Making Money Work

An Oscar-winning documentary investigates the financial crisis - we have five copies up for grabs

Three years after the worst financial meltdown in recent history and "not a single financial executive has gone to jail", says Charles Ferguson, director of the new Oscar-winning documentary Inside Job.   

Inside Job won Best Documentary Feature at last year’s Academy Awards and it’s easy to see why. This powerful account of the economic crisis of 2008 will leave you feeling enraged that no-one has been brought to account for the global financial meltdown that has affected us all.

We’ve all felt the pinch of the so-called credit crunch, from first time buyers unable to secure a mortgage due to lenders no longer extending credit, to rising inflation eating into our buying power.

Inside Job examines the reason behind the financial failure and concludes that greed, a loosening of financial regulation, and a lack of accountability by those in charge is to blame.

Indeed, the focus of Ferguson’s firm is on the fact that no one among the financiers, politicians and academics who contributed to the crisis has been called to account for their role.

‘A heist movie’

In fact, according to Ferguson, many are still working in the industry and are earning even more money now than they were then.

In an interview with BBC News Online, the director said: “The essence of what happened is quite simple.

“It's a heist movie - but the heist was conducted by the people running the banks rather than by people walking into the banks with guns.

“I think it's important for people to understand the role that the political system played and the role that academia played."

Inside Job, out now on DVD, features exclusive interviews with major financial insiders, politicians, journalists and academics. 

Boom and bust

Narrated by Hollywood actor Matt Damon, the documentary starts with a look at the boom years that preceded the bust.

What emerges is a tale of financial deregulation which led to ever more risky and complex financial ventures which were packaged as safe investments and sold from investor to investor and which, when seen for the worthless investments they were, triggered the start of the global economic crisis which haunts us to this day.

The problem with explaining the global economic crisis is that, like the complex financial ventures being traded before the storm, it’s a devil to try and explain in layman’s terms what actually happened.

Fortunately for the viewer, Inside Job goes a long way to breaking it down and contends that the crisis could have been avoided.

A similar account of the financial crisis is the BBC’s excellent three-part documentary The Love of Money, which aired in September 2009.

If you can find a copy, I’d recommend it as an informative and engaging companion to Inside Job, particularly as it covers the financial crisis from a British point of view, with interviews with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown and then-chancellor Alistair Darling.

Inside Job is available on DVD now, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. We have five copies to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question: “Which Hollywood actor narrates the documentary Inside Job?”

To enter, email editor@confused.com with your answer in the subject line. Please put your full name, date of birth and postal address in the body of the email. 

Closing date for entries is 2359 on 23 June 2011. Only one entry per person. Please find full terms and conditions here. 

Heinz Baked Beans or Tesco Value: Why brand loyalty doesn't pay

Brand loyalty – it’s good for business, but doesn’t benefit the consumer, here’s why.

Loyalty - faithfulness or devotion to a person, country, group or cause. And, of course, in these consumerist times, we can add product to that list.

Brand loyalty is what many big companies rely on, as our repeat custom boosts their coffers. But it’s not just our loyalty they’re after; it’s also our recommendation of said brand to our friends and family.

And our recommendations are responsible for keeping the best-known brands in the UK at the top, according to a recent survey.

First Direct, Samsung, Saga, Tesco Mobile, Churchill Insurance and Apple are among the most recommended brands according to UK consumers. Satmetrix, the customer behaviour analysis firm which carried out the research, surveyed more than 6,800 UK consumers who had purchased products or services from each company within the previous 12 months.

So brand loyalty benefits businesses. But does it benefit the consumer? Of course not! Loyalty doesn’t pay. What pays for the consumer is to shop around for the best deal.

“Shop around” - such an important mantra that a whole industry has been built off the back of it. Price comparison sites like Confused.com exist because of a need to make finding the best deal in a crowded marketplace an easy experience.

But for every money-savvy shopper out there, there are plenty more convinced that their bank, credit card provider or gas and electricity supplier has their best interests at heart.

Think about newspaper, television and radio adverts for savings accounts, mobile phones, TV and broadband packages etc, with their attractive interest rates and low prices. More often than not, these deals are reserved for new customers only. So whether your loyalty is purposeful - you think the brand you’re with is the best - or whether it’s lazy - you simply can’t be bothered to shop around - , the only winner is the company.

Of course, I’m not immune to the power of brand loyalty, both purposeful and lazy. I used to be purposefully loyal to Heinz baked beans. Why? I’d grown up with them, I liked the taste, and they were the priciest. A high price often makes people think something’s better: a colleague admits she used to choose travel insurance like she chose wine – not the cheapest, but the second cheapest because she didn’t want to look too, well, cheap! (We all have an inner snob - admit it, we’ve all looked down at the supermarket shopper with a trolley full of value goods?!) But back to beans.

My predilection for Heinz changed five years ago when the newspaper I worked for had a delivery of Branston baked beans (it was for a promotion). I was a bit strapped for cash so I took a tin home one night. And my, they were so tasty, I changed my beans buying habit there and then. 

Now, this switch hasn’t saved me money. It wasn’t about that. But loyalty borne out of laziness has cost me money when it comes to the cost of heating and lighting my home.

For years, I read all the bumf about how switching gas and electricity suppliers could save you money.  But for years I did nothing – much to the benefit of British Gas, I’m sure. But a recent house move led me to compare prices for the first time – and I’m now en route to saving myself more than £100 a year.

Of course, loyalty isn’t just about price, it’s about service too. But that’s the point of working out the best deal for you – consider price, service, and any other area that matters to you, such as opting for a green energy tariff because of your environmental views, even though this tariff may not be the cheapest.

Be an active consumer: weigh up what your brand loyalty is costing you, and you’ll be the one benefitting from your financial decisions, not big business.