Premium cherry-on-the-vine are poised to take top spot in Britain’s £1bn-a-year tomato market
For a long time the classic round, red tomato has dominated British salads and sandwiches, but its supremacy is coming under threat as sales of rainbow colours and the upmarket rival “cherry on the vine” take off.
“Non-red tomatoes” sales are up 21% this year, a growth rate that far exceeds the overall market, according to Paul Faulkner, of Evesham Vale Growers.
Continue reading...UK consumer group says lives are at risk because platforms fail to prevent dangerous items reaching customers
Babies are being put at risk by dozens of potentially lethal infant products sold to UK parents on major online marketplaces, an investigation has found.
The consumer champion Which? identified 150 products, including self-feeding prop feeders that pose a choking risk and baby sleep pillows linked to suffocation.
Continue reading...Analysis finds services cheaper but country ranks 57th in network performance and 70th for download speeds
British holidaymakers watching online videos while they sit on a European beach this summer are likely to be pleasantly surprised: the signal should be better than at home.
Mobile coverage in the UK is worse than in any of the 27 EU member countries, and every other member of the G7 group of large economies, according to analysis by consumer group Which? of data from Opensignal.
Continue reading...Change in viewing habits offered by match times at 2026 tournament could mean using cheaper off-peak power
Watching late-night or early hours football could provide UK households with a practical opportunity to cut their energy bills, as even just doing the washing when cheaper electricity rates apply can net a decent saving.
At a time when energy costs are back at worrying highs, research by E.ON Next shows the potential to save money on a time-of-use tariff – in this case, its Next Smart Saver deal, which has three rates: peak, off-peak and super off-peak.
Continue reading...Buyers are ripped off after assuming online stores were genuine because they are recommended by an AI tool
You want to buy a new bag and so you ask ChatGPT for help. You have always liked Russell & Bromley so you ask ChatGPT what is popular there at the moment.
The artificial intelligence (AI) assistant gives you cross body, shoulder, casual and formal options with the prices listed beside them. You click through from the sources to what looks like the official Russell & Bromley site and buy your new bag, which is conveniently on sale.
Continue reading...British Retail Consortium figures show footfall rose in May, with consumer confidence improving after spending squeeze
Greater numbers of consumers went shopping last month as spring sunshine brought welcome relief to retailers, which have faced a squeeze on spending since the US-Israel war on Iran.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and a separate survey by the accountancy firm BDO showed a bounce-back in footfall during May, reversing a sharp decline in April.
Continue reading...European Commission finds shoppers on Chinese website very likely to find unsafe items and imposes €200m penalty
EU regulators have fined the Chinese shopping website Temu €200m (£173m) for failing to stop the sale of illegal and dangerous products.
The European Commission imposed the penalty after a 19-month investigation that found consumers were very likely to encounter illegal or unsafe products including baby toys and electronics on the firm’s website.
Continue reading...National Audit Office says potential benefits are ‘considerable but uncertain’ while risks are ‘immediate and substantial’
The cost of the government’s £38bn nuclear plant in Suffolk is subject to “significant uncertainty” and may outweigh the benefits for UK households until at least 2064, according to the government’s spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that although the potential benefits of the Sizewell C nuclear plant are considerable, they remain uncertain. The risks, however, are “immediate, substantial and borne by the public”.
Continue reading...French police fire teargas and UK shops close for safety reasons as hundreds queue for Royal Pop timepieces that make up Audemars Piguet collaboration
The launch of limited-edition Swatch watches descended into chaos in several European cities and New York, with French police firing teargas to restore order at a store near Paris.
Hundreds of people waited through the night from Friday into Saturday – and in some cases for several days – hoping to buy the Royal Pop timepieces, made in collaboration with the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet.
Continue reading...Redress to customers for force-fitting devices in homes includes £20m penalty and £70m of debt write-offs
Thousands of British Gas customers who had prepayment meters force-fitted in their homes will between them receive compensation and energy bill debt write-offs worth up to £112m in the biggest energy supplier settlement on record.
Great Britain’s energy regulator found that British Gas forced PPMs on homes that were not keeping up with their bills at the height of the Russian gas crisis, in one of the most complex investigations in Ofgem’s history.
Continue reading...Landmark finding against supermarket giant comes after competition watchdog argued that markdowns did not represent genuine savings
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Coles misled Australian shoppers by promoting fake “Down Down” discounts on everyday grocery products, the federal court has ruled in a landmark decision for the supermarket industry.
Justice Michael O’Bryan handed down his judgment on Thursday, delivering a significant blow to Australia’s second-largest supermarket chain, which had argued that the discounts represented genuine savings during a period of high inflation.
Continue reading...New rules would enable single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators throughout Europe
Cross-border train journeys through several European countries are the stuff of many a holidaymaker’s dreams.
But the reality of trying to buy the tickets, navigating multiple websites without knowing who can help if a connection is missed, can prove less than relaxing. As one MEP puts it, it can often require “five tabs, three apps and a prayer”.
Continue reading...Premium editions of Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! cost up to $250 but some say signatures are unnaturally identical
Liza Minnelli fans who bought signed copies of her memoir are seeking refunds because they believe her signature is fake.
Copies of Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by the American 80-year-old singer were marketed around the world as “hand-signed collectibles”, with premium editions costing up to $250 (£185).
Continue reading...Cap of 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would cut fuel demand and combat rising prices, IPPR says
Britain should lower speed limits for drivers as part of a package of measures to reduce the impact of the Iran war on consumers, a thinktank has said.
Capping legal speeds at 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would help reduce fuel demand and combat soaring oil prices triggered by conflict, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Continue reading...‘Targeted support’ means certain banks and financial institutions can offer free extra help with investments and pensions
Many Britons are daunted by the world of investing, but new City rules mean certain banks and financial institutions can offer free extra help with investments and pensions.
Last month marked the launch of “targeted support”, a new regulated service that permits companies to suggest investments and pension products to customers that might provide a better return.
Continue reading...Candle-making kits and rubber toys among products recalled after revelation about play sand sold by Hobbycraft
More than 30 children’s toys have been recalled in the UK after the Guardian revealed that play sand sold by Hobbycraft was contaminated with asbestos.
Over the past three months, other children’s products ranging from candle-making kits to stretchy rubber toys have been recalled by retailers including Tesco, Primark, Matalan and M&S after being found to contain the substance.
Continue reading...Vinegar, Tim Tams and baby rice are among the products to be scrutinised in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case
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The consumer watchdog is back in court and taking on Australia’s largest supermarket chain, alleging Woolworths deliberately misled shoppers with fake discounts.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) case against Woolworths begins in the federal court in Sydney on Tuesday, almost two months after hearings wrapped up in its very similar case against Coles.
Continue reading...One insider estimates Australians pay A$10 in fees per ticket, with fans bearing the burden of monopolised music tour schedules and inflated artist values
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Australia is being urged to improve ticketing transparency after a US federal court found Live Nation Entertainment had a harmful monopoly over big concert venues.
This week, a New York jury found the global entertainment giant and its subsidiary Ticketmaster liable for systematically stifling competition to extract excessive profits from concertgoers. The jury identified a baseline overcharge of US$1.72 for every ticket sold by Live Nation since 2010 – totalling an additional US$595m in 2025 alone.
Continue reading...Trips in electric vehicles will be exempt from the temporary fee of 5 cents a kilometre, rideshare firm says
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Uber customers in Australia will be charged a fuel surcharge for almost two months from Wednesday unless they ride in an electric vehicle.
Trips in petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles will attract an extra fee of 5 cents a kilometre from 15 April to 8 June, Uber announced on Monday.
Continue reading...Iran war drives demand for solar panels, heat pumps and EVs, with energy bills expected to rise 18% from July
British households are turning to green home energy upgrades in record numbers to try to keep bills down as the Iran crisis sends global oil and gas prices soaring, data from leading energy suppliers suggests.
Figures show demand for solar panels, electric vehicles and heat pumps in Great Britain has leapt since the war began on 28 February, as households brace for a sharp increase in monthly payments when the next energy price cap takes effect in the summer.
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