Identity fraud 'is set to soar' says Experian

Identity fraud is likely to accelerate in 2010 as organised criminals target the rich, according to a report.

Some 72% of ID fraud in 2009 came in the 2nd half of the year with company directors and business owners the most at risk, Experian found. The credit reference agency said that the number of ID fraud victims rose by 20% in 2009 compared with 2008.

London remained the UK's crime hotspot area but Salford, Manchester and Cardiff were also vulnerable, it said.

Experian also noted a rise in the proportion of fraud cases when people manipulated their own information in order to access financial services such as credit. The company estimated that these numbers would increase owing to lower levels of lending and the potential for more unemployment in 2010.

For the full story from BBC News click here...

source: BBC

Drive Assist in whistleblower allegations

Credit hire firm Drive Assist is at the centre of allegations it falsified hire days to claim extra money from insurers.

In a leaked email, released by a whistleblower and seen by Insurance Times, a Drive Assist employee explains to staff how to claim two extra hire days from insurers. The email has been sent to the ABI and insurers are currently considering their response.

Drive Assist chief executive Steve Binch said the employee who sent the email has been 'disciplined' while a full investigation is being carried out. In a letter to the ABI, he said that following an initial investigation, he was: “Confident that the many other systems and procedures within Drive Assist have captured this unfortunate procedural error/misrepresentation.”

He added: “The Board and I do not condone any process which artificially inflates hire invoice values and Drive Assist prides itself on being one of the lower cost operators in the sector.”

See this week’s Insurance Times, out on Thursday and online Wednesday, for the full story.

source: Insurance Times

UK 'could face power shortages'

The UK could face power shortages in the years ahead, according to the energy regulator, Ofgem.

The regulator also warns that a significant number of consumers may not be able to afford the higher energy prices they will have to face. Ofgem says there is "reasonable doubt" about whether the UK's energy market will be able to deliver sustainable supplies in the coming decade.

The industry needs £200bn of investment, Ofgem said.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Ford posts first annual profit for four years

Ford has posted an annual profit for the first time in four years.

The carmaker made $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2009, compared with a loss of almost $15bn in 2008, and said it expects to be profitable this year as well. For the final three months of last year, the company made $868m, a dramatic improvement on the $6bn loss it made a year earlier.

Ford said its return to profitability was in part due to cutting costs and reducing debt levels.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

UK economy emerges from recession

The UK economy has come out of recession, after figures showed it had grown by a weaker-than-expected 0.1% in the last three months of 2009.

The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters - the longest period since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955. There have been recent recovery signs - last week, UK unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months. The UK's had been the last major economy still in recession.

Europe's two biggest economies - Germany and France - came out of recession last summer. Japan and the US also emerged from recession last year.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Fraud 'costs the UK £30bn a year'

Scams, online theft, insurance cheats and tax fraud is costing the UK £30bn a year, according to an official estimate.

The National Fraud Authority (NFA) has calculated the figure for the first time and said it equated to £621 per adult in the UK. Some 58% of fraud was in the public sector, at a cost of £17bn, it added. It said the losses were paid for through taxes and rising prices of products and services.

The highest sector was losses from tax fraud - estimated at £15.2bn - although this was only 3% of tax liabilities, consumer scams were estimated at £3.5bn, insurance fraud at £2bn and some 31% of losses came in the private sector, with the financial services sector suffering the biggest hit.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Radical plans to shake up costs of civil cases

The biggest ever shake-up to the costs of taking cases through the civil courts is contained in proposals in a report by one of the most senior judges in England and Wales.

The civil courts deal with personal injury claims, disputes over goods and services, and landlord and tenant actions, among others. Lord Justice Jackson's Review of Civil Litigation Costs is a result of a recognition that it is simply too expensive for many people and small companies to bring or defend civil cases.

His proposals are radical. He has looked at the factors forcing costs up in civil actions, and in particular he has focussed on Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs), more commonly known as "no win, no fee" agreements. They have proved controversial in personal injury and defamation and privacy cases where the winning party can recover, in addition to damages, a hefty lawyer's "success" fee and "After the Event" (ATE) insurance premiums taken out by the claimant to protect against the costs of losing.

He proposes that success fees and ATE insurance premiums should cease to be recoverable from unsuccessful opponents in civil litigation. This will have particular significance for personal injury claims where no win no fee agreements are most common.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

VAT place of supply rules change

The place of supply rules for VAT changed on 1 January 2010 – now VAT is payable in the country in which the customer is established, rather than the supplier. Supplies to private individuals will follow this approach from 1 January 2013.

As a result of the BVRLA's lobbying efforts, all rental agreements lasting 30 days or less will remain unaffected. In practical terms, this means that rental staff will not be required to check the VAT status of each customer in order to decide whether to issue a zero-rated VAT invoice.

In conjunction with HM Revenue and Customs, the BVRLA has produced a fact sheet on the new rules, particularly how they affect agreements lasting longer than 30 days.

VAT Place of Supply Rules (Fact Sheet 579) can be downloaded by BVRLA members here...

source: BVRLA

Van best practice programme

The Van Best Practice Programme helps van users to save money by improving the operational, environmental and safety performance of their vans.

By making small changes to everyday practice, you can drive down costs and improve business performance. Van Best Practice offers free advice to businesses of all sizes on how they can change the way they run their vans to reduce fuel costs, running costs and CO2 emissions.

For full details from the DfT website click here...

source: DfT

BP profits ahead of forcasts

Oil giant BP has reported third-quarter profits well ahead of expectations, sending its share price up nearly 4%.

Its replacement cost profit between July and September was $4.98bn (£3bn). Experts said the figure had "obliterated" market forecasts. BP's results were boosted after it made bigger-than-expected cost cuts.

For the full story click here...

source: BBC News

Barclays buys Standard Life

Barclays has announced that it is buying Standard Life Bank, the offshoot of Edinburgh-based life insurance company Standard Life, for £226m.

Barclays is one of the biggest banks in the world, with millions of customers, whereas Standard Life Bank is a relative minnow. It has just 287,000 savings accounts and 78,000 mortgage accounts.

Standard Life Bank has been operating only since 1998, and the insurer said the sale was in its best interests.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Scrappage scheme embraces vans

The extension to the government's car and van scrappage scheme came into effect on 22 October.

It now applies to all cars registered in the UK no later than 29 February 2000 and vans registered no later than 28 February 2002.

For the BVRLA website clike here...

source: BVRLA

AIG raises $2.2bn

American International Group agreed to sell its Taiwan insurance unit to a consortium led by Hong Kong's Primus Financial for $2.15bn, the companies announced on Tuesday.

To view the full story and to subscribe to FT.com click here...

source: FT.com

Growing small businesses

One of the big issues for ambitious small firms looking to grow is how to attract new customers. You know you have a great product, or offer a good service, but how do you best make yourself known to would-be buyers?

On the BBC website Ganesh Selvarajah, an advisor at Business Link, the government-funded business support service, looks at how to best target your advertising or marketing spend.

For the full story on the BBC website click here...

source: BBC

UK's Car Scrappage Scheme Extended

The UK's car scrappage scheme is to be extended, Lord Mandelson has announced.

He said the scheme, which started in May and gives consumers £2,000 off a new car if they trade in one at least 10 years old, was running out of money.

The business secretary broke the news, called for by the car industry, in his speech to the Labour Party conference.

He said "we cannot do everything but that does not mean doing nothing" and said the scheme would be extended to cover 100,000 more cars and vans.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Twitter's Major Cash Boost

Social networking website Twitter has confirmed that it has closed a "significant round of funding".

Co-founder Evan Williams said in a blog post that the site had secured money from five investment firms. Industry watchers have pointed out that the firm still has no way of making money.

However, earlier this month the site revised its terms and conditions to allow advertising on its service.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Free Job Adverts for Members

Did you know that the BVRLA still offers free advertising for members’ job vacancies on it's website.

Visit the BVRLA website...