September 2013 – Money Fight Club

Attacking household bills

Posted on September 16, 2013 by mfc

Next to buying food, household bills, such as gas, electric and phone rental – are where money fighters hone their skills. This is because they come thick and fast. You probably only renegotiate your mortgage every few years but you have monthly, possibly weekly opportunities to punch above your weight around the house. Plus this is where really big companies can get the better of us if we’re not ready to fight back. They come into our home (via the letter box) and con us – and that’s plain wrong. It’s even more galling because what we’re dealing with here covers […]

Price hunting

Posted on September 16, 2013 by mfc

Horsemeat scandal aside, the biggest thing that drives our food shopping tactics is the need to keep within an overall budget and the most recent UK recession has taken its toll in this respect. Figures from the Office for National Statistics in April 2013 showed food sales down by over 4% compared with the previous month and nearly the same amount down year on year. The cold weather hit so-called summer foods but people were also pinching pennies from the table as the long winter and rising fuel prices hit their energy bills. Food prices have also been steadily increasing. […]

Your rights – adding extra punch

Posted on September 16, 2013 by mfc

Your rights sit at your strong right hand and help you land a tougher punch. Quoting the law, showing you know who a particular industry’s regulator is and demonstrating you can find your way around both internal and external complaints’ procedures will make most companies break out in a cold sweat. At the time of writing an overhaul of consumer law has been promised but in the meantime there’s an assortment of existing legislation, as well as regulators – not to mention the option of pursuing a small claim through the courts. But you need to take a strategic approach. […]

Get Money Fight Club Fit!

Posted on September 16, 2013 by mfc

[av_dropcap1]O[/av_dropcap1]pen up your paper or turn on the news on any given day and somewhere between the latest celebrity indiscretion and the football scores you’ll invariably find a financial scandal of one type or another. It will involve a company you have a relationship with or, at the very least, have definitely heard of. It will be a brand name you recognize, a mainstream financial sector, such as banking – or an essential, such as heating or food. It will involve smartly dressed, well- heeled people who’ve apparently engaged in a degree of monetary shenanigans that a cowboy builder might […]

Why you need Money Fight Club

Posted on September 11, 2013 by mfc

Whether it’s dubious supermarket deals or failing banks, the modern high street is full of financial bullies who grab our cash and give us poor deals in return. If anything, the 21st century presents us with an even greater likelihood of getting financially beaten up. And while we may have our guard up against obvious cons – such as emails from deposed potentates offering us huge sums in exchange for temporary use of our bank accounts – we assume well-known brands and high street names operate very differently. Forget that! Every single organisation with something to sell is after our […]