Energy bills to rise by an extra £16 next year to cover unpaid customer debt

Energy bills to rise by an extra £16 next year to cover unpaid customer debt

Energy regulator Ofgem has plans to put gas and electricity bills up even further  The planned rise would pay suppliers for the cost of all unpaid energy bills  By Sam Barker Updated: 12:11 GMT, 15 December 2023 Households face paying higher energy bills next year to help protect energy firms against soaring consumer debt. Energy … Read more

Pensioners suffer more woes over BT digital landline switchover: No phone access for days, lifesaving alarms made redundant and ‘confusing’ new area codes

Pensioners suffer more woes over BT digital landline switchover: No phone access for days, lifesaving alarms made redundant and ‘confusing’ new area codes

Scores of pensioners have been left with no way of contacting the outside world as BT’s digital landline switchover continues to be besieged with problems. Customers have been left with no phone access for days, lifesaving alarms have been made redundant and numbers and area codes have been changed without permission – leaving many vulnerable … Read more

Analysts eye more M&A for Britain’s hospitality sector

Analysts eye more M&A for Britain’s hospitality sector

The landscape of the British hospitality sector is rapidly changing, just as the country’s overstretched pubs, restaurants and hotels face their busiest period of the year.  Two well-known hospitality businesses have accepted takeover bids in the past seven weeks alone and analysts think this may be the start of a period of significant consolidation for … Read more

Households using log burners for heating buy less wood to combat high cost of living

Households using log burners for heating buy less wood to combat high cost of living

Many households are buying smaller amounts of logs and smokeless fuel  Homefire says the move could be an attempt to manage tight budgets By Sam Barker Updated: 06:00 GMT, 9 December 2023 Households that heat their homes with log burners are tackling the high cost of living by buying less fuel and making it stretch … Read more

Nationwide slashes mortgage rates AGAIN: Cheapest deal on the market is now 4.29%

Nationwide slashes mortgage rates AGAIN: Cheapest deal on the market is now 4.29%

Nationwide has reduced its mortgage rates once again, bringing the cheapest deal on the market down to 4.29 per cent.  Britain’s biggest building society has today sent ripples across the mortgage market after it announced its eleventh consecutive round of rate cuts in four months. It means the best rates available are now almost 1 per … Read more

Cash-strapped South East Water sinks deeper in the red as interest payments on its debts soar

Cash-strapped South East Water sinks deeper in the red as interest payments on its debts soar

By Jessica Clark Updated: 22:00 GMT, 7 December 2023 Losses at South East Water have ballooned as interest payments on its debts soar. In the latest setback for the embattled industry, its loss before tax widened to £18.1million from £12.7million in the six months to the end of September. Higher interest payments on loans, some … Read more

Evri named most hated parcel firm in Britain with the highest proportion of dissatisfied customers

Evri named most hated parcel firm in Britain with the highest proportion of dissatisfied customers

By Lucy Evans Updated: 11:23 GMT, 8 December 2023 Delivery service Evri has been crowned the most disliked parcel firm in Britain, with the highest proportion of dissatisfied customers, according to regulator Ofcom. Nearly half of those who contacted Evri with an issue said they were unhappy with the complaints process, in a major survey … Read more

‘I paid £9k for state pension top-ups… in 2020!’: Shambolic system run by HMRC and DWP condemned

‘I paid £9k for state pension top-ups… in 2020!’: Shambolic system run by HMRC and DWP condemned

Liz Milintacupt-Taylor: Paid £9,000 for top-ups in 2020, and could not start drawing her pension until these were sorted Complaints about lost state pension top-ups cash continue to stream in to This is Money, despite the Government telling us this month: ‘There is no general delay in the processing of payments.’ While most problems date … Read more

I’m a postman – morale is at an all-time low: What posties REALLY think of Royal Mail… and why you’re waiting weeks for post

I’m a postman – morale is at an all-time low: What posties REALLY think of Royal Mail… and why you’re waiting weeks for post

Last winter, the postal system ground to a halt following a bitter dispute between Royal Mail and the unions over jobs, pay and working conditions. Earlier this year, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) agreed to a three-year pay deal. However, postal workers have told This is Money that conditions have not improved – and it … Read more