August 2021

A landmark class action case against Mastercard, which if successful could see millions of UK consumers potentially receive £100s each in damages, has been given the green light to go ahead.

Households on a low income and in receipt of certain benefits may be able to get £140 off their energy bill under the Warm Home Discount scheme. But many major suppliers have now closed their schemes for 2021/22 and only Bulb, E.on, E.on Next, and So Energy are still accepting applications – so apply as soon as possible to ensure you don't miss out.  

Vodafone is to start charging new and upgrading customers roaming fees of £2 a day to use their monthly allowance in Europe from 31 January 2022 – though some will be able to cut the cost to £1 a day by paying for a multi-day pass. Vodafone is the second mobile firm to scrap free roaming in the EU following Brexit, after EE announced similar changes in June.

PCR Covid test providers have been told by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to clean up their practices amid concerns they may be breaking consumer law. An open letter has been written by the watchdog identifying a number of "harmful" practices, which it says it will further investigate. 

Anyone who drives will know that costs are speeding into top gear. For example, petrol prices have risen to an eight-year high - up 21p/L from a year ago, average used car prices have jumped by £1,000 versus a year ago, and UK car hire prices are up by 84% compared with last year. 

The contactless payment limit, which is the amount you can spend on card without entering a PIN, will rise from £45 to £100 from 15 October, it's been confirmed. It comes after chancellor Rishi Sunak formally announced the plans in the spring Budget.  

Seven destinations, including Canada and Switzerland, will be added to the 'green' traffic light list from next week, the UK government has announced. The system is used to govern the action holidaymakers must take when they return to the UK from overseas.

Anyone aged 25 and under who is registered with a Scottish dental practice can now get free NHS treatment. The change takes force immediately and patients aren’t required to opt-in. Those who started a course of NHS treatment before their 26th birthday can also now get this for free.

TalkTalk TV and PlayStation Now are MoneySavers least used subscriptions, a new MoneySavingExpert poll has found. It could be a good prompt to do a direct debit audit and check you're not paying for a service each month that you no longer use. 

Rail passengers in England and Wales could face ticket price hikes of up to 4.8% next year, which would make it the largest rise in a decade. Meanwhile, those in Scotland could see increases of 3.8% if fares continue to be linked to July's retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation.