B4 Information, Guidance And Advise

Question 1

What is citizens advice?

Answer 1

A charity that offers advice on a range of financial and non-financial matters.

Question 2

What is an advantage of Citizens Advice?

Answer 2

Free service
Wide range of services
Accessible to all
Independent and impartial

Question 3

What do Citizens advice offer? (Two examples)

Answer 3

Pensions
banking
borrowing
food banks
debt solutions
budgeting
mortgage problems

Question 4

What is a disadvantage of Citizens Advice?

Answer 4

Trained volunteers that are not professional financial advisors
Customers may be referred on and make take time to access support

Question 5

What is IFA?

Answer 5

Independent Financial Advisors

Question 6

What are the Independent Financial Advisors?

Answer 6

Professionals that are registered to offer financial advice

Question 7

What advice do the IFA offer?

Answer 7

Saving
Mortgages
Investments
Pensions
Insurance

Question 8

Why must an IFA be registered with the FCA?

Answer 8

To stop the customer from losing out on money if an IFA can make mistakes or possibly be shady about your money.

Question 9

What is an advantage of an IFA?

Answer 9

Advice provided by a professional
Services regulated by the FCA
They take time to understand the full financial situation
They can always be checked on the FCA website

Question 10

What is a disadvantage of an IFA?

Answer 10

IFA’s charge for their services
Not all advisors offer the same services

Question 11

What are Price Comparisons Sites?

Answer 11

Websites collected together produce information and price on a range of products and services.

Question 12

What is an advantage of a Price Comparison Site?

Answer 12

Easy to access 24/7 as it is internet based
Confident to quickly compare product/services
Free service

Question 13

What is a disadvantage of Price Comparison Sites?

Answer 13

Not all products are listed on price comparison sites
Information may not be up to date
Options may be presented on bias
No advice offered for individual circumstance

Question 14

What is a Money Advice service?

Answer 14

Government financed organisation set up to offer free and impartial advice for financial services

Question 15

What is an advantage of a Money Advice service?

Answer 15

Government funded - advise for free
Accessibility - on websites
Offers a range of services

Question 16

What is a disadvantage of Money Advice Services?

Answer 16

No physical presence
A lot of information in one website
Advice is generic rather then personal

Question 17

What is Debt Counselling?

Answer 17

Professional services offered to advice a client on better debt management

Question 18

What is an advantage of Debt Counselling?

Answer 18

Advice is offered by specialists in debt management
Service is regulated by the FCA

Question 19

What is a disadvantage of Debt Counselling?

Answer 19

Fees charged
Advice will focus on debt management not on the whole financial circumstance
May lead to solutions e.g. bankruptcy that impact on a persons credit rating

Question 20

What does IVA stand for?

Answer 20

Independent Voluntary Arrangements

Question 21

What is an IVA?

Answer 21

A formal agreement between customer and creditor that agrees monthly repayments plan over a period of time

Question 22

What is an advantage of an IVA?

Answer 22

Insolvency practitioners offer advise to manage debts in a way the customer can manage
A persons debt repayment is transferred into one repayment plan instead of multiple
This can be a solution to a serious debt problem

Question 23

What is a disadvantage of an IVA?

Answer 23

They are an agreement set through the court- it must be honoured by the customer by agreeing to the repayments
They impact credit rating making it difficult to access future debt

Question 24

What is bankruptcy?

Answer 24

A form of insolvency that writes off debts if you can’t afford to pay them giving a person a fresh start

Question 25

What is an advantage of bankruptcy?

Question 26

What is a disadvantage of bankruptcy?