November 2018

Rail passengers now have an official body they can take unresolved complaints to after the first-ever Rail Ombudsman launched today. 

Tesco has suspended its popular Boost deal with train booking website RedSpottedHanky two months before it was due to be axed, after customers who'd ordered vouchers were left waiting for them to arrive. 

Household bills are rising faster than inflation for the first time since April 2017, according to the latest MSE Bills Tracker. 

Spark Energy, a small supplier with 290,000 domestic customers, has become the latest energy firm to stop trading. If you're affected, your energy supply will continue as normal and any outstanding credit balance you have is protected.

The Government's target for energy companies to offer smart meters to everyone in England, Scotland and Wales by the end of 2020 won't be met, the public spending watchdog has warned – and the roll-out is likely to cost more than expected. An investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found technical problems are hampering the roll-out, with around 70% of first generation SMETS 1 smart meters going 'dumb' after customers switch. Some 943,000 meters are now thought to have lost their smart functionality, and are unable to communicate with their owner's new energy supplier. The NAO also found that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's assumption that the roll-out would cost £11 billion – the equivalent of £374 per dual fuel household – "underestimates the true cost of rolling out smart meters". Costs have risen by at least £500 million since that estimate was made in 2016, the equivalent of an extra £17 per household. For full help on how smart meters work and the pros and cons, see our Smart Meters guide. Most smart meters go 'dumb' if households switch Smart gas and electricity meters give automatic meter readings which are sent straight to your supplier, theoretically ending estimated bills. There are two types of smart meters: First generation SMETS 1 meters have already been installed in over 12.5 million homes. However, they frequently stop working when customers switch supplier. Newer SMETS 2 meters don't have that problem – you can switch and be sure that your meter will remain smart. However, earlier this week it emerged that just 138,000 of these have been installed so far. The NAO found that the roll-out of SMETS 2 meters continues to face major challenges. Energy firms aren't currently able to install SMETS 2 meters in around a third of households in Great Britain, with the technology that links SMETS 2 meters to suppliers still not fully developed in some parts of the country.  The NAO said suppliers installed seven million more SMETS 1 meters than planned after the Government underestimated how long it would take to implement the infrastructure and technical standards for SMETS 2 meters.  The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy had planned to resolve the problem by connecting SMETS 1 meters to updated infrastructure, but this project has been delayed and the NAO said it is not certain if it will work as intended.

Nearly all customers with an overdraft at Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland will see their charges increase from next year – and some will pay more than £100 a year extra. 

According to the latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs, 141,100 first-time buyers have bought properties without having to pay stamp duty, and a further 39,400 have paid a discounted rate in the year since first-time buyers relief was introduced.

Amazon has been accused of ruining Christmas after it several shoppers received packages intended as presents, without any packaging.

An influential group of MPs has launched an inquiry into IT failures at financial institutions, after a series of major outages this year at several different banks.

Amazon has been accused of 'ruining' Christmas after shoppers reported receiving items which were intended as presents without any packaging. The retail giant, which in the past has come under fire for posting small items in a large amount of packaging, now sends out some purchases with little or no extra packaging, meaning the item ordered is visible on arrival. In some cases, pre-packaged items such as children's toys have been delivered with only a sticker added. Find hidden 75%-off deals at Amazon with our Amazon Discount & Deals Finder.