Category Archives: Consumer affairs

Sales boost for B&Q and Screwfix owner amid rush for energy-saving products

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Kingfisher says sales of loft insulation roll more than double while smart thermostats rose by nearly a third

The B&Q owner, Kingfisher, has reported higher sales as fears over higher gas and electricity costs boosted demand for energy-efficient products including insulation roll and smart thermostats.

The retail group, which also owns the hardware trade supplier Screwfix, said customers who invested in a raft of energy-saving DIY products helped increase group sales by 0.6% to £3.3bn in the three months to October. When stripping out the impact of the weaker pound, sales were up 1.7%.

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Annual UK energy bills would have hit £4,279 without emergency support, Ofgem says

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Regulator raises cap for start of 2023 by £730 but government limits typical bill to £3,000 from April

The energy regulator Ofgem has said its price cap will reach £4,279 from January – but households will be shielded by the government’s emergency intervention to keep a lid on bills.

Ofgem said the cap, which is adjusted every quarter, will increase by £730 for the three months from the start of next year. However, the government’s energy price guarantee (EPG) will limit typical household bills to £2,500. Analysts had expected the cap to sit at about £4,200.

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UK’s most vulnerable missing out on energy bill support due to confusing systems

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Charity warns of ‘significant risk’ that those on old prepayment meters will be unable to redeem vouchers offering £400 discount

The poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK risk missing out on the energy bill support and cost of living payments they are entitled to, because of a lack of clarity over what is available from the government and how to get it, charities have warned.

Under the energy bills support scheme announced by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor, all households are eligible for a £400 energy bill discount, paid across six instalments starting last month.

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Fashion firm Joules falls into administration putting 1,600 jobs at risk

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Shops will stay open while administrators assess options for the company

The fashion firm Joules has formally fallen into administration, putting 1,600 jobs and the future of the retailer’s 132 shops at risk.

The company said on Monday it had filed a notice to appoint administrators after failing to secure emergency funding. It has now hired administrators from Interpath Advisory, who said shops would stay open while they “assess options for the business”.

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Fund England’s bus network now or lose vital routes, campaigners warn

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Charities and transport groups say hundreds more routes face axe without targeted help and long-term funding

Bus services will not survive without sustained Treasury funding, campaigners and industry groups have warned the chancellor after the cutting of hundreds of routes in recent months.

Transport charities and trade bodies have written to Jeremy Hunt asking for support before this week’s autumn statement urging him to guarantee short-term funding, give targeted help to local authorities, and bring in better long-term financial settlements.

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Energy bills: older Britons will pay more but youngest will struggle most, report finds

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Cost of living crisis affecting different generations in very different ways, says Resolution Foundation

Older people face a bigger income hit from surging energy costs this winter but younger households are more at risk of being unable to pay their bill or getting into debt amid the cost of living crisis, according to a report.

As households across Britain turn their heating on, the research by the Resolution Foundation thinktank found that older generations, in particular the over-75s, will spend a bigger share of their income, up from 5% to 8%, on their energy bills. For those under 50 the proportion is 5%.

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Energy bills: thousands of UK households in limbo over £400 support

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Concerns grow that people relying on communal heating may not receive state discount promised

Thousands of people living in homes with centrally supplied electricity are still waiting to hear if and when the UK government will pay them the £400 promised under the energy bills support scheme.

While those living in conventional homes with standard electricity meters are due to receive their second monthly payment of £66, concern is growing among some of the several hundred thousand households that receive their electricity via a communal supply that they will not see any of the money they have been promised.

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Australia’s consumer watchdog calls for new laws to stop scams and rein in anti-competitive behaviour online

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ACCC report says digital platforms expose users and businesses to ‘harms’ as it pushes for overhaul

Australia’s competition regulator has run out of patience with digital platforms such as Google and Facebook and has recommended new laws to clamp down on scams, address consumer complaints and rein in anti-competitive behaviour.

Releasing its fifth progress report on digital platforms since it began an inquiry in 2017, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called for industry-specific legislation, saying it has identified “widespread, entrenched and systematic” consumer and competition “harms”.

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Influencer ‘Ray Hushpuppi’ jailed over plan to launder $300m

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Ramon Abbas, described by FBI as one of world’s most prolific money launderers, sentenced to 11 years

A social media influencer who called himself Ray Hushpuppi and flaunted a lavish lifestyle fuelled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen dollars has been sentenced in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Ramon Abbas, 40, also was ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7m in restitution to two fraud victims, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.

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UK government’s £400 energy bill support going unclaimed

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Many households who use non-smart prepayment meters are failing to redeem vouchers, says PayPoint

Government energy bill support worth as much as £400 over the winter is not reaching many households who use prepayment meters, according to data from a payments company.

Households with prepayment energy meters are entitled to vouchers giving them monthly discounts, but only half of the expected number have been used so far, according to PayPoint, which handles top-up payments in shops across the UK.

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No 10 warns of ‘difficult decisions’ on public spending despite Truss’s vow to avoid cuts – UK politics live

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Statement from No 10 comes straight after PM told MPs she was ‘absolutely’ committed to avoiding public spending cuts

Sajid Javid, the former Tory chancellor, has been speaking at an event organised by the Legatum Institute thinktank this morning. As Chris Smyth from the Times reports, Javid said the turmoil in the markets was caused by the fact that the tax cuts in the mini-budget went “way beyond” what Liz Truss promised during the leadership campaign, and by the fact that her energy bills bailout was also much bigger than expected.

The government has drawn up a plan to cap the unit cost of gas and electricity for two years. Labour proposed its own plan to freeze energy bills, but it only proposed a commitment for six months.

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Youpla collapse: ACCC warns funeral directors against ripping off victims

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Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says people should not reveal to funeral providers they are eligible for payments from government scheme

The consumer watchdog has warned funeral directors against ripping off victims of the Youpla collapse by increasing the prices it charges to people who are eligible for payments from a government scheme.

People who are eligible for a payment from the scheme shouldn’t reveal this to funeral services providers while negotiating a quote, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said on Wednesday.

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‘UK travel is on sale’: plunging pound attracts US visitors

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Operators catering for inbound tourists enjoy best month for bookings in three years

The plunging pound may cause British holidaymakers to choke at the prices if and when they next choose to go abroad. But one slice of the travel industry is seeing a silver lining in the storm clouds.

Tour operators catering for visitors are quietly calling it their best month for bookings since October 2019 as US tourists take advantage of sterling’s tumble.

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Homeowners warned of ‘significant’ rise in UK interest rates

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Bank of England’s chief economist speaks out after mini-budget, with financial markets expecting rates to reach up to 6%

Britain’s homeowners have been warned to brace themselves for a “significant” increase in interest rates from the Bank of England in response to Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting mini-budget last week.

Huw Pill, Threadneedle Street’s chief economist, added to the concerns of millions of mortgage payers who have already seen hundreds of home loan products pulled by lenders in anticipation of a big increase in the cost of borrowing.

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Online fraudsters adapt tactics to exploit UK cost of living crisis

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Phishing attacks have started to target people in difficult financial situations, ONS reports

Fraudsters have adapted their tactics to exploit the rising cost of living, officials have said.

A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said anti-fraud squads had identified new trends as phishing attacks – when perpetrators attempt to trick users into clicking a bad link – have started to target those in difficult financial situations.

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Disabled woman wins legal challenge against DWP over automatic benefit deduction

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High court rules DWP scheme to deduct money without consent is illegal and breaches ‘obligation of fairness’

A disabled former police officer has won a legal challenge against the Department for Work and Pensions over its policy of allowing utility companies to automatically deduct hundreds of pounds a year from individuals’ benefits without their consent.

Helen Timson, 51, of Leicester, argued it was unlawful and immoral that the DWP enabled water and energy firms to draw down up to 25% of a claimant’s monthly benefit income at source without undertaking any form of check with the claimant. Hundreds of thousands of claimants are understood to be subject to the deductions.

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Sunday roasting dwindles as cost of cooking crisis hits home

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Annual Good Food Nation survey finds a fifth of Britons no longer turn on their oven to save money

Families have crossed Sunday roasts, stews and home baking off the menu and in drastic cases no longer use their oven, as soaring energy costs force big changes in the kitchen.

One in four home cooks said they were less likely to prepare a roast dinner, while a fifth were not baking as many cakes or biscuits, according to the annual Good Food Nation report.

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One in seven buy now, pay later customers had more than 20 loans last year, Choice survey shows

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Use of BNPL services to cover essential bills raises concerns as Albanese government prepares to consult on regulating the sector

One in seven users of credit from buy-now-pay-later providers such as Afterpay or Zip had more than 20 loans last year, according to new data from consumer group Choice.

The Choice survey also found that consumers were using BNPL services to cover essential bills, with one in six using the short-term loans to cover supermarket purchases and 14% to pay for power.

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EU calls for money to be clawed back from energy firms, saying profits must go ‘to those who need it most’ – politics live

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Liz Truss has stated her opposition to windfall taxes but the European Commission says energy profits must be shared

Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, says the UK is facing a “crisis of income”. She says workers should get a better share of corporate profits.

This has parallels with the point Ursula von der Leyen was making about profits in her speech this morning (see 9.35am), although von der Leyen, a German Christian Democrat who has little in common with Graham, was just talking about the energy sector.

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More ‘banking hubs’ to open across UK to tackle branch and ATM closures

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Additional 13 hubs will bring total to 25, where customers of almost any bank can carry out transactions

More shared “banking hubs” are to be rolled out across the UK to help communities hit by branch and ATM closures to get continued access to cash.

A banking hub is a shared service that operates in a similar way to a standard branch, with a counter service run by Post Office staff where customers of almost any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular transactions.

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