The cost of renting a home in England and Wales was 5.2 per cent higher in July than the same month a year earlier, according to lettings agent Your Move.
Its survey, based on analysis of about 20,000 properties, suggested that average monthly rent paid by private tenants rose to £846. The increase was sharpest in the South East of England. The annual rise in this region of 14.9 per cent was explained by a ripple effect from high rents in London. London had the highest average monthly rents, at £1,273, the survey suggested. MastercardA £14 billion legal claim has been filed against Mastercard on behalf of UK consumers seeking damages for anti-competitive card fees.
In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that regulators were right to condemn the cost of its interchange fees – the fees retailers pay banks to process card payments. It is claimed that consumers faced higher costs than they should, as retailers passed on the unnecessary high interchanges fees in their prices. Mastercard lowered its fees but now faces a claim for damages for 16 years of charging from 1992 to 2008. It has vowed to fight the action. BHS Sir Philip Green has hit back at suggestions that he is attempting to blackmail the Pensions Regulator over plugging the £571 million BHS pension deficit . In a statement, the former owner of the collapsed department store chain, said it was ‘wholly untrue’ that he has tried to pressurise the regulator to agree a deal. The retail tycoon also responded to criticism by Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, that he was unwilling to reach a deal over the pension, calling it ‘untrue, totally inaccurate and unhelpful’. Sir Philip said: ‘I would like to apologise sincerely to all the BHS people involved in this sorry affair.’ Energy The Government’s strategy for making UK heating supplies green would cost £12,000 for every household and be a ‘colossal waste of money’, a leading think tank has warned. Policy Exchange said plans drawn up under the Coalition government for ‘heat pump’ technology to be installed in more than 80 per cent of UK homes by 2050 would be ‘very costly and challenging’ and called for a rethink by the new Business and Energy Department. The Telegraph reports that more than 80 per cent of UK homes use gas boilers for heating, contributing significantly to UK carbon emissions. To hit the climate change targets, heating will largely need to be decarbonised. Motor insuranceBritain’s ‘merry-go-round’ compensation culture for whiplash claims is adding around £93 a year to people’s motoring insurance premiums, research shows.
Thisismoney reports that last year, 80 per cent of the UK’s car insurance claims that Aviva dealt with involved whiplash, compared to just 3 per cent in France.
In his autumn statement last November, former Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to scrap cash compensation for whiplash claims. Nearly a year later, the plans have stalled amid Britain’s Brexit vote and political leadership wrangles.
TV susbscriptions
Consumers over the age of 55 are getting the worst value for money when it comes to TV subscriptions, according to research from Freesat.
Over-55s with TV subscriptions spend an average of £41 a month on their service yet they watch less than a quarter of the channels available to them. This means they’re wasting around £380 a year on channels they never watch. Many over-55s appear to recognise that they’re overpaying for their service, with 58 per cent of those surveyed stating they don’t feel they get their money’s worth.
Freesat’s data also revealed older customers’ negative attitudes towards their package provider, with nearly half of over-55s claiming they feel they are being taken advantage of by regular price hikes.
Jobs A Wall Street-type salary and benefits package, coupled with Fort Knox levels of job security come first and second when Brits picture the perfect job, according to a survey of 8,100 UK employees by the global recruitment consultancy, Randstad. Twenty-two per cent of those polled in the survey valued a competitive salary and top-drawer benefits package more than anything else in the world of work. The only thing that got near it was long-term job security, which 16 per cent of respondents named as their number one factor in the perfect job. Work/life balance managed only third spot, with just 9 per cent of the Brits polled putting it as their number one priority when picturing the perfect job. It only narrowly beat location, interesting work activity and pleasant atmosphere, which 8 per cent of people ranked highest (see table below).| Competitive Salary and Benefits |
22% |
| Long-Term Job Security |
16% |
| Work/Life Balance |
9% |
| Conveniently Located |
8% |
| Interesting Day-to-Day Work |
8% |
| Pleasant Working Atmosphere |
8% |
| Financially Healthy Employer |
5% |
| Flexible Working |
5% |
| Good Training |
4% |
| Career Progression |
4% |
New research by a money saving website has revealed the top brands that Britons are brand loyal to when it comes to their food shopping, with Heinz, Kellogg’s and Coca Cola topping the list. According to the poll, when doing the weekly or monthly food shopping, three fifths of British shoppers admit that extended family members play a factor in where they shop and the products that they purchase.
Although discount supermarkets keep growing in popularity and profits, a new poll has revealed that brand loyalty and snobbery is still very much intact.
The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research, quizzing 2,418 British parents aged 18 and over, all of whom stated they had at least one child between the ages of three and 11-years-old.
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