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Dobson and Hodge fundraising at Walk the Night 2019

The #100ActsOfKindness is now underway however, ever ones to plan ahead, 4 of the Dobson and Hodge team have committed to walking a combined 100+ miles at the Walk The Night event in support of the Coppafeel! (Breast) and Prostate Cancer UK Charities.

The event is an overnight, marathon distance, walk around London and the team are looking to raise around £1,000+ towards these good causes.

More news as things progress but if you wish to support the team from Dobson and Hodge, donations can be made at the teams various Just Giving pages – Paul, Andrew, David and Ailsa.

 

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Dobson and Hodge Ltd #100ActsOfKindness

In 1920, Dobson and Hodge first formed as a Business and in anticipation of our 100 year anniversary the Company is embarking on an ambitious ‘100 Acts Of Kindness’ campaign where, over the coming year or so, we will look to support charities, local endeavours and other community projects towards meeting their own objectives.

Whether it be us committing our time (and multiple pairs of hands) to local projects, simply doing a good turn or fund raising for charities – we will be looking to go beyond doing what we already do and reach out to do even more to help make a difference.

If you are a local charity or project and would benefit from our support please let us know – over the coming months we’ll need ideas as to how we can turn our enthusiasm and commitment into making a real difference for our local community.

In the meantime, we’ll begin to highlight our activities and help raise awareness of the good work going on in and around Doncaster – we also hope that others will join us in supporting the various initiatives to make that difference even bigger!

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Pension and investment scams

In their own blog, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has set out some food for thought with regard to the ban on pension cold calling (and the scams which are associated).

Such issues were well publicised in recent months with the ‘Jetski ScamSmart advert’ from the Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warning how your pension could end up funding the lavish lifestyle of someone else.

Key points from TPR’s blog are that “The arrival of the ban should bring clarity for consumers that if the phone rings and the caller asks unsolicited questions about their pension, it is an attempt to steal their savings” (and) “if they are in any doubt whatsoever, they should simply hang up”.

Wise words!

There are other resources to which they refer – fca.org.uk/scamsmart for example will give guidance, warning signs of scams as well as detail on how you can check on the authenticity of schemes.

Where an enquiry raises concerns, contact can be made with Action Fraud on 0300 1232040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk

Scammers don’t come with a siren nor do they explain what they are doing is fraudulent. What they offer will seem very logical and feasible but may involve weird and wonderful investments (with very feasible reasons why they are a good idea), moving the funds offshore or potentially needing to set up a business so that a specialist pension can be arranged.

As they say, “Buyer Beware”.

Ultimately, no cold calls should now arise (however there are many who say the ban doesn’t go far enough).

If, however, you unexpectedly receive a call about your pension (or any other investment for that matter), seeking a second opinion whilst also using the above resources should ensure that any traps are unsuccessful and you keep hold of the funds you’ve spent time saving.

 

Article written by Paul Stocks (@paul_stocks_ifa), Financial Services Director and Independent Financial Adviser