The high cost of shoddy advice

Othello had his Iago. The licensed trade, it seems to me, has any number of advisers and agents, all promising to save you money or sort out your financial problems. It is a minefield and you have to tread very carefully.

I have seen samples of the literature put out by some of these people. It reminds me of the internet scams one sees regularly on the desktop. Basically, you are invited to pay money up front in order to make money later. The 'promise' is always couched in general language. It is not, and cannot be, specific to you. Your own circumstances may be entirely different.

I appreciate that there are trade advisers out there who do a very good job. I have recently written about the specialist lawyers for whom I have a great deal of respect.

They will charge you for their advice, but it will be helpful and practical. But there is no substitute for careful checking of anyone who makes the first approach to you with a bundle of promises for saving money when a good adviser will ensure that he knows exactly what your situation is before he will give any advice at all.

The suggestion that it is only the licensed trade that is taken for a ride by unscrupulous con-men is, of course, far from the truth.

Scams exist throughout the business world, and every trade has to know who to trust and who to view with suspicion. But it is interesting that every year a fair proportion of the enquiries I receive from readers concern offers that have been made to them, or contracts that they have rather hastily entered into and wish they hadn't.

Obviously, you do not have the same consumer protection as a member of the public if you are dealing with these people on a business footing. Signing a contract for services is therefore not protected and you should only do so after very careful consideration and certainly not on the spot. You should also keep a copy of anything you sign at the time. I have had three recent examples of licensees signing a contract and letting the salesman walk away leaving them nothing at all — not even a receipt or acknowledgement. That is simply stupid.

The moral is: do your homework and ask questions. And learn the lessons of others who have believed some vague promises and ended up poorer — and probably no wiser!