Category Archives: Consumer affairs

100,000 UK taxpayer accounts hit in £47m phishing attack on HMRC

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MPs on Treasury committee hear that those affected were being contacted and would face ‘no financial loss’

HM Revenue & Customs has lost £47m after a phishing scam breached tens of thousands of tax accounts, a group of MPs has heard.

Two senior civil servants at the tax authority told the Treasury committee that 100,000 people had been contacted, or were in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what the officials said was an “organised crime” incident that began last year.

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Vet complaint process in UK often ‘stacked against pet owners’

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Consumer group Which? says owners are put off complaining and system for doing so is not fit for purpose

Britain’s pet owners often face an uphill struggle when they are unhappy with their vet because the industry’s complaints system is not fit for purpose, according to a leading consumer body.

The findings from Which? that the complaints process “is often stacked against pet owners” come as the UK competition watchdog is investigating the veterinary sector amid concerns that above-inflation price hikes and other issues mean consumers are not getting a fair deal.

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‘Remote purchase’ fraud in UK surges as customers tricked into disclosing passcodes

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Banks say every day 7,000 incidents take place where scammers get people to disclose unique set of numbers

Banks are reporting a surge in a type of fraud where customers are tricked into disclosing online login passcodes they are sent, which has helped to fuel a 22% jump in crimes where scammers go shopping using people’s stolen details.

The banking body UK Finance revealed that “remote purchase” fraud hit its highest-ever level in 2024, with almost 2.6m cases logged, which works out at more than 7,000 incidents a day, or almost five a minute.

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Ryanair’s £79 membership scheme takes off – but Which? says ‘think twice’

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T&Cs show limitations to the promises of 12 free seat reservations, insurance and monthly access to a sale

Ryanair has become the latest low-cost airline to offer a yearly membership scheme that promises benefits such as free reserved seats and cheap flights – but the consumer group Which? says you should look at the small print before you join.

The low-cost carrier’s Prime membership costs £79 a person a year and promises 12 free seat reservations, travel insurance, and monthly access to a sale. However, the terms and conditions show a number of limitations.

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New York watchdog warns Trump cuts will usher in ‘open season’ for scammers

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City comptroller Brad Lander, also a mayoral candidate, calls for state and local action to take up oversight work of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

New York City’s financial watchdog is raising the alarm about the Trump administration’s cull of a key federal agency that oversees consumer financial protection laws, warning it will usher in an “open season” for fraudsters.

Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller and a candidate for the city’s mayoral race, said the uprooting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will leave many Americans vulnerable to scams and predatory lending as the federal agency’s oversight and regulatory powers have been significantly diminished. Lander is calling on state and local governments to make up for the gap in oversight.

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M&S cyber-attack: when will orders be back, and is my data at risk?

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Marks & Spencer has halted orders on its website and apps, giving customers a refund for those placed after Wednesday

The cyber-attack at Marks & Spencer is continuing to cause chaos for shoppers, with no clarity yet as to when the retailer’s systems will be fully back up and running.

Website orders remain on hold for the fourth day in a row, and those affected also include customers waiting to collect orders or wanting to spend or buy M&S gift cards, as well as users of the retailer’s Sparks customer reward scheme.

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Ministers braced for showdown over ‘postcode pricing’ in energy market shake-up

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Ed Miliband’s looming decision on electricity market changes could mean regional bill disparities for households

Britain’s most senior government ministers could soon be drawn into a deepening row over plans to charge some households higher electricity bills than others, as Ed Miliband prepares to decide on sweeping energy reforms.

The energy secretary is understood to be close to making a decision on whether to move ahead with proposals to replace the country’s single electricity market with several market zones.

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Gas boiler fittings outnumbered heat pumps by 15 to one in UK last year – report

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Poorer households shut out of heat pump market and grants should be increased to speed up rollout, thinktank says

Gas boiler fittings outnumbered new heat pump installations by more than 15 to one last year, and only one in eight new homes were equipped with the low-carbon alternative despite the government’s clean energy targets.

Poorer households are also being shut out of the heat pump market as the grants available are inadequate and should be increased, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation thinktank.

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Price of parking rises steeply due to English councils’ clean-air surcharges

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AA says ‘cash-guzzling’ councils are adding clean-air levies to parking tariffs and resident parking permits

Drivers are being caught out by hefty price rises to park their cars, as councils across England impose parking surcharges on petrol and diesel vehicles.

An estimated one in five councils now add clean-air levies to parking tariffs and resident parking permits to deter polluting vehicles.

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Labour: changes to EV rules will have ‘negligible’ impact on UK emissions

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Transport secretary says overhaul in response to Trump tariffs supports car firms and climate goals

Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, the transport secretary has said.

Keir Starmer has confirmed plans to boost manufacturers, including reinstating the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

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Thousands of Ford Kuga hybrid drivers ‘left in limbo’ after fire risk warnings

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Carmaker reportedly has yet to announce plan for repairs after telling motorists not to charge their cars

Thousands of drivers have reportedly been left in limbo after warnings that their car could catch fire due to a battery defect.

Ford issued an urgent recall of its Kuga plug-in hybrid car in early March, warning drivers not to charge the battery because of a risk it might short-circuit while on the road. The problem could cause a loss of power or a fire, according to the recall notice. Four weeks later, the manufacturer has yet to announce a timescale for repairs and owners report that it is failing to respond to their requests for an update.

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Anti-scam campaign groups urge UK police forces to get tougher on fraudsters

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Campaigners say scammers are claiming millions from victims in ‘a penalty-free crime’

Anti-scam campaign groups are calling for police forces to be much tougher on fraudsters, who they claim are scamming millions from victims in “a penalty-free crime”.

The pleas are being made just days after the UK government announced it is working on an “expanded” fraud strategy as part of a “robust response” to surging reported fraud rates, which rose by 19% last year according to the Office for National Statistics.

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Hyundai facing legal action over car that can be stolen ‘effortlessly in seconds’

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Elliott Ingram was stunned at how a thief made off with his Ioniq 5 deploying a device to mimic the smart key – and says he should have been warned

The motor manufacturer Hyundai faces legal action over allegations it failed to warn its customers that one of its most popular models of electric cars could be stolen “effortlessly in seconds”. Elliott Ingram, an expert in digital security, was stunned when a CCTV camera installed at his home recorded a hooded thief stealing his Hyundai Ioniq 5 car in less than 20 seconds.

The thief is believed to have used a device, available online, to mimic the car’s electronic key. It is the latest in a spate of thefts involving the vehicle, and many owners now resort to a steering lock. Ingram’s car was later recovered by police, but he is terminating the lease and seeking compensation from the motor company. He says the South Korean car giant should have alerted customers to the security vulnerabilities.

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City watchdog ponders rule changes to simplify comparisons of financial products

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FCA to explore simplifying communications about savings accounts and review parts of its credit advertising rules

The City watchdog is considering changing rules to allow people to receive clearer information from financial firms to make it easier for them to find and compare products.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is exploring how it can simplify communications about savings accounts. The watchdog, which will announce its five-year strategy on Tuesday, will also review parts of its credit advertising rules, such as lengthy terms and conditions.

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All UK families ‘to be worse off by 2030’ as poor bear the brunt, new data warns

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Keir Starmer has been dealt a fresh blow to his living standards pledge in advance of the spring statement

Living standards for all UK families are set to fall by 2030, with those on the lowest incomes declining twice as fast as middle and high earners, according to new data that raises serious questions about Keir Starmer’s pledge to make working people better off.

The grim economic analysis, produced by the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), comes before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes her spring statement on Wednesday in which she will announce new cuts to public spending rather than increase borrowing or raise taxes, so as to keep within the government’s “iron clad” fiscal rules.

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Cash Isas: pressure grows against rumoured move to £4,000 allowance

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Research shows strong support for keeping tax-free accounts in their current form with £20,000 annual limit

A campaign to “save” cash Isas gathered pace this week, with research published showing strong support for the savings accounts.

However, data was also issued that investment firms said showed UK savers were “paying the price” for playing it safe because putting money into the stock market can generate much higher returns.

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UK-wide parking app may be out of road after government funding withdrawn

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Five-year-old platform intended to make drivers’ lives easier will only be supported until the end of March

It was hailed as “the future of UK parking”, intended to remove one of the bugbears of modern life: the need to sign up to a plethora of different apps in order to park your car.

But a big question mark now hangs over the future of the National Parking Platform (NPP), a government-funded scheme designed to make drivers’ lives easier by letting them use one app of their choice to pay for all their parking.

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Energy network owners have made £3.9bn from higher bills, says report

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Citizens Advice believes Ofgem made flawed interest rate calculation for companies in Great Britain

The companies behind Great Britain’s gas pipes and power lines have pocketed a windfall of nearly £4bn from household bills during the energy and cost crisis, according to a report.

The analysis, by Citizens Advice, argued that energy network owners were able to make the “excess profits” over the past four years after the industry regulator misjudged their costs.

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Energy bills in Great Britain forecast to rise by 5% from April

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Households face greater than expected rise in Ofgem price cap after Europe’s gas storage levels slump, analysts say

Millions of households face a greater than expected increase to their energy bills of about 5% from April after a slump in Europe’s gas storage levels caused market prices to climb, according to analysts.

The average gas and electricity bill for a typical household in Great Britain is expected to rise by £85 from April to £1,823 a year under the energy regulator’s price cap.

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UK marketplace sellers face ‘second Brexit’ hit from Trump’s US import rules

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End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo

Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.

The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.

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