Petrol is up 3.2p a litre and diesel 4p a litre as fuel tankers are forced to avoid the Suez canal
The cost of filling up a family car in the UK increased by about £2 this month as the jump in the oil price caused by the Red Sea attacks is felt at the pumps.
In the three weeks to 18 February petrol increased by 3.2p to 143.4p a litre, while diesel rose by 4p to 152p, according to the RAC, which said this was “worrying” for motorists.
Continue reading...Accounting firm BDO also warns of future impact of fraudsters using artificial intelligence to rip off customers
The amount of fraud committed in the UK more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023, marking the second-biggest year for scams in the last two decades, according to a report that also warns of the future impact of fraudsters using artificial intelligence to rip off consumers.
The accounting firm BDO’s latest FraudTrack report found that the number of reported cases rose by 18% to a three-year high, and the number of high-value cases over £50m increased by 60% year-on-year in 2023. Half of the high-value frauds were over £200m.
Continue reading...Price Promise tariff gives discount on current cap and guarantees to be at least £1 per fuel under April one
British Gas has launched a fixed-rate gas and electricity deal that offers a 12% saving over most existing price-capped tariffs, adding a new choice to the hard-to-navigate home energy market.
For the past two winters, consumers have largely been spared having to seek out the cheapest deal, because, in almost all cases, it was their supplier’s price cap-protected standard tariff.
Continue reading...Many best rates are easy access and notice options rather than ones that lock money away
This week’s news that inflation stayed steady at 4% in January means it is still possible to put your money in a savings account with an interest rate that beats the rising cost of living.
Returns on fixed-rate savings accounts have been falling, but, so far, variable rate deals have remained unchanged.
Continue reading...Details about leader’s finances for 2022-23 come after Rishi Sunak revealed he paid more than £508,000 of tax on £2.2m plus
Keir Starmer paid £99,431 in UK tax on earnings of £404,030 last year, according to a summary released by the Labour party.
The Labour leader’s tax summary for 2022-23 was published a week after Rishi Sunak’s, which revealed the prime minister paid more than £508,208 in UK tax last year on earnings of just over £2.2m.
Continue reading...Andrew Bailey says cost of living had been higher than expected in December despite ‘encouraging’ inflation news
The Bank of England governor has doused hopes that better-than-expected inflation news last month will accelerate cuts in interest rates, stressing the need for further evidence of wage moderation before Threadneedle Street moves.
Appearing before the House of Lords economics committee on Wednesday, Andrew Bailey said it was “encouraging” that inflation had remained unchanged at 4% in January but the previous month’s figure for the cost of living had been higher than predicted.
Continue reading...December figures prompt predictions Bank of England may cut interest rates later than previously expected
Pay growth slowed less than expected in December, prompting predictions the Bank of England could start cutting interest rates later than previously expected.
Earnings growth, excluding bonuses, fell only modestly to 6.2% in October to December 2023 from a revised 6.7% in the previous three months, as workers continued to bid up their wages amid skills shortages and a record number of people with long-term sickness.
Continue reading...Employers are reining in hiring plans despite improved business confidence driven by services sector
Workers in the UK can expect less generous salary settlements this year, as employers rein in hiring plans, according to a report from the professional body for human resources.
In its regular labour market outlook, which gauges employers’ expectations for the year ahead, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said employers were pencilling in the most meagre pay rises since the pandemic.
Continue reading...Resolution Foundation calls for auto-enrolment into saving schemes, as millions have no ‘rainy day’ fund
More than 11 million working-age people in Britain don’t have basic “rainy day” savings of at least £1,000, according to a report that warns that the poorest households are struggling to build up financial resilience amid the cost of living crisis.
The Resolution Foundation said people across Britain faced a “triple savings challenge” of insufficient savings, an inability to cope financially with major life events such as family breakdown, and inadequate retirement incomes.
Continue reading...Campaigners say renters served notices of increases of 30% to 60% in advance of cap and other emergency protections ending
Private tenants in Scotland are facing big rent rises and mass evictions as emergency protections expire at the end of next month, campaigners have warned.
The Scottish government has “in effect rubber-stamped rent increases from April”, says Ruth Gilbert, the national campaigns chair of the Scotland-wide tenants’ union Living Rent, while transitional measures are inadequate and confusing, leaving many unaware what their legal rights are.
Continue reading...Trade union Unite tells of concerns about 2025 contract to administer civil service pension scheme
Retired firefighters who were responsible for tackling blazes on military bases have been unable to access their full pension due to “numerous” blunders by the outsourcing group Capita, it has emerged.
Capita won a £525m contract to run the Ministry of Defence’s fire and rescue service in 2019, renaming it the Defence Fire and Rescue Project (DFRP) after the privatisation.
Continue reading...Low capital gains rate and US location of funds mean tax bill of £508,000 much less than under top income rate of 45%
Rishi Sunak paid more than half a million pounds in tax in 2023 after making a £1.8m profit on his holding in a US investment fund, a summary of his tax affairs shows.
The prime minister published the document on Friday, showing he paid a tax bill of £508,308 in the financial year 2022-23 on overall earnings and gains of £2.23m.
Continue reading...Deputy governor Sarah Breeden also says firms must rein in profits as there is ‘some way to go’ to meet 2% inflation target
Victory in the war on inflation will require British workers to accept lower pay deals and companies to rein in their profits, a senior Bank of England policymaker has said.
Sarah Breeden, one of the central bank’s four deputy governors, said there was still “some way to go” before inflation would fall back to the 2% target set by the government for the Bank to achieve on a sustainable basis.
Continue reading...Lower mortgage rates lead to increased buyer and seller confidence, says Halifax
UK house prices rose 2.5% in the year to January, recording the biggest increase since January last year, as lower mortgage rates and fading inflationary pressures led to increased buyer and seller confidence, Halifax has said.
January marked the fourth consecutive monthly rise, with a 1.3% uplift on December, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender said, with the average home costing £291,000, £3,9000 more than in December.
Continue reading...Regulator says bank failed to properly implement Financial Services Compensation Scheme
HSBC has been fined £57m by the Bank of England’s financial stability arm for failing to protect customer deposits in the event of a banking collapse.
It is the second-highest fine imposed by the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and reflects the seriousness of the failings, the watchdog said. The highest fine was £87m, imposed on Credit Suisse last July.
Continue reading...Jeremy Hunt targets further reduction in ‘jobs tax’ in March budget
The government is considering handing workers another tax cut with a further reduction in national insurance, amid desperate attempts to move on from a campaign to destabilise Rishi Sunak by the Tory right.
With frustration within the cabinet that the Conservative party has been unable to free itself from internal warring over Sunak’s immigration plans and leadership, the prime minister and his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, are focusing on the tax cuts that will frame their election pitch.
Continue reading...While some banks and building societies scrap system, others report increase in usage by customers
While some banks are scrapping passbook savings accounts amid suggestions they are past their sell-by date, other providers have reported an increase in their usage as people turn to cash to help them manage the cost of living.
Newcastle building society said that in 2023 it issued about three times as many passbooks as it did in 2021, and that it is getting new customers on the back of decisions by rivals to axe them.
Continue reading...Driver was unaware he had to register French hire car with TfL’s collection agent even though it was emissions compliant
Christian Ducarre received three fines totalling nearly £11,000 after driving his French hire car to London to attend his son’s wedding. The car, which was fully compliant with ultra-low emission zone emissions rules, was mistakenly classed as a heavy goods vehicle and deemed to be in breach of the separate low emissions zone (Lez) and well as Ulez. Lez covers lorries, vans, buses and coaches, and fines are between £500 and £2,000 a day depending on the vehicle’s weight.
“I had checked that the car’s emissions standard was Euro 06 and so was not liable for the Ulez charge,” he said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: EU states accuse TfL of huge data breach over clean air zone penalties, with many given to compliant vehicles
Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens were wrongly fined for driving in London’s Ulez clean air zone, according to European governments, in what has been described as “possibly one of the largest data breaches in EU history”.
The Guardian can reveal Transport for London (TfL) has been accused by five EU countries of illegally obtaining the names and addresses of their citizens in order to issue the fines, with more than 320,000 penalties, some totalling thousands of euros, sent out since 2021.
Continue reading...Rightmove says average advertised price outside London is up 9.2% on a year ago despite fall in some regions
Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to new record highs, though in some regions there has been a small fall in the amount new tenants are being asked to pay, data shows.
The typical advertised private rent outside London for new properties coming on to the market rose to a record £1,280 a calendar month in the final quarter of 2023, according to the property website Rightmove. That is £2 higher than the £1,278 figure recorded in the third quarter – a sign that rental growth is slowing.
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