Although I confess I did once buy a 'Pope on a rope soap' during a holiday in Rome, I think I can live (and die) without www.reserveaspotinheaven.com.

Loathe though I am to give these guys the oxygen of publicity, the site proves that there is still money to be made out of absolutely nothing. What do you think?

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I don't think you can take out a credit card or loan these days without experiencing a big push on payment protection insurance (PPI). It's designed to protect the lender by covering the costs of your repayments for a while if you lose your job or become ill (although small print and exclusions vary enormously).

The cons and pros of PPI..... For some time, we have known that PPI is very expensive, many people do not need it but are sold it anyway and we should weigh up whether we really need it before adding it to the cost of credit (and potentially compounding our debt). Hell, some lenders add it on automatically and it is only removed if you notice it. PPI has its (very limited) place where the borrower wants the security and has absolutely no financial safety net if things go wrong. Although if you need it, you don't have to buy it from the loan or credit company - you will probably find the cheapest deal elsewhere and can apply it to your card or loan. And make sure you read the small print.

The fines.... Because salespeople earn commission on PPI, it has always been at risk of being mis-sold. City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has so far fined 12 companies for mis-selling PPI, with the largest penalty, £1m, levied on HFC Bank. Between January 2005 and May 2007, staff at HFC's 136 branches failed to ensure that the policies were sold appropriately, and did not have any system in place for monitoring their sale. Most of the 163,000 policies were for unsecured loans, with PPI adding an average of £2,000 to the cost of the borrowing.

The chance to sue.... Now a City law firm wants to take a class action against HFC Bank on behalf of ripped off PPI customers. Clyde & Co wants to hear from 163,000 people who have been mis-sold PPI for loans by HFC Bank, a sub-prime lender owned by the high street giant HSBC. Clyde & Co said it needed a minimum of around 500 customers to start an action. The case will be fought on a no win, no fee basis and so anyone coming forward should be prepared to give up as much as half their compensation if the case wins.

To option not to... If you would rather not give up half your compensation, there is a free option. Start by writing a letter to your lender explaining how the PPI was sold and asking for a refund. If you disagree with the response then take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free.

Have you been sold PPI which you never wanted or did not understand? Leave your comments below...

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OK, so credit is much harder to get than even a few months ago, but I was still surprised to learn that more and more people are lying on their applications for credit cards and loans.

UK fraud prevention service Cifas says that more people have been lying to try to cover up a poor credit history. It says fraud cases have leapt by 10% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2007.

The most frequent lie, according to Cifas, was failing to disclose a previous address where the applicant had a poor credit history. Of course such lies are counter-productive as credit companies share information.

Meanwhile, identity fraud is now falling but on the up is "account takeover", where a fraudster impersonates a victim in order to control their bank account. They often break the security by using a spoof email, claiming to be from a bank, to trick the victim into giving their account details. Cases have more than doubled from 1,331 in the first quarter of 2007 to 3,276 in the same period of 2008, Cifas figures show.

Those living in flats or houses with communal hallways and post areas are still very vulnerable too. The fraudster is often resident at or has regular access to the same property as the victim.  They may steal post to get information then apply for credit in the name of the victim.  They can even go on to steal the final demands and court letters which would normally alert someone to the problem. Scary.

It never ceases to amaze me how many former tenants or owners move on without re-directing their post. I see piles of the stuff when visiting friends, who end up taking it off to the Post Office to be returned to sender every few weeks.

Has someone with access to your post stolen your ID? Are piles of post for non-residents still delivered to your address? Leave your comments below...

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I'm confused about personalised number plates. I know that in a world where many people have more money than sense - or taste - they will always exist, but come on... why?

I rate them second only to 'Baby on board' signs as the most pointless car accessories. But British motorists spent £87 million on them last year (number plates, not baby signs - but give it time) and £700 million in the last decade. And we owe them a big round of applause. Because the cash goes straight into Treasury coffers. OK, yes I know that while it's taxpayers' money in theory the reality is that it will be wasted on MPs' wallpaper or something but the principle is comforting.

So the Welsh businessman who spent £27,200 on 'WEL5H' last month is really a national hero. It surprised me to learn that London is bottom of the list of places where these plates are most popular. Scotland is top according to insurers Admiral which found that haulage contractors (YORK1E) loved them most, followed by dentists (DR1LL) and shopkeepers (I H8 T3SCO). Go figure. BMW owners are most tempted by personal plates. So now you know.

Am I missing the point? Do you have a personalised plate? Lots of people tell me they were bought them as presents and so had to use them. Is that you? How much did you pay for yours? Tell all.... leave a comment below....

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For some reason I find it hard to pay attention as the news fills with the sights and sounds of politicians and councillors getting twitchy before the local elections on 1 May. Perhaps I'm too distracted by the ridiculous case of poor Gareth Corkhill who was given a criminal record and fined £225 for overfilling his (fortnightly-emptied) rubbish bin recently.

Now a report by the Taxpayers' Alliance shows that our council tax could be cut by millions if only the councils cut back on WASTE.

The latest Council Spending Uncovered paper reveals large amounts of spending poured into publicity, middle and senior management and gold-plated pensions. Now the Alliance has issued this challenge:

If councils cut publicity, management and pension costs by just 10 per cent, they can cut council tax by an average of 3.5%, or around £40 off an average Band D bill. Given the criminal waste of time and money spent pursuing cases like that of Mr Corkhill, I suspect they could save a lot more.  I especially like the way the Taxpayers' Alliance illustrates and campaigns on this with tactics including 'non-job of the week'.

• In 2006-07, councils in England and Scotland spent over £400 million on publicity, £1.9 billion employing managers earning over £50,000 and over £4.3 billion on employer pension contributions. The total of the three expenditures is therefore £6.6 billion.
• Saving just 10% on those three areas alone would therefore reduce expenditure by £660 million.
  In the same year, council tax collected in England and Scotland totalled £18.7 billion (excluding Fire and Police precepts). Saving £660 million from that total would allow councils to reduce council tax by 3.5%.
• The average Band D council tax bill in 2006-07 (including both the district and county council where relevant but excluding the GLA and Fire and Police precepts) was just over £1,100. A 3.5% reduction would equal around £40.

The full report, which can be found here, provides detailed breakdowns for the savings that can be made by each local authority in England and Wales.

Have your say... have you got good examples of your council wasting money? Leave a comment by clicking on the link below...

Photo: Daily Mail

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