David setup iSmart Consumer Solutions from a bedroom in January 2007. The company received 50 customer enquiries on its first day of trading. Today, iSmart employs around 220 staff, in an office much bigger than a bedroom, and David estimates that his company has helped around 120,000 customers recoup up to £70million from their banks so far. He estimates that this could reach £200m over the next few years.

It’s an issue that David feels very strongly about, as his company started from his own battle with the banks when he was a student at University: “The banks have driven consumers to the point where they have just binged on credit for ten years, and that’s what’s caused this massive debt problem we have now.

“Through sheer greed and the public’s attitude towards credit, the banks have pushed it all into a place where it’s going to take a very long time to unwind itself. You’re not a customer to a bank anymore, you’re more of a slave.”

“Even people who were prudent are paying back these mistakes through higher taxes from bank bailouts”

“What we’re doing is quickly forcing the issue where, instead of the customer having to pay off their debts slowly, it’s the bank that’s paying,” he says. “They’re paying off some of the debts with the refunds that we’re helping our clients win back from them.

“The customer is king, and we need to fight this on their behalf – they don’t know about the amounts of money that the banks might owe them’ One of our customers received £22000 from Barclaycard for mis-sold PPI claim. “

The most common issue that iSmart deals with is payment protection insurance (PPI) policies on bank loans, credit cards, and other types of finance offered by banks. The policy is designed to cover your monthly payments should you be unable to meet them, for example, if you are made redundant, or are involved in an accident and unable to work.

A lot of consumers will have been mis-sold these PPI policies, having been mis-led and pressured by banks to purchase them. David says: “If you take out a £5000 loan, the banks will say to you, ‘Well what are you going to do if you’re out of work?’ So they’ll tell you to take out PPI, and if you say you don’t want it, they’ll tell you that it might affect your application if you don’t. So the policies were just forced on people.

PPI policies can prove to be very expensive, with most policies costing around 25 per cent of the original borrowed amount, plus interest was charged on top. By pursuing a mis-sold PPI case against the banks, an average customer can expect to claim back up to £3000.

David estimates that iSmart currently receives several thousand enquiries relating to PPI claims every week, and he expects that figure to increase even further in 2011. He says: “As people claim their money back, they’ll tell their family and friends about it, who will then pursue their own claims, and it will just perpetuate from there.”

When it comes to laying responsibility for UK consumers’ debt problems, David knows exactly who is, in his mind, at fault. “They [head of banks] are paying out several billion pounds worth of bonuses to bankers, which would clear all the debts of the clients who they’ve ripped off. Those bonuses would cover all of their current liabilities. The cash machine cannot stop.

“They’ve now gone to court over the PPI claims, to try and slow the process down, so they can limit their liabilities and pay their executives masses and masses of money.”

There was a time when you needed to wear a smart suit and polish your shoes to visit the bank manager for a mortgage. Dealing with a bank now, you still need to wear a suit, a suit of armour. That’s where iSmart comes in – helping people overcome the fear of complaining to their bank or credit card providers.

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Bio: iSmart Consumer Solutions is a leading expert in helping consumers to obtain compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) and unfair credit card charges, as well as offering debt management solutions. Regulated by the Ministry of Justice, iSmart has managed over £57m in customer refunds since its launch in 2007. They also cover IVAs & Debt Management with their http://www.debt-management.co.uk/ site

Catalyst Business Academy has been providing learning and development courses for British companies for over 20 years. They course portfolio covers a wide range of topics, from people skills and IT, to NVQs and project management.

Their programmes are designed and tailored specifically to your company’s training needs. You choose the content of the courses, where you want them delivered, and when, and Catalyst will do the rest for you.

Courses can be offered either at your own site, or at Catalyst’s specialist training centre in central London. Catalyst also offer a coaching service to help you implement your new skills in your workplace, either with one of Catalyst’s Personal Coaches, or by training you or your managers to become a coach.

Prices for the Catalyst learning and development courses in July and August start from just £550 per course; this is based on a Software course for up to eight delegates and £850 for a softskills course for up to ten delegates. Companies interested in this offer can call Catalyst on 020 436 3636 for a free consultation.

For more information about Catalyst, and the training software and services they provide, visit the Catalyst website at http://cbduk.biz/

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The Manchester-based company will be working with the luxury hotel to deliver the Microsoft Dynamics GP system, as well as the appropriate support software.

Based in the Newby Bridge area of the Lake District, The Swan Hotel and Spa were looking to implement a new accounts system within the company. JMC believe the Dynamics GP product to be an ideal product for the hotelier sector, and were able to ward off stiff competition to illustrate to the Swan Hotel that the programme was the perfect fit for their business.

JMC is a leading IT support partner in the North of England. With an annual turnover of over £8million, the average client has worked with them for over nine years, and 94 per cent of clients would be happy to recommend its services to others.

As you would expect from a company of JMC’s calibre, it possesses a host of industry accreditations including Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with Nine Competencies, Cisco Premier Partner, Citrix Silver Solutions Network Member, Dell Enterprise Architecture Partner, HP systems reseller, and Pegasus Strategic Partner.

For more information about JMC and the services they provide, call on 0161 925 7777, or visit http://www.jmc.it

According to the British Bankers Association – (BBA), around eight million adults in the Uk currently have a basic bank account. Recent plans announced in the UK Budget could see an additional 1Million starting a bank-account over the coming five years.

A spokesperson for the British Bankers’ Association said: "Everybody can have a bank account if they want one, unless (and this is rare) the law says they can’t.

Recently Banks within the UK have worked with the UK Government to cut financial exclusion, halving the number of households dont have a bank account. Every 4 weeks 40K a lot more people open basic accounts."

Bank such as these are targeted at families on low incomes, or who have poor credit ratings who not get a normal bank account.

These accounts have been designed allow the user to have control of their own finances and open services such as online retail, direct debits (DD) and internet banking.

A basic bank account has a prepaid mastercard, the works in the same manner as any other which is accepted at over twenty eight million outlets worldwide. It allows the account holder to upload cash onto the account and then spend as they wish. The nature of the account means that it is impossible for the holder to go overdrawn. The account is suitable for those who may have been rejected access to a bank account in the past.

The prepaid MasterCard also acts as a simple means of money transfer abroad; for example, when the account holder has family abroad, or even a child at university, the account holder can send them an additional prepaid MasterCard fully loaded the financial amount cash you wish to send to them. It also opens up the world on online banking, eCommerce and online retail to people who would otherwise be excluded.

The Summit will be held over two days at the venue of one of JMC’s clients Croke Park stadium, Dublin and will address important issues facing the stadium sector in 2010. Topics including stadium marketing, the visitor experience, environmental targets, and communication technologies will be covered in sessions hosted by guest panellists.

Dublin has recently been named as 2010’s European Capital of Sport, and with Croke Park being the fourth biggest stadium in Europe, it is the ideal setting for this year’s event.

The event will bring together top executives from across Europe and the USA. JMC’s presence is particularly relevant for those attending the ‘Joined-Up Thinking’ session, which will focus on the benefit of integrating a complex stadia setup. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, JMC’s implementation and support of Microsoft Dynamics GP makes joined-up thinking a reality.

Rob Jones, JMC Consulting Director, stated: “The Stadium Business Summit is a rare opportunity for like minded stadia representatives to share best practice advice. We have worked with the community now for a number of years and it will be great to be able to offer guidance, and suggest credible solutions to any queries where possible.”

When asked how JMC specifically supports the sector Rob commented:

“We help the sports and stadia community achieve joined-up thinking by implementing and supporting Microsoft Dynamics GP. This allows clubs to improve efficiencies and closely manage its finances as well as integrate their financial reporting with all the various cost centres across the business which – when you consider the complexity of these operations – requires comprehensive, dedicated support.”

It reseller JMC has a number of high profile sports stadia clients, including some of the top English Premiership teams (Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Blackburn and Aston Villa) and Irish clients Croke Park Stadium and the Gaelic Athletic Association.

For more information about JMC could help you better manage your stadia finances call us on 0161 925 7777 or email sports@jmc.it.

Although over 40 members of the JMC team participated there were some individuals that deserve extra recognition.

Jonathan Broadley left his car at home all week and cycled to and from work. By the time he got home on Friday night Jonathan had managed to raise £60 having cycled 60 miles over the five days.

Having been in a committed training regime since the New Year, Steve Chalkley completed an 11 mile run into work. Completing the journey in just over two hours Steve also raised an additional £165 in sponsorship money.

Tess Mayors wore a pedometer all week tracking her movements around Riverside. Due to the nature of Tess’s role within the company she clocked up an impressive 21 miles over the week.

Top performer of the week was Business Development Director Tim Maxwell who clocked up a remarkable 105 miles in just four days.

JMC is donating one pound for every mile completed which, when added to the money raised from a dress down day, takes the total raised too an impressive £572. Once with Sport Relief, the money will be sent to help turn around the lives of people in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries.

Founded in 1981, JMC is a large IT support partner based in the North of England. It offers an extensive portfolio of services including IT support, business management solutions, and bespoke software development.

With an annual turnover of over £8million, the average client has worked with them for over nine years, and 94 per cent of clients would be happy to recommend its services to others.

As you would expect from a company of JMC’s calibre, it possesses a host of industry accreditations including Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with Nine Competencies, Cisco Premier Partner, Citrix Silver Solutions Network Member, Dell Certified Partner, HP systems reseller, and Pegasus Strategic Partner.

It has also received many awards for its services, and consistently appears in the Sunday Times annual “Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For” list.

For more information about JMC and its services, visit the JMC website at http://www.jmc.co.uk/

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The Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) of Great Britain made the prediction based on analysis of fuel market trends and tax changes.

In its report, the PRA claims that British motorists could be paying a record 123 pence for a litre of unleaded fuel by the end of 2010.

The restoration of VAT rates to 17.5 per cent, as well as a host of confirmed and proposed tax increases, will also affect fuel prices this year.

The PRA report says: “With all of these duty and VAT factors considered, this will equate to a 5p per litre increase in fuel prices by the beginning of April 2010 with the possibility of up to a 10p per litre rise solely from UK taxation by the fourth quarter of 2010.”

The Government has stated that it will raise fuel duty by at least 1p per litre on 1^st April, while tax breaks for the production of biofuel are set to be withdrawn. It is also rumoured that VAT will increase to 20 per cent at some point in 2010, adding a further 2.5p per litre to the cost of unleaded petrol.

Paul Watters, head of public affairs at the AA, has played down these fears by branding the PRA report “pessimistic”, and partly based on speculation.

Daniel Parry of delivery price comparison site Delivery Quote Compare said: “These increasing fuel prices will put even more pressure on already tight margins. Hauliers and couriers will need to maximise their capacity, or else reduce their empty backloads in order to compensate for the higher price of fuel.

“Here at Delivery Quote Compare we search through hundreds of different delivery companies to give our customers the best deal to suit their needs. This gives hauliers the opportunity to obtain additional business, which would maximise their delivery capacity, meaning they get more value for money from their fuel consumption.”

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Directors addresses

From 1 October 2009 Companies House will no longer place a director’s residential address on the public register. Instead, directors can provide a service address (which can be the company’s registered office) which will appear on the public register. All directors should be aware that this change is not retrospective, and therefore any residential addresses already showing on the public register will continue to do so. In addition, a company’s register of directors will no longer need to state the companies of which the director has been or is a director.

Memorandum of association

All companies incorporated after 1 October 2009 will have a short form memorandum of association which will detail its name, subscribers and the number of issued shares on the date of incorporation. The new style memorandum will act as a snap shot of the company on incorporation only and will not be capable of change. Therefore, the significance of the memorandum will be greatly reduced following 1 October 2009, after which time the main constitutional document of a company will be its articles of association.

All companies in existence on 1 October 2009 will retain the traditional long-form memorandum (including objects, statement of limited liability and statement of the authorised share capital (if applicable)), which will become part of the company’s articles. If a company wishes to change the content of its memorandum, for example to remove the restrictions in its objects clause, it can do so by passing a special resolution to amend the articles.

Objects of a company

Companies incorporated after 1 October 2009 (and therefore with a short form memorandum) will have unlimited objects, unless the objects of the company are expressly limited in the articles of association. For companies incorporated prior to 1 October 2009, however, the objects clause in the memorandum will remain effective until amended by special resolution.

Authorised share capital

Companies incorporated after 1 October 2009 will not have a statement of authorised share capital. This means that the directors of the company can allot any number of shares at their discretion (provided that the company only has one class of share) without the need for authorisation from the shareholders. Shareholder authorisation will still be required to waive pre-emption rights however.

For existing companies, the authorised share capital set out in its memorandum will remain a restriction on the number of shares which can be allotted. If a company would like to remove this restriction, it can do so by amending its articles by special resolution.

Existing articles of association

The articles of association of a company incorporated before 1 October 2009, will continue to be effective after 1 October 2009. However, all articles will be interpreted in line with the Companies Act 2006 and may no longer be accurate or consistent. In addition, the articles may impose unnecessary restrictions or unduly complicated procedures, which have been removed or simplified by the Companies Act 2006. As a result, now may be a good time to update your articles.

New articles of association

New model articles for private companies replace the existing Table A and C articles as the default articles for all companies incorporated on or after 1 October 2009. The new model articles are designed for small owner-managed businesses with only a small number of directors and shareholders and therefore, they may not be suitable for larger or more complex companies. In addition, the model articles do not duplicate provisions which are already in the Companies Act 2006 in order to keep them simple. This means that the articles are not a full statement of the rights and obligations of the shareholders and directors and reference must also be made to the Companies Act 2006 itself (which has 1,300 sections). This could lead to uncertainty and confusion.

Therefore all companies incorporated after 1 October 2009 should consider whether the model articles are suitable for their needs. If they are not, bespoke articles should be drafted and should be used in place of the default model articles.

What changes to your company’s constitutional documentation should you consider?

Since its implementation began on 1 October 2007, the Companies Act 2006 has made a great number of changes to company law. Now that the final changes are to be implemented on 1 October 2009, it may be a good time to consider whether amendments are required to your constitutional documentation, which could now be greatly out of date.

Companies incorporated prior to 1 October 2009 should consider the following in respect of their articles:

1.      Do you still require the company’s objects to be restricted?
2.      Do you wish for the authorised share capital of the company to be limited and for directors to require authority to allot shares?
3.      Do you wish to have annual general meetings now that they are not required?
4.      Do you wish to have a company secretary now that they are no longer required?
5.      Do your articles provide for 14 days notice of a general meeting, the use of written resolutions and electronic communications with shareholders?

If the answer to any or all of the above is ‘no’, you may wish to consider updating your articles to bring them into line with the Companies Act 2006.

If you would like to discuss any of the matters raised in this article, or if you are interested in updating your company’s articles, please contact Catherine MacRae on 023 8082 0456 or Mike Watson on 023 8082 0546.

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This is only the second time that Credit Today has run these awards, aimed specifically at the personal and corporate insolvency and rescue sectors. The awards aim to honour the industry’s high achievers, and celebrate best practice and the raising of standards across the entire rescue industry.

Commenting on her shortlist for the award, Bev said: “It’s a great to see that the fantastic work we are doing at The Debt Advisor has been recognised for the second year running – this nomination is a real achievement in itself. All the heavyweights from the insolvency and rescue world will be in attendance; Delloite, KPMG, PwC – so we’ll certainly have some tough competition!

“The nomination in the personal insolvency category is testament to the incredible effort that my team and I have put in over the last few years. We won the award last year and, since then, have been tenacious in our crusade to promote an innovative approach to personal insolvency whilst continually aiding the rescue process.

“We have managed to establish ourselves as a major, ethical player within the debt management industry through our commitment to fully understanding the root cause of the debt problem and helping our customers through it.

“We are all looking forward to the awards evening and are keeping our fingers crossed!”

Bev Budsworth is the managing director of IVA & Debt management firm The Debt Advisor and, for a number of years, has been an active campaigner for a more innovative and holistic approach to debt. She is a staunch supporter of the rescue culture, believing that everyone deserves access to professional advice to help them become debt-free. Her membership of the influential Personal Insolvency Committee (PIC) and the Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) further allow her to help develop a debt management industry that is based on ethics and transparency.

The 2009 Insolvency & Rescue award ceremony will take place on Wednesday 21 October at the Tower Hotel in London and is expected to attract over 500 insolvency and rescue professionals. The ceremony will be hosted by comedian, Ed Byrne.

The Bank of England has announced that it will keep interest rates at the record low level of 0.5% for the sixth month in a row. The rate was 3% in December 2008 but was brought down steeply to it’s current level in the first quarter of 2009. Since then the rate has held steady during the worst months of the economic downturn. The Bank Of England has also said it would continue with it’s program of quantitative easing by pumping around £175bn into the economy as well as the planned purchase of £50bn worth of gilts over the next three months.