competition in the criminal legal aid market – would be published in April.

Tendering for contracts would be opened in autumn 2013 and the first contracts would “go live” in autumn 2014, he said.

Mr Grayling said the consultation would include further proposals to both improve the credibility of the legal aid scheme and reduce its cost to the taxpayer.

The Bar Council have criticised the plans. Chairman Maura McGowan QC said: “It assures none of the safeguards and qualities which we must expect from our justice system.

“Decisions on allocation of work must be made on quality and not on money alone.”

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House prices continue to rise

Daniel Coate — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 06:00:20 +0000

House prices and sales are rising at the market continues on a “modest upward trend”, the latest survey from the Halifax has shown.

Last month house prices rose by 0.5 per cent and property values are 1.9 per cent higher than they were three months ago.

Halifax said the average property now costs £163,600 and predicts prices will rise during the rest of the year.

Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis, said house prices in the three months to February were up 1.9 per cent from the previous quarter and rising employment had helped to support demand for housing.

He said: “This was the third successive increase in this measure of the underlying trend.

“This increase in both house prices and activity in recent months is consistent with evidence of some improvement in market conditions.

“The more than half-a-million increase in the number of people in employment over the past year is likely to have been a factor supporting housing demand.”

Other lender’s recent reports have not been quite so positive.

Nationwide building society reported last week that house prices had risen by 0.2 per cent in February, but were unchanged from a year earlier.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) recently reported that lending fell three per cent between January 2012 and January 2013.

However, the CML said it expected the government’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) to bring some improvement in activity in the coming months. The scheme has been credited for helping to reduce some mortgage rates.

The Bank of England reported a fall of £2.4bn in lending to individuals and businesses in the final quarter of 2012, but said the situation had improved significantly in January.

Mark Harris, of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, still thinks mortgages need to be more accessible.

He said: “While lenders are now cutting rates, most are still demanding big deposits for anyone wanting to take out a mortgage.

“We need to see some easing of criteria in order to make mortgages more accessible. This is surely the next move for lenders, many of whom tell us they have had enough of a rate war.”

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Fine for food company after worker’s hand crushed

Daniel Coate — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:00:27 +0000

A Leeds-based food company has been fined for safety failings after an agency worker had two fingers crushed by hydraulic rams in a sausage roll machine which had a broken guard.

The 26-year-old worker was removing filling for pasties from a hopper on the machine at the Excellent Food Company in Meanwood when his fingers came into contact with dangerous moving parts.

Two fingers on his right hand were badly injured. The middle finger has been left with no nerve sensation and his third finger, which had to be stitched back on, has only partial sensation. He will have permanent limitations with his hand as a result.

The incident in March last year was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted the company at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

The court was told that the agency worker had been employed by Excellent Food Company for only eight weeks before his injury.

He was removing filling from the hopper on the top of the sausage roll machine with a jug. As the jug was too large to get to the bottom, he used his hand as he had seen other employees do. His fingers came into contact with the moving hydraulic rams, crushing two.

HSE found an interlocked guard that should have stopped the movement of dangerous parts was not working. Magistrates were told that HSE had served an Improvement Notice on the company after guarding deficiencies were identified on other machinery during a visit in December 2011.

Excellent Food Company Yorkshire Ltd, of Buslingthorpe Lane, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,688 in full costs after pleading guilty to one offence under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Rachel Brittain said: “A young man has suffered very painful injuries and permanent impairment in an incident that was wholly avoidable.

“Excellent Food Company should have ensured that there were effective measures in place to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of the machine. They had been warned about these risks before yet failed to meet acceptable standards.

“The risks to workers from contact with machinery are well known in the food and drink industry and account for ten per cent of major injury incidents in the sector.”

HSE statistics for 2010/11 show that there was one death and more than 800 major injuries in the food and drink manufacturing industries. A further 4,000 less severe injuries were recorded.

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Former footballer sets up property academy

Daniel Coate — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:00:06 +0000

Former England and Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler has launched a ‘property academy’ to help aspiring buy-to-let landlords.

The footballer, who also played in Australia before retiring, has developed a portfolio of about 80 properties – mainly residential terraces in the North West of England.

After investing his earnings from a successful football career in property, Fowler’s personal wealth is now reportedly around £28 million.

Fowler is not expected to be present in person at the free two-hour sessions this week, his team will offer advice on subjects such as raising finance, spotting the best property deals, improving your credit rating and good property management.

Fowler said: “Off the pitch, one of my biggest successes has come from investing in property. When I first started I didn’t know much about the property world, but I had some good advice from people who did.

“It was by putting that advice into practice that made my business go from strength to strength. It doesn’t matter what state the market’s in, there is always money to be made as long as you get the right education.”

During Fowler’s spell at Manchester City, home fans used to sing, ‘We all live in a Robbie Fowler house’ to the tune of ‘Yellow Submarine’ in an affectionate nod to his property interests.

Tigrent Learning will deliver the Robbie Fowler Property Academy events, which take place between March 12 and 16 in London.

“During his long-playing career, football legend Robbie Fowler has built up an extensive property portfolio. Through well-advised and shrewd investments in modest properties, Robbie has seen his property business go from strength to strength,” say workshop organisers.

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Court of Appeal finds Will invalid

David Gard — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 06:00:59 +0000

The Court of Appeal have delivered judgement in a Will dispute case and criticised the family’s choice to continue the battle given that it is likely to render the £200,000 estate worthless though lost legal costs. Mummer LJ said “A six day trial with 26 witnesses does not come cheap. Now there is this appeal.”

The case concerned the Will of Daphne Burgess who died in May 2009 leaving three children. She made a new Will in 2007 which, contrary to her earlier Will, divided her estate between her two daughters, entirely cutting out her son Peter. Despite the Will having been drafted and executed under the supervision of an experienced lawyer, the original judgement declared the Will invalid on the grounds that Mrs Burgess lacked testamentary capacity and knowledge and approval of the Will’s contents.

The Court of Appeal declined to rule on the issue of capacity but issued this warning about weighing psychiatric evidence against the fact that the Will was professionally drafted: “My concern is that the courts should not too readily upset, on the grounds of lack of mental capacity, a Will that has been drafted by an experienced independent lawyer. If, as here, an experienced lawyer has been instructed and has formed the opinion from a meeting or meetings that the testatrix understands what she is doing, the Will so drafted and executed should only be set aside on the clearest evidence of lack of mental capacity. The court should be cautious about acting on the basis of evidence of lack of capacity given by a medical expert after the event, particularly when that expert has neither met nor medically examined the testatrix, and particularly in circumstances when that expert accepts that the testatrix understood that she was making a Will and also understood the extent of her property.”

Nonetheless the Court of Appeal upheld the original judgement declaring the Will invalid on the grounds of lack of knowledge and approval.

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Court rules on child harm

David Gard — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 06:00:07 +0000

The Supreme Court has ruled that just because a mother has harmed her children in the past, she should not necessarily be prevented from looking after children in the future. Lady Hale emphasised that suspicion of future harm is not enough.

The case itself concerned a mother whose first child had died of non accidental injuries. Her second child was the subject of care proceedings in 2004 and subsequently taken into care after it was ruled that one of the parents had caused the injuries and the other at least hidden them. The present proceedings concerned three children who are cared for by the mother alongside her new partner.

Lady Hale said “The wording of section 31(2) has been the subject of six appeals to the House of Lords and Supreme Court. Those cases have consistently held that a prediction of future harm has to be founded on proven facts: suspicions or possibilities are not enough. Such facts have to be proved on the simple balance of probabilities.”

She continued “Reasonable suspicion is a sufficient basis for the authorities to investigate and even to take interim protective measures, but it cannot be a sufficient basis for the long term intervention, frequently involving permanent placement outside the family, which is entailed in a care order. It would be most unfair to the whole family, not only to this mother, but also to her husband and all the children, for these proceedings to continue further.”

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Lib Dem proposal dubbed ‘wacky’ by Vince Cable

David Gard — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 06:00:33 +0000

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has been speaking following the announcement of a package of potential taxation reforms by the Liberal Democrat party.

He said of the proposals “This is not party policy. There is a working group coming up with ideas on a wide variety of things … some of their ideas are interesting, a couple of them are a bit wacky – the idea of taxing jewellery is completely impractical and intrusive. The idea that you combine together people’s properties, probably doesn’t make a great deal of sense because people’s second homes are already subject to capital gains tax, income tax on the rent. So there are ideas in there that I am sure will not get any further, but we have a democratic process, we have activists who come forward with ideas, we debate them and then we make policy – but we are a long, long way from that. I think we will want to stop at a mansion tax and make that work.”

Meanwhile the Labour Party have sought to back the idea of a mansion tax which would see a taxation charge on property portfolios totalling more than £2million. Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said “I have been arguing for a small levy of 1% on very high value properties over £2m for years – long before Ed Miliband. The last thing I worry about is what the latest twists and turns are of Labour Party policy. What I think they need to do is instead of constantly advocating other people’s policies is come up with some of their own.”

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Lord McAlpine drops case against Twitter users

David Gard — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 06:00:19 +0000

Lord McAlpine has revealed that he has agreed to drop his libel action against twitter users with less than 500 followers in return for a donation to charity. In recently released statement he confirmed that he had written to the twitter users concerned and asked that they make a £25 donation each to Children in Need in return for him dropping his claim. Lord McAlpine has already won a reported £185,000 pay out from the BBC after he was falsely named as a paedophile and £125,000 from the ITV after presenter Phillip Schofield revealed a list of names on air during This Morning which implicated him in sex offences.

Lord McAlpine said “Whilst I reached a settlement last year with both the BBC and ITV, I would like to now draw this unfortunate episode, forced into my life, to a close. I have dropped all claims against those tweeters with less than 500 followers, in return for a very modest donation to BBC Children In Need, which funds 2,600 projects supporting disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.”

Meanwhile, Lord McAlpine has confirmed that he will be continuing with his action against Sally Bercow, wife of Commons speaker John Bercow. He said “I have requested that my lawyers, focus on the action against Sally Bercow and that damages arising from this are donated to a charity of her choice. I am not intending to make any further comment on this matter.”

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Law Commission warns on right to light

David Gard — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 06:00:00 +0000

The Law Commission have warned that the right to light may be being exploited by landowners who use the threat of an injunction to extract payments. They stated that such rights may have a “disproportionately negative impact upon the potential for the development of land”. The Commission has launched a consultation on the subject.

Law Commissioner Professor Elizabeth Cooke said “Rights to light are important. These rights do not just add to a property’s value, they also enhance the amenity of our homes and businesses. But there is also a public interest in the development of the modern, high quality residential, office and commercial development that we need in our town and city centres.”

The Law Commission consultation also emphasised the importance of rights to light. It stated “Rights to light are valuable: they give landowners certainty that natural light will continue to be enjoyed by a property – increasing its utility, value and amenity. The right may enable landowners to prevent construction that would interfere with their rights or, in some circumstances, to have a building demolished. Where a development has taken place, but a court does not order its demolition, the court may award substantial damages. It may not be clear which remedy the court will order and landowners may succeed in preventing development even if they raise the issue after building has commenced.”

The aim of the consultation is stated as follows “This project investigates whether the law by which rights to light are acquired and enforced provides an appropriate balance between the important interests of landowners and the need to facilitate the appropriate development of land. It considers the interrelationship of rights to light with the planning system, and examines whether the remedies available to the courts are reasonable, sufficient and proportionate.”

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