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Courier
THE WIGAN COURIER - WIGAN’S ONLY FREE NEWSPAPER THAT COVERS LOCAL SPORT
Courier BUSINESS
New social care e-marketplace sessions
ORGANISATIONS and businesses involved in providing any level of social care service are being urged to get involved in Wigan Council’s new online ‘marketplace’ which will radically improve the way local people buy and sell support. Free sessions explaining how the emarketplace works and what people need to do to get their organisation included are being run across Wigan borough until May.
The new system, run by Wigan Council, will be a locally-focused online marketplace which will bring together individuals, support brokers, organisations and businesses to buy and sell support. The council will use the emarketplace as the main route for the purchase of support services and expect the number of sellers and the range or provision to increase significantly, offering local people more choice and control over the support they receive. Project manager, Deborah Gent, said: “The e-marketplace is an exciting development in social care for suppliers, brokers and clients. At this stage we are urging any provider organisation to come along to one of the information sessions where they can view the e-marketplace and find out about how to become approved to feature on it, and how to upload their free advertisement. “We would like to see all Wigan
groups with something to offer – from care organisations to community, social or special interest groups, however large or small - have a presence in the emarketplace.” The e-marketplace will enable providers to easily target and personalise their marketing to social care clients, determine the market price of their support and set their prices accordingly. Selling will become more convenient as they will be able to sell social care support any time and any risks associated with selling online will be minimised. Importantly, having a presence in the e-marketplace enables providers to demonstrate their quality compliance. Brokers and clients will benefit from being able to easily search for and buy the support they need and want, buy items that they could not ordinarily find and access a range of community activities 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere with internet access.” Eight workshops are being held for providers at: 9.30am and 1.00pm on 9th and 17th April at Lowton Civic Hall, Lowton and 9.30am and 1.00pm on 10th and 18th April at Robin Park Arena in Wigan. E-mail: emarketplace@wigan.gov.uk to book a place or request further details, or phone Deborah Gent on 01942 489512
Borough’s best traders announced
THE BEST three ‘Good Traders’ across Wigan Borough have been announced.
The top 40 businesses signed up to Wigan Council’s ‘Good Trader’ scheme, ran by the trading standards team, attended the annual awards ceremony where they were each presented with an award for excellence in customer service.
Three of those companies went on to win special prizes, with Hobson’s Roofcare winning the best ‘Good Trader of the year Wigan,’ Atherton Tiling Solutions named ‘Good Trader of the year Leigh’ and Brian King Flooring taking the ‘Best newcomer’ title.
Winners were judged on the quality and volume of customer feedback they had generated in the last 12 months and on their contribution to providing a high quality service. Good Trader of the Year Wigan winner, David Hobson, said: “The scheme gives customers peace of mind; knowing that every business enrolled is accountable to Wigan Trading Standards and has committed to dealing fairly and honestly with their customers. “Since joining the scheme in 2008, we’ve generated a lot of custom – allowing our business to grow.” Deputy leader of Wigan Council, Cllr David Molyneux, commented: “These awards are a fantastic way of supporting our local businesses through recognising
and rewarding those who demonstrate exemplary workmanship and excellent customer service. “I’d like to thank and congratulate all those involved for setting such a high benchmark for best practice in Wigan Borough.” If you’re a trader who’d like to find out about joining the scheme or a resident who needs a trader they can trust, learn more by visiting: www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/BusinessRe generation/TradingStandards/TraderRegis ter/GoodTraderScheme.htm Our photograph shows, from left- right, David Hobson of Hobson’s Roofcare, Stephen Lyth of Atherton Tiling Solutions and Brian King of Brian King Flooring.
Were your savings affected in the 2007 to 2009 Credit Crunch? Promised the highs but only got the lows? EVERYONE has heard about the payment protection insurance scandal but did you know that the mis-selling of financial products goes much further and has occurred with many other products that you may have been advised to invest in. Gross mis-selling by commission hungry advisors is sadly a fact of life and you may have been an unknowing victim to this. Products such as INVESTMENTS LINKED TO SHARES. WHOLE OF LIFE COVER, ENDOWMENTS, LIFE COVER, MORTGATE PROTECTION, PENSION PLANS, LIFE COVER AND ISA’S have now been found to have been mis-sold as the risks were not fully explained. Even worse is the reality is that these products can often be pushed onto us when in the most vulnerable situations like retirement (tax free lump sum), bereavement (insurance payouts / inheritance), accidents (insurance payouts) and redundancy. Have you had an investment and received less money back than you paid in or substantially less than you expected ? A recent article in the Daily Mail newspaper highlighted many of the thousands of savers who would have been better off if they stuck with a basic savings account. Given the various failings in the sales process at the vast majority of companies there is a strong chance (though not guaranteed) that you are owed compensation. YOU MAY HAVE BEEN ILLADVISED BYASALES HUNGRY BANK ADVISOR TO INVEST IN ONE OR MORE UNSECURE PRODUCTS LINKED TO THE STOCK MARKET THAT HAVE NOW LOST YOU MONEY. The recent economic turmoil has seen investments that you may have considered to be safe in cautious funds slashed in
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value when you thought they were “sound” or “structured” investments. Wigan Claims Advice Centre on Hallgate in Wigan have worked for years in conjunction with Industry experts in legal and other professional disciplines so as to enable its clients to receive the best possible representation in their claims for recompense. They can now offer a No Win No Fee service in this highly specialized area. Claims can be made against financial loses and misguidance on investments where FSA guidelines have been breached unbeknown to our clients. We are currently obtaining refunds from many high street banks and investment companies and have recently secured various high value compensation claims against Lloyds TSB (Scottish Widows Option Bonds). 01942 826866 / 01942 821249 31 HALLGATE – WIGAN – WN1 1LR 01942 826866 / 01942 821249 31 HALLGATE – WIGAN – WN1 1LR Drop in with your details or request a home appointment and they will look into your claim with no obligation. They are located on Hallgate in Wigan (opposite café select and mr. chips) and open 9.30am til 4.30pm Monday to Saturday. Why not pop in for a no obligation chat and see what they can do for you. Drop in with your details or request a home appointment and they will look into your claim with no obligation. They are located on Hallgate in Wigan (opposite café select and mr. chips) and open 9.30am til 4.30pm Monday to Saturday. Why not pop in for a no obligation chat and see what they can do for you.