Despite the tough economic times, people from Caerphilly have been found most likely to tip – even when the service is average.
According to a survey by building society Principality, more than three out of five people in Caerphilly would tip.
Caerphilly residents are tipping a variety of paid-for services, including haircuts (61%), taxis (66%) and food delivery drivers (42%).
The survey of 1,000 people across Wales was commissioned by Principality to discover people’s views on paying for financial advice, in preparation for the shift in the way advice is given brought on by the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review (RDR) in January.
In contrast to their attitude towards tipping, people in Caerphilly are the least likely in Wales to be prepared to pay for financial advice, with 64% suggesting they would be put off if they had to pay for it, despite 56% agreeing that good financial advice is important.
Barclay Sansom, Financial Services Product Manager at Principality said: “The nation’s attitude to tipping suggests that they do not have a problem paying for good service. When it comes to financial advice, consumers need to recognise the value of a full face-to-face review service as opposed to the take away self-service that some banks will be replacing their advice services with.”
Mr Sansom suggests that to fully understand the new measures, people need to change their perception on the current ‘free service’.
He said: “What consumers might not be aware of is that they have been paying for financial advice indirectly already, with their financial advisor getting their costs back by operating on a commission basis. The changes will mean the fees for the advice given will be transparent.”
More than a third of those polled in Caerphilly (39%) say they pay for a private dentist and 36% for solicitors, due to their perceived level of expertise.
Elevan percent surveyed in Caerphilly revealed they don’t trust financial advisors, with 21% relying instead on consumer champions in the media like Martin Lewis, and another 11% choosing to take advice from friends and family.
Despite the banking crisis, more than 40% would still go to their bank or building society if they needed advice, with 16 to 24-year-olds the most likely to do this.
Caerffili people are wise to be wary of 'financial advisors', their level of understanding is questionable. Thousands of people were advised to transfer final salary pensions into share investment schemes; many more people locked themselves into endowment mortgages on the advice of financial advisors. Both of these examples were the wrong advice and have left people out of pocket and seeking compensation.
In my own experience a financial advisor told me, in 1985, that an endowment mortgage was the only way I could borrow to buy a house. She had never heard of a repayment mortgage, which was the correct type of loan for me.
More recently, this year, I was talking to a financial advisor, of thirty years experience, about the Mineworker's Pension. I told him of the millions of pounds this scheme has paid to the exchequer in recent years. He angrily asserted that, "there wasn't that much money in the scheme" and that I was talking "nonsense". I hope he is reading and has since checked to find that the Mineworkers Pension is worth around 100 times more than he thinks!
Be very wary when consulting these advisors. Sign up for nothing at your appointment. This will give you time to check on the accuracy of what they are telling you. This requires a little effort but the result could save you a lot of hard earned money.