MY Money MY Choice
ME ! DY KEEP HAN
QUIZ: ÂŁ100 supermarket vouchers of your choice to be won
ISSUE 1 January 2015
12 month
guide on how Your to make the most of your finances
Ways to pay your rent
Help from New Charter
2nd Generation Furnishings
Rechargeable Repair1s
keeping your home in tip-top condition MY Money MY Choice
ISSUE 1 January 2015
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MY Money MY Choice
ISSUE 1 January 2015
Inside... 4-5
MONEY ADVICE
From the editor
SMARTERBUYS STORE
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MY HOME FINANCE
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Welcome to Issue 1 of My Money My Choice.
CASH BOX CREDIT UNION
7
With the festive season over, the new year can be a difficult time paying off bills. I hope the magazine will give you some handy hints and tips to make the most of your money.
HOW TO PAY YOUR RENT
8-9
MiNT (Money Information Network Tameside) RECHARGEABLE REPAIRS
9
10-11
FORMER TENANT ARREARS
11
2ND GENERATION FURNISHINGS
12-13
HOME CONTENTS INSURANCE
14
HOME CRISIS INSURANCE
14
WIN £100 SUPERMARKET VOUCHERS
15
USEFUL CONTACTS
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It’d be good to keep this magazine handy so you know where to go for help. It’s full of information on services that can support you. Don’t forget to enter the competition on page 15 - you could win £100 supermarket vouchers which will come in handy at this time of year. I have included a list of handy contact details on the back, hope this helps.
Nora MY Money MY Choice
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Help from New Charter Debt Advice team New Charter’s Debt Advice team offers free, independent, confidential and impartial advice and helps you to deal with your debts. They can help you find the best solutions for you and give you advice on: • Budgeting • Maximising your income • Prioritising your payments/bills
• Check that you’re responsible for any debts
• Negotiate with companies you owe money to
• Help you sort out what to pay first
• Represent you in the County Court
• Dealing with court action The team also offers face-to-face support to: • Draw up financial statements to see what money you have available and what you owe
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ISSUE 1 January 2015
Did y ou know. ..
Benefits Advice team
We ha ve calcula a number o tors to f may be help y Welfare Be nef o u e n work title be aff out wh it ected d to and se at you eh if Visit w ww.ne your circums ow you wo u w t your-r ent/be charterhom ances chang ld nefit-c e e . s .c o.uk/pa alculat yor
New Charter’s Welfare Bene fits Advice team can help you answer any questions you have on benefits. You may need help filling out a benefit for m or just need general advice on what be nefits you might be entitled to. Why not giv e us a call.
Support before you move in Once you have registered for a home with New Charter, Keys to Your Door pre-tenancy support is available to help you manage your tenancy. Visit the New Charter website for more information. MY Money MY Choice
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Smarterbuys offers a competitive price on household goods. As the store is supported by New Charter, you know you’re dealing with a safe and reputable company. Smarterbuys offers televisions, cookers, fridge-freezers and furniture, without you having to worry about high-cost borrowing options. Payments are made over the phone or via a payment card or online over 104 weeks. You can also apply for affordable credit with a local Credit Union, with at least 25p of each payment deposited into a regular saving account. If you can’t, or don’t want to pay for items online, simply print off a barcode and take it along to your nearest PayPoint or Post Office, and pay over the counter. You can also pay through Cash Box Credit Union if you’re saving with them.
For more information, visit: www.gm.sbstore.org or call 0300 500 0975. You can also call into one of New Charter Hubs for help.
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My Home Finance offers safe, affordable loans. They can help you if you’re struggling to get a loan and feel you only have loan sharks or doorstep lenders to turn to.
My H o a not me Finan -for-p c rofit s e is o enter prise cial This . mean s put b ack i any profi ts n t so th at m o the bus are o i ness re pe bene o fit fro m the ple can servi ce.
They could help you access credit at a more affordable rate, open a bank account and save for the future. By building up a repayment history with them, you’ll be more able to use other financial services. Call My Home Finance on 01905 25805 or visit: www.myhomefinance.org.uk You can also call into any New Charter Hub.
Safe saving with Cash Box Now that the festive season is over, next Christmas is probably far from your mind, but if you’re worried about your credit card bills arriving this month, why not plan ahead for Christmas 2015? With Cash Box, you can borrow money at low interest rates, open a savings account or save for next Christmas, holidays or anything else you need to put money away for.
cash or a standing order from your bank account. You can borrow up to four times the amount of savings you have and repayment terms are flexible.
You choose how much you save, weekly or monthly, and it can be
4,000 Tameside residents already use Cash Box.
Visit www.cashbox.org.uk call 0161 342 3266 or pop into the council offices on Wellington Road in Ashton.
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How to Pay Your Rent You can pay your rent in a number of ways COUNTER PAYMENTS
DIRECT DEBIT
STANDING ORDER £ £
Direct Debits are collected weekly on a Thursday or on the 1st, 8th, 15th or 22nd of the month.
Payments can be made at any Post Office or any PayPoint. See how to get a new card below.
A standing order should be set up at your bank.
Rent Payment Cards
You can apply for a card by calling in any New Charter Homes & Community Hub or apply online at www.newcharter.co.uk under ‘Rent Payment and Money Advice’ then ‘Housing Swipe Card’.
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ONLINE PAYMENTS
You can make Online Payments via BillPay a service provided by Santander. Full details of how to use the BillPay service can be found at www.santanderbillpayment.co.uk
ISSUE 1 January 2015
TELEPHONE PAYMENTS
Payments can be made over the phone by debit or credit card, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please call 0161 331 2224. You will need your 8-digit payment reference to use this service
VIA CHEQUE
Cheques should be made payable to New Charter Homes and sent to us or handed in at a New Charter Homes & Community Hub. You must write your name and address and your payment reference on the back of the cheque.
Did y
ou kn
ow... court costs have in to £25 cre 0 your r if you don’t ased ent pa caught ? Don’t get y out.
Are you struggling to make ends meet? Confused by all the adverts for loans? Keep getting bills and worrying how you’re going to pay them? MiNT can answer your money questions and give you the help you need. The MiNT website has lots of information on with everything from bailiffs to benefits, which will help you to find your way around the ‘money maze’. MiNT was set up by a number of local companies to help people access the right financial services, training and help people manage their money. Why not get in touch and see how they could help you? For further information visit www.mintameside.org.uk or email admin@mintameside.org.uk
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e l b a e g r a h Rec
repairs in keeping your home tip-top condition
New Charter provides a repairs service and makes improvements to your homes where needed, but you have a responsibility to keep your home in good condition too. Most of you treat your homes with a lot of care and respect, but sometimes damage is caused to properties or jobs that need doing are left and you must pay to put things right. We understand that a reasonable amount of wear and tear can occur, but if you are responsible for any other damages, you will have to pay for the repairs to be done. Visit www.newcharterhomes.co.uk/requestrepair/rechargeable-repairs for more information.
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ISSUE 1 January 2015
What happens if I’m ? charged for a repair • An invoice will be sent to you after the work has been done • You have seven days to respond and pay the full amount or agree to pay in instalments • If you respond in time and keep up your payments, you’ll get 20% off the total cost • If you already have Home Contents Insurance this might help you cover the cost. See page 14.
What if the repair is needed because of a crime? Any criminal damages to your property must be reported to the police immediately by calling 101 (or 999 in an emergency). The police will give you a crime reference number relating to the incident which you should provide when you report the repair.
Former Tenant Arrears If you still owe money for any reason on your property after you move out (for example if you were not up to date with your rent when you left), you will be expected to continue to make payments until all the money you owe is paid off. If you are trying to apply for another home with other landlords, it is likely you will be asked for a reference from a previous landlord. Any money you still owe on the tenancy will be taken into account and may affect your chances of being offered a property by another landlord.
Did you kn ow...
You won’t be able to bid o n any New Ch arter propert y if you owe u s money? Call today to arrange a payment plan .
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ISSUE 1 January 2015
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“We love what we do and believe people come first”
2nd Generation Furnishings Set up by three New Charter tenants, 2nd Generation Furnishings provides local people in need with second hand furniture for their homes. Their key mission is to improve people’s lives, but by generating a small amount of income, they can also put more into the business and help more residents. By reusing old furniture, 2nd Generation is helping people in real hardship but also reducing landfill and fly-tipping in our communities too.
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Tom, one of the founder members said: “We love what we do and believe people come first. We’d seen van loads of quality furniture and white goods going to landfill which we knew people could have benefited from instead. So we decided to take action. “With support from New Charter, we’ve developed a strong partnership and help them by recycling furniture from properties that become empty. We also learnt business planning, health and
ISSUE 1 January 2015
Did you kn ow...
Since March 2012, Tom an d Ann’s team has he lped over 2,4 0 0 families furnis h their home s and saved over 5 8,000 tonnes of good quality furnit ure going to landfill.
Looking to get rid of any furniture or white goods?
safety and communications skills to help us get set up.” 2nd Generation Furnishings is a registered charity and has a great team of volunteers and it couldn’t run without them. The team has provided voluntary work experience to local residents, some of whom have now got paid employment. 2nd Generation is open to the public six days a week (closed Sundays) for browsing and buying.
The team relies on donations from the public and would be grateful for any suitable items you have. They can even collect items from you, free of charge. 2ndgenerationfurnishings.co.uk Astral House, Stamford Drive, Stalybridge, SK15 1QU Tel: 0161 303 0083 www.2ndgenerationfurnishings.co.uk
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Home Contents Insurance New Charter’s Home Contents insurance is provided by Aviva and available to all New Charter tenants and leaseholders. To join the scheme, you must have a clear rent account. The policy includes: • No excess • Small, easy payments
HOME Crisis INSURANCE
NEW
➤ Covers you up to a maximum claim limit of £3000 ➤ Costs just 50p per week (payable on your rent account) ➤ Standard cover (Fire, theft and flood) ➤ Will not cover accidental damage ➤ No excess ➤ Small, easy payments
• Standard cover (fire, theft and flood) • Optional cover against accidental damage • You can also include accidental damage to fixtures and fittings within your home that New Charter has provided
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How t
o join.
.. To app ly, dow form f nload t ro he app lication www.n m ewcha rterho rent/h om m Fill it o e-contents es.co.uk/pay ut and -your-insura nce sign it of the a nd dro New C p it int harter o one Hubs.
ISSUE 1 January 2015
E C I V S S H O M E S A B T
D Q R F I A T A R B R F E N
M O N E Y C A R E T A F D E
W V E H D M E S E R P I F M
C E S K B I O R O M O N E Y
S U T I L I T I E S C A K O
G Q P Y H E L U P H S N R L
N E N A R N W J N C N C O P
I H R B L G F H S I A E W M
V C U G O D Y B W S O G F E
A Y S T I F E N E B L N U N
S T H I N S U R A N C E L U
Name:............................................................................................... Address............................................................................................. .......................................................................................................... ............................................................Postcode:.............................. Telephone:.........................................................................................
MY Money MY Choice
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ADVICE BENEFITS BUDGET BUYS CASH CHEQUE CREDITUNION DEBT EMPLOYMENT FINANCE HOME INSURANCE LOAN MONEY MONEYCARE RENT SAVINGS SMARTER UTILITIES Complete and return this page to the Money Care Team, New Charter Homes, Cavendish 249, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 7AT by 31st March 2015 or drop into one of the New Charter Hubs.
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Useful Contacts New Charter 0161 331 2000 contact@newcharter.co.uk www.newcharter.co.uk Hubs are located at: 2 Henrietta Street, Ashton 9 Albert Street, Denton 12 Clarendon Street, Hyde 63 Grosvenor Street, Stalybridge facebook.com/newcharterhomes @ NewCharterGroup Universal Credit information www.gov.uk 0345 600 0723 Tameside Housing Benefit www.tameside.gov.uk/benefits 0161 342 3708 Money Advice Service www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk 0800 500 5000 Homeswapper www.homeswapper.co.uk Step Change Debt Charity www.stepchange.org 0800 138 1111
National Debtline www.nationaldebtline.org 0808 808 4000 Illegal Money Lending Team www.reportaloanshark@ stoploansharks.gov.uk 0300 555 222 (24-hour service) United Utilities Trust Fund www.uutf.org.uk 0845 179 1791 Greater Manchester Energy Advice Service www.gmenergyadvice.co.uk 0800 009 3363
Food Banks Food banks provide emergency food parcels to people in need. Food banks have been set up in most areas of Tameside by organisations that support people in their local communities. All food banks have referrers who recognise when people are in need. Pop into one of the New Charter Hubs where the team can help you with your enquiry. Visit http://www.foodbanksintameside.org.uk/ for more information.
Resource Housing Reg. No. 2111
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MY Money MY Choice
ISSUE 1 January 2015