Safety
Upholstered Furniture
Upholstered furniture should be flame retardant. Furniture such as sofas,
chairs, sofa-beds, and cushions need to be labelled with the following
information if they were made after 1950.
CARELESSNESS CAUSES FIRE
- Manufacturer's name
- Batch number or ID number
- Date of manufacture
- Description of filling and covering
- Whether there is an interliner
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Beds are different in that labelling was never compulsory, but some
manufacturers do add a label stating that the bed or upholstered base comply
with British Standard BS7177.
Electrical Appliances
All electrical equipment must be supplied to you
in a safe condition. For example, all portable electrical equipment must
be fitted with three-pin plugs which have sheaths on the live and neutral
pins.
The mains cable must have two layers of insulation, be free of any
kinks, any joints must be properly made, and the wires should follow the
colour code:
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green & yellow
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earth
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blue
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neutral
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brown
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live
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You should not be able to touch any live parts without the use of a tool.
Instructions for safe use should be made available.
Gas Appliances
All
gas appliances must be serviced once a year by a CORGI (Council of
Registered Gas Installers) registered installer and the landlord must make
the certificate available to any tenants.
Gas
cookers must have:
- easily readable markings
- name of manufacturer
- adequate pan supports
- an instruction booklet
- easy to operate controls
- prompt ignition
If there is a hob cover it must cut off the
gas supply when it is closed, or have a warning label stating that it does
not turn the gas off.
Check it out
Things to think about when considering student accommodation:
1 Upholstered furniture:
Does it have appropriate labels indicating that it meets fire safety
requirements?
2 Electrical Equipment:
Is it fitted with the correct plugs, do they
have the correct colour wires and appear to be in generally good condition?
3 Gas Appliances:
Are they clearly marked with easy to use controls?
4
Gas Safety Certificate:
Has the landlord shown you the
certificate and were the checks carried out by a CORGI registered installer?
Is there a problem?
If you have any concerns
about your student accommodation please contact us. We can
arrange a visit to look at anything you have concerns about and give advice
about what to do next.
Financial Problems
Having problems paying your credit card bills? Overdrawn at the bank?
Rent and electric/gas bills in arrears? Don't know what to do? Maybe if I
ignore it this month, I will be able to pay next month if I don't go out
on the weekends. Or perhaps I could borrow some money to pay off what I
owe and to give me some spare cash for the holiday I want.
STOP! Act now!
Do something today,
ignoring the problem will only make it worse, it will not go away.
- Contact the people you owe to try to work something out. The earlier
they know you have a problem the more sympathetic they are likely to be.
- Don't ignore letters or demands for payment. You may be charged for
these adding to what you already owe. Sort things out quickly to stop
these costs piling up.
Take stock of your
financial position.
- Are you getting all the income you are entitled to?
- Could you get a part-time job?
- Check if there are any social security benefits you could claim.
- Do you qualify for an emergency award?
- Look at where your money is being spent. Separate essential outgoings
(rent, gas/electric, food) from things like alcohol, clothes and other
non-essentials.
How much do you owe?
Some debts are more serious than others. Deal with the most important
first. Make a list in order of priority.
Priority debts:
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Rent arrears - Court action can be token to recover the debt and you
could be evicted - the debt is still owed even if you walk out. Ultimate
sanction - EVICTION and COURT ACTION.
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Council Tax arrears - Full time students are exempt providing they
complete an exemption form at their place of study. Ultimate sanction -
IMPRISONMENT.
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Fuel and water charge arrears - If you arrange a manageable payment
scheme you can avoid being cut off. Ultimate sanction -DISCONNECTION and
COURT ACTION.
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Telephone arrears - Ultimate sanction - DISCONNECTION and COURT ACTION.
Non-priority debts:
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Credit or store card - if you can’t make payment STOP using your card
and agree with the provider a payment scheme you can afford. Ultimate
sanction - COURT ACTION.
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Hire purchase debts - Your rights vary depending on how much you have
paid.
If you have paid a third of the amount owed a trader will require a
court order to repossess the goods. However you will still be liable for
any short fall in the amount owed after the sale of those goods. Ultimate
sanction - COURT ACTION.
(If you are buying a car on hire purchase and you need it to travel to
college this would become a priority debt.)
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Loans - Inform the lender that you are having difficulties and to try
to work out a solution such as a longer repayment period or a temporary
halt on payments. Ultimate sanction - COURT ACTION.
When you have listed both your income and your spending, compare the
two and this will give you the amount of money you have left over to offer
your creditors. If you spend more than your income where else can you make
savings?
Talk to your creditors
If you inform them of your situation they may well be more willing to
help you. Send them a financial statement showing your income and
outgoings to show what you can afford to pay. A small regular
payment is better than no payment or one than you can’t keep up. If your
situation is very difficult some companies will freeze the interest on
loans/credit cards but you must ask them to do this. All payments then go
to paying off the original amount owed. Be committed to your offer, don’t
be put off, make payments even if the creditors say the offer is too low.
REMEMBER to:
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Keep copies of all letters sent to each creditor and their replies.
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Make a note of all telephone conversations with the date and the name
of the person you spoke to.
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Follow any arrangement made by phone with a letter stating what has
been agreed.
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Stick to any arrangement made about reduced payments.
BEWARE!
Don't borrow
money to get yourself out of debt. You will only end up deeper in trouble.
Consolidation loans can be more expensive than your original debts.
GET ADVICE if you feel you cannot resolve your problems on your own.
- Talk to the Student Union counsellor
- Contact your local money advice centre, or
- Our advice service
All the above give free, confidential, and independent advice and are
there to help you resolve your problems. But please remember the solution
to your problem won’t disappear over night. It will take total
commitment from you and time.
To put it simply, credit means ‘buy now, pay later'. The idea behind
credit is neat and attractive - you get goods (or money, if it is a loan)
straight away, and you pay for them in instalments over a period of time.
Sounds great - where's the catch?
Because credit is such an attractive and easy option it can be really
easy to get carried away and over-commit yourself. Don't forget that
credit comes at a price, too. You will almost certainly have to pay
interest on credit deals, so the goods will actually cost you more in the
long run.
What different sorts of credit should I know about?
Credit sale agreement:
This is where you want to buy one item, such as a hi-fi or PC. The shop
will arrange a loan with a finance company and you get the goods straight
away. You will normally have to pay off the loan by monthly instalments.
Credit cards and store cards:
You will normally have a credit limit which
allows you to spend up to a certain amount. Usually, you will be sent a
monthly statement, with a minimum payment that you are expected to make,
or you can choose to pay off the whole lot, if you can afford it. If you
just pay the minimum, or part of the balance, you’ll be charged hefty
interest rates on what is left.
Hire purchase, or HP:
This is mostly used for very big purchases, like cars. The goods remain
the property of the HP company until the end of the agreement, and you
effectively pay a charge to hire them during this time.
If you fall behind in your payments the HP company can repossess the
goods, and you won't be able to sell the goods without the HP company's
permission. HP is an expensive way of buying goods.
Personal loans from a bank or building society:
You'll normally be expected to have a bank account before you can get a
personal loan. Here, you are lent money by the institution, and you will
usually pay it off in monthly instalments. Many lenders will insist that
you make these payments by direct debit from your account, and you must
make sure you have enough money in your account to meet the charges.
Personal loans will often be at a cheaper rate of interest, though.
Money lenders:
Sadly, there are many disreputable
businesses (loansharks is what they’re commonly called) who will lend
you money, no questions asked, at a very high rate of interest. If you’re
desperate this can often be a very tempting thing to do - DON'T!
Interest free credit or buy now, pay
later
deals:
These allow you to pay for the goods in
instalments, but at the cash price, or will let you defer payment for a
period of time, such as 6 or 9 months. Because these are so attractive it
is easy to take on too many of them and over-commit yourself. Remember,
you will still have to make the payments regularly, or you could get into
debt. Also, if you don’t pay the cash amount by the due date on buy now,
pay later deals you will have to pay interest and this will be charged
from the date the goods were supplied.
What should I
look for if I'm interested in credit?
You should shop around, and compare the different interest rates with
different types of credit. Do this by looking at the APR (Annual
Percentage Rate). Generally, the lower the APR, the cheaper the credit, as
you will pay less interest overall. You MUST make sure that you read the
terms and conditions of any credit agreement before you sign it. If
necessary, ask for time to read the agreement, and get advice from your
Union Welfare Officer, local CAB or trading standards. Remember, it
is unlikely that you will be able to cancel the agreement after you have
signed it. Also, NEVER sign a blank credit agreement.
Finally, think really hard about whether you really need the goods that
you want, and if so, whether you can save for it and pay cash - this will
always be the cheapest option!
Top Tips
DOs:
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Consider whether you really need credit, or whether you would be
better off saving up and paying cash
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If you feel that you need credit, do a proper budget of your
income/expenditure, and be realistic about what monthly payments you
can afford
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Shop around and compare deals
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Always check the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - the lower the APR
the less interest you will pay over the lifetime of the agreement
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Always read the small print - it may seem boring but once you sign
on the dotted line, you will have entered into a legally binding
agreement
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If you have a credit or store card, try to keep
the maximum credit spending limit as low as possible so you aren’t
tempted to spend, spend, spend
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If you can, pay off the full balance on your credit or store card
every month, to avoid being charged interest
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Keep a regular check on your credit expenditure, and think carefully
before taking out any new credit deals
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If you live in shared accommodation, get all the tenants names on
the household bills, not just yours!
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Get advice quickly if you get into debt, from your Union Welfare
Officer, CAB or trading standards
DON'Ts:
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Don't take on more credit than you can
realistically pay - remember, you are ultimately responsible for the
amount of credit you commit yourself to
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Don’t be fooled by introductory discounts for store/credit cards -
always look at what the interest rate is going to be, which can often be
very high in this sort of deal
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Don't think you can hide from a bad credit history - Credit
Reference Agencies keep information about your credit history for
years
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Don't EVER sign a blank credit agreement
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If you fall into arrears, don’t ignore letters
from credit companies - most will allow you to reschedule the debt if you
are having trouble paying
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Don’t borrow more money to get out of an existing debt
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NEVER use a loanshark or moneylender. They charge extortionate
rates of interest and often use threats of violence to get their
money back
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DON’T PANIC! If you are in financial difficulty, then seek help
IMMEDIATELY from your Union Welfare Officer, your local CAB or
neighbourhood advice centre, or from trading standards.
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