End of holiday debit card charges
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found that major UK banks have been collecting around £1.1bn in charges and hidden fees, and has ordered it to stop immediately. Withdrawing foreign currency using credit or debit cards is customary for those heading to sunnier climes during the summer but buying currency at a poor rate [...]
Energy plug scam warning issued
Unsuspecting UK citizens are being scammed by rogue telephone callers offering an energy saving plug that costs £99, and is claimed to cut electricity bills down by 40%, however, the plug could actually cause electrocution or even a house fire if fitted. The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) tested the plugs and found they do not [...]
Buyers warned about fake toys
The UK’s Border Agency has seized thousands of fake goods arriving into the country, and has asked for Christmas shoppers to be wary of goods that are too cheap as they could be dangerous and are often inferior to the real items. Fake Ugg boots, toys, iPads and iPhones, as well as a GHD straighteners [...]
Shoppers still paying by cheque
The Government is set to step in and appease a group of MPs that are calling for cheque guarantee cards to be brought back into action. Although the use of this type of card has declined 70% since the 1990s, they are due to return as retailers and shop keepers are refusing cheques as a [...]
Increasing higher rate taxpayers
By 2015, taxpayers that are required to pay the higher bracket of 40% on their earnings above £42,475, will reach 5.5 million people if wage increases continue at the current rate. If year on year wage increases at a lower, more conservative 2.5% then still, a whopping 700,000 more people will be forced to pay [...]
Homeowners forced to lower prices
With home-owners struggling to find people to put bids in against their home, they have been forced to lower their house price by as much as £20,000. While just a few years ago, we were seeing house prices that were inflated by 30-40% in some cases, last year the average price drop was £16,500 and [...]
Store card discounts under threat
This week the Government announced the ban of store cards to be set up and immediately offered discounts, while the customer is in the store. The move comes after the abysmal amount of people that are in debt in the UK, and as store cards can offer an instant form of credit and the customer [...]
Private tenants get ripped off
After an investigation into the ‘administration fees’ that letting agents charge private tenants, it was found that people wanting to move into rented accommodation are forced to pay extortionate fees. Some firms have been adding on as much as £180 on top of deposits and the first month’s rent. Tenants have been unknowingly paying over [...]
Shoppers ditch high street shops
In the past year, 2.7% of shoppers have stopped heading to the high street shops and large shopping centres, with out-of-town shops seeing a 2% dip. With foot traffic on a downward trend and online shopping remaining static, shoppers are tightening their belts with yet more unemployment, job cuts and uncertain job security. The areas [...]
Tax credits feel brunt from jobs
Nick Clegg has announced that there is to be £1bn jobs fund to try to slice the unemployment figures for youths aged 16-23 years old, with the money coming from tax credits which are paid to low-income workers. As the current economic crisis struggles to get any better, the ‘wasted generation’ of young adults is [...]