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UNITE Opinion BY NICK BOWN, BRENTWOOD BILLS CLUB


SoAPBoX Your letters Pensions – right to warn


Switch and save


I was shocked to read the pieces on poverty in UniteWorks November/December edition and so I thought I’d share with readers something I’ve been doing in my local community to try and address some of the points you raised.


I used to be the health and safety rep for my chapel but I was injured and left disabled from saving a colleague from being crushed because basic safety equipment wasn't available. This has left me unable to work so, rather than being stuck at home, I thought I would use my skills to help people in the local area and have set up a bills club.


The purpose of the club is to help individuals, small businesses and community groups (such as churches, charities, etc) save money on their utility bills. We’re a non-profit organisation; everyone is a volunteer and no-one gets a salary.


The way we help is very simple, people send us their bills, we analyse them and then negotiate with the suppliers to get them the best deal. We will even visit them in their house to talk them through our findings and help with any paperwork. We also provide practical help and advice on how to save money and not get tricked by the telephone/mobile/energy companies.


The biggest issue we are seeing is the majority of people know they’re on the wrong tariffs but are too scared of being ripped off to act. This is particularly true of the elderly and young families and these are the two groups which need the extra money the most.


Of the elderly people we have helped, most have said their entire state pension went on heating their house and we have managed to save them about £400 a year.


The real tragedy is that people are so scared of switching provider, they would rather force their families to do without or risk dying of cold! It’s a crazy position and so far we have not found a single case of where the fear has matched the reality.


Views expressed in letters and Soapbox are those of the individual and not necessarily endorsed by Unite.


oVER To YoU:Why not send us your views for Your letters or Soapbox?Write to us at uniteWORKS, Unite, 128 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8TN or email uniteworks@unitetheunion.org


31 uniteWORKS January/February 2013


I agree with Jack Clarke in the last Unite Works that a compulsory work pension is ok as long as it works. So it’s probably better to have some pension which is likely to be derisory than none at all, and derisory it will be with the increasing switch to money purchase schemes where the worker bears all the risk.


It’s laudable that Unite champions the cause of the UK’s biggest employer, the NHS but I do feel it needs a wider focus to explore other issues for example that private sector workers on average draw around half of the pension that a public sector worker enjoys. And of course public sector pensions are not funded by pension funds as such, they are paid for out of taxation, so not liable to close or default in the way that many final salary pensions have.


Carole Scott, Herts Give us credit!


Congratulations on the articles about the government's austerity measures driving working people into reliance on loan sharks and the exorbitant interest rates charged. But a major omission in your articles was not highlighting credit unions as an alternative for people who find themselves in financial need.


I volunteer with Community Savings and Loans, the credit union for Berkshire (see www.cslberks.org). As with all credit unions we are owned and run by and for our members. Where people like Wonga charge 4,124 per cent interest APR (annual percentage rate), we charge 24 per cent. We are here to help people manage their finances, not get them into debt.


There are credit unions throughout the country and they are especially prevalent in Ireland. To find your local credit union go to the website for the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) at www.abcul.org.


Ray Barkley, Slough Credit union?


There is an alternative to high interest payday loans – your local credit union. You can find your nearest one on the ABCUL website.


As they are co-operative organisations, any profits made go back to the members. The interest rates are currently capped at 2 per cent per month, and many credit unions charge less than this.


I would love to see the creation of a Unite credit union to make affordable loans available to all Unite members in places where existing credit union coverage is patchy. How about it?


Dr Lynn Martinez, London


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