100% Free Independent Advice

Unfair credit – Banks Pushed To Fight Exclusion

Banks Pushed To Fight Exclusion

To many people their bank accounts are such an everyday feature of life that they scarcely lend them a thought. To the millions of people that are forced to live without one, however, the situation can be financially crippling.

A group of charities and community groups is highlighting this disparity and are calling on banks to increase access to financial services for the millions of people who are currently excluded.

The Better Banking Campaign, which fights for financial inclusion, says between five and seven million people cannot access mainstream credit such as credit cards.

It claims a further 1.75 million adults don’t have access to even a basic bank account.

Dodgy deals

The coalition says that these people are being forced to borrow money from payday lenders and home credit companies, which often charge interest equivalent to 2,500% a year. One company has even started offering such loans by text message, promising it can get money into people’s bank accounts in minutes.

Even when consumers with a bank account compare credit cards they often find they won’t be eligible for the even the most basic credit card.

The campaign is calling for financial institutions to be given incentives and obligations to encourage them to offer services to people who are currently excluded. It also wants unfair interest rates to be limited and greater transparency on which areas have the biggest problems with financial exclusion.

Research carried out for the group found 70% of people think having access to mainstream financial services should be a basic right, while 55% think being able to access them is essential for everyday living.

A spokesman for the campaign, Steve Wyler, said: “Considering how much public money has propped up the financial institutions, it is deplorable that they aren’t currently supporting the people and businesses most in need in our communities.

“Most people believe access to bank accounts and affordable credit are basic rights, so we want to see this as a priority for all the political parties.”

Consumer Focus, the independent consumer complaints body, last year found that nearly one million of the poorest people in the UK could be lifted out of fin
1000
ancial exclusion if a new simple-to-use bank account was launched by the Post Office network.

An interim solution

In the meantime, those without a bank account may wish to consider options such as the pre-paid cards now offered by credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard.

The idea behind them is that cash is paid onto the prepaid cards in advance, thus avoiding the need for credit. The CashPlus prepaid Gold MasterCard for instance promises 100% acceptance with no credit check or bank account needed in order to get hold of one.

However, it is important to compare prepaid cards do have loading fees, monthly fees or transaction fees, they will still prove a better option than door-step loans or obtaining money from payday lenders.

The best advice is to shop around. The Tuxedo Pay Monthly prepaid card for example charges a monthly fee rather than a fee for each purchase made. Others, such as the Bread prepaid card, don’t charge a monthly maintenance fee but do charge purchase transaction fees of 2%.

By: Justin Schamotta

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Justin Schamotta is a staff writer for the news and reviews site credit card comparison online. The website include tools to help its users to find instant decision credit cards.

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Credit Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From – Home | Finance | Credit

Understanding Debt Settlement and Debt Settlement Companies
Open for Business: Credit Card Processing
Debt Recovery Through Court: Deciding Whether to Make A Claim
Useful Suggestions for Finding the Finest Credit Card Deals
What You Need to Know About the Credit CARD Act< 1000
br>Quick Credit Repair Tips That Really Work
Why File Bankruptcy when there’re Debt Settlement Companies
Find A Credit Card After Bankruptcy
Learn how to clean up your credit report online.
Automotive finance online: Fast tips for new buyers

Service by Substitution in California
by: David G Hallstrom

The following article was written for Resources For Attorneys.com by David Hallstrom, a private investigator, he is not now nor has he ever been an attorney.

Section 415.20 (b) of the California Civil Code Of Procedure States: If a copy of the summons and complaint cannot with reasonable diligence be personally delivered to the person to be served, as specified in Section 416.60, 416.70, 416.80, or 416.90, a summons may be served by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint at the person’s dwelling house, usual place of abode, usual place of business, or usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service post office box, in the presence of a competent member of the household or a person apparently in charge of his or her office, place of business, or usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service post office box, at least 18 years of age, who shall be informed of the contents thereof, and by thereafter mailing a copy of the summons and of the complaint by first-class mail, postage prepaid to the person to be served at the place where a copy of the summons and complaint were left. Service of a summons in this manner is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing.

Most process servers understand dwelling house or usual place of abode to mean the actual place where the person is currently staying. It has, however, been our experience that this means the official residence or place where the person is currently staying. We have found that most courts consider the dwelling house to be where the person is currently staying and the usual place of abode to mean the persons permanent residence, ie: the person lives with his parents but is currently away at school. The persons dwelling house would be where he is currently staying while in school and his usual place of abode would be his parents house where he returns on vacations and when school is on break and where he expects to return when he finishes school. The same applies if the person is currently in the hospital, away on a business trip or is on a vacation.

Usual place of business can mean different things. Say a person works every day in a factory on 8th St., that of course would be a usual place of business. Say a Doctor is on staff and shows up for work regularly at ABC Hospital. He also rents office space from a doctor’s group at another location where he also sees paitents. It has been our experience that both places could be considered the Doctors usual place of business.

Usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service post office box. Usual mailing address can be a private mail box service or any other place (Other than a U.S Post Office branch.) that the subject uses as a mailing address. This does not mean that the person must actually pick up or receive the mail. It only means that the person must use the address as a mailing address. Some people in order to evade creditors or others give out mailing addresses but never pick up the mail. If a person directs people to send that person’s mail to a certain address then that address can be considered a usual place of mailing as the server would have no way of verifying that the mail is actually picked up.

Competent member of the household does not mean family member. It means anyone who resides at that residence, including full time live in nannys, maids, gardeners, friends, etc.. As long as the person resides ther full time they can be considered members of the household.

Person apparently in charge does not mean, as some process servers believe, a manager or officer of the business or place of mailing. It means “the person apparently in charge. If, at an office, the receptionist will not let the process server see anyone else in the office, then the receptionist is the highest person in charge that the server can serve. If the only person who works at a mail box service says that he or she is only a clerk, that person is still the person apparently in charge.

Serving a complaint in a gated community or security building where the security guard will not allow entrance. On May 28, 1992, in the case of Robert Bein vs Bechtel-Jochim, the California Court Of Appeals held that a guard gate does constitute part of the dwelling and therefore the guard is a competent member within the dwelling. The court reasoned that if a process server is not permitted to proceed to the actual residence, then the outer bounds of the actual dwelling place must be deemed to extend to the location at which the process server’s progress is arrested.

Reasonable diligence has been interpreted differently in different jurisdictions, however, we have found that if three attempts are made at least eight hours apart and if at least two of those attempts are made at the address wher the papers are served then a substituted service on the fourth attempt is usually considered valid.

The foregoing information is not given as legal advice. It is instead given as information and opinion gathered and developed through experience over the last thirty years. David Hallstrom is the owner of Hallstrom Detective Agency and although the agency no longer offers process serving services, it has, through it’s servers, completed service of several hundred thousand legal documents. Although the author believes the information to be accurate no guarantee is made or implied.

Permission is given to reprint this article providing credit is given to the author, David G. Hallstrom, and a link is listed to Resources For Attorneys the owner of this article. Anyone or any company reprinting this article without giving proper credit and the correct link, is doing so without permission and will be subject to legal action.

For a nationwide directory of laws, codes and statutes listed by state see Laws Codes And Statutes from Resourcesforattorneys.com. Or for a nationwide directory of federal, state and local courts see Federal, State And Local Courts.

About The Author