The Money Thread...

[Cheeky Devlin]

Ok, so I've just had a quick read through the issue.

I'll state right off the bat that I'm no longer on PAYE and Self-Assessment and haven't been for about four months now, so my knowledge on that is a bit rusty. I'll also add that Double Taxation is a more technical area that I am not trained in and have very little knowledge of.

In terms of your penalties it is absolutely correct that even if you wouldn't have owed anything during those tax years, you are in a situation that requires you to submit self-assessment returns. In these situations, assuming you don't owe any tax, you would submit what is called a nil-return, with an overall value of £0.00. The penalties will consist of two main elements, a late filing penalty and a late payment penalty. These can very quickly mount up and you will be getting charged interest on them.

Oh and I will also add that they will still be looking for the returns for those outstanding years. If you do intend to appeal the penalties they won't even consider it until the returns have been filed.

Taxation is like any other thing that involves the government. If you're not aware of it, then it's very easy to fall foul of a rule you didn't know about. As has been said though, that's not considered a reasonable excuse. What I would say to everyone reading this is that if you find yourself in a new situation it's always worth checking to see how it might affect you. All the information is available on the government website http://www.gov.uk though I would generally look to calling HMRC for advice.

My best advice is to call them and see if you can speak to someone in Debt Management. I doubt they'll get the penalties overturned, but you might be able to come up with a payment plan to help you figure out how best to deal with it.

It really sucks. I've had to speak to lots of people who end up in similar situations and I always hated having to tell them this kind of stuff. I'm just sorry I can't be of more help.

Good luck man. I hope you manage to get it sorted.

[Meep]

Does anyone here have any experience using foreign currency accounts? I'm looking at opening one in USD to protect against any future plunges in sterling.

[bigcheez2k3]

I don't have any experience but I know that Barclays offer one I believe.

[Lagamorph]

How would they work?
I'd imagine they may be useful as a Savings account, but shouldn't be used as a regular current account for day to day spending as you'll get whacked with currency conversion fees all the time.

I wouldn't have thought you'd earn any interest on them though would you?

[bigcheez2k3]

It would be more used as security. For example, £1000 dollars was worth more the day after the referendum compared to the day before.

That's a pretty basic explanation but I think it's correct.

[Curls]

I've just switched my account again.

Coop this time.

I'll keep doing this and grabbing the joining bonus' until I have enough in a current account to make the most out of Santander! I think I'll go with yorkshire bank in a few months.

I was very impressed by first direct though and its a shame to be leaving, really excellent customer service.

[Bunni]

Does that not affect your credit rating? Like moving house multiple times

[Tomous]

Does that not affect your credit rating? Like moving house multiple times

I was interested by this as I've moved a couple of times and found this:

It’s true that moving current accounts, like moving home, can affect your credit score.
Regular switching may indicate to a lender that you don’t have a stable financial lifestyle and are more unlikely to pay back anything you borrow.

But James Jones, spokesman with credit reference agency Experian, says moving banks every few years should not affect your record

‘It should be fine as long as you don’t chop and change too much or shift everything at once,’ he says.

‘For example, try not to move home, change credit cards or apply for several different new current accounts at the same time.’

However if you are planning on applying for a mortgage soon, it may pay to be more cautious.
In this circumstance, showing a steady length of time with the same bank will usually work in your favour.

Experts advise you not to close your old account until the application has gone through to minimise any risk of your credit score being reduced.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/savi ... -deal.html

[Bunni]

My experian account shows 31 addresses. My nomadic lifestyle post dropping out of uni is finally catching up with me.

[bigcheez2k3]

Instead of keep switching why not have a couple of basic accounts you use to take advantage of offers?

I switched to TSB for the plus account and also have a basic account with them while I wait for a decent switching offer.

EDIT: Also, if you feel like going to Nationwide, hit me up, we can both get £100

[Glowy69]

Moving bank accounts only damages your credit "rating" (thats a gooseberry fool term btw) in the short term, 6-8 weeks later its fine again, I've moved banks 5 times in about 13 months, keep one for my wages, but move the others around for the free money.

In other news, we are applying for a mortgage monday I think

[bigcheez2k3]

Glowy;

If I applied for a credit card, got accepted then cancelled the application before filling out any forms, will that go against me on my credit report?

Applied for the Sainsburys card that has 27 months 0% but they only offered me £1k which is pointless, especially as my HSBC card is £5k (Which I want to lower tbh) Plan is to buy the car I want on the card, roughly £2.5k, and pay it off as time goes on. Got enough money to buy it but it makes me more interest if I keep hold of it

[Glowy69]

Glowy;

If I applied for a credit card, got accepted then cancelled the application before filling out any forms, will that go against me on my credit report?

Applied for the Sainsburys card that has 27 months 0% but they only offered me £1k which is pointless, especially as my HSBC card is £5k (Which I want to lower tbh) Plan is to buy the car I want on the card, roughly £2.5k, and pay it off as time goes on. Got enough money to buy it but it makes me more interest if I keep hold of it

It won't go against you. It'll show as an account opened and a account settled. The only thing that'll go against you in the short term is applying for another CC ( 4-6 weeks generally)

You should use a soft search calculator where possible to see the chances of you getting a card, the ones with the higher acceptance rate will generally mean a decent credit limit too.

[Delusibeta]

Glowy;

If I applied for a credit card, got accepted then cancelled the application before filling out any forms, will that go against me on my credit report?

Applied for the Sainsburys card that has 27 months 0% but they only offered me £1k which is pointless, especially as my HSBC card is £5k (Which I want to lower tbh) Plan is to buy the car I want on the card, roughly £2.5k, and pay it off as time goes on. Got enough money to buy it but it makes me more interest if I keep hold of it

My understanding is that is that your credit score will be marked, but it'll be "applied, was accepted, account settled". Basically, I'd expect it to be a similar situation to the bank switching example: so long as you don't do several applications in a week, you should be fine.

[bigcheez2k3]

Glowy;

If I applied for a credit card, got accepted then cancelled the application before filling out any forms, will that go against me on my credit report?

Applied for the Sainsburys card that has 27 months 0% but they only offered me £1k which is pointless, especially as my HSBC card is £5k (Which I want to lower tbh) Plan is to buy the car I want on the card, roughly £2.5k, and pay it off as time goes on. Got enough money to buy it but it makes me more interest if I keep hold of it

It won't go against you. It'll show as an account opened and a account settled. The only thing that'll go against you in the short term is applying for another CC ( 4-6 weeks generally)

You should use a soft search calculator where possible to see the chances of you getting a card, the ones with the higher acceptance rate will generally mean a decent credit limit too.

I did use a soft checker first and had a 90% acceptance chance for the card but seems they didn't want to give me much.

Thinking of just trying with my bank, TSB, and going for their one that ties up with my classic plus account. They can also see how much money I have with them/going in each week if that goes into account at all.

[Glowy69]

Glowy;

If I applied for a credit card, got accepted then cancelled the application before filling out any forms, will that go against me on my credit report?

Applied for the Sainsburys card that has 27 months 0% but they only offered me £1k which is pointless, especially as my HSBC card is £5k (Which I want to lower tbh) Plan is to buy the car I want on the card, roughly £2.5k, and pay it off as time goes on. Got enough money to buy it but it makes me more interest if I keep hold of it

It won't go against you. It'll show as an account opened and a account settled. The only thing that'll go against you in the short term is applying for another CC ( 4-6 weeks generally)

You should use a soft search calculator where possible to see the chances of you getting a card, the ones with the higher acceptance rate will generally mean a decent credit limit too.

I did use a soft checker first and had a 90% acceptance chance for the card but seems they didn't want to give me much.

Thinking of just trying with my bank, TSB, and going for their one that ties up with my classic plus account. They can also see how much money I have with them/going in each week if that goes into account at all.

Yes, generally if you've got a good relationship with your bank you'll get a decent limit. I opened a santander one recently, I've only banked with them since I started my job in feb, and I got a 2.5k limit.

Also barclaycard are good for giving people too much if you look there?

[Grumpy David]

Santander 123 current account is in need of a name change now they've strawberry floated with their best account.

From November, it'll reduce its top interest rate down to 1.5% from 3%.

And that's after at the start of the year, they increased the cost of the monthly fee for the account from £2 a month to £5.

I may end up taking my 20k and chucking it in premium bonds given the "average" "interest rate"/prize with them is about 1.25%.

My stock and shares ISA is the highest it's ever been. 19% up since I first started paying into it in December 2013.

[Drumstick]

Santander 123 current account is in need of a name change now they've strawberry floated with their best account.

From November, it'll reduce its top interest rate down to 1.5% from 3%.

[Glowy69]

Santander 123 current account is in need of a name change now they've strawberry floated with their best account.

From November, it'll reduce its top interest rate down to 1.5% from 3%.

It has been coming for a while. Costs mean we can't afford to keep doing it. Nowhere else even offered close to it.

Oh well. Still better than most other instant access savings on 20k.

Also the name won't change. The cashback still applies.

[Moggy]

Santander 123 current account is in need of a name change now they've strawberry floated with their best account.

From November, it'll reduce its top interest rate down to 1.5% from 3%.

It has been coming for a while. Costs mean we can't afford to keep doing it. Nowhere else even offered close to it.

Oh well. Still better than most other instant access savings on 20k.

Also the name won't change. The cashback still applies.