September 2018

Economy Energy has signalled it intends to honour the terms of a super-cheap tariff after an admin blunder saw scores of MoneySavingExpert readers told they were facing an average hike of £311/yr - though it has yet to officially confirm this with us in writing.  Dozens of MSE readers were informed that despite believing they had a year-long fixed tariff, Economy Energy was hitting them with huge increases in the £100s. After MSE got involved, it told us it would backtrack - though we're still struggling to get full details off the supplier.  The tariff, called Switch Saver, was available during May and June earlier this year, and was only available through our Cheap Energy Club and MoneySupermarket. Costing an average of just £811/yr for a typical household, it was second cheapest on the market at the time. Yet last week - just a few months after the deal was available - Economy Energy started emailing customers informing them of eye-watering increases. While on average it was a rise of £311/year on typical use - 38% - we've seen some hit with increases of up £460.  Though it was listed as a variable tariff in our comparisons, meaning the rates can rise - Economy Energy had mistakenly told customers in their welcome packs that their rates would actually be fixed for 12 months (see below). 

House of Fraser customers who have returned online orders have been left frustrated after having them sent back with notes saying that they couldn't be delivered - if you're affected you can return the items to a House of Fraser store.

Free EU mobile roaming cannot be guaranteed in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Government has admitted, as it unveiled a raft of papers preparing for such a scenario. 

Barclays has launched a new feature on its mobile app that will enable its customers to view their current accounts with seven other banks all in one place.

Following a raft of price hikes in recent months, MoneySavers are increasingly able to haggle better broadband and TV deals with big names such as BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk and Virgin, according to a recent MoneySavingExpert.com poll. 

Facebook has revealed 50 million accounts have been hacked, though it's unclear how many UK victims there are.

Both TSB and HSBC have reported problems with their apps this morning on what is payday for many.

Tesco has begun trialling in-store recycling machines which will pay customers 10p for every plastic bottle returned.

If you've set up a direct debit to pay off your Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland credit card and then make a one-off additional payment, your direct debit now WON'T be adjusted – so make sure you don't overpay.

Citizens Advice has lodged a 'super complaint' with the competition watchdog after finding that customers who remain loyal to firms are overpaying by £4 billion a year. The charity says the practice of overcharging loyal customers is ongoing and widespread, and has called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to "act now to stop people being exploited". Research by the charity has found that British consumers are losing £4.1 billion a year across the mobile, broadband, home insurance, mortgages and savings markets to the so-called 'loyalty penalty'. It says eight out of 10 consumers pay a significantly higher price to at least one of their providers for remaining with them. To overhaul your finances and save £1,000s, see our Money Makeover guide. What is a 'super complaint'? A super complaint can be made by a Government-designated consumer group to ask a regulator to investigate an issue or a market that it believes is working against the public interest. The regulator must publicly respond to the complaint within 90 days saying if it believes it is an issue, and how it intends to deal with it. This is the fourth super complaint Citizens Advice has made since being given the power to submit them in 2002.