Pensions, house prices, debt and motor insurance

MPs have urged the Government to implement a ‘nuclear deterrent’ to thwart employers who fail to support their pension schemes. The work and pensions committee, chaired by Frank Field, has also signalled that Sir Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, may have to pay £1 billion to resolve the problems facing the BHS pension scheme The BBC reports that MPs want the regulator to have the power to impose ‘punitive fines’. Field said: ‘It is difficult to imagine the Pensions Regulator would still be having to negotiate with Sir Philip Green if he had been facing a bill of £1 billion, rather than £350 million.’ House prices The Guardian reports that UK house price growth will slow in 2017. According to Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the legacy of insufficient house-building will mean that demand will outstrip supply and lead to a 3 per cent increase over the year. Rics said that it expected growth to be about half that in 2016. A year ago, it predicted price rises of 6 per cent and official figures are on track to meet that, with October’s annual growth rate at 6.9 per cent. Debt Young people are being saddled with unexpected bills from ‘buy now, pay later’ deals. The BBC reports: ‘Citizens Advice said that thousands of people in their 20s who signed up to offers were struggling with debt. These deals allow people to delay paying for items for an agreed period of time, such as six or 12 months. Yet failing to pay in full by an agreed date brings interest charges backdated to the start of the agreement.’ Motor insurance The Times reports that ‘fairground dodgems and children’s ride-on cars may require motor insurance for the first time under EU laws that the government has to implement’. A new EU directive may mean that full insurance could be required for all ‘vehicles’, including those exempt from insurance such as mobility scooters, golf buggies, ride-on lawnmowers and Segway personal transporters. Brexit If the UK is to be successful outside the European Union, Britain’s Brexit deal must meet the needs of all sectors of the economy, the CBI has warned. The Times reports that ‘the CBI said that after thousands of conversations with firms across 18 sectors throughout the country, businesses had identified different priorities but the complexity of the modern economy meant there were overlaps too.’ Finally… Christmas shoppers could lose out if their online orders never arrive or turn up broken, according to a Money Mail investigation. It found that ‘shops and banks are using a legal loophole to wriggle out of paying claims for refunds.’

Meanwhile, The Telegraph reports that Christmas shoppers relying on ‘click and collect’ services to by last-minute presents and groceries may be thrown into a panic this year as stores are cancelling them early due to record demand.

The paper claims that John Lewis and Waitrose will stop taking online click and collect orders a day earlier than usual, on Dec 22, and Sainsbury’s has said that all click-and-collect order slots on Friday and virtually all home delivery appointments this week are sold out.