Recycle for a Green Christmas

Support Christmas Recycling

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Payplan and its clients recognise that Christmas is a difficult time financially, especially for those in debt management plans or IVAs who have to budget carefully. However, although many of us spend extra money during the festive season that stretches our bank accounts and increases our debts, this also has other consequences; our environment suffers.

The UK alone will create an estimated 736,571 extra tonnes of waste and rubbish this Christmas and understanding the extra pressure that is placed on our waste and recycling services during the festive season should encourage us all to think twice about how we dispose of our unwanted Christmas presents, gifts, trees and cards.

Christmas Waste

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According to statistics from recent years, Britons send over 1 billion Christmas cards every year and buy 6 million Christmas trees of which only 1 in 6 are recycled - an extra 6000 tonnes of rubbish is dumped as a result.

I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Here are some websites that will help you to recycle your Christmas trees and Christmas cards responsibly, as well as providing recycling tips and advice on local recycling services:

www.recyclenow.com
www.recycle-more.co.uk

Remember, if you’ve chosen to use or buy an artificial Christmas tree then this should last you several years if cared for. Similarly, there are many ways to send Christmas ecards via the internet, which is ideal for those of us who are disorganised and have missed the last Christmas post as well as helping you towards a ‘greener’ Christmas.

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Last Minute Christmas Savings Advice

Christmas Shopping Deals

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If you want to make last minute savings on your internet Christmas shopping, then a recent report in The Guardian has highlighted a sure fire way to do so online this Christmas.

Several websites make available promotional codes, e-vouchers, voucher codes and discount codes that can be entered when you purchase items online and that could save you 10% or more from various retailers for limited periods of time.

So get in quick and take a look at these:

My Voucher Codes
Send Me Discounts
Hot UK Deals

Christmas Post

Remember to check the Royal Mail website for last Christmas posting dates to avoid disappointment.

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Fee Chargers’ Business Activities Scrutinised

High Risk

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Fee charging debt management companies have been labelled as a ‘high risk’ category by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) who are scrutinising these companies’ fair treatment of clients.

Their business activities and ‘credit competence’ exhibited when obtaining their credit license (a legal requirement enabling them to operate) are also under scrutiny according to Credit Today.

Ray Hall, the director of consumer credit and consumer protection enforcement from the OFT, said:

“From April 2008 applicants [for their credit license] from this high risk group will be more scrutinised and supervised over compliance [to OFT regulations].”

Unethical

Whilst it is paramount that all debt management companies (including free debt management companies such as Payplan) adhere to OFT regulations and the conditions of their credit license, Payplan believes that it is not ethical to charge clients fees for the privilege of providing debt management and advice.

Fee charging debt management companies typically charge their clients fees of about 17.5% of their monthly payment to their debts and are taking money that their clients could use to pay back their debts more quickly.

TV Advertising

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Unlike many fee charging debt management companies, Payplan do not advertise on TV and rely on their ethical reputation amongst Citizen’s Advice Bureaux, and various unions, employers and creditors.

For free and ethical debt help, call Payplan on 0800 280 2816 or submit your financial circumstances using their online debt assessment. A sympathetic and experienced debt adviser will then be able to assist you.

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