Government

Up to 300,000 homeowners who bought a property in a "disadvantaged" area over the past decade could reclaim up to £1,500 in stamp duty, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal. But the deadline to claim is 5 May so take urgent action.

MoneySavingExpert.com is urging the Government to urgently clear up confusion after it emerged thousands of people who defer student loans taken out between 1990 and 1998 will now have this information added to their credit files. This is despite ministers promising there would be no real change for borrowers after the loans were sold to debt collector Erudio Student Loans last year.

Bailiffs are to be banned from entering homes at night and from using physical force against debtors under new laws coming into effect this weekend.

Pensioners will be able to buy top-ups of as much as £25 in extra state pension per week from autumn next year under Government plans.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has promised "tough and decisive action" against payday lenders that don't follow strict new rules, after taking over regulation of the consumer credit market from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) today.

Update: 12.01pm, 1 April 2014: It was confirmed to us at midday today (1 April), that this was a foolish policy after all and won't be going ahead. Mr I. M. Fibbing, senior lecturer in architecture at a red brick university, says: "We're relieved that this was just a silly joke."

If you're aged over 74, you could be entitled to backdated cash from the Government to help cover the cost of energy bills. But you need to be quick, as you'll need to post your claim form by Saturday at the very latest.

Big six energy supplier Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is to freeze household gas and electricity prices until at least January 2016.

The Government has rebuffed MoneySavingExpert.com's calls to ban payday loan adverts from children's TV.

Smokers will be hit by higher prices as the Chancellor announced increases in tobacco duty in today's Budget. Meanwhile, the price of beer will fall by 1p.