Poverty looms for millions of UK families as energy bills climb by £1200, inflation rises and taxes jump 1.25 per cent in 2022 December 29, 2021 Soaring energy bills, inflation and rising taxes are likely to lead to a ‘cost of living catastrophe’ for millions of UK families, an economic think tank warned this morning. The Resolution Foundation (RF) said from next April families would typically face a £1,200-a-year hit to their incomes as the energy price cap is raised and [...]
Zopa pulls out of P2P consumer lending as it blames cowboy firms for ‘damaging customer trust’ December 7, 2021 Peer-to-peer giant Zopa has started to inform customers it is closing down its P2P consumer investment division, transferring its loan portfolio to its relatively new bank unit. In an email to customers, Natasha Wear, peer-to-peer CEO at Zopa, wrote that “after 16 years of peer-to-peer consumer investments at Zopa, we’ve taken the difficult decision to [...]
Financial watchdog introduces rules for greater consumer protection to ‘drive a change in culture’ December 7, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a consultation this morning to ensure a higher and more consistent standard of consumer protection for users of financial services and help to stop harm before it happens.
‘Cash machine at the till’ for withdrawals up to £50 coming to thousands of shops across the UK December 1, 2021 People can soon withdraw up to £50 in notes and coins in smaller shops without having to buy anything. A scheme enabling people to get cash from retailers’ tills without needing to make a purchase is to be rolled out to more than 2,000 shops before the end of the year. Cash machine network Link [...]
Pandemic affects retirement plans for over half the nation, says Aviva November 25, 2021 Covid-19 has affected the retirement plans of 54 per cent of UK adults, with people nearing mid-life bearing the brunt of anxiety, according to new research.
Amazon’s merciless move to block Visa likely to lead to rapid uptake of… Amazon credit cards, which are issued by Mastercard November 22, 2021 Following the news that Amazon will no longer accept payments from UK-issued Visa credit cards, some industry insiders are convinced the e-commerce giant’s decision is a calculated move to drive the adoption of the company’s own payment cards, and will give a competitive advantage to Visa’s main rival, Mastercard. Last week, the online retailer confirmed that Visa credit [...]
Google searches for ‘energy bill help’ soar three thousand per cent after two more firms go bust November 19, 2021 Google searches for ‘energy bill help’ exploded over three thousand percent in the UK on the same day two more energy suppliers collapsed.
Landlords hiking rents at fastest pace since 2008 as demand for housing in London shoots up November 16, 2021 Private sector rents in September were 4.6 per cent higher than a year earlier at £968 per month on average, marking the strongest growth in 13 years. The fastest rice since 2008 comes as strong demand outstrips supply, according to an index. Excluding London, rents across the UK were up by 6 per cent annually, [...]
Redress on the horizon? NAO begins probing FCA’s handling of British Steel transfer debacle October 20, 2021 The National Audit Office (NAO) has begun its probe into the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) handling of the British Steel transfer debacle. The investigation is still in its early stages, but the audit watchdog said that it aims to publish its findings in Spring next year. The 2017 scandal involved 7,700 British Steel Pension Scheme [...]
Salary slaves: 2021’s best and worst paid industries and the UK’s fastest-growing sectors October 14, 2021 Earlier this week, City A.M. revealed private equity firms are prepared to pay junior staff with less than two years experience an average salary of more than £152,000, a jump of 52 per cent compared to two years ago. For those with two to four years of experience, an salary of around £181,000 has become [...]