James Kane and Barbie Agostini pull up safe in Queens park with bundles of $100 bills inside and are told by police they can keep it
A New York City couple who were “magnet fishing” in a lake caught more than they had bargained for when they pulled out a safe that had $100,000 cash inside.
James Kane and Barbie Agostini tossed a line with a strong magnet attached to the end into a lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens on 31 May, Friday afternoon.
Continue reading...Charity says tech problems and poor customer service mean millions in Great Britain missing out on promised benefits
The number of gas and electricity smart meters that are not working properly is likely to be higher than government figures suggest – possibly 20% to 30% of the total – according to research from Citizens Advice.
The charity said millions of households were missing out on the promised benefits from smart meters due to “problems with technology” and poor supplier customer service.
Continue reading...Pent-up demand from would-be buyers pausing their plans last year has led to price rise despite mortgage rates remaining elevated
The average British house price reached a record high of £375,131 in May, according to Rightmove. The average prices of properties coming to market rose 0.8%, or £2,807, month on month.
Pent-up demand from would-be buyers who paused their plans last year is a key driver behind increased home mover activity despite mortgage rates remaining elevated for longer than anticipated, the property website’s report said.
Continue reading...Website blames human error for the advert, now removed, for about 100 seats when practice is illegal in UK
The ticket trading website Viagogo has apologised for “mistakenly” advertising tickets to an upcoming England football match, despite the fact that the resale of football tickets is illegal in the UK.
Cris Miller, the managing director of Viagogo,has previously said the company does not resell football tickets. But Viagogo was advertising about 100 seats at Wembley for England’s 7 June friendly against Iceland, a warm-up for this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.
Continue reading...Thirty-three constituencies, including two in London, will not have a single bank branch by the end of the year, says Which?
The number of UK bank branches that have shut their doors for good over the last nine years will pass 6,000 on Friday, and by the end of the year the pace of closures may leave 33 parliamentary constituencies – including two in London – without a single branch.
The tally is being published by the consumer group Which? as it seeks to make the “avalanche” of closures and the “disastrous” impact they can have on local communities an election battleground.
Barnsley East (estimated population: 94,000)
Bolton West (98,000)
Bradford South (106,000)
Bury South (103,000)
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (102,000)
Chatham and Aylesford (103,000)
Clwyd South (70,000)
Colne Valley (112,000)
Dagenham and Rainham (117,000)
Denton and Reddish (88,000)
Don Valley (99,000)
East Worthing and Shoreham (99,000)
Erith and Thamesmead (117,000)
Glasgow North East (88,000)
Liverpool, West Derby (94,000)
Mid Bedfordshire (121,000)
Mid Derbyshire (83,000)
Newport East (84,000)
North East Derbyshire (92,000)
Nottingham East (98,000)
Penistone and Stocksbridge (89,000)
Plymouth Moor View (94,000)
Reading West (112,000)
Rhondda (68,000)
Sedgefield (85,000)
Sheffield Hallam (85,000)
St Helens North (100,000)
Stone (86,000)
Swansea East (81,000)
Warrington North (95,000)
Wentworth and Dearne (100,000)
Wirral West (68,000)
York Outer (92,000)
Continue reading...Figures provide mixed message for Bank of England when it considers interest rate cut next month
The level of real pay for UK workers is rising at its fastest rate in more than two years despite a cooling of the labour market that has led to rising unemployment and falling job vacancies, the latest official figures show.
Fresh data from the Office for National Statistics showed the mild recession in the second half of 2023 has had an impact on demand for workers but has been slower to affect wages.
Continue reading...A huge increase in fees means many vulnerable people have to leave the Derwentwater site they call home
Retired and vulnerable holiday homeowners claim they are being priced out of a “breathtaking” waterside campsite in the Lake District after the Camping and Caravanning Club raised one of the main charges by more than 60%.
The row at the static caravan park on the edge of Derwentwater, sometimes called “Queen of the Lakes” because it is cradled by fells, is over the “siting” fee owners pay when ageing vans are replaced.
Continue reading...Shareholder payouts grew 14 times faster than wages over past three years, says Oxfam report
Shareholders have proved to be more successful at securing bumper payouts than workers have at winning higher pay, according to two studies that show dividends outstripping wages by a considerable margin in recent years.
Oxfam said analysis of global data showed that dividend payments to shareholders over the last three years grew an average of 14 times faster than worker pay across 31 major economies.
Continue reading...Banks may follow suit after UK weather-related claims on home insurance reach new high
Britain’s biggest building society has stopped granting mortgages on some properties where there is a high risk of flooding but said this affected only “a very limited number” of homes.
Nationwide’s head of property risk, Rob Stevens, said the lender used mapping technology to identify which homes were vulnerable to flooding, and it would decline to grant a mortgage to buy a property it deemed to be at high risk.
Continue reading...ABI reports annual jump of £157 in first quarter of 2024 but says 1% increase on previous quarter indicates rises are easing
The average price paid for comprehensive motor insurance in the UK was about a third (33%) or £157 higher in the first quarter of this year than a year earlier, according to figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Based on analysis of policies sold, the typical price paid in the first quarter of 2024 was £635, marking a 1% increase on the previous quarter, the ABI said.
Continue reading...Union body says austerity is to blame for longest squeeze on wages since Napoleonic era with most ‘wage black spots’ in London
Pay packets are smaller than they were in 2008 in most local authority areas in the UK, according to analysis by the Trades Union Congress, which described the findings as a “damning indictment” of the Conservatives’ economic record.
The TUC, which includes 48 unions with more than five million members, said stagnating wages meant British workers were in the midst of the longest squeeze on wages since the Napoleonic era.
Continue reading...Home workers aim to tackle smelly athleisure clothing, save money and be kinder to the environment
For years, laundry detergents have focused their cleaning power on stain removal and getting whites white but now a new invisible enemy has emerged in the shape of the musty smell that clings to your gym gear.
The shift to remote working has fuelled the popularity of “athleisure” clothing such as T-shirts, joggers and leggings which, rather than shirts and dresses, are now the default work wardrobe of many Britons.
Continue reading...Chronic workforce shortages have put nursing staff under unbearable pressure, says union chief
Nurses in England took an average of a week off sick last year because of stress, anxiety or depression, NHS figures reveal.
The disclosure has prompted concern that the intense strains nurses face in their jobs, including low pay and understaffing, are damaging their mental health and causing many to quit.
Continue reading...Embattled water supplier promises to invest up to £3bn more over the next five years
Thames Water could raise bills to as much as £627 a year to pay to fix its leaky network, after promising to invest up to £3bn more over the next five years.
The embattled water supplier said on Monday that it had updated its spending plans for 2025 to 2030 after discussions with the industry regulator, Ofwat.
Continue reading...Alarm grows over possible pension cuts as research suggests Jeremy Hunt tax cut announcement was ‘blunder’
Labour is to wage a new campaign to win over Tory-supporting pensioners in an attempt to neutralise one of the government’s last remaining electoral strengths, amid evidence the Conservatives are now performing as badly among the age group as they did under Liz Truss’s leadership.
With less than a fortnight to go until local elections in England, which some Tories fear could trigger an attempt to topple Rishi Sunak, the Observer understands that Keir Starmer’s top officials are reorienting their campaign after detecting alarm among pensioners over the impact a Conservative tax-cutting pledge could have on pensions and the NHS.
Continue reading...There were 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% have been forced to relocate
Unwanted home moves cost renters more than half a billion pounds a year, with tenants coughing up an average of £669 every time they are forced by landlords to leave their home, a survey has revealed.
Analysis by the homelessness charity Shelter estimated that there had been 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% of renters who move house are doing so because they have been compelled to look for other accommodation.
Continue reading...Supplier mistakenly charged direct debit customers at rate meant for those who pay when they get bills
Scottish Power is to pay £1.5m in refunds and compensation after overcharging nearly 1,700 households at the height of the energy crisis and in previous years, paying out an average of £294 to each customer.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, said it agreed the redress package with the supplier after it confirmed that, between 2015 and 2023, it mistakenly charged 1,699 direct debit customers at a higher rate that should only apply to those who pay when they receive their bill.
Continue reading...Insurers have made huge hidden payments for buildings cover over many years, experts say
Landlords of developments in England and Wales where residents face hefty service charges face calls to disclose millions of pounds in “secret commissions” raked in over the years for arranging buildings insurance.
Experts say these hidden commissions, paid to landlords including City investment funds that hold freeholds and managing agents, have been worth tens of millions of pounds a year. The arrangements were made without residents being told and resulted in higher service charges.
Continue reading...Regulator says energy firms planning payments for another 1,000 customers after reviewing 150,000 forced installations
Only 1,500 people have been compensated by energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters over the past year, figures show.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, said that initial information from gas and electricity suppliers showed that 1,502 customers had received compensation totalling £342,450.
Continue reading...Despite a 12.3% cut in April’s energy price cap, there is an important fixed element in your bill that is rising again
“Great news! Your unit rates are going down.” E.ON’s letter to customers starts with glad tidings – but, as it soon admits, there is an element of their bills that is set to go up in most parts of the country.
Despite a headline cut of 12.3% in April’s energy price cap, yet again standing charges are rising. In E.ON’s case, on its Next Flex tariff, electricity charges are due to rise from 62.205p to 67.9041p – an increase of just over 9% – while for gas, charges go up from 29.595p to 31.894p (up almost 8%).
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