2024

A charity has launched legal proceedings against the UK Government, aiming to reverse its decision to restrict Winter Fuel Payments to those on certain benefits. It's still very early days and there are no guarantees, but here's what you need to know.

Homeowners will have to wait even longer for major leasehold reform after the Government described the previous attempt at overhauling the sector as "flawed". Here's what you need to know.

NS&I will cut its Premium Bond prize-fund rate to 4% from 4.15% for the January 2025 draw and beyond. But this rate was already lagging behind interest rates on standard savings accounts – so if you're a bondholder, you may want to consider moving your cash to an interest-paying account.

NatWest is the latest major lender to reduce the amount of time its mortgage customers have to lock in a new rate ahead of their current deal ending, joining five other high street banks. The changes mean you've less time to insure yourself against rates rising before your existing mortgage comes to an end.

The price most households pay for gas and electricity will rise by 1% on average from 1 January 2025 as energy regulator Ofgem has announced the latest Energy Price Cap rates.

If you're hoping to bag a bargain on Christmas presents, you might be better off buying on Black Friday rather than waiting for last-minute pre-Christmas sales. It comes as new MoneySavingExpert.com research reveals that over two-thirds of 50 popular items were cheaper on Black Friday in 2023 compared to in the lead-up to Christmas.

Chase has cut the rates on its linked savings accounts by 0.25 percentage points. As of Thursday 14 November, its easy-access 'boosted saver' now pays 4.5%, while its standard saver pays just 3.5%. The changes mean you can earn more on your savings elsewhere – though Chase is still worth keeping for its debit card perks.

The free and independent Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – which settles disputes between UK-regulated financial companies and consumers – could be reformed in future, the Government has announced. But it's still very early days – for now, there are NO changes to how the Ombudsman works and you can still escalate your complaint to the service as usual.

Home improvements, gardening and DIY company Homebase has fallen into administration. Most orders will be fulfilled and the stores will remain open for now – but shoppers should be cautious as you could be left out of pocket if the retailer stops trading. Below we round up how this affects your installation, refund rights and more.

Cuts to fixed-rate mortgages have come to a halt and many lenders are now hiking rates following the Budget last month – but will this trend continue? We've spoken to four mortgage brokers to see what they think is next for mortgage rates.