In the UK today bailiffs are commonly used to collect council tax arrears or to enforce a court judgment. However they are also used to collect parking fines and penalties, tax debt, or child support arrears.

National Debtline is inviting consumers and advice agencies to share experiences of dealing with bailiffs who try to blag their way into a property. Some of the most common techniques witnessed by National Debtline are:

• “Can I come in to use your toilet?”

• “I’m from the local council, can I come in?”

• “We have a warrant, so you have to let us in.”

The rules and regulations around bailiffs can be quite complicated and so it is not fair to expect your average person in the street to know the ins and outs. However there are some rules of thumb that are very useful to stick to, and one of those is to not let the bailiffs in your property. This means locking doors and windows, and not falling for some of these blags.

The most important thing is to get some free advice immediately. Organisations like National Debtline and CCCS can talk you through your rights over the phone, even whilst the bailiff is waiting outside.

If you’ve been the victim of ‘bailiff blagging’ then please share your experiences with us by using the #bailiffblags hashtag on Twitter, or by emailing paul.crayston@moneyadvicetrust.org. For more information follow National Debtline on Twitter (@natdebtline).

Read more advice about your rights when dealing with bailifs on the Money Advice Trust website

During a very cold winter, the costs of heating can quickly add up. If you’re receiving certain benefits, you may be able to get a Cold Weather Payment for each period of very cold weather in your area. You can find out whether you qualify for help this winter from the DirectGov website.

Cold Weather Payments help people, who get certain income-related benefits, with their increased heating costs caused by periods of very cold weather during winter.

A cold weather payment is made if the average recorded temperature falls to zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days or if it is forecast there will be an averagetemperarure of zero degrees Celsius or below for seven days in a row.

How the Cold Weather Payments scheme works

The Cold Weather Payments scheme runs every winterbetween November 1st and March 31st.

A network of weather stations gathers temperature information. This is used to see whether there has been a ‘period of very cold weather’ in any postcode area.

When there is a period of very cold weather in your postcode area, a Cold Weather Payment is made to eligible people who live there.

When there hasn’t been a period of very cold weather in your postcode area, a Cold Weather Payment will not be paid.

People who live near to each other but in different postcode areas might get Cold Weather payments at different times.

How to find out if Cold Weather Payments have been made in your postcode area

You can find out if a Cold Weather Payment has been made in your postcode area by using the Postcode Search

This news comes as the Coalition Government has launched the National Apprenticeships Week, which will seek to build on last year’s success with events in schools and businesses.

Commenting, Tim said:

“This is a dramatic increase in the number of apprenticeships from just 370 in 2010 to an impressive 720 in 2011, which will make a huge difference to the lives of young people in our local area.

“Thanks to the work of local businesses, and other employers, with the support of the Government, more young people across the South Lakes than ever before now have the opportunity to benefit from a variety of apprenticeships that will help to provide them with the skills needed to get jobs and build up their careers.

“Our apprentices are putting businesses on stronger ground to be successful and create jobs and growth in our area, that’s why we must now work even harder to ensure even better results to well and truly make 2012 the Year of the Apprentice.”

Commenting further, Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, Vince Cable said:

“National Apprenticeships Week is the time to celebrate the countless achievements of learners and employers, and to call on more firms to hire an apprentice and enjoy the competitive advantage they can bring to a business.

“I am very proud of the fact that at a time of financial constraint this Coalition Government has prioritised investment in apprenticeships. This has led to the creation of record numbers of apprenticeships combined with tough new standards to drive up quality.

“Apprenticeships are at the centre of the Coalition’s skills policy because we know that they work. Not only do they provide individuals with the skills they need for prosperous and rewarding careers, they also boost businesses’ profits and drive growth in the wider economy.

“We are providing extra help to enable small employers to hire their first apprentices. We will also continue to develop new advanced and higher-level apprenticeships to deliver the world-class skills individuals and firms need to get ahead.”

“Promoting cycling and green transport is the right thing to do and I am delighted Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are taking action.

“This comes at a crucial time. Just five days ago The Times launched a cycle campaign in response to the shocking increase in fatalities among cyclists on our roads.

“It is absolutely essential people should be able to walk to work or cycle to school in a safe environment. The extra £8m for Sustrans will go a long way to achieving this.

“And the £7m for improved rail-cycle links will ensure that we continue to build a transport network which puts passengers first.”

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said:

“We are urging anyone who is angry about the state of the energy market to sign up.

“The Big Switch is the first chance to do this in the UK, and an opportunity for the energy suppliers to demonstrate that they’re serious about changing their ways and putting consumers first”

Consumers can register their interest through The Big Switch website until the end of March, when energy companies will be invited to submit a market leading deal and take part in a reverse auction.

Which? is joined by 38 Degrees and broadcaster Jonathan Maitland, who also want to see energy customers getting a better deal.

Research from Which? on the energy market shows that UK consumers could save on average £4 billion per year just by switching to the cheapest energy deal, but figures from the energy regulator Ofgem show that six out of 10 people have never switched their gas and electricity.

Richard Lloyd said:

“It’s a £4 billion free kick for the energy companies if so many of us stick with their more expensive tariffs.”

He added

“The government, regulator and energy companies have failed to move quickly enough to improve things for consumers when so many are struggling to pay their bills.”

How does The Big Switch work?

Step 1 – Consumers register their interest via The Big Switch website.

Step 2 – Which? negotiates on behalf of the people who have signed up. We’ll aim to secure a market-leading energy deal.

Step 3 – You choose. We’ll email you with details of the deal that we’ve secured, and you can decide whether to take up the offer.

There is no guarantee of a deal, but the more peoplethat join together, the greater the bargaining power of the group. You can encourage your friends and family to sign up too by directing them to The Big Switch website.

Liberal Democrat Energy secretary Edward Davey said:

“I’m delighted that Which? have developed their Big Switch, as I have long believed that collective purchasing will be a game-changer in terms of handing power back to consumers.”

Collective switching has already been tried and tested with great success in other countries and Which? are confidentthat it will be a success in the UK too.

Using the combined switching power of thousands of consumers, will place consumers in a great bargaining position to get a cheaper deal

You can read more at : http://ht.ly/8VAXV

The Office for Fair Trading has announced that Major UK electrical retailers have offered legal undertakings to improve the way the extended warranties market works.

The retailers have promised measures that include improving the information they provide to shoppers, and the launch of a comparison website.

This follows today’s OFT market study on extended warranties, which highlights competition concerns in the £1 billion per year market that could mean consumers are not getting the best value for money.

As a result of the OFT’s concerns, Dixons, Comet and Argos, the largest retail providers of extended warranties, have offered undertakings which the OFT will now consult on whether to accept, instead of referring the market to the Competition Commission (CC) for a detailed investigation.

The OFT’s market study found that, despite some improvements in the market including some lower prices, several competition concerns remain. In particular:

- Competition remains limited by the retailers’ ‘point of sale’ advantage in being able to sell extended warranties at the same time as they sell the electrical goods.

- Only around a quarter of consumers shop around for extended warranties, which remains low compared to many other insurance products.

When buying an extended warranty at the same time as an electrical appliance, shoppers do not have enough relevant information to make an informed decision about whether the extended warranty is value for money.

Pay As You Go (PAYG) warranties, where shoppers pay for a rolling monthly contract, can be very expensive if held for lengthy periods and can be considerably more expensive than comparable fixed term warranties.

To address these concerns, Dixons, Comet and Argos have agreed to:

- establish, maintain and publicise an extended warranties comparison website, to make shopping around easier
provide more accessible information via in-store leaflets, including on the availability of alternative providers
conduct regular independent mystery shopping exercises to help ensure shoppers get accurate information from sales staff – and report back to the OFT on the results

- provide clear on-shelf information about the annual equivalent prices of PAYG warranties to help shoppers understand the longer term costs of those products. This currently affects Dixons, which is the only one of these three retailers to sell PAYG warranties.

Ann Pope, Director in the OFT’s Goods and Consumer Group, said:

“Millions of extended warranties are sold in the UK each year and we remain concerned that, despite recent improvements, this market does not work as well as it could for consumers. We welcome the retailers’ initiative in offering undertakings and we now want to hear from consumers and others whether they think these will lead to improvements.

If these undertakings are accepted by the OFT it would allow us to address the competition concerns more quickly and also reduce the burdens of further, detailed investigation.”

The OFT expects to reach a final decision on whether to accept the undertakings later this Spring.

As part of the OFT’s Know Your Consumer Rights campaign the OFT has produced a short online film to inform shoppers about their statutory rights when buying electrical goods and to encourage them to shop around before buying an extended warranty.

The low temperatures have seen the region suffering with the aftermath of the recent snow fall which has now turned to ice, black ice on sections of road and is also freezing fog which can dramatically reduce visibility as it falls across large areas like a blanket.

Conditions like these can make the simplest of journeys a real challenge and have resulted in at least two serious incidents in the last couple of days.

The first incident happened at 1535hrs on Sunday 05 February when a call was received reporting a single vehicle road traffic collision on the M62 westbound between Junction 38 to 37.

Traffic officers attended and whilst dealing with the initial incident further collisions occurred involving three other vehicles. One of these vehicles collided with a stationary (and unoccupied) Police Land Rover. Driving conditions were very poor.

Fire and Rescue attended to cut free three occupants from one of the vehicles.

The injured were taken to Doncaster Infirmary and were later discharged having suffered only minor injuries.

No police officers were hurt although the police vehicle suffered severe damage. The carriageway was reopened at 1945hrs.

The second incident happened on Monday 06 February on the A15 shortly after 0900hrs involving several vehicles which were in collision during challenging driving conditions. This resulted in the road being closed for over an hour while the incident was cleared however thankfully no one was seriously injured.

Roads Policing Chief Insp Roger Mitchell said:

“Our force wide winter driving campaign is in full swing and we are again urging drivers to be careful on the roads across our region as the weather is less than ideal at present.

“We have already seen examples of incidents which have come about due to drivers not driving in accordance with either the weather or road conditions and in one extreme case, a young driver in North East Lincolnshire who couldn’t be bothered to clear the snow from his van before setting off which left him trying to drive while looking through one small piece of windscreen which he actually did clear.

“This type of driver behaviour can be very dangerous and put other road users at risk making it vital that motorists take weather conditions into account when heading out and drive in accordance with the conditions especially when icy or foggy as you cannot always see dangers as you approach them.

“Thankfully, the incidents we have attended so far have only resulted in minor injuries or in the case of our reckless van driver some advice from our officers and a fixed penalty notice but again we are asking drivers to be careful as the cold snap continues in order to try and reduce the chances of further incidents in the coming days.”

The following tips have been issued as part of the Winter Driving Campaign:

Keep your vehicles lights, windows and mirrors clean and free from ice and snow, keep your battery fully charged, add anti-freeze to the radiator and winter additive to the windscreen washer bottles, make sure wipers and lights are in good working order and check that tyres have plenty of tread depth and are maintained at the correct pressure.

Take into account the fact that it can take 10 times longer to stop in icy conditions than on a dry road. Drive slowly, allowing extra room to slow down and stop.

In foggy conditions, drive very slowly using dipped headlights. Use fog lights if visibility is seriously reduced, but remember to switch them off when visibility improves.

Dazzle from winter sun can be dangerous. Keep a pair of sunglasses handy.

Remember in wet weather, stopping distances will be at least double those required for stopping on dry roads.

“Promoting cycling and green transport is the right thing to do and I am delighted Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are taking action.

“This comes at a crucial time. Just five days ago The Times launched a cycle campaign in response to the shocking increase in fatalities among cyclists on our roads.

“It is absolutely essential people should be able to walk to work or cycle to school in a safe environment. The extra £8m for Sustrans will go a long way to achieving this.

“And the £7m for improved rail-cycle links will ensure that we continue to build a transport network which puts passengers first.”

Smartphone users are asked to stand inside or by the door of their local library and open up http://www.findalibrary.org.uk on their phone. Then all they need to do is click ‘Use my location’ and ‘Put library on the map’ before enjoying the services available at the library.

By putting your library on the map you will be showing your support for your local library and helping other people find services.

In only takes a few minutes to put your library on the map, and once you are there, why not go in and enjoy some of the services on offer.

“The sheer hypocrisy of Labour to point the finger on bankers’ bonuses is staggering. Labour presided over the biggest boom in bonuses this country has seen, from £3.1bn in 2001 to £11.5 billion in 2007. At the same time, they sat back and knighted the financial speculators who led this country to the brink of economic collapse.

“The Coalition Government inherited this economic mess from Labour and has taken decisive action to put the country back on track. We’ve capped cash bonuses at state owned banks to £2,000 and overall, the bonus pool is smaller than last year and considerably less than under Labour.

“In Government, Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing – implementing the Vickers’ proposals to make banking safer in the future, continuing our fight to get the banks to lend more and introducing the banking levy which raises £2.5bn a year. All Labour can do is complain from the side lines.

“While Labour spent thirteen years being intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, Liberal Democrats have made clear that our priority is lifting the lowest paid people out of paying income tax all together.”