We Are Bailing Out The Biggest And Most Corrupt Of All Time

Or Politicians have been bought out  scared into submission!!!!

As I sit and type this I am filled with an overwhelming feeling of dread. I don’t know why exactly, it is just there, gut feeling kind of thing.

I am a realist and I know the people, country and world need banks. But do we need private central banks that control countries interest rates and charge a country for the privilege? Or do we need government banks where the country as a whole decides on who controls money and interest rates?

The current system of banking and general work ethic is based upon the “how much money can we make attitude”. What if there were other ways to make money. We could try drug running (high risk but profitable), set up a prostitution ring (high risk but profitable), cut and shut car garages (high risk but profitable), we could do all three and make a killing. But we might go to jail1

As you will probably know the UK banks have been “making a killing” for too many years to remember. They have been illegally making bank charges for unauthorised overdrafts, declined direct debits, late standing orders, unpaid cheques. Under UK law it is illegal to extort any “penalty charges” against a company or private individual as it is a penalty. A cost for administering any charges applied to an account can be taken, however NO PROFIT can be made from the charge.

Yet for years the UK banks have applied these charges, £30 for being overdrawn, £15 for sending you a letter to let you know you were overdrawn, total of £45 for being overdrawn, when you actually were not as the bank did not PAY the company or person who tried to take money from your account. The following month they take £45 from your account without you agreeing, but HEY HOUSTON WE HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM, there is no money in your account, so they again try to take it, which then increases this illegal debt another £30 for being overdrawn, £15 for sending you a letter to let you know you were overdrawn. So you now owe £90 to the bank for nothing, they have not lost a penny as they have not paid the original request for money. They instead used this error that YOU made to generate money out of thin air. You had no money, so they created money for you, it shows on your bank statement, debits, so for your initial debit of say £1.00 and you had an available cash of £0.97 then for the sake of three pence it has cost you £45, how can this make sense? Then the next month this charge of £45 again cannot be taken as you don’t have enough money, so £45 becomes £90. Do you see where I am going with this? This goes on into infinity. You will never get out of this debt unless you have enough in your account to pay it off in full.

Allow me to explain this in plain terms.

I have my own leasing company, we issue invoices to customers. We expect payment on time. However if an invoice is not paid on time, we allow 5 days grace and then we call the customer. We ask why payment has not been made and when it will be paid. Normal and rational I think. What we do not do is operate like a bank, such as, you have not paid your invoice so we are charging you 300% non payment fee and a further admin charge of £15.00 because you made us make the call. If you do not pay us next month we will then charge a further 300% and another £15.00 because you once again made us have to auto generate a letter! DO YOU THINK I WOULD DO MUCH BUSINESS IF I TREATED CUSTOMERS LIKE THIS?

So here is me, the wee guy on the street, struggling to make ends meet and working my arse off. I find the bank is now taking my wages in charges, the amount I owe them isn’t coming down even though they take all I earn, but they keep putting charges on as my debt (created by them, deliberately) is always increasing, my wage of £900 a month is now taken, I have nothing to live on.

Do they care? No all they care about is profit.

Do they understand? Do they want to? No they only care about profit.

Do they offer any help? Do they want to? No as this will break their circle of creating a debt out of thin air.

Does the law offer help? Yes they do, they say take out a loan, and this will clear the outstanding charges. This means, MORE DEBT. The situation in the UK is laughable if it was not so serious. The OFT case allows banks a stay on the claims being made against them in the county courts, yet the banks are allowed to continue to apply these illegal charges to customer’s accounts. I use the term illegal, my choice and my view, so shoot me if am not a lawyer, in fact shoot me if I am one.

Cracking solution I think! A debt created out of thin air can now be financed via a loan from the bank, how fucking gracious of them, they create the debt and offer the solution, they will then charge interest on the debt they created. MORE DEBT!

Now the banks have their own situation. They are in a mess, perhaps they should have considered that loaning out more than they were worth might, just might have caused problems. If I have 20 quid and my pal asks to borrow a tenner and I loan him it then I still have a net worth of a tenner. If my pal asks to borrow £100 and I have the same £20 but I say ok mucker I’ll loan u the £100, but £80 is an IOU and I am good for it.

I have then loaned out 80% more than I actually have. But I have told my pal, for the £100 you will pay me back £120. I have then made money, that’s if the IOU is not presented to me and I have to find an extra £80 to pay it. If it is presented to me then I will borrow money from Fred to pay it, but Fred will charge me interest on the £80 I don’t have. This is how banks work

But what happens when the bank called “Fred” says I am not lending you money. Fred will be borrowing the money from other banks “Joe” Sam” and “Stu”. Neither of the banks have the money to lend, so what happens is this. There is a “run” on my bank and I cannot pay the amount of depositors the amount they have in their accounts (Northern Rock) and nobody will loan me to pay the depositors. Knock on is my bank has no money; surely my bank should be insolvent? Then other banks start to get the same thing, people want to take their money out, but the money isn’t there. Run after run and banks should be made bankrupt. Bank charges, why should we pay?

BUT, they have an ace up their sleeves. The central banks, Federal Reserve, Bank Of England (remember privately owned) are approached by smaller banks for bail outs, the central banks oblige, but because there are so many banks in trouble the central banks appeal to governments for help. Governments give the help under pressure as without agreeing economies would collapse. The main problem with this is it incurs more national debt, we the taxpayers pay for the bailouts, and then the banks charge us interest on our accounts. They also default us and charge us for unauthorized overdrafts etc etc.

So now that the bailouts have been given, we are now, as a people:

1. Running banks or have joint ventures with them, 44% nationalized and %56% private, so who has the power? THE BANKS OF COURSE.
2. Charging individuals interest on loans.
3. Making illegal charges on accounts.
4. Putting people into poverty and debt.
5. Facing increased taxation to pay for the bailouts.

It amounts to one thing,

THEY WANT OUR MONEY AT WHATEVER COST.

They do not care and yet our politicians bail them out. It is a waste of time for me to suggest that you write to your MP, they will do nothing apart from pay lip service. It is a waste of time to take the banks to court, they are protected. It is a waste of time to plead with them not to take your home. It is a waste of time to ask them to reduce taxation (taxes are what pay the national debt, owed to banks).

So what can be done?

Answers on a postcard please.

Credit Crunch, Real Or Not Real?

Just 8 months ago it was a term that hardly anybody had heard of, or used, now, we turn on the radio, TV or pick up any paper and there it is …. Right in our face… ‘Credit Crunch’. In fact it has become so common in its use, it is now difficult to understand just what it means to business and the individual. Of course, we understand that those with a dubious credit rating, who therefore represent a high risk for a funder, now have no chance of obtaining finance in today’s market, but what about those with no debt or well controlled and managed debt, a good credit history, a solid job or business with decent accounts? Just how will the ‘credit crunch’ affect them? 

The answer, surprisingly, is very hard.
Credit ratings for the individual are assessed on a points system from 0-1000
Although these ratings do differ this is a guide on the scores and what they mean.  Under 400 v.poor:  400 to 600 poor:  600 to 700 average: 700 to 750 above average:  750 to 800 good: above 800 is First Rate. 
Businesses also get a ‘roughing up’ by funders today. Even if your company has excellent accounts for the last 3 years but one of the directors has less than a v.good personal credit rating you are likely to get refused Prime funding. Today, not only has the company accounts got to show enough profits but the directors, all of them, have to be squeaky clean.

No matter where or who you deal with, if you want ANY form of funding, you will be “Credit Searched” as the very first hurdle. Any one who tells you differently is simply lying to you or giving you very bad advice. If you pass this first hurdle the chances are that the potential funder will ‘drill down’ through your personal finance files and then may request further information. This is a relatively new requirement by most funders, created due to the funders need to minimise losses from possible defaults.
In this article I am going to deal with the two major purchases that you are ever likely to make in your life, Property and Vehicles. We will see how the lenders attitude has changed and just how that will affect those of us who, historically, have never had a problem obtaining funding.
I don’t think I need to explain how funding for property works but many people don’t give any thought to how vehicle purchases are funded.  Take car leasing, it is the fastest growing method of owning a new vehicle. You see an advert for a vehicle you like with a monthly amount you know you can afford. In order for you to have your vehicle delivered, there is a complicated process that very few customers ever give any thought to. 
A good leasing broker will first run a Credit score search on you. This is so that he can offer the very best advice to you and put your proposal to the most likely funder for you. Assuming your credit search is ok; the broker locates and negotiates the lowest price for your chosen vehicle with a registered ‘main dealer’ to ensure you get the best deal. Next, the broker has to find a funder who is willing to purchase outright your chosen vehicle from the dealer, but before the funder will consider this he wants to know what sort of a risk the customer will be. The broker needs to be one jump ahead hear to protect your interests because if he doesn’t skilfully match YOU to a lenders criteria then you will be rejected and each rejection may affect the way the next funder views your application. 
Poor brokers, and there are a lot of them, are like cheap salespeople. They will tell you what you want to hear, make promises they have no hope of keeping, just in order to reel you in and tie you down. They don’t care if you get rejected and that it may affect future applications. They will blindly submit applications for you without credit searching in the vague hope you might go through. In short, they won’t tell you the truth about your true position in today’s difficult market and gradually the truth dawns on you but by then the damage to your credibility may have been done.
A good broker will be Data Protection registered and able to perform a credit search, before he makes an application to a funder on your behalf.  A basic credit search does not affect your record and assesses your chances of being accepted by a particular funder, because the broker is in a unique position and will know what their particular criteria currently are.  The broker will determine if YOU fit their criteria maximising the chances of acceptance first time.  If you have anything in your credit record that the funder may challenge, the broker will ask you about this and if he submits to that funder then he will add a note of explanation which greatly increases your chances of acceptance.  If they feel you will not match any of the ‘Prime Lenders’ criteria (and since the criteria have been significantly raised due to the credit crunch, more than 66% of applicants will not now meet that criteria) the broker should not try to make an application but should tell you the very thing you don’t want to hear!  “I think we ought to make a sub prime application for you because of ‘xyz’.”  Of course, many uneducated customers refuse this advice since the vehicle of their choice may cost an extra few quid per month with a sub prime lender and so insist on making the prime application, which inevitably, will be rejected.  Remember the broker wants you accepted so he will give you the best advice he can to make this happen. A good broker knows his market. He only gets paid if he is able to get you what you want, so working against him is not in your best interest.
Typically, at this stage a customer may remember another advert for the same car that was cheaper than is now being proposed by the broker but if you ‘jump ship’ now the likelihood of you getting your vehicle (at any cost) diminishes with every credit application from a sub standard broker.  By performing a credit search for you at the very outset, the broker is doing you a huge favour by preventing you making a funding application that he knows will fail and ultimately may affect your ability to secure your new vehicle.   Those requiring funding in today’s tough market conditions have to realise that funders are no longer falling over themselves to do business with you. There are far more wanting their services and so little funding to go round.
Let me put you in the position of the funder for a moment:
You and a group of friends all have money to lend but it is very limited. Your friends are broadly split into two groups those that will lend only to very low risk applicants (prime lender) and those who will take a slightly larger risk at an additional 3% interest per annum. (sub prime lender – pretend you are one of these lenders) A central data base is kept, where all applications for funding and the outcome of those applications are recorded along with any payment record of similar such funding going back years. You can all access this data but you have no need to unless you receive an application.
An application is received by one of your ‘Prime’ colleagues from a broker to lease a car for an applicant; we’ll call him “JOE”.  Under the data protection act you are not aware of this at this time because the application has not been made to you. The car Joe wants costs £10,000 to buy from the dealer. The lender needs to know what sort of risk Joe is so looks at his credit record.  He finds that despite a basic good credit score and sound record there has been one or two late payments by a few days over the last 12 months on a store card and he decides that he doesn’t wish to lend to this client because he has other applicants which have an unblemished record, so he won’t entertain Joe.
The broker reports back to Joe and tells him funding was refused by the Prime lender and recommends an application to a sub prime lender. Joe refuses to take the advice because he doesn’t want to pay the extra monthly amount and insists on another application to another prime lender. This is made and again, is rejected for the same reasons. Joe has seen another advert from another broker and decides to switch brokers and starts again (of course he is not going to tell the second broker he’s been rejected twice already!) and Joe repeats the same mistakes again. Finally Joe agrees to pay the £25 extra to get his vehicle and to be put forward to a sub prime lender.
You, as that sub prime lender, receive the application from Joe’s broker along with another customer, Bill who is also making a similar application. You have enough money available this month to lend to only one of them. Which one? You look through both credit records both are similar, both have a couple of late payments, Bill has one missed mortgage payment 8 months ago but this has subsequently been ‘satisfied’ and a note accompanies the application and his recent credit history looks good. Joe’s application however, shows 4 very recent funding rejections. You don’t know if the rejections are from prime or sub prime lenders or what they are for, you just know that 4 of your colleagues don’t consider him a good risk despite his credit score being ok. Anyhow, perhaps there is something going on in Joe’s very recent history which is dubious. Why should you take the risk or spend time looking for reasons to justify lending to Joe when Bill already meets all your criteria? 
Bill gets the funding and his car.  If only Joe had taken the brokers advice or had not changed brokers, chasing a deal that he was never going to get in today’s tough market! It would have been him in that new car.  12 months ago lenders would have been falling over themselves to lend to Joe, now due to market changes and Joe’s stubborn streak, he is unlikely to get funding anywhere for his new car and the more times he tries, the worst it gets!
This is the reality of today’s market for those even with good credit.

MOVING THE GOAL POSTS:  In the past, lenders would have lent a mortgage to those with a score in the range of the top end of “poor” credit rating and funding, for example, for vehicle leasing, if they had a “good” credit rating. In today’s ‘Credit Crunch’ market those same people would have to have a “good” and “excellent” scores respectively to get exactly the same consideration.  Many of those, who would have flown through finance 6 months ago for vehicle leasing, would now be rejected by the Prime funders.  As a result, many people feel offended and insulted when they are told they have been rejected for ‘prime lending’ when they know that their credit rating is “good”. The problem is that GOOD is no longer acceptable to a lender specialising in the ‘Prime’ market. All is not lost however! There are still a few ‘sub prime’ lenders who will provide funding so you can get that vehicle for business or pleasure, providing your credit history is reasonably clear and you are prepared to pay a little extra each month in repayments AND…. Take good guidance from your leasing company.
As a result, out of every 5 that would have passed a finance check for Prime funding 12 months ago, only 2 of those will do so today. The remainder will need to go to the sub prime lenders and even they are only lending to those who would have passed as ‘prime’ 12 months ago. It is equivalent to an exam pass mark being 65% one day and then the pass mark is raised to 85% the next day! Your abilities haven’t changed but the bar has been raised all the same, many more will now be unable to reach that pass level.
To understand things better, here are some facts and then explanations of how the changes, in the money lending market place, will affect those of us with good, excellent and even first rate credit scores.
8 months ago 60% of those who applied for vehicle funding passed credit checks with a Prime lender. Today only 20% pass credit checks with those same prime lenders.
12 months ago there were more than 300 mortgage products in the UK available to a home buyer; today this has been cut to around 90. Deals are not such good value and the lender has little to no competition so they dictate who they lend to, using much tighter criteria and higher interest rates.
A typical mortgage 12 months ago would be for 95% of the property value. This is called “Loan to Value” or LTV for short. Today the LTV is typically reduced to just 75% or 80%. This means that even if property prices fall 4% (as they have over the last 9 months in most areas of England, but much more in Ireland, Scotland & Wales bringing the average price drop for the UK as a whole to 8%.) the lender faces next to no exposure to risk since the property would have to fall 20% or more before it became a worry.
Financiers earn profits only when they lend their money. Over the last 6 months mortgage lenders have lent 33% less funds than they did for the same period last year. Funding other than for mortgage purposes for things like vehicle leasing etc is down by whopping 66% Yet they are still all under pressure to maintain profits for their share-holders. How can they achieve this?  A three pronged attack!
1)    Excluding risk. They reject 60% + of those they would have previously given funding to and only pick those with the very cleanest records.
2)    Reducing the amount loaned. Meaning that higher deposits or up front payments are needed. Since only those with the very highest credit can comply, this tactic goes hand in hand with tactic 1 and also helps cut the risk.
3)    Make more profit from each funding case. Mortgage application fees have seen increases in the last 6 months of between 400% & 600%   and we all know what has happened to interest rates.   Prior to the credit crunch only those with less than “good” credit (sub prime borrowers) would have their loans loaded in this way, but now, even “Prime Borrowers” are treated this way and the reason is simply because the lenders are trying to maintain profits while only lending out a fraction of what they did 12 months ago.
Banking is global. The largest banks control the worlds’ finances. The banks are centred on 3 major countries, the UK, China and USA. When one makes an error of judgment in one country, everybody suffers.
There are 3 basic types of lending (or borrowing, depending on which side of the fence you happen to be)
1)    Secured - This is where the loan is totally secured against a real, cash convertible asset, such as property.  If you default, the lender recoups his money by seizing and selling your asset. A mortgage is a typical example, but you may take out a loan to buy a car for example or machinery to further you business and the lender may insist on securing that loan on property.  Property (real estate) is king! Even in today’s market of so called ‘falling house prices’ Lenders prefer bricks and mortar or land, to any other asset. Why? Because despite recent months where overvalued property has dropped marginally in value, the ‘core’ value of property is solid and safe. History has shown us that the property market always increases and appreciates over the mid to long term (7yrs plus).  It’s as “safe as houses”.

2)    Unsecured / Indemnified – This is where the loan is made for a specific purpose, for goods which do not appreciate over time but depreciate in value with use. A vehicle for example.  The item in question remains yours to use as your own but the ‘title’ belongs to the lender, just like your mortgaged home. If anything goes wrong they take back the goods, sell them for their used value and recoup some of their capital outlay. But what about the depreciation you ask?  How does that get paid? This is included in your monthly repayments in one of two ways.

Let’s take a vehicle for example; 
a)    You may choose to buy it on some form of finance. You would be required to put down a deposit (often 20% or more) and the remainder would be paid to the car provider direct from the lender under an agreement you sign. Under the agreement the lender remains the ‘title holder’ of the vehicle until the last payment is made despite the vehicle being registered in your name. If you fail to meet your monthly commitments you lose your car and any ‘equity’ you may have in it in the form of any deposit you have put down to secure the initial deal. 
b)    By far the most cost effective (both tax efficient and for cash flow) is  vehicle leasing This requires an extremely small deposit (often equal to just 3 to 6 months normal payments) and a monthly payment by DD which covers the depreciation on the vehicle over whatever period you choose to keep it (usually 2yrs to 3 yrs)  and a profit margin for the funder.  Leasing is the fastest growing way of obtaining a new vehicle.  The advantages include; better tax efficiency. Top vehicle discounts negotiated by your broker. No hassle or dealing with salespeople from car dealerships. Care free vehicle running which usually includes automatic road fund licensing by the funder so that the vehicle never runs out of tax and you don’t even have to do any paperwork to renew it. And, massive advantages to your cash flow by not using your own capital for large deposits now required by HP deals etc. Leaving your cash free to spend elsewhere. At the end of the lease period the vehicle is collected and you don’t have to try and sell it or worry about advertising it or the price you might get for it before you can get your next new vehicle replacement. It is ‘peace of mind’ motoring that individuals, small businesses and fleet users are turning to in increasing numbers.

3)    Unsecured – Typically credit and store cards. This money is lent at ‘high risk’ as a default means that recovery of the loan may not be possible. Therefore you get charged very high fees. Credit card providers will lure you with 0% transfers and the like for a fixed period, knowing that in excess of 95% of those that join those schemes will be unable to pay off their debt in the ‘fixed offer period’, the loan reverts to high interest rates, usually around 16% to 25% p.a. the lender makes his profit - and then some! The interest rates are high because the ‘good’ payers have to pay for the defaulters!

SO HOW IS THE MONTHLY AMOUNT WORKED OUT FOR VEHICLE LEASING?
The monthly amount you will be asked to pay for your vehicle is broadly made up of four things.
1)    The total depreciation of the vehicle for the mileage and period it is leased divided by the number of months. Different makes and models depreciate at different rates. So in simple terms if your car cost £10,000 and at the end of say a 36 month term is has completed 30,000 miles it will be worth £5,500 then you will experienced a £4,500 drop in value (depreciation) / 36  = £125 p.m.  Therefore the ability for your broker to have good contacts with car main dealer groups is essential to being able to negotiate you the lowest price.  If a cars retail price is £12,000 and he manages to negotiate a price of say £10,000 (based upon the level of business the broker places) then clearly he has wiped off £2000 of depreciation that you would otherwise have to pay for.
2)    The broker’s payment for his work in brining the customer, the car dealer and the funder together, is built into the price. Usually  around £5 to £15 per month
3)    The profit the funder makes is in the form of interest or ‘return on investment’ (ROI).  Prime Rates usually offer slightly better interest rates and therefore slightly lower monthly payments. They also usually require only 3 months deposit payment.  A Sub Prime rate, will offer a slightly higher rate of interest to reflect the ‘added risk’ and usually up to 6 months deposit. As a guide, the difference between a ‘Prime Deal’ and a ‘Sub Prime’ may be between £5 & £25 p.m.
4)    Up front deposit. This is usually equal to 3 months payments for Prime deals and up to 6 months for Sub Prime and includes your first monthly payment. 
Therefore the formula is:  depreciation (spread over the lease period) + Brokers Commission (paid by the funder) + Interest on the vehicle cost (spread over the lease period) which equals your regular monthly payment. + initial deposit and first monthly payment. All this is worked out by the broker and put into a proposal for both you and the funder.







WILL MY BUSINESS SURVIVE THE CREDIT CRUNCH?
That largely depends on how far ahead you can plan and take actions now, to bring about those plans, rather than reacting too late. What this latest round of ‘economic problems’ is bound to unleash is a long term ‘clearing out’ of businesses who have no vision, little planning or idea of where they are heading. In effect, it should clear out the weak, the clueless & the cowboys! This will, eventually be to the advantage of those who have planned, have taken action and who ultimately survive. Those that come out the other end will be stronger, better equipped and more profitable with far less competition.  So what tips should you consider? 
Work out realistically what business you can reasonably expect to win over the next 12 months, 24 months & 36 months respectively. What cash flow or Capital will you need to achieve this?  Where is this cash or capital going to come from? What will finance cost and how can I factor that cost into my product/service?  The banks and lenders already realise and accept that they will be doing up to 30% less business over the coming years so they have put in place plans to earn almost as much profit from the remaining 70% of the customers as they did 12 months ago with many more customers. Can you put in place a similar plan of action?  Remember, unless your business is one which your customers cannot do without, an increase in prices must be accompanied by an increase in ‘customer value’ so think of ways of providing ‘added customer value’ to your service that will cost you nothing but a bit of organisation and ingenuity.
If you need vehicles to operate your business you will need to be able to fix those costs and reduce capital outlay, the best way of doing that is to lease and reserve what capital you have.  Get rid of old vehicles that cost a hidden fortune on maintenance, breakdowns, fuel efficiency, security etc. All these are ‘unknown costs’ and could put you out of business in a single stroke!  I know a business that spent over £17,700 on unforeseen repairs and maintenance on three old vehicles in a single year, he replaced those with 3 new leased vehicles which cost him only £1100 per month for all 3 – with KNOWN costs. The fact is that you can budget and plan with known costs but unknown costs can be the killer.
Plan your tax affairs in advance with your accountant. 
How can you cut overheads to maintain profits? Monitor the effectiveness of everything you spend on advertising and promotion, if it is not cost efficient, drop it.  Attention to detail. Duncan Bannatyne (of Dragons Den fame) once ordered his staff not to order paper clips because they were unnecessary as they received more in than the sent out….. Attention to detail!
A crisis market is no time to get into a price war, instead, increase your perceived value to allow you to raise prices, not drop them, separate yourself for your competition or you may die the death of a thousands discounts before you even know you are dead!

To sum up:
If you have had no problem obtaining credit or passing finance in the past, then 3 out of 5 of you won’t now be able to get funding from a ‘prime lender’,  have one stab at passing as a Prime application, then realistically get what you need via sub prime. 
What does the future hold?  It is now July 2008 and I foresee a slight ‘softening’ of the criteria of lenders by October 2008 onwards simply because they will be unable to maintain profits unless they lend their money and that means lowering their sights a bit! House prices will stabilise around this time. The government can still pull strings behind the scenes to build confidence back up between the banks moving money between each other again and that will help free up more money for the finance industry.
The situation though is set to be problematic with minimal economic growth until around late 2010. It is possible that we may officially hit a ‘recession’.  (Officially 3 consecutive quarters of negative equity growth in the economy) Although, for many, it may feel that we are already in a recession, we can take heart that our financial and economic situation is only 30% as severe as that faced by the USA. Finance is going to continue to be hard to come by and more costly than we have been used to for decades.
We are not in recession, yet! In fact, the economy still retains a small annual growth rate despite the odd quarter being in negative growth. Despite the media’s best efforts to talk us into a recession, (apparently doom and gloom sells!) the economy remains fairly resilient with good ‘mid’ to ‘long’ term prospects. There is one proviso however, if access to finance (especially to developing businesses and individuals) dries up for those looking to ‘buy’ the two biggest purchases of their lives, their property and their vehicle/s or plant, then the economy could be forced into deeper trouble; For a healthy economy to exist, money must freely circulate.
But, we are a long way from that problem yet. Meanwhile, we are just going to have to get used to jumping through more hoops than ever before to get finance and paying more for it. Get used to it, it is the foreseeable future!  Cheap finance has gone, if not for good then for a good while!






WHY IS THERE A CREDIT CRUNCH?
Over the last decade credit has been very easy to get. Employment was high, wages high, the economy was booming and everything looked rosy. Mortgage lenders and other funding methods were prepared to lend to just about anyone who had a pulse.
The Major Banks are global players and the basis for providing credit. If one bank committed to providing more funding than they had access to, they would simply cover it by borrowing from another major bank. Banks would lend freely to each other in the UK at a set percentage rate this is known as LIBOR (London Inter-Bank Offered Rate).  Due to London's importance as a global financial centre, LIBOR applies not only to the Pound Sterling, but also to major currencies such as the US Dollar, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen and Canadian Dollar.
In the UK mortgages over the last decade were often offered to borrowers at 100% of the market value of the property. In some cases this was increased to 120% because property prices were rising so quickly. It was possible to have NO money of your own, yet by a property, furnish it, buy all new appliances, buy a new car for cash, take a family holiday and still have cash in your pocket just because you bought a house! 
Mortgages are secured lending but unsecured lending was also almost as easy to obtain and credit card debt rose considerably. The Government finally berated lenders for this caviller attitude and for the increase in personal debt that was building. Although all this credit debt was driving the economy to greater strength, Tony Blair knew there would be a day of reckoning! So he stamped his foot and said to the lenders that if they didn’t lend sensibly and responsibly then legislation would be brought in to force them to be more responsible.
So here in the UK, lenders and funders self-regulated and became more responsible. They stopped lending or giving credit cards to those with poor credit ratings, mortgage companies reduced loans to 95% of the property value and lending generally became more responsible. In the USA however, there were no such restrictions. The banks continued to lend to those who couldn’t afford to repay and no one seemed to be worried what lay ahead. 120% mortgages were still available, even to overseas buyers without sight of accounts! Housing prices rose sharply, everyone had gotten the property ‘owning bug’ and as we all know “demand drives prices”.  By buying a property (often outside of their monthly repayment range) they could have a fantastic home, a new car, holidays, and other goods. They lived the American dream! …………….At least for a while!
Reality began to hit home around 2006 when banks realised that more and more mortgages were being defaulted on and more and more repossessions were taking place. Nothing to worry about, these major loans were secured on the property; except, that the mortgages loaned in many cases, exceeded the market value of the property and the banks began to experience negative equity. Normally, banks who don’t have the money to make new loans, borrowed it from each other on short term lending using the LIBOR exchange. No one seemed too bothered. Everything tripped along.
Northern Rock became one of the early victims of the US market. Like many others, NR used the Libor exchange to cover the lending it offered but suddenly and without warning, other banks refused to lend to each other because they did not know how ‘exposed’ other banks were with this negative equity. They had no way of knowing if their money was safe or not. This left banks like Northern Rock unable to service the loans they had committed to, through no fault of their own. This was not a major problem for the bank however as they knew that their loans were sensible and sustainable. However, the whole affair was handled badly by the Government and reported on so badly by the press that ordinary investors lost confidence quickly and those with savings flocked to draw out their money in droves. Those with shares sold like rats fleeing a sinking ship and Northern Rocks shares plummeted to almost no value.  The whole thing was panic driven. Without the panic aspect, Northern Rock would have weathered the storm but the press just wouldn’t leave them be and whipped up emotional panic from all angles. No High Street Financial institution could withstand such an onslaught, a combination of closed access to normal funds and depositors all wanting their money at the same time and the company shares worthless.  Every bank shook in fear and preyed they would not be the next one the media shone the spotlight on. They all whispered under their breath “There but for the grace of God go I”   They needed the government (by this time under Gordon) to reassure the public which he eventually did rather half heartedly, leaving the banks shaking in fear. Gordon didn’t come out of this unscathed either as he earned himself the reputation as an indecisive ditherer. 
It is a fact that banks lend out more than they can cover and this is covered by an ancient act of parliament so they can legally do this. The Bank of England was founded on this principal when it was given the ‘Royal Charter’ which made money ‘legal tender’.
(But that’s another story, read “the truth about money” an earlier work of mine here is a short extract).
In 1694 the world's first privately owned central bank was created. It was to be called the Bank of England. The Bank's charter included the following immortal words: "The bank hath benefit on the interest on all monies which it creates out of nothing."

The Northern Rock incident would normally have created no problem because historically there has never been a case before in modern banking, where all the depositors, investors and shareholders all wanted their money back while the banks access to normal banking funds had been closed to them.  Anyway, Northern Rock aside, banks stopped lending to each other because they could no longer trust each other, particularly in the USA and because these banks are global and the major banks throughout the world, it created a world-wide funding problem.
The perception is that your mortgage company lends you money, holds your deeds and gives them back to you when you have repaid the loan. Life’s not quite that simple!
Lenders don’t just hold on to your mortgage deed and wait for your repayments. They convert a bundle of mortgage agreements into a “financial asset statement” and sell it on, thus getting their cash back quicker in order to re-lend and gain even more interest.  In turn these ‘bundles of mortgage agreement statements’ are re-bundled and re-traded. This is called “leverage”.    All of a sudden banks realised that those “financial asset statements”  may not be worth what they had been valued at or what they were traded for! What if there is negative equity in the bundle you have bought or are about to buy? Would you know if you were being sold mortgages owned by ‘Prime Borrowers’ or those with bad credit and 120% LTV without a hope of repayment? So trading in these ‘assets’ stopped and with it, the free flow of inter-bank lending. This meant that credit was scarce. When a commodity is scarce it quickly becomes more expensive and harder to get.
The hardest hit and most exposed markets by far are the USA where irresponsible lending continued right up to the current crisis. Here in the UK we have practised responsible lending for some time and so are not exposed to negative equity other than by association via the global banks. Nonetheless, the media has managed to panic everyone in their torrid scrabble to sell ‘news’ thereby creating a feeling of impending doom! This may have been completely justified in the USA as the Government there also are experiencing a huge US trade deficit, covered by inflows from Asian and other capitalists buying US stocks and bonds.
OK, so the US deficit is covered by overseas investment, so everything is ok right? Wrong!
With the oversea capitalists owning such huge amounts of US stocks and bonds, the US market is vulnerable and at the mercy of influence from outside the USA.  If those foreign capitalists flinch, the US gets kicked.  If they ‘dump’ their stock in a unified action, they could send many major companies in the USA (which are the bedrock of financial stability of the USA) plummeting to a near nil value. Such an action could end the reign of the US dollar as the ‘worlds currency’.
We, and other countries will be affected by this knock-on effect but it is, in the main, essentially a USA financial problem because no one thought to regulate and lend sensibly there, we all have to suffer! Thanks President Bush! (that’s irony by the way George, if you are reading this!)
Back to the UK: Every now and then there is a ‘housing market adjustment’ which tends to be like a pendulum, over correcting first one way, then the other, then settling for a period of sustained capital growth followed by a market correction again. How violent and how protracted those swings are, depend on the other factors of the countries economic climate and world climate. These trends can be greatly exaggerated by half-baked, half truth media sensations that panic the public into un-rational actions that help create the very monster they, the media, predict would appear and then they gloat…. “we were right!”   News reporters of all media persuasions get exactly what they want, to be demigods and the fulfillers of a self fulfilling prophesy of doom! “The truth?” they ask . “You can’t handle the truth.”  But they never give us it so how do they know?
They in turn, blame YOU by saying ‘if it wasn’t what YOU wanted, YOU wouldn’t buy it’.  The real news never makes it to the media anymore, it is swept aside in favour of sex and scandal, rumours, sensational headlines, innuendo, speculation, conspiracy and fear mongering fiction, all wrapped in a modicum of twisted ‘journalistic’ truth. 
Sensational Headline that will sell papers: 
“Witnesses say SHE hit him three more times as he lay dying in the road” 
The bitch! Are you ready to condemn her actions?    Hold-up a moment!  ……………………
What if this was an every day occurrence but the media had twisted journalistic truth and created  a sensational headline which found ways of doubling the sales of newspapers?   Say what??
What if he was dying, his heart had stopped and “she” was a doctor?   She struck him in the chest three times to restart his defibrillating heart thus saving his life!  That’s an everyday occurrence for an ER doctor but the headline makes it appear she tried to kill him when in fact the exact opposite is true!
 

More About Van Leasing

Where would the British industry be without vans for trade`s people to use? How could parcels be delivered to various locations around the country if vans weren`t readily available? Love them or loathe them vans are an essential part of British life and we rely on them for many duties. Van owners will get plenty of use out of their vans and many models can be seen on our roads. Some of the vans will come from Van Leasing companies as this proves to be a cost effective way of running a vehicle. How does this work, current van owners might wonder, if they are considering a Van Leasing contract? Normally when customers look into Van Leasing contracts they place an initial deposit on a van. Then, over a set period of time they pay equal monthly installments. At the end of the contract a final balloon payment will be made when the van is sold, finance lease terms only. Alternatively they can hand the keys back to the Leasing Company and start off on another contract, contract hire terms only. Most of the contracts run for between two and four years so you can see how it proves to be cost effective. Without our vans the country would grind to halt and that`s why Van Leasing is proving to be a highly popular way of running a modern commercial vehicle fleet.

New Berlingo Leasing

OVERVIEW

The new Berlingo is synonymous with versatility, practicality and reliablity and the latest new van is no exception.  With its state of the art looks, increased load capacity, choice of 2 load lengths and wealth of standard features, the new Berlingo is set to redefine the benchmark for the hi-cube van market. Going head to head against the Caddy Maxi and Transit Connect this one will certainly be hard to beat.

Whichever version you choose, from the L1 X model to the top of the range L2 LX, you will have the perfect business partner and with Trafficmaster’s Smartnav system, with Dynamic Traffic Guidance, fitted as standard on the Petrol LX model and all diesel models, new Berlingo will ensure you can maximise your journey time out on the road.

The Platform Cab version, has few competitors and offers a superb base on which to create specialist conversions, meaning you can build new Berlingo into a wide variety of vehicle types.

With an unrivalled level of versatility, choice of payloads and a load space of up to 4.1m³, it is easy to adapt the new Berlingo to suit your business needs, making it one of the most efficient load carriers.  The innovative Extenso® Seat System on the LX model, allows drivers to extend the main load space into the passenger seat area. With asymmetric 60:40 rear doors on all vans and side sliding doors (Twin or single) and a rear opening roof flap available as options  new Berlingo really does offer the opportunity to create a champion all rounder in a van. 

As well as being practical and versatile, new Berlingo provides more safety and security. It helps look after you in the event of a crash it has safety features like driver’s airbag, optional lateral airbags, ABS and reinforced side and front bumper protection and with security features like central locking and an immobiliser fitted as standard on all models, it also looks after itself and your load.

The New  Berlingo is comfortable and a joy to drive thanks to its extemely modern chassis. The new cabin interior represents one of the best in class and is comfortable and ergonomically arranged just like a car.  Inside, the tough and durable quality materials help, where hopping in and out of your van is a regular activity. Then, when the time comes for you to do paperwork out on the road you have the unique availability to fold down the single or middle passenger seat, (depending which model you choose) to create a handy table-top.

THE OUTSIDE

The New Berlingo has an air of confidence. Its sturdy yet stylish look, confirms it’s a multi-talented workhorse, ready for any challenge.  Robust wrap-around bumpers and side rubbing strips help protect against everyday bumps and scrapes.

The large, imposing front lights sit high and are neatly out the way of damage. As you move down the van, it is obvious that the new Berlingo has  all the characteristics of the original but evolved  with larger flanks, emphasising the additional capacity available. 

At the rear, you have a choice of either unglazed solid rear doors or glazed. This was never an option on the previous berlingo, now called the Berlingo First. It was glazed doors or steel window blanks retro fitted. Safety and security is key, with a third, high-level brake light to warn everyone of your deceleration; even if you opt for the rear opening roof-flap, which allows for those longer items such as ladders, it will still be clearly visible to all.

Whatever the configuration, new Berlingo stands out as a van you can easily adapt for most purposes and it comes in a range of paint colours to suit your style, including metallic and pearlescent finishes.

THE INSIDE

Firstly, there is a choice of load spaces in new Berlingo depending on which version you go for. Starting at 3.3m³ with the L1 version, increasing to 3.7m³ with the L2. All that is before you start folding seats, adding rear roof flaps and using the numerous handy storage compartments dotted around the interior, which take new Berlingo up to an impressive 4.1 m³.

With new Berlingo you can carry up to 850kg of payload andto secure the load. In the event of sudden braking, you are protected from shifting loads by the standard ladder-frame bulkhead behind the driver’s seat, or you can opt for a variety of additional bulkhead options, even one that will still allow you to make use of the 3m plus load length with the Extenso® Seat System, whilst still protecting the cab from shifting loads. Health and Safety is ever more prevalent in UK industry and this is one of the safest vans on the road.

In the cab you will find the seats are comfortable and ideal for zipping around town or long hauls up and down the motorway and being fully adjustable seats will mean you will be able to find your natural driving posture.  Add to this a reach and rake adjustable steering wheel and maximum comfort will not be hard to find.  The new dashboard display is easy to read and well laid out so controls are within easy reach and the trip computer means you will know exactly how efficiently you are driving your new Berlingo.

To ensure you keep your new Berlingo as smart on the inside as on the outside, there is an impressive 61 litres of storage space in the cabin which is made up from 2 glove boxes, an overhead storage shelf, door Pockets, central console storage and under seat storage.  With the Extenso® Seat System there is even secure storage in the centre seat bigger enough for a laptop.

HOW’S THE DRIVE?

The new Berlingo’s cabin space is as well equipped, comfortable and quiet as most modern cars and the refined chassis means that any bumps in the road are dealt with effortlessly. Air-conditioning, which is available on all models, keeps the internal temperature constant no matter the weather outside. An RDS CD/radio stereo, with MP3 compatibility, comes as standard across the range and the speaker volume is speed sensitive, so you do not have to turn it up when travelling at higher speeds.

Safety features such as driver’s airbag, ABS and optional lateral airbags make new Berlingo a reassuring van to drive, too.  For those days when the weather deteriorates, rear fog lamps come as standard to make sure the new Berlingo is clearly obvious to other road users and the twin reversing lights ensure you are visible no matter the manoeuvre you are making.

With its well balanced chassis and because the front and rear wheels are set as far apart as possible, the new Berlingo bears weight easily and handles well, whatever is on-board. Compared to many other vans in its class, the Berlingo is a safe and refined drive.   

PERFORMANCE

Choose from three 4-cylinder engines – the 75hp and 90hp 1.6HDi Euro IV diesel engines or the 90hp 1.6i Euro IV petrol version, all of which give a great combination of load-carrying power and impressive fuel economy. All new Berlingo models are front-wheel drive and all the engines are mated to five-speed manual gearboxes. Impressive payload figures range from 625kg to 850kg depending on the model and vary according to additional specifications and conversion types.  

VAN LEASING

Rates for the New Berlingo start at £159 per month based on 3x35 contract hire agreement, 10,000 miles per annum and non-maintained available from www.lease2u.co.uk

Good News For Nissan And Good News For The UK

Nissan has announced that it is to build a new model at its plant in the North East Of England, this will secure the jobs of nearly 5,000 workers directly employed by the Japanese car maker.

The car, an addition to the Nissan range, will use the free capacity freed up when production of the current version of the Micra ends in 2010. The new model will be in the same size class as the Nissan Micra. Production of the Micra will switch to India.

The build of the new model required an investment of £55 million and is being subsidised by the UK Government to the tune of £6.2 million.

The Sunderland plant plant produced a record 374,000 cars in it’s last financial year.

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said: "By delivering on tough commitments, our employees at Sunderland have demonstrated our plant can be a globally competitive centre for the production of high-value products."

A Happy Union.

The Unite union said the decision would safeguard over 1,200 jobs "at a time when Nissan will move production of the Micra to India".

"This proves once again that given the opportunity the UK can remain a strong manufacturing base for the world's top producers."

Chief executive James Ramsbotham stated: "This is excellent news for manufacturing in the North East and Nissan's success is testament to the skill, flexibility and versatility of its workforce and the wider supply chain.

"The fact that Nissan has retained such a competitive edge in an increasingly competitive industry demonstrates that manufacturing in Britain can be cost-effective while delivering a quality product that is superior to cheaper alternatives manufactured abroad."

Car Sales Increase Dramatically.

Nissan has seen a dramatic increase in sales, up 85% on last year. A lot of these sales have come from the highly succesful Nissan Qashqai. Demand for this car is far outstripping supply. A lot of these vehicles are being sourced through car leasing schemes..

The Nissan car range is now one of the most popular on Britains roads.

The Van Market.

Nissan van sales are also on the rise in the UK. Nissan has finally started to attackt the commercial vehicle sector. Working in partnership with Renault and Vauxhall the Nissan range is moving forward. Once again it is this new approach of Nissan UK to finally get involved in the van leasing market that is making the difference to Nissan vans sales.

FUEL PRICES AND HOW THEY AFFECT CAR LEASING AND VAN LEASING

Truck drivers in the UK have staged a protest at the rising cost of diesel fuel, at the same time as speculation mounted about a government rethink on road tax for older vehicles.

Hundreds of HGV drivers protested in London and a two-mile line of lorries crawled along the M4 towards Cardiff. To put this into context two miles of lorries amounts to around 400 lorries.

Haulage companies and owner operators say that diesel prices topping 130p a litre, plus the planned 2p fuel tax rise, will drive companies and owner operators out of business. In some areas diesel is closer to £1.40 a litre.

Meanwhile, government ministers said Alistair Darling was "listening" to fears over plans to raise vehicle excise duty. Well Darling the British public are approaching the point of revolt over fuel costs and yet all the UK Government can do is “listen” and state that they “understand”. Today on the 29^th of May 2008 Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister met with oil chiefs in Scotland to tell them to find cheaper sources of oil and to increase production. This is most definitely the pot calling the kettle black. Mr Brown is merely creating a smokescreen and a scapegoat for the UK having some of the highest fuel prices in the world. What he conveniently forgets is that close to 65% of the cost of a litre of fuel in the UK is actually tax, taxes implemented and enforced by Mr Brown’s government. Perhaps MR Brown should stop pointing the finger at others as three fingers always point back. There is a great site on the net called www.petrolprices.com, have a look there for more information on how much of the cost of your fuel is actually tax. How high does the price of a litre of fuel have to go before the people say NO?

2007 fuel duty (as of 1 October 2007) in the United Kingdom is:

• 50.35 pence per litre for ultra-low sulphur unleaded petrol/diesel
• 53.65 pence per litre for conventional unleaded petrol
• 56.94 pence per litre for conventional diesel
• 30.35 pence per litre for bio-diesel and bio ethanol - low tax to encourage consumer conversion
• 16.49 pence per kg for gas other than natural gas (LPG)
• 13.70 pence per kg for natural gas used as road fuel.
• 9.69 pence per litre for rebated gas oil (red diesel)
• 9.29 pence per litre for rebated fuel oil

The government is planning to increase road tax on older, more polluting vehicles, and next week the chancellor will meet Labour MPs opposed to the plan.

So far, 42 MPs have signed a Commons motion asking him to reconsider the policy on the grounds that it is retrospective and therefore "unfair" to people who have already bought their cars. Could this be a similar disaster to the 10p tax allowance abolition by the UK government?

If the proposed 2p per litre increase comes to fruition then perhaps van leasing and car leasing are the way forward for businesses and private motorists. This method of funding will cost customers around one third less compared to traditional hire purchase monthly payment. The road tax is also included in the monthly rental when you lease, this means you can ditch your old car and take a brand new one instead at what will probably be a lower overall annual cost.

Blockades On The Horizon?

While the chancellor cannot control global oil prices, hauliers want an "essential user" duty rebate on fuel of between 20p and 25p a litre to ease competition with foreign haulage companies.

Mike Greene, leader of the protests in Wales, told the BBC that, unless the government agreed to the rebate within seven days, lorries would blockade refineries and ports.

Peter Carroll, from Trans-Action 2007 which organised the London protest, said he did not condone blockades, but found it "hard to condemn them", given how much hauliers were suffering.

The BBC's environment analyst, Roger Harrabin, said it was family-run, small and medium-sized firms that were worst hit.

He said large companies were able to raise their rates to absorb higher fuel costs and could also more easily pass on the pain of price rises to consumers.

Real Cost Of Living

More and more families are now finding it hard to make ends meet, house repossessions are at some of the highest levels ever seen. The average food shopping bill is up by around £20 per week compared to six months ago. Whilst people may see this as a direct result in fuel prices, that the haulage companies are charging more to deliver this is actually not the case. Most haulage companies are tied into contracts with the supermarkets at set prices for two-three years. So who exactly is raising the food prices? I’ll leave you to make your own mind up on that one.

'Real crisis'

Organisers had hoped as many as 1,000 lorries would take part in the protest in London, but Peter Carroll, from Trans-Action, said the turnout was about 500. Police put the figure at 300.

Car Leasing For Women

When you decide that you want a new car or van do you get filled with that sense of dread, the “oh no I have to go and deal with car salesmen”. Well now that feeling will never arise again as a new company has been launched in the UK. Sheils Deals launched in August 2008 directly aimed at leasing cars to women. The advisors are all females and have in-depth knowledge of vehicle funding methods.

Sheils Deals was formed purely to aid women in finding their next car or van, YES LOT’S OF WOMEN DRIVE AND OWN VANS! “Sheils Deals is not a novelty site it is here to stay”, says Sheila Connor the founder of the company. The company specialises in contract hire and leasing of all makes and models of cars and commercial vehicles.

You may ask yourself if we actually need a leasing company that only deals with female clients, the answer is a definite yes. When it comes to buying or leasing vehicles women often feel uncomfortable when dealing with a salesman or a male advisor. This is not a sexist observation it is a hard fact.

Sheila Connor was well aware of the need for a more specialised leasing company to help women find their next vehicle, she decided to take the bull by the horns and set up Sheils Deals. She says “Run of the mill leasing brokers are ten a penny, but from the research we have done it has shown that most of these companies are not geared up to deal with female customers at all, most still have the same old car salesman’s attitude. In todays world this will just not rub with the professional business woman or working mum.

How Car And Van Leasing In The UK Operates

Car leasing Versus Car Buying

People have very different attitudes toward the many different forms of vehicle finance available.

Here are some reasons why you should consider car leasing compared to buying outright or hire purchase for your business or personal needs.

By choosing leasing compared to buying – You Release Cash-Flow to grow your business, and you will not own a depreciating asset.

You will always have a new vehicle, under warranty subject tou your lease length, projecting your high professional business status with your clients, and with Your green credential in mind You will be kinder to the environment by using new and more 'eco friendly' vehicles that have lower CO2 levels, and no MOT worries! This statement applied to vehicles on a maximum term of 3 years.

The rentals can have maintenance included if required, and normally will include the road fund licence for the full term of the agreement, which means that you can run your vehicles on a fixed cost motoring package, only needing to consider fuel and insurance, therefore simplifying your fleet costs considerably. I would strongly suggest that you only consider a fully maintained lease if you do more than 20,000 miles per annum.

Rentals are based on the ex vat price of the vehicle, and  up to 50% of the Vat on the rentals is reclaimable on cars and 100% on all van leasing, other tax benefits are also available, speak to your accountant about the tax efficiency of Contract hire for your business.

Speaking to an independent leasing company will give you access to a "one stop shop", where they will deal with finding you the vehicle you want and also give the most attractive finance rates.

The Trio of Citroen, Fiat and Peugeot Do It Again

Well the Trio that live in France and Italy have once again come up with another winning solution. They got together after the success brought about with the previous marriage, albeit a 3way one! To come up with a van that will take the market by storm when it is launched.

This van fills a gap in the market which lies between small and medium van, you could call it a semi-medium or a maxi-small if that makes sense. If you were looking at Berlingo, Partner or Doblo and thinking hmmmm just too small and wincing at the thought of going up to Dispatch, Expert or Scudo then fear no more.

The solution is here in the form of the Citroën Nemo, Peugeot Bipper and Fiat Fiorino, which will hit the UK in May, may look rather like the Berlingo, Partner and Doblo Cargo, but on closer inspection prove to be very different animals. These vans have been designed purely for around town use but give larger load volumes than their smaller cousins.

Built in Turkey on a budget that hopefully ensures the price will be right in the UK

All manufacturers have got it together and designed a cracking small/medium sized van. Each van can carry 610kg of kit including the driver, always allow 100kg for the driver and maybe a bit more if it's the Fiat you buy, you know what pasta does to the figure!

As far as security goes, these vans have a Thatcham 5 star rating against theft and 4 stars against breakins all in all it's a pretty secure van.

There will not be any petrol versions released by any of the trio, petrol vans could be seeing their end days with the introduction of bio-ethanol fuels. The only real reason we ever had petrol vans was to convert them to LPG, however this has turned out to be a damp squib due to filling stations being very few and far between that offered LPG.

Fiat Vans continue to go into niches not explored before. Yes Ford and VW have dabbled but in my opinion it has been half hearted, especially on the Ford side as they favour the eastern European Marketplace rather than the UK, I guess this must be down to profit margins. There has now been a serious shortage of Ford Commercial Product for over a year in the UK.

Citroen Vans will surprise us all. The new models en route and arriving in May will probably ruffle a few German feathers. Volkswagen Vans will think hmmm yes but not same quality, Americans will think, we are not bothered, we make more profit in Eastern Europe so we will drip feed Transit and Transit Connect into the UK, just to keep them interested!

Peugeot Vans will look at this as such an opportunity and they will exploit it.

Can you blame them?

Do Bio Fuels Help Our Harm The World We Live In?

As of last week the law changed in the UK increasing the biofuel content of petrol and diesel to a minimum of 2.5%. This new law has come under fire in the week it came into force

The Government announced the move as a way to force motorists “to fill their tanks with bio fuel”. But it is more the case that we are being forced to play our part in helping the Government to meet it's emissions targets?

Experts, Scientists and campaigners have all said it will do more harm than good.

Greenpeace stated that the new rules will “drive rainforest destruction and could actually accelerate global warming”.

Greenpeace campaigner Belinda Fletcher explained: “Right now, rainforests are being destroyed to make way for biofuel crops in places like Indonesia.

“This destruction leads to massive greenhouse gas emissions and completely undermines the point of these so-called green fuels.”

The RSPB, Friends of the Earth and Oxfam have also voiced their concerns about the new law. Oxfam described it as “reckless”.

Despite the growing evidence against bio ethanol use, the Government pushed ahead and introduced the law as part of its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Once again the UK Government ignores the evidence presented to them and steam rolls through new legislation without fully examining the environmental impact. Cars and vans in the UK will now all have an element of bio fuels.

By 2010 all fuel sold in the UK will have 5% of the so called eco friendly fuel added, bringing the UK in line with European legislation.

However, motorists can still avoid putting biofuel into their "so called" green cars.

In a move that was supposed to protect against fluctuations in biofuel prices, the Government has given suppliers the option to pay a ‘buy-out’ price in respect of some or all of their biofuel obligation.

In defence of the new law, which the Government says will save 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 by 2010, a Department for Transport spokesman said: “The UK has gone further than any other country to give fuel suppliers a real incentive to produce sustainable biofuels that do not harm the environment.

“Suppliers are required to produce sustainability reports, including information on where their biofuel crops come from and the level of carbon savings made.”

But Greenpeace pointed out that the reporting process is not robust enough.

“Suppliers are only required to ‘report’ the details of the crops they are using.

“This process can be easily manipulated to hide the true origin of environmentally damaging crops like palm oil,” said a spokesman.

Government ministers, including transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick, rallied to support the law amid the growing criticism.

He said: “We must do all we can to ensure bio fuels are produced sustainably. Sustainable fuels must be looked upon as long term projects as there is no quick fix.

“We know people are concerned about the environmental risks associated with expanding bio fuel production and we take those concerns very seriously.”

The questions that must be asked are numerous. Why is there not more weight being put into the development of hydrogen engines? Is this new law nothing more than a stop-gap to ensure emissions targets are met? Has the UK Government got it completely wrong in implementing a short term plan, rather than looking for sustainable fuel sources that produce zero emissions?

Latest hot offer from lease2u

This is just the latest offer that we have on small eco friendly cars. Just have a look at how cheap this car is! This car, the Fiat Grande Punto 3 door 1.2 Active is only £109 a month ex vat!

The Credit Crunch and Car Leasing

Today, due to tighter lending criteria than ever before and the systemised underwriting policies of twitchy banks and institutions, greater numbers of people are finding themselves falling outside "normal" lending criteria.

You may think that you are alone in experiencing difficulties arranging finance, don't worry, nothing could be further from the truth. That's why we have access to more than one source of finance, so we have the greatest chance of supplying you with the vehicle you need.

At Lease2u if finance is declined by one finance house will will automatically send your proposal to another. Rest assured that we will do our utmost to supply your vehicle needs.

We believe in going that extra to satisfy our customers because, if we can satisfy your needs today, you will be coming back to deal with us in the future.

We have seen clients declined for finance who 6 months ago would have been approved without any problems at all. Are they higher risk now compared to 6 months ago? Whilst some could be the vast majority are not high credit risks. The reason that they are being declined in most cases is quite simple. The finance houses have all but ceased lending monies to each other and thus there is a serious shortage of available cash to the funders to lend, the obvious step for them is to be very careful who they do actually lend to. We call this "cherry picking" of customers.

You will be asking yourself if there is any point in even looking to lease a vehicle, well don't give up hope just yet as there are ways around the credit crunch.

We can offer Car Leasing to all and we have tailor made solutions to help clients have the finance they require put in place. Yes they can still choose what car or van they wish to lease, however the monthly rentals will be slightly higher than those of the prime finance houses.

Vehicle leasing is an ever changing business, rates and rentals can change daily. What we have noticed is that the decline ratios for vehicle finance have done a complete about turn compared to 6 months ago. Before the current credit crisis acceptance ratios were running at an average of 78% and now we are seeing declines with a 72% failure rate. Obviously this is not down to the population all of a sudden having adverse credit issues.

It is not the end of the world for leasing companies though. The funders are trying to claw back the huge losses they made due to not only the sub prime mortgage crash in the USA but from the poor risk assessments they have carried out when lending monies. The market will stabilise again after many bankers heads have rolled.

Hybrid Cars News

A lot of people do not know what a hybrid car is, how it runs, how it helps the environment. We will do our best to explain the difference between hybrid cars and normal petrol or diesel engines. We will show you the savings that you can make on your fuel costs by leasing a hybrid car. Not only will you be helping your wallet or purse but you will also be helping to preserve the world that we live in.

Hybrid cars generally use a combination of two power sources. The most common hybrids currently available on the market use both electric motors and the petrol combustion engines. Batteries charge and act as a storage device to power an electric motor, usually working when the vehicle is travelling at low speed or in traffic, therefore ideal for city driving. The petrol engine, usually a small efficient unit then powers the car when more power is needed such as at higher speeds allowing the combustion engine to only operate at its more optimum efficient speeds. A number of manufactures have announced plans for diesel-electric hybrids which could be available a soon as 2008. The combustion engine is used to recharge the battery cells along with regenerative braking, therefore hybrid cars do not need to be plugged into an external power supply. This combination of battery power and internal combustion engine produces less pollution and CO2 as no gases are released when the electric motor is running.

The are now even more environmentally friendly cars available and the do not have to be dull and boring. One company have developed a hybrid sports car which has sold out right through to 2009.

Meet the sports car that only needs refuelling ONCE A YEAR. The makers of the Fisker Karma say that level of fuel efficiency is possible if you only drive the car up to 50 miles a day, using just the battery, and recharge it at night.

Most of the major manufacturers are now developing or producing hybrid cars, the leaders in the field have been the Japanese with the Toyota Prius Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid leading the field.

Car leasing and Van leasing in the UK

Who are we?

Lease2U was formed from the ideas of two guys getting together and saying. "We could do this better" So the guys launched Lease2U, one was working for a large main dealer group in a corporate sales role. The other was one of his business customers! They got together and looked at the whole leasing experience. WE HAVE GREAT TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR PAST CUSTOMERS, LET THEM DO THE TALKING FOR US. The most important improvement was on the level of service that leasing customers were getting from other companies. Both guys knew that improvements had to be made. This is why our phones are never turned off at Lease2U. We also won't ask who is calling when a call comes in for one of our members of staff, the reason for this is that with dealer groups, calls will be "blanked" by staff if they do not wish to speak to someone. We cannot afford to ignore people so we DONT.