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Safe Hands collapse leaves thousands out of pocket

Katie Johnson, Digital Journalist, Today’s Media

Thousands of people who lost significant sums after the collapse of pre-paid funeral firm Safe Hands Plans Ltd have expressed outrage at the minimal repayments they are set to receive after years of waiting.

Safe Hands, which went into administration in 2022, left 46,000 plan holders owed an estimated £70.6m. Initial repayments of just 8.5p to 12.5p per pound invested are expected by June 2025, according to administrators FRP Advisory.

Derby resident Denise Hudson, 58, paid nearly £2,500 in 2017 for a funeral plan she believed was “fool proof.” She described the situation as a “slap in the face,” adding, “we paid in full. We need the full money back. Everyone will still lose an awful lot”.

Hudson, who faced the deaths of her mother and brother in 2024, said she trusted Safe Hands to spare her family the burden of arranging her funeral. “Instead, I’ve been left angry and embarrassed,” she said, accusing the firm’s bosses of acting “underhandedly and ruthlessly.”

Other plan holders echoed similar sentiments. Sandie and David Beatty, from Nottinghamshire, paid £3,395 in 2017. Mrs. Beatty, 73, said that “compared to what we put in, what we’ll get back is a tiny amount. It might just buy a pizza”. Her husband, David, 80, added that they “want justice, but realistically, we won’t get our money back”

Aimee Geary, 50, from Leicestershire, paid £3,000 for her plan in 2017, hoping to save her family future expenses. “I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said.

Heather Mould, 77, and her partner Mike, who paid £3,500 each for their plans, said learning about the collapse was “a significant loss” but were relieved they could make alternative arrangements before either of them passed.

Administrators FRP Advisory said the case has been complex, involving legal actions in the UK and abroad, including in the Cayman Islands, to trace funds. To date, £11.4m has been recovered, with at least £1.6m ringfenced for initial repayments.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a criminal investigation into alleged fraud by Safe Hands and its parent company, SHP Capital Holdings Ltd.

Both David Milson and Richard Philip Wells, former owners of Safe Hands, declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

Labour-run council hits buyers of empty homes with previous owners’ tax bills

Homeowners inherit backdated five-figure sums for buildings deemed unliveable . click here to see article 

A Labour-run council is slapping buyers of empty homes with 200pc council tax bills racked up by previous owners.

Medway Council in Kent is using little-known powers to backdate bills in cases where properties were previously empty. The rules mean buyers are unknowingly inheriting huge council tax deficits.

Maxine Fothergill bought two derelict flats in June 2023 which she planned to renovate and later place on the rental market.

Medway – which warned in November bankruptcy was “very likely” – told Ms Fothergill that because the two flats had been vacant for more than two years prior to her buying them, it would apply a 200pc empty home council tax premium.

The liability racked up by the previous owner lay with her, she was told. The total council tax bill for the two properties therefore shot up to £10,500.

Since 2018, councils have had the power to charge a 200pc council tax premium to the owners of homes which have been left empty for more than two years.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told The Telegraph that the premium applies from the date that the property was first registered empty, and does not restart when a home changes hands.

But for local authorities to apply either of these council tax premiums, on second or empty homes or both, the properties have to at least be habitable.

Ms Fothergill’s two flats had been left empty for nearly 25 years. In that time, ceilings had collapsed, floor joists had rotted away, windows and pipework had been stolen, and vegetation had started to grow up the walls and kitchen countertops.

The two ground-floor flats were sold at auction for cash, and Ms Fothergill’s purchases will soon feature on an upcoming series of Homes Under the Hammer to show the 18-month transformation she has spearheaded.

‘Councils see landlords as targets’

Despite submitting evidence that showed the property was not fit for living in, the council continued to pursue the charges all the way to a magistrates’ court.

Medway argued people could in fact live in the properties, which a surveyor had deemed to be “non-compliant” with the law and said would cost nearly £200,000 to render defect-free.

Ms Fothergill had to take a 600-page document to the magistrates’ court and engage the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to de-list the properties so that they could be taken off the council tax valuation list.

The VOA ruled in her favour just before Christmas, on December 23, preventing the council from being able to pursue the tax charges any further.

Warning: your towbar could invalidate your car insurance

Drivers could be in hot water if they don’t declare if a towbar is fitted when buying car insurance

By: Chris Rosamond   2 Dec 2024

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Drivers could be at risk of invalidating their insurance by not declaring that their car is fitted with a towbar – and little information is being provided by insurance sales websites to protect consumers.

One desperate driver contacted Auto Express to say they were facing a six-figure bill after their insurer, Allianz-owned Flow, cancelled their policy following an accident, on the grounds that the driver had failed to list his car’s towbar as a modification when purchasing cover. This was in spite of the fact that the towbar had no bearing on the accident, and was a removable type that wasn’t even fitted to the car when the smash happened.

The driver, who purchased the Flow insurance policy via the Money Supermarket website, told us he selected the ‘unmodified’ option when applying for quotes, having clicked on the website’s help link to determine what the question meant.

Money Supermarket confirmed the wording of its pop-up help box, which states: “What does this [modification question] mean? If you or a previous owner has made a change from the manufacturer’s original specification, such as alloy wheels, air-conditioning, bodywork, exhaust system or tinted windows, add it here. If you’re unsure if your car has been modified, check its previous history to find out.”

We also looked at rival insurance comparison site Compare the Market, and its modifications guidance to insurance applicants is similarly vague. It states simply: “Modifications are changes to the car’s original specification. These can be mechanical or cosmetic changes inside or outside the car.” Compare the Market also suggests how owners can find out whether or not their car has been modified: “Check any documents you inherited when you purchased the car. You can also speak to the insurance provider if you’re unsure.”

Neither website’s buying journey provides easy or obvious routes to information about whether a towbar is a relevant modification to a car’s original specification from an insurance perspective. Nor is there any clear link to information about the potentially devastating consequences of not meeting the requirement to notify insurers if your car is fitted with one.

“I am at my wit’s end in a nine-month dispute,” the unfortunate driver told us. “Following a routine vehicle collision, it (Flow) has refused to honour my insurance at the last minute, leaving me with a potential six-figure cost, and the incredible stress and anxiety this has caused me and my family.”

To make matters worse, after the lengthy dispute with Flow/Allianz, a Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) decision found in favour of the insurance company. The Ombudsman cited the Consumer Insurance Disclosure and Representations Act on ‘misrepresentation’, which applies when information provided by the consumer to the insurer is incomplete or misleading, be it “carelessly, deliberately or recklessly”.

Rachel Reeves is facing increasing pressure to abolish the £175,000 residence nil-rate band in her upcoming budget on October 30th, with calls mounting for a reform of the inheritance tax system.

The Resolution Foundation, a left-leaning think tank, has proposed that there is a “strong case” for scrapping the allowance, which has allowed homeowners to protect an additional £175,000 from inheritance tax since its introduction in 2017. The relief, which costs the Treasury around £2 billion annually, is seen by the foundation as a “complex and distortionary” measure.

Ms. Reeves, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, has long criticised the tax breaks introduced by the Conservatives. In a 2011 article for The Guardian, she argued that the Conservatives were primarily benefiting the wealthy, rather than helping ordinary families. She highlighted that raising the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million for couples would likely impact only 0.04% of the population in England and Wales, while cuts to public services were being made elsewhere.

Currently, the residence nil-rate band allows individuals to shield up to £500,000 of their estate from inheritance tax, when combined with the £325,000 basic nil-rate band. For married couples, this can protect up to £1 million of wealth. Without the extra allowance, the threshold would drop to £650,000 for couples, leaving many families facing a 40% tax rate on anything above this level. For example, a couple with an £800,000 home and £200,000 in other assets could see a £140,000 inheritance tax bill if the relief is abolished.

Rising property prices have pushed more families into the inheritance tax net, with around 25,800 families benefiting from the relief in 2021-22, saving £2.6 billion on £6.5 billion worth of property. The prospect of the allowance being scrapped has raised concerns, particularly among middle-class families who have come to rely on it to manage inheritance tax burdens.

Aysha Marley from accountancy firm RSM noted that with the residence nil-rate band costing the Treasury nearly £1.8 billion in 2023-24, it could be on Reeves’ radar for reform. Tax experts have also argued that the relief is overly complicated and often misunderstood, particularly in cases where homeowners downsize or sell their properties to move into care.

Sean McCann of insurer NFU Mutual pointed out the complexity of the rules and said many people are unaware of the extra allowance, which could further incentivise its removal for simplification purposes.

The UK’s current 40% rate is among the highest in the OECD, and there have been suggestions to introduce lower rates of 20% and 30% for estates below £1.5 million, reserving the top 40% rate for the wealthiest estates.

source: Today’s Wills & Probate

One again we are supporting the Guide Dogs for the blind FREE Will (October) programme.

Call us to book you appointment and support this fantastic charity

From 29th January 2022, there were a number of changes to the Highway Code. Road users across England, Scotland, and Wales were asked to comply with the new changes.

The changes are designed to improve safety for vulnerable road users, particularly cyclists, pedestrians, and horse riders. The most significant changes are as follows:

Cyclists’ position on the road

The new Highway Code says that in the following situations, cyclists should ride in the centre of the lane to make themselves as visible as possible:

• On quiet roads or streets – if a faster vehicle comes up behind you, move to the left to enable them to overtake, if you can do so safely.
• In slower-moving traffic – when the traffic around you starts to flow more freely, move over to the left if you can do so safely, so that faster vehicles behind you can overtake.
• At the approach to junctions or road narrowings, where it would be unsafe for drivers to overtake you.

When riding on busy roads with faster-moving vehicles, cyclists should allow them to overtake, where it is safe to do so, whilst keeping at least half a metre away from the kerb edge.

Rule H1 – Hierarchy of Road Users

The new Highway Code rules are designed around a Hierarchy of Road Users. Pedestrians are placed at the top, as they are most likely to be injured in the event of a collision and, therefore, the most vulnerable. The hierarchy then proceeds with cyclists, horse riders, and motorcyclists.

All road users have a responsibility to be mindful of their own safety as well as the safety of others. As those in charge of larger vehicles are most likely to cause the greatest harm, they have the most responsibility to reduce the risk they pose to others. Likewise, cyclists and horse riders have a responsibility to reduce the risk they pose to pedestrians.

Rule H2 – Pedestrian priority

Motorists must now give way to pedestrians who are crossing or waiting to cross a road they are turning from or into.

Cyclists should give way to pedestrians on shared-use cycle tracks and horse riders on bridleways.

Rule H3 – Turning into or out of junctions

Drivers and motorcyclists must not cut across cyclists or horse riders when turning into or out of a junction or changing lanes.  Motorists must wait for an appropriate gap in the flow of cyclists if needing to turn in or out of a junction or change lanes.

In addition to the new H1, H2, and H3 rules, there are a total of 49 amendments to existing rules. Some of the most notable rule updates are as follows:

Rules on overtaking

There is now further clarification as to how much space vehicles must leave when overtaking cyclists, pedestrians, and horse riders. Motorists must leave at least 1.5 meters when overtaking cyclists when travelling at speeds up to 30 mph and leave even more space when overtaking at higher speeds.

Motorists must pass horse riders at speeds of 10 mph or under, leaving at least 2 meters of space. Drivers must also allow at least 2 meters of space when passing pedestrians walking in the road and keep to a low speed.

For many drivers, there is confusion as to when you may overtake another vehicle. It’s extremely important to note the road markings. A solid white line is an indicator that you cannot overtake another vehicle. When in doubt, refer to the below image:

Opening your car door

Drivers are advised to open their car door using the hand on the opposite side to the door – for example, using your left hand to open the door on the right-hand side. This is known as the Dutch reach technique. The aim is that you are forced to turn your head and look over your shoulder, avoiding potential injury to cyclists riding nearby.

The government has released a full document highlighting the original Highway Code text and the alterations – the full copy of the changes can be found here.  A full review of the Highway Code changes can also be found on the government website.

Source: Halfords

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has refused to rule out possible increases to both inheritance tax and capital gains tax ahead of the upcoming Budget on October 30th, as reported by The Telegraph.

In an interview, she hinted at “difficult decisions” the government may need to make but declined to commit to freezing the levies. This follows Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s warning that the Budget would be “painful,” urging the public to accept short-term hardship for future gains.

Inheritance tax currently stands at 40%, applied to estates valued over £325,000 after death, while capital gains tax is levied on the sale of assets worth more than £3,000. When asked about the possibility of raising these taxes, Reeves said that she is not going to write a Budget two months in advance. acknowledging that decisions on spending, welfare, and taxation would be revealed on Budget day.

This uncertainty comes after Labour’s election campaign saw the emergence of a recording featuring Darren Jones, now Chief Secretary to the Treasury, suggesting inheritance tax could be used to tackle “inter-generational inequality” by redistributing wealth.

Labour had pledged not to raise income tax, VAT, or National Insurance in its manifesto but has consistently avoided ruling out other tax increases. Cabinet members, including Reeves, have remained silent on whether capital gains tax might rise.

Reeves also defended her controversial move to cut winter fuel payments for nearly 10 million pensioners, citing the need to address a £22 billion shortfall in public finances caused by previous Conservative policies. She emphasised that tough choices are necessary to stabilise the economy, despite concerns about a surge in fuel poverty. Reeves said:

“The UK economy is just emerging from the recession that we entered into last year, and two quarters of positive growth is not going to reverse more than a decade of economic stagnation.”

source: Today’s Wills & Probate

Now just a few short weeks away, this year’s Remember A Charity Week takes place from 9^th to 15^th September. As the UK’s annual awareness week for giving to charity from your Will, the Week isn’t a free Will-writing scheme – rather an annual celebration of the impact and importance of gifts in Wills.

A new dawn of charitable Will-writing

Over the last ten years, there’s been long-term growth in the average number of Wills written through solicitors and Will-writers that include a charitable bequest. With 1 in 5 charity supporters aged 40+ now leaving a charitable gift in their Will*, more and more potential clients are looking for ways that they too can make a lasting impact, and continue to support the causes close to their hearts beyond their lifetime.

The propensity for giving in this way is also gaining ground beyond the Baby Boomer generation – with almost four in ten of those in their 40s and 50s having included a charity in their Will, compared to around a quarter of those aged 60+ source: Todays wills & probate. 

Job Vacancy (August 2024) – due to the imminent retirement of our Conveyancing Manager we have an upcoming vacancy for an experienced Residential Conveyancer. We are looking for a January 2025 start with a period of handover before our retiree leaves in February 2025. The ideal candidate will have 5 years’ experience in all aspects of Residential Conveyancing to include New Build matters. Experience in commercial conveyancing would be an advantage but is not essential. A full job description can be provided upon request. The successful candidate will be managing the department and so must be able to use our electronic case management system, for which full training will be given, and must be able to be progressive in the use of InfoTrack & Perfect Portal to ensure we continue to offer a 1st class service to our client base. The position is full time and will be office based and comes with a competitive salary with handsome holiday entitlement, health insurance and free parking all of which make this a perfect way to earn your living in the company of a great team of people….see our reviews on www.buchananco.co.uk If you are interested in having a chat about the position, please contact our office on 01246 471900 or email your CV to gemmag@buchananco.co.uk

August 2024 – we are currently

Ranked #3 out of 24 solicitor firms in Chesterfield

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