Information guidance and advice Flashcards
Function of Citizens Advice
Offers free and impartial advice to individuals on legal financial, consumer and other problems
What is the Citizens Advice’s role/responsiblities
Provides advice to members of the public
Improve policies and practices that affect lives
Promote equality/challenge discrimination
Advantages of Citizens advice
Free and impartial Widely available Extensive coverage(benefits, debt, work, housing)
Disadvantages of Citizens Advice
Run by volunteers who may not be experts
Funded by donations so service may be limited
Function of the Independent Financial Advisor(IFA)
Offers advice on a wide range of financial services e.g mortgages, pensions and savings
Role and responsibilities of IFA
Offer professional unbiased advice to clients on how best to manage finances
Keep up to date with changes in the sector and services provided by third parties e.g banks/pension companies
Advantages of the IFA
Advise on a wide range of providers
Having a personal IFA can lead to high levels of trust
Disadvantages of IFA
Charge for their services
Risk of being offered the wrong advice to benefit from commission
Function of price comparison websites
Provide information on the internet in the form of price comparisons
Roles and responsibilities of price comparison websites
Collect and share up to date data
Provide search options for customers allowing them to compare prices from similar providers of a service easily
Advantages of price comparison websites
Free, impartial and easy to use
Convenient(available 24/7)
Disadvantages of price comparison websites
Do not always include all providers
May not be accurate
Function of debt counsellors
IFA or organisation who advise people on how to avoid/manage debt
Roles and responsibilities of debt counsellors
Offer advice on how to reduce payments or overcome debt
Can also offer help with IVA’s and bankruptcy
Advantages of Debt counsellors
Advice is from a specialist
FCA and FOS regulate counsellors
Disadvantages of debt counsellors
Range of advice may be limited
Charge for their services
Function of Individual Voluntary Arrangements(IVA’s)
Government organisation that allows individuals to work with an insolvency partner to manage their debt
Roles and responsibilities of IVA’s
Helps individuals to manage debt by providing a solution
Agreed amount is paid on a regular basis with the insolvency partner allocating this between creditors
Advantages of IVA’s
Support individuals with debt problems
Offers a manageable solution
Disadvantages of IVA’s
Affect ability to gain credit in the future
Charges are incurred
Function/role of bankruptcy
Individual formally declares being unable to repay debt
Advantages of bankruptcy
Reduce stress
Disadvantages of bankruptcy
Last resort as consequences are severe(bad credit rating)