Digital bank hopes to tempt switchers with package including in-credit interest and fee-free travel spending
The battle for bank customers intensified this week, with a new player entering the UK current account market and offering cashback on bills and access to a savings account paying 7.1%.
Digital bank Zopa is hoping the perks – which also include in-credit interest and fee-free spending abroad – will tempt switchers to its first day-to-day account.
Continue reading...RTS meters in 300,000 homes to be phased out rather than turned off on 30 June deadline
As the temperature climbed towards 30C the peril of turning off a system that could leave people with their heating stuck on full must have looked like an avoidable disaster.
On Thursday ministers confirmed the “widespread switch-off” of the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), which controls an old type of electricity meter, “will not happen” on 30 June.
Continue reading...Student Loans Company figures show 10% jump in a year as individuals increase borrowing to meet cost of living
Students in England are finishing their degrees with government loans averaging £53,000, a jump of 10% in a year, as they increase their borrowing to meet the rising cost of living.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) has released figures showing individual loan balances were £5,000 higher in 2024-25 than a year earlier, when the average in England was £48,270.
Continue reading...Oil price increase likely to add 5p to petrol and diesel over the next couple of months, expert says
Britons are braced for higher prices at the pumps, after a rise in oil prices caused by the conflict between Israel and Iran in recent days.
Oil prices climbed again on Monday, as traders worried about the risks of a broader regional military conflict, which could disrupt supplies. Iran is a big oil producer, and accounts for about 3% of global supplies.
Continue reading...More than 53,000 mortgages have been completed using scheme, which encourages lenders to offer up to 95% loans
A government scheme to encourage UK lenders to offer 95% mortgages is scheduled to end this month, with no word yet on when its replacement will be launched.
The mortgage guarantee scheme went live in April 2021 to help buyers with small deposits get on the property ladder.
Continue reading...Consumer group makes claims of ‘some questionable and dodgy pricing tactics’ on retailer’s website
Sports Direct could be breaking the law by misleading shoppers into thinking they are getting a good deal, a consumer body has claimed, after it looked at prices of items ranging from trainers to hoodies.
Which? said it had reported the retailer to the Competition and Markets Authority after uncovering what it claimed were “some questionable and dodgy pricing tactics” on its website.
Continue reading...Consumer watchdogs accuse Chinese fashion firm of ‘dark’ practices in formal complaint to European Commission
Consumer watchdogs from 21 countries have filed a formal complaint to EU authorities about alleged “dark” practices by the Chinese fast fashion firm Shein including the “shaming” of customers into buying more than they can afford.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has submitted a 29-page dossier to the European Commission citing multiple examples of “dark patterns”, or deceptive techniques designed to encourage purchases.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Program halted suddenly, leaving legal immigrants unable to work due to lack of US social security number
Millions of legal immigrants may be left unable to work after the US Social Security Administration quietly instituted a rule change to stop automatically issuing them social security numbers.
The Enumeration Beyond Entry program is an agreement between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, where US Citizenship and Immigration Services would provide social security with information from applicants for work authorization or naturalization.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Staff in Britain now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above global average of 1.3 days
UK workers continue to work from home more than nearly any of their global counterparts more than five years after the pandemic first disrupted traditional office life, a study has found.
UK employees now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above the international average of 1.3 days, according to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), a worldwide poll of more than 16,000 full-time, university-educated workers across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa that began in July 2021.
Continue reading...Global oil prices tumble after reports that Opec+ is ready to raise output despite weaker demand for fossil fuels
Global oil prices have tumbled by more than $1 a barrel in a sign that pressure on households at the petrol pumps could ease further.
The price of Brent crude fell to $63.86 a barrel on Thursday following reports that the Opec oil cartel and its allies may increase their production for July, despite weaker global demand for fossil fuels.
Continue reading...Campaigners say secretive ownership structures are becoming the ‘go-to vehicle for kleptocrats’
The owners of nearly a quarter of a million properties in England and Wales worth a combined £64bn are hidden behind opaque trusts, according to research that prompts concern that such structures are the “go-to vehicle for kleptocrats” stashing money in Britain.
The government introduced a register of property held through offshore vehicles in August 2022, revealing a string of unknown owners, including high-profile figures such as Lewis Hamilton and James Dyson, as well as sanctioned Russians, Gulf royals and the Chinese state.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...The Bank of England has voted to cut the cost of borrowing, reducing the base rate to 4.25%. Here’s what it means for you
The Bank of England has cut interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%.
It follows two interest rate cuts in the second half of last year, and another one in February this year.
Continue reading...Growing numbers of older people are creating enterprises in everything from baking to biodiversity – but does the freedom make up for the graft?
Kari Johnston felt ready to retire after 45 years in nursing when, at 63 years old, she decided to launch her own business – a professional decluttering and organising service.
She had read about decluttering and, fascinated, quickly created a website and advertised. Her first clients were friends. Three-and-a-half years later, Johnston, from St Monans in Fife, is now fully retired from nursing, and feels delighted with the success of her new venture.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...More than 40% of pesticides discovered in dust linked to toxic effects including cancer and hormone disruption
Almost 200 pesticides have been found by a study examining dust in homes around Europe, as scientists say regulators need to take “toxic cocktails” of chemicals into account when banning or restricting the use of pesticides.
Scientists say their research supports the idea that regulators should assess the risks posed by pesticides when they react with other chemicals, as well as individually. They say this should apply to substances already in use, as well as those yet to be approved.
Continue reading...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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