Category Archives: Money

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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Reeves may have to find further cuts and tax hikes amid economic gloom

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Rising costs and global uncertainty may force chancellor to turn to pensioners and wealthier taxpayers

Ministers may have to target pensioners and wealthier taxpayers at the autumn budget, as senior government figures voiced fears brutal welfare reforms would still not go far enough to tackle rising costs.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned the chancellor may be forced to consider a freeze on tax thresholds, hikes to capital gains and potentially pension taxes.

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Major UK investors join push for retail giants to pay workers ‘real living wage’

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Axa and Scottish Widows back ShareAction campaign for chains such as Next to pay at least £12.60 an hour

Major investors including Axa and Scottish Widows are backing shareholder resolutions pressing retailers Next, Marks & Spencer and JD Sports to increase pay for thousands of workers.

More than 100 individuals and eight institutional investors, which manage over £1tn in assets, are backing an effort to encourage companies to pay a “real living wage”, which is designed to ensure workers can cover necessary household costs.

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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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‘Patchy and behind deadline’: MPs attack UK rollout of EV charging points

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Committee warns of serious injustice to disabled motorists and those reliant on public chargers

The rollout of electric vehicle chargers across Britain is “patchy”, behind deadline and ignores the needs of disabled drivers, the parliamentary spending watchdog has found.

A report published by the public accounts committee (PAC) warned that the charging points needed to give drivers confidence for the switch to EVs were still lacking, particularly on Britain’s biggest roads.

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UK house prices fall unexpectedly, says Halifax

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Average property price dips to £298,602 in February despite analysts expecting rush before stamp duty rises

UK house prices unexpectedly fell last month as concerns over the sluggish economy outweighed an anticipated rush of people trying to complete purchases before stamp duty increases in April.

The average property price dipped by 0.1% in February to £298,602, having hit a record high in January, according to Halifax.

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Council tax in Scotland to reach record high with 15% rise in some areas

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Levies on tourists and cruise ships considered by some local authorities in attempt to plug funding gaps

Council tax costs in Scotland will hit record levels next month after local authorities agreed to raise rates by up to 15%, with some planning new levies on tourists and cruise ships.

All of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have announced council tax increases from April of at least 6%, with the majority raising them by about 10%, after years of successive cuts to their grant funding.

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River campaigners to sue Ofwat over water bill rises

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Group claims regulator signed off on ‘broken system’ making customers pay for industry’s neglect

An environmental group is to take legal action against Ofwat, the water regulator, accusing it of unlawfully making customers pay for decades of neglect by the water industry.

River Action will file the legal claim this month, arguing that bill rises for customers that have been approved by the regulator could be used to fix infrastructure failures that should have been addressed years ago.

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UK ban on zero-hours contracts ‘to include agency workers’

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Government to expand coverage of employment rights bill, according to report

Agency workers will reportedly be included in a ban on “exploitative” zero-hours contracts as part of changes to the UK government’s employment bill.

Under the new rules, employers will have to offer agency workers a contract that guarantees a minimum number of hours every week, the BBC reported.

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Mental health crisis ‘means youth is no longer one of happiest times of life’

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UN-commissioned study in UK, US, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand finds satisfaction rises with age

For more than half a century, the midlife crisis has been a feature of western society. Fast cars, impulsive decisions, and peak misery between the age of 40 and 50. But all that is changing, according to experts.

In a new paper commissioned by the UN, the leading academics Jean Twenge and David Blanchflower warn that a burgeoning youth mental health crisis in six English-speaking countries worldwide is upending the traditional pattern of happiness across our lifetimes.

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Labour unveils sick-pay guarantee for 1.3m lowest-paid workers

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Workers earning under £123 a week to get 80% of salary in sick pay, keeping more people off benefits

More than 1 million of the lowest-paid UK workers are to be guaranteed sick pay worth up to 80% of their weekly salary from the first day of sickness, under changes intended to boost living standards.

The UK has one of the stingiest rates of statutory sick pay in the developed world, according to the Resolution Foundation, with those earning less than £123 a week not entitled to anything. For the rest, the rate is set at just £116.75 a week at present, rising to £118.75 – or £3 an hour – for full-time workers from April, but that only kicks in after three days of sickness.

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UK awarded its lowest ranking for workplace gender equality in a decade

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‘Sluggish’ pace in tackling gender pay gap and worsening employment levels push UK back to 18th in PwC index of OECD countries

Women’s worsening unemployment and participation in the workforce has pulled the UK behind Canada to its lowest ranking for workplace equality among large economies in a decade.

The “sluggish” pace of change on women’s earnings relative to men’s – which means closing the gender pay gap could take more than 30 years at the current pace – has knocked the UK back one place to 18th in the Women in Work Index produced by advisory firm PwC.

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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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‘Real anger’: Labour can expect hostile reception at farmers’ annual gathering

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UK food producers plan more protests over inheritance tax changes ahead of this week’s NFU conference in London

The suits and black cabs which typically dot the streets around Westminster have been frequently replaced by the wellies, tweed jackets and tractors of aggrieved farmers of late. The next protest in London by the nation’s food producers is expected on Tuesday morning, ahead of the annual get-together of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

Farmers have regularly swapped their fields for the city since October, when changes to inheritance tax (IHT) for agricultural businesses were announced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, angrily protesting and waving banners.

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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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Using an e-scooter can add £1,000 to your car insurance quote

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Under-30s risk a huge hike in huge car insurance premiums later in life if handed the IN10 endorsement

Young people using private electric scooters on roads and pavements risk facing huge insurance premiums when they want to drive a car, says the comparison website MoneySuperMarket.

It emerged this week that almost 800 children aged 13 to 16 had been issued an IN10 endorsement – the code used by the police for “using a vehicle uninsured against third-party risks” since the start of 2020. It stays on a person’s driving record for four years from the date of the offence.

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UK hiring on the rise as confidence lifts, research suggests

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Companies increase hiring for first time since June, and households more optimistic about their finances

Companies have ramped up hiring in recent weeks while consumer confidence has started to rise, research suggests, in a boost for Rachel Reeves as the government looks for signs of economic growth.

The chancellor has received a fillip after the market research company GfK’s consumer index improved from -22 in January to -20 in February as households said they were more optimistic about their personal finances and the economic outlook.

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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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