While filing for bankruptcy might seem like the end of the world, it can also be viewed as the process that will see an end to your struggle with debt. Instead of suffering alone, there are many charitable services who offer advice and help for those who have had to file for bankruptcy. Often it’s arriving at the decision that is the hardest part. Once you have faced your situation and come to terms with your financial predicament, the future usually starts to look a lot brighter.

While the tunnel might seem long and the light at the end only faint, the only place left to go from bankruptcy is upwards. Life will go on and the best way to move forward is to start afresh. Some traditional banking institutions don’t like to accept new business from customers with a poor credit or banking history, but thanks to companies like Eccount Money, there is now an alternative. Will Thomas from Eccount Money comments on life after bankruptcy, “everyone has their struggles in life, and for some they come in the shape of debt. We don’t think people who have difficulty managing their finances should be punished, in fact we welcome them. Eccount Money offers banking for everyone, as long as you’ve got a fixed address and are over 18, then you can open an account with us. Because we don’t offer credit or facilitate debt in a way, there is no risk of spending anyone’s money but your own.” Thomas continues, “our eccounts will help you start over with responsible spending habits. You can have the convenience of a prepaid card and use it at the till, over the phone and online, but it won’t send you into debt. You can get your wages or benefits paid into the eccount and begin managing your money without relying on credit cards and overdrafts.”

The good news is that bankruptcy is on the decline. The Telegraph reported recently that “the rate of personal insolvency, where individuals are declared bankrupt or taking other legal measures to deal with their debts, has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the financial crisis.” But Mark Sands from RSM Tenon isn’t so sure, “over indebted consumers still cannot see any certainty in their monthly household budgets, I expect to see peaks and troughs throughout 2013.”

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In another report however, The Guardian’s Rachel Platt suggests that even budget gym alternatives “could end up costing more in the long run. The lower price tag means people are more likely to retain a direct debit for an unused membership, as it’s only a few quid each month.” Will Thomas from Eccount Money says that “it’s monthly bills like gym memberships that can end up being invisible drains on your bank account if not monitored, and they can really take their toll on your efforts to save money.”

Reporter, Arwa Mahdawl believes that gyms and the consumer culture and status attached to these classes are responsible not just for an increase in fitness costs, but even for a rise in exercise addiction. She says, “since the commercialisation of fitness in the late 1970s, society has gone about commoditising and branding physical activity. It has turned it from an action we do into a product we consume.” The Guardian published an excerpt from the Official British Army Fitness Guide a few years ago. The excerpt revealed a 16-week fitness programme that “has been developed by the Army Physical Training Corps, and is based on the one that it issues to potential recruits to enable them to pass basic training.” A quick browse through the programme and you’ll see that there’s no mention of gyms or machines or exercises that require special equipment. All you need to be as fit as a soldier is will power and the readiness to set aside time in your week to train.

Fitness Magazine listed a few good tips to help keep your fitness costs down. While you do need a good pair of trainers to keep your feet healthy, it’s not always necessary to get the latest model,  Jane Knaack from Road Runners Club of America suggests, “new designs usually come out in the spring, so older versions will be on sale around that time, too. If you find a more recent pair you like, take your search to the Web.” Other tips include leaving your trainers out to be aired after a work to reduce smells and to only use your trainers when training. Wearing them for daily errands will only add to their mileage. Outside of your trainers, the article suggests that you shouldn’t shell out on expensive work out gear which does nothing to enhance your results and to improvise whenever you can. You don’t need work out mats and weights where sometimes a simple bath towel and bottles filled with sand will do.

With a few simple changes and by adopting the spirit of improvisation, you can keep fitness costs down and work out on a shoestring budget. Whether you choose to work out at the gym, in the park or at home, you’ll get the best results by keeping your regime varied not your outfit.

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Whether you’re looking to buy your next home computer or a second hand book, chances are you’ll get the best deal by looking online making use of Internet banking. Whether you choose online retailers or if you’re using the price comparison sites to help you make the best decision, without the Internet, we’d be left to struggle on paying High St prices in a seemingly never-ending global recession. Will Thomas from Eccount Money believes that not only has the Internet made consumer products cheaper, it’s also made banking more cost effective. Thomas states, “you can’t get in on the Internet retail revolution unless you’ve got access to Internet banking, i.e to plastic. Unfortunately, not everyone can get access to this. With Eccount Money, even people with a less-than-ideal financial history or a zero credit rating can open an account, participate in Internet banking and start shopping online with our prepaid card . What’s more, you won’t get into debt with prepaid, you’re simply getting online access to your own money.”

Online price comparison website Uswitch.com says that Internet banking has reduced prices for the world of finance as a whole, “with no physical building to maintain and expensive leaseholds for offices, running an internet banking service is cheaper than a more traditional set up” and “staffing costs are centred on a central rather than multiple locations”.  Will Thomas adds, “traditional banking is getting a run for its money with online financial services like Eccount Money. We don’t have policies that benefit shareholders at the expense of customers and we aren’t paying our executives exorbitant bonuses. We offer simple Internet banking and a simple fee structure and we offer a way for the unbanked to start taking advantage of online money-saving opportunities”.

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Getting out of debt
Debts are one of the biggest reasons why many couples decide against a family of their own. This isn’t just a financial issue, even though having to pay back interest each month, while simultaneously trying to raise your children is a serious burden on many in the UK. Psychological factors weigh in quite heavily as well. Most parents, after all, want their children to enjoy a better life than their own, without constantly having to worry about whether you’re able to afford something or not. Debts can destroy this dream for good, as they are passed on from one generation to the next.

By taking out an eccount, you can take a serious step towards debt reduction and getting back into the black again. By avoiding overdrafts, it only allows you to spend what you actually have – which is still the best precondition for beating debt.

Help with budgeting
It is rarely understood just how important budgeting really is. Budgeting is a complex discipline involving arithmetic, logistics, complicated organisational skills and many other talents to boot. Most current accounts don’t take these complexities into consideration, expecting you to somehow work them out yourself. This can lead to a variety of problems, from loosing sight of your current account status to having to take out a loan at the end of the month to make ends meet.

An eccount instead offers you a variety of excellent and easy to understand solutions all tailor-made to help you keep your budget under control. You can, for example, ask for an SMS to be sent to your mobile phone as soon as your funds drop below a certain level. By thus maintaining control of your finances, you can gradually smooth out your budget and create the basis for a safer future.

Helping your children with budgeting
As soon as your children grow up, you’ll want to introduce them to a world of safe banking and a healthy attitude towards money. The eccount is perfect in this regard. With an eccount, you can guide your children step by step, putting powerful payment tools in their hands, without exposing them to the risks attached to a credit card or current account.

With an eccount, you can teach your children how to:

• Work with budget restraints
• Work with a prepaid card
• Avoid overdrafts
• Bank safely on the go using the eccount’s mobile facilities

Founding a family may sometimes seem like an impossible dream. Although an eccount won’t be able to work magic, it can definitely bring you closer towards making it come true.

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Better service
As recently pointed out by a number of newspapers, British banks seem unable to properly deal with customers’ complaints. It is by no means the first time the issue has come up. Financial service providers have a record of disappointing service for what they consider ‘small’ and ‘unimportant’ customers (read: you). The reason is simple: Since they’re making money on loans rather than products like bank accounts, there is really no incentive to step up their game.

At Eccount Money, meanwhile, we take great pride in the excellence of our customer care centre and our personal service in general. Assisting you is our main priority – and the banking fee we charge is to ensure that we can keep it that way.

Overdrafts are the real culprit
When many in the media speak about guaranteed bank accounts, they habitually zoom in on the issue of banking fees. This obviously makes for good headlines, but is unfortunately beside the point. Overdrafts are the real problem for most households in the UK, having recently outstripped repayments by value. The danger of overdrafts is that they work almost like a drug: Easy and convenient on first use, then hard to kick off from.

Compared to what many banks charge their customers when going into the red for a few days, the fee we charge at Eccount is puny. The issue has become so striking, in fact, that many banks today rely on income from overdrafts to survive. And it’s not just a UK issue: As recently reported, the shares of banks in Turkey plummeted after legislative change forced them to cap their overdraft fees. Which means you always need to set the cost of your monthly banking fee against the costs of overdrafts to arrive at a realistic picture of what you’ll be spending.

Debt reduction
To understand what makes the elimination of overdrafts so useful, it is important to ask yourself just why going into debt is so problematic. The real reason is not just that debt undermines your ability to save up for an uncertain future, but that it actually reduces the value of your current earnings by means of the interest paid on your loans. Effectively, by borrowing your way out of your problems, you are aggravating them in the future, thereby creating a vicious cycle. An eccount can help you break the spell and establish a sustainable pattern of incomings and outgoings.

Help for the unbanked
Many of the unbanked in the UK are experiencing serious issues. For one, they can not have their wage paid into an account, which need not rule out a regular job per se, but definitely makes it harder to find one, while also increasing the risk of theft. And secondly, the complexity of keeping up with all the regular payments for rent and electricity, among others, can quickly get too much.

One of the reasons we founded the eccount was to help people with these problems with an easy solution allowing them to set up standing orders or at least have a place to safely deposit money, instead of literally stuffing it underneath their pillow.

Additional features
Besides offering standard banking facilities to those who might find it hard getting a regular bank account, the eccount also sports some features which would easily make current account holders envious:

• An eccount offers budget control facilities ensuring you always have enough money on your account.
• An eccount offers mobile banking facilities allowing you to take care of your banking on the go.
• An eccount offers online banking facilities allowing you to keep a perfect overview of all your financial transactions.
• An eccount includes a prepaid card allowing to you to reap the benefits of online shopping.

Now compare all of these benefits with the features of a regular current account and I’m pretty sure you’ll quickly agree that the eccount is worth its banking fee. Still not convinced? Call us now at 0845 872 0826 for further information.

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Experts from the realms of finance and consumer protection were quick to agree with Thomas. Justin Modray, founder of the website Candid Money, for example, offered a bleak perspective on banks, defining them as turgid, sluggish and unwilling to push through improvements unless challenged by the public: “Financial services companies only tend to pull up their socks when forced, so the more customers that complain about bad advice, products and service the better,” according to Modray, “Left unchallenged, offending companies will continue to take customers for a ride and pocket fat profits along the way.” Jason Witcombe of Evolve Financial Planning, meanwhile, emphasised that customers shouldn’t just be more assertive after signing a contract, but do more research and think through the validity of certain offers beforehand: “Consumers are very well protected, but need to be more inquisitive. Lots of the complaint stories we read about involve products that looked too good to be true. If anything offers high returns with apparent low risk or volatility, you have to question its authenticity.”

So which are the areas leading to most disputes? Unsurprisingly, discounting for PPI, they are mainly the usual suspects: Mortgages, current accounts and credit cards. With regards to current accounts, overdrafts are a particularly ‘popular’ problem, especially if you’re a couple holding a joint account with overdrafts on it and then splitting up. Credit cards, too, remain at the top of the list when it comes to conflict potential. Despite many changes for the better in terms of legal support for customers, many credit card companies still appear ignorant of their liability when it comes to fraud, for example. And there are still plenty of disputed credit card transactions to be accounted for.

Although being taken by surprise by the magnitude of the issue, Will Thomas wasn’t particularly surprised by the general outline: “Banks have proven again and again that they’re not interested in the well-being and satisfaction of their ‘smaller’ – read: less lucrative – customers. Even after decades of disputes and problems, they still continue to offer current accounts with overdraft facilities, which can lead holders into debt and create plenty of practical problems. And by issuing credit cards, they’re aggravating the already rampant debt issue in the UK. It goes without saying that consumers should continue to insist on their rights. And yet, a far better solution than mending what’s been broken is to get yourself an eccount, which instantly eliminates some of the biggest sources for discontent and dispute – and also forces banks to take your concerns seriously.”

The post Traditional banking (again) under fire appeared first on eccount money.

In an insightful article, newspaper The Independent explained the details of the three new current accounts in layman’s terms. Called Standard, Packaged and Control, the three new current accounts will only be introduced in 29 branches in East Anglia, with the rest of the UK following in 2014. There is a good reason for the slow roll out, with new, favourable legislation arriving in September, which should make it easier for potential customers with competing banks to switch to the Post Office. And yet, the delay does undeniably significantly reduce the current attractiveness of the offering.

So what do these three account types have to offer?

The Standard account is a very simple account with a £100 minimum deposit, relatively acceptable overdraft fees (compared to the rest of the market, that is) and no additional penalties for unarranged overdrafts.
The Packaged account adds basic travel insurance services as well as a vehicle breakdown cover to the equation, at the cost of a monthly fee of £8.

So how do these new current accounts compare to what’s already available? The Independent is only mildly positive in its verdict. The Standard account may be pleasantly transparent, but there are cheaper accounts for those regularly in the red. The Packaged account, on the other hand, only made sense if holders made full use of its add-ons – which was highly unlikely.

The third account, called Control, was considered to be even less interesting. Essentially, the Control account is a basic bank account allowing for the creation of standing orders and direct debits. There are no overdrafts, which is to be welcomed, but on the downside, there is no real debit card or prepaid card attached to the account either (although customers can withdraw money from ATMs using a cash card). Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, meanwhile, was particularly disappointed by the £5 fee of the Control account: “People will welcome the commitment to providing straight-forward bank accounts without hidden charges. But while ‘free banking’ has always been a myth, anyone thinking about paying for a packaged account with insurance included should carefully consider whether it does represent good value for money for them. The monthly charge for the new basic bank account might put off people who need this service the most and the Post Office should think again if they find evidence of this.”

Will Thomas, too, underlined that there were better alternatives available: “For those who still consider overdrafts an essential part of banking, there are cheaper options at their disposal. For those, however, who have wisely decided to avoid them, an eccount offers much better conditions and a first-class banking experience. In either case, therefore, the new current accounts by The Post Office are not the right solution.”

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And yet, in many respects, this intergenerational cross-financing is merely part of a larger social process as part of which youngsters are staying home longer before finally moving into their own apartment, relying on their parents for decision-making and support with basic tasks in and around the house – such as babysitting and a variety of other chores. It should seem only logical, then, that a full third of all interviewees confessed that they did not feel financially independent – an understatement, probably, considering the far higher percentage of those receiving the occasional monetary injection. No wonder, then, that this weakness left them feeling vulnerable to the ups and downs of life in general. “The Lost Generation” documented a high degree of dissatisfaction across the board, as high hopes for the future were constantly being thwarted by blocked entry points into the labour market, low wage levels and a complex web of inter-related problems. Money wasn’t the only problem for the young, with weight anxieties (33%) and lack of sleep (32%) also high on the list of psychological strains.

From the Co-Operative Group’s point of view, the situation was urgent. After all, members of the so-called ‘debteration’ were eventually going to shape the future of Britain and should therefore be given all the support they could get. For Psychologist Donna Dawson, the key to resolving the issue lay in adequate psychological support: “In order to help this generation to cope better, parents should encourage independence, initiative and self-sufficiency. This in turn will generate the self-confidence needed to tackle work and money issues, as well as help them to develop a more realistic outlook during an uncertain economy.”

For Eccount Money’s Will Thomas, meanwhile, psychology alone could never be enough. Rather, what was required were hands-on practical solutions “It would be short-sighted to merely zoom in on the current generation and its shortcomings. In the end, the debt problems of this generation are the direct result of mistakes committed by the previous one. For far too long, we have spent profligately with our credit cards, taken up huge loans without asking whether or not we could repay them, bought more than we needed or lived in apartments we couldn’t afford. The most shocking fact of the Co-Op’s interesting study is that 77% of all participants did not feel threatened or alarmed by debt. We need to do everything to change this perception, since it is at the very heart of our current malaise. Parents should encourage their children to budget wisely, keep their outgoing and incomings in balance and to avoid a long-term debt at all cost. As an expert in smart budgeting and debt reduction, Eccount Money has the financial products to support these endeavours. Contact us now to find out how the debteration can benefit from them and get back on their feet again.”

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In the proposal laid out by Barnier, the reasons for universal access to a basic bank account were laid out in clear terms. Without it, as pointed out by the commissioner, EU citizens would be unable to reap the full benefits of the common market – let alone pay their bills, receive their benefits or shop online to profit from cheaper prices on the Internet. If it came to be passed, meanwhile, the new law would not only guarantee a basic bank account to everyone, but also facilitate the process of switching from one bank to another by allowing EU citizens to open up an account anywhere in the Union and forcing banks to disclose their fee structure more clearly than before to allow for direct price comparisons. And this, it seems, is only the beginning, as newspaper European Voice has indicated that not all details of the plan have been entirely mapped out yet: “As part of the plan to make it easier for people to switch accounts between banks, the Commission will urge a time-limit for the process of 15 days, or 30 days if the banks are based in different countries. Discussions at a senior level within the Commission have not yet been concluded and it is not clear whether Barnier (…) will say that this service would have to be provided free.” But even if the legislation were to be slightly watered down in the end, the result would definitely still be a cheaper, more democratic and transparent market for financial products.

Despite the obvious benefits of the plan, Will Thomas did point out that the gaping hole in EU legislation had effectively already been closed: “We naturally support Michael Barnier’s endeavours whole-heartedly. And yet, implementing his plans is going to cost a lot of time and may yet face fierce opposition by the banks, who have so far managed to repeatedly prevent universal access on the brink of a breakthrough. UK citizens should be happy to hear, therefore, that they needn’t wait for Barnier’s plans to succeed. Anyone looking for a basic bank account can already get one at Eccount Money, regardless of whether they’re an undischarged bankrupt or unemployed. Our fees are entirely transparent and our services include a Visa prepaid card as well as a mobile banking app. Fill out our online application form and you could soon be leaving the ranks of the unbanked without the EU’s support.”

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An eccount prevents you from building up debt
Freedom is widely considered a positive word. And yet, unrestricted freedom can lead to serious issues. Especially when it comes to your budget, contemporary current accounts and credit cards have allowed too many in the UK to inflate their budgets far beyond the reasonable and live on borrowed money. The reason for this distortion is simple: Current accounts and credit cards are making it far too easy to take on a loan – many customers are even perfectly unaware of the fact that they’re dipping into the red. With an eccount, which comes without an inbuilt overdrafts option, it may seem as though you’re restricting yourself. But really, you’re consciously optimising your access to money – after all, even many payday loans are cheaper than overdrafts.

An eccount protects you against steep overdraft costs
Which brings us to the next point on our list: Shockingly, many current account holders don’t even know that they’re making use of a paid service, assuming that overdrafts are free temporary extensions of their credit line. This is decidedly not the case. In fact, banks have increasingly used overdrafts as a welcome tool to compensate for reduced incomes in other sectors. Some experts even claim that most financial institutions have fared better during the current slump than ever before, since many households have had to go into overdrafts more often. Regardless of the numbers, meanwhile, it should be clear that you should avoid overdraft fees, not least because they are extremely complex to boot. Your best bet in this regard is, again, applying for an eccount.

An eccount is perfect for mobile banking
Increasingly, mobile banking is turning into the future of the finance industry. For a good reason: Mobile banking allows you to take care of your money matters wherever your are and whenever you want to. With its new mobile banking app, the eccount puts the world of mobile banking at your fingertips. You can now access your eccount from your iPhone or Android device, check your balance, view your statements and pay bills or make payments. What’s more, the app puts you in direct contact with the customer care team at eccount should anything go wrong or should you need to report your prepaid card as lost or stolen. If you combine your mobile app with the eccount’s trade-mark electronic banking facilities, such as a budget alarm should your funds drop below a certain critical level, you’ll feel as though you’re carrying your office in your pocket.

All in all, an eccount puts you in touch with a more healthy and convenient world of banking. And the best thing is: It’s entirely prescription-free!

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