All the information regarding the underhanded tactics that banks employ may have turned you off. You’re probably thinking you should do away with banks altogether but before you make that decision, know that all you need is to get smart about your banking behavior, and you won’t have to deal with hidden fees or any other sneaky tricks.

Debit Versus Credit

Most banks issue a debit card to customers who open an account and a lot of people use it extensively because it is convenient. However, there are many disadvantages to debit cards that it actually makes more sense to use a credit card.

Banks charge you a fee for in-store purchases and withdrawals from rival ATMs. Plus, if you use your debit card in certain establishments such as a gas station or hotel, your card can be blocked. A certain amount of money (from your account) is frozen, where you won’t have access to that amount for about three days. This is a form of security measure for the merchant. Since they are not sure how much you will actually spend at the establishment, they make an estimate and put a hold on that amount to make sure the expenses will be adequately covered.

Keeping track of debit card purchases is a little trickier so the tendency to overspend is higher. If you inadvertently spend more than what your account contains, banks offer a clever little service called courtesy overdraft protection. Courtesy overdraft fees are exorbitant and the last thing you want is to have these fees pile up

Speaking of Overdrafts

If you opened a checking account, do away with overdraft programs altogether. Overdraft fees are typically pegged at $20 t0 $40 yearly and some banks will charge you a small fee each time you make use of an overdraft.

Courtesy overdrafts are even more of a no-no. Some banks charge as much as $40 per transaction. They also charge a daily fee for as long as your account has negative balance.

It helps to know as well that checks are usually cleared very quickly while banks can take a few days before they credit deposits to your account. What does this mean? You should be careful when issuing checks and make sure your account has more than enough to cover the amount. You might be thinking that you can deposit more money later but your check might have already been encashed before your deposit has been credited. This will result in an overdraft.

Credit Union Versus Banks

If you find banks might not be the establishment to keep your money in, consider joining a credit union. A credit union has some significant advantages over a bank. Credit unions typically charge lower fees and offer higher interest rates on your savings essentially because they non-profit organizations. Also, the fact that they are mostly tax-exempt might also be a factor.

Credit cards from credit unions also tend to have friendlier features. If you are late in payment once, for instance, you won’t be charged additional interest. Also, most credit unions don’t require you to pay annual credit card fees.

Author: Yossarian Smythe
Source: ezinearticles.com

No win no fee is a type of claim that allows you to pay the legal charges of your solicitor only when you win the case. This type of claim has emerged in 1998 when Conditional Fee Agreement was brought into consideration. No win no fee has become gained a lot of popularity and most of the people who are now claiming their personal injury compensation opt for this type of agreement. A CFA – Conditional Fee Agreement is a contract entered into by the solicitor and the claimant and contains the conditions of the agreement agreed upon by both solicitor and the claimant. The name itself suggests the main characteristic of no win no fee based claim. You pay the fee only if you win. So if you do not win the claim, you are not bound to pay any legal charges. Another point to be considered is that if a person wins full compensation, then he will get the complete amount without any deductions. The solicitor’s charges will be recovered from the other party. The amount received under No win no fee claims mostly help with the medical treatment expenditure, the earnings that the injured could have made during these days had he not met with the accident, expenses incurred for repairs to the vehicle etc. And let me tell you that no win no fee claims are mostly used for personal injury claims such as road accident injury or injury incurred during the working hours in the working premises, etc. Now if you are a resident of UK and if you have met with an accident within the last 3 months, go to your nearest solicitor right away or consult an accident claims company. It is time for you to claim your compensation for the injuries you have suffered. Give them all the details about your injury so that they can decide whether to get through the entire process of the claim and also tell you what the outcome of your claim can possibly be. An advantage of no win no fee based claims is that they do not usually go to the court. Hence, you do not have to go through the long procedures of it and waste your time. It is mostly settled by both the parties sitting together and discussing the damages caused and the liabilities incurred. They come to an agreement that is acceptable to both the parties and once the agreement is made, the compensation is received immediately. The reason for such immediate action is that none of the two parties are ready to go to the court and hence try to solve the matter before hand. Statistics reveal that due to accidents and other personal injuries, about 25 million people suffer from loss of income and change in living habits. Claiming accident compensation is a right that has been recognized as legal and every person because of whom the other suffers should realize his mistake and pay for it. This would at least lead to awareness among the public about the consequences of committing such mistakes.

Author: Annora Smith
Source: articlesbase.com