These companies have been getting away with murder for too long

These companies have been getting away with murder for too long. Usually, when regulators announce reviews such as these, it’s because a minority of companies are breaking the rules. But in this instance, it’s not just a case of a few bad apples – the consumer groups that work with borrowers say most of the barrel is rotten.
The background to the OFT’s probe is that two years ago, the watchdog set out clear guidelines on how these agencies should behave. The idea was to set minimum standards in an industry renowned for mistreating customers, who are often very vulnerable.Two years on and little has changed.

The OFT has received almost 1,800 complaints about dodgy debt collectors since July 2003, when the rules were introduced. Agencies are routinely harassing borrowers, getting the facts wrong and refusing to work with other agencies, such as Citizens Advice, which often step in to represent people in trouble.Some of the stories are horrific. Sales are still very small and will take time to build in to a meaningful contribution to the group.At the beginning of the year, we reckoned the shares were fully valued at about 454p. The market agreed – with a dividend yield of 5 per cent and the constant background noise of takeover speculation, the shares are still worth holding.The above are recommendations taken from the daily Investment Column.s.foley independent.co.uk. The Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) decision to launch an investigation into the country’s debt collection agencies is long overdue.

S&N’s joint venture with Carlsberg, BBH, produces Russia’s leading beer and it delivered a 32 per cent growth in operating profits during the first half. S&N is also beefing up investments in India and China, potentially two of the biggest markets in the world. This Superchilled formula is now being adapted across other brands.While the rest of Western Europe is proving more difficult to seduce, there is some good news further east. Foster’s has seen sales grow 6.3 per cent, and in an ale market that was down 7 per cent, sales of S&N’s John Smith’s are up 3.2 per cent. Cold beer is about as radically innovative as marketing gets in this industry, and so S&N’s Superchilled technology, which keeps pints colder for longer, has done wonders to make lager more interesting again.S&N says that during the first six months of the year, its four top brands grew 5.5 per cent. The shares remain a solid hold.Biggest brewer raises sales by lowering the temperatureScottish & Newcastle (S&N), the UK’s largest brewer – with brands including Foster’s, Kronenbourg, John Smith’s and Strongbow – has been trying to inject some fizz into its years-long stale results.Beer is a well-established consumer staple in the UK and most of Western Europe, and the market is in decline as consumers broaden their drinking habits.After a serious round of cost cuts, S&N has, at least, squeezed out some extra cash to reinvest in marketing its top brands. The big attraction of owning P&O shares is the great prospects of its global ports operations.