Finance

A major review to improve consumers' access to financial advice has been announced by the Government.

More than 92,000 customers of payday loan firm, Cash Genie, are due a share of £10m in redress after the firm was found guilty of making a number of "serious failings", including charging unfair fees and rolling customers' loans over without consent.

Savers may be able to switch cash savings to a new account quicker in future, while providers may also be forced to alert customers to changes in interest rates – something which MoneySavingExpert.com has argued for over the last decade.

If you're calling a financial service firm's customer service helplines to ask for assistance or to complain, you soon won't have to use a costly premium rate number under a crackdown by the regulator.

The pound's hit it's best rate against the euro for eight years, meaning holidaymakers tripping to Europe find it far cheaper than in recent memory. Currently it's hovering around £1 buys €1.43 - €1.44, a year ago it would've bought you just €1.24.

Customers of five unnamed debt management firms may be due redress after a review of the market revealed a string of problems, including an "unacceptably low" standard of advice given by fee-charging debt management firms.

What would you tweak about the UK? Your first instinct may be 'a flat rate of income tax', 'independence for Cornwall', or 'free university education for all'. Yet I'm not talking about big contentious change – this is about quick fixes for life glitches.

The UK banking regulator has fined Lloyds Banking Group a record £117 million for its failings and 'unacceptable' conduct in handling claims over payment protection insurance (PPI).