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Consumer rights: Holiday insurer's small print left my sister out of pocket

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Q. My sister paid £74.79 for travel insurance for a trip around Europe. After leaving Budapest, all her travel documents (InterRail ticket, passport, health card etc), as well as cards, money, and photo cards were stolen and she was stranded. Her travelling companion lent her money to get back to Budapest to get a report from the police and to go to the consulate about her passport. She stayed there until a new passport was issued.

Don't let your heat waft your money away via windows and walls

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Oil prices are rising; natural gas is becoming harder and more expensive to transport and our already hefty energy bills are only going to get more expensive. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) says one in four households in the UK are facing fuel poverty, where more than 10 per cent of their annual income is spent heating their homes. Yet homes across the country are inadequately insulated, meaning many of us are paying to heat the streets. Getting the proper insulation installed may seem like a costly hassle, but shelling out now will lead to savings in the future.

Note to savers: Beat the banks at their own game as rates tumble

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Bank of England base rates were left on hold again on Thursday and it's likely there will be no change this year. But when it comes to savings rates, the situation is more in flux. Banks are throwing attractive bonus-rate accounts at savers to draw in their business and are reaping free advertising from best-buy tables, but for every account that has its rate bumped up, two have their rates reduced. With one in 10 accounts cutting its return, savers need to keep on their toes to ensure their cash is working hard.

Simple steps to beat the card fraud menace

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

With Christmas next month, consumers will be hitting the plastic hard getting presents and enjoying the festivities. This may be the season to be jolly, but it is also a time to be cautious as card fraudsters see easy pickings.

Going ethical may salve your conscience – but will it help you to turn a profit?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Public attitudes to ethical investment are changing. These days, many investors are as concerned about investments that sit comfortably with their environmental and social principles as they are about securing healthy returns. As a result, ethical investment has come a long way from the launch of the first, the F&C Stewardship Income Fund, back in 1987.

Simon Read: No more chances for dodgy debt advisers

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Debt management firms are facing a new crackdown by the Office of Fair Trading. Explaining the review which will examine the advertising and business practices of the firms Ray Watson, OFT director of consumer credit, said: "A recent increase in formal OFT enforcement action, rising complaints and new problems emerging in the market suggest that some businesses are still not meeting minimum standards."

Spotlight: Loans

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Loan providers have received much criticism recently as personal loan rates have been rising, even though the Bank of England base rate is at a record low of 0.5 per cent. Marks & Spencer Money's decision to cut its loan rate is therefore welcome news.

Wealth Check: 'I want to buy a home and take a year out'

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Fiona Fulton, 22, from South London, is already on the property ladder having invested in a house with her sister using money from an inheritance. She wants to buy a house of her own in the next few years, but is worried that the pressures of repaying a mortgage will make her ambition of taking a year out to go travelling impossible. Fiona says "as my goal is to invest in property I am not sure if it is viable to take time out to go travelling."

Questions of Cash: Why is it still possible to use a cloned bank card?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Q. In 'Questions of Cash' on 24 October, you reported that it is possible for a bank to tell from its records whether an original card or a cloned card has been used to make a withdrawal from a cash machine. If this is true, why is the payment allowed to proceed in the first place? Refusing to authorise payment from a cloned card would immediately reduce the amount of credit card fraud. PH, by email.

Mark Dampier: A fund manager for tough times

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

As I write this, stock markets have recently fallen back by around 6 per cent. Is this just a brief correction and the chance to buy cheaply that many people have been waiting for? Or the start of a more prolonged slump?

Alice-Azania Jarvis: 'I suffer from a new disorder, now I need some self control'

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

In reaching my conclusion last week that I needn't bother with packed lunches because my favourite Marks & Spencer prawn cocktail salad costs only 2.20 I may, I admit, have been a little hasty. Not because I'd be better off bringing into work my own home-made sandwiches (more on those later) but because I had failed to take into account my own habit of Always Finding Something Else To Buy.

Do morals or money rule investments?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Two-thirds of investors are unknowingly ethical, the Co-operative claims. Its new survey of investors, published today, reveals that that there is much more interest in the concept of saving the planet while investing than current evidence suggests.

Derek Pain: Creditors and shareholders still out in cold

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It may be just my imagination but companies, many of them well known, seem to be falling like ninepins these days. Failure statistics do not look too bad but when the likes of Regent Inns and Threshers crash within a few days of each other it highlights the difficulties many groups are experiencing.

Money Insider: The banking sector needs some fresh blood

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

New banks, a breath of fresh air or more of the same? Financial news has this week been dominated by the EU-enforced break-up of Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland, which sees these banking heavyweights having to dispose of hundreds of branches.

Consuming Issues: How safe are fairground rides?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Fairground rides are designed to thrill, twisting, twirling, thrusting and gyrating paying passengers in a sensory whirl enhanced by flashing lights and booming music. This weekend, two days after Bonfire Night, millions of Britons will enjoy the range of rides found in theme parks and funfairs, from a sedate trip on an antique merry-go-round to the full-throttle thrill of the 80mph Stealth at Thorpe Park, Surrey.

Kids will get cash boost from lessons

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Ed Balls' announcement on Thursday that personal finance lessons will become compulsory for kids from 2011 should raise a cheer in homes across the country. The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families said personal finance will be taught as part of the PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) programme in secondary schools, currently optional. "All young people should learn about financial education," Balls said.

Beginner's Guide To: Winter sports insurance

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

With the ski season just around the corner, it's the time to start thinking about your travel insurance if you'll be hitting the slopes this winter. Yet most policies don't include cover for winter sports as standard so it's essential to make sure you will be insured for whatever snow-based activity you'll be partaking in.

Ten tips to avoid crafty credit card tricks

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:21:07 GMT

This month, the government unveiled plans to crackdown on credit card companies and help give consumers a fairer deal. But what can you do to protect your pocket in the meantime?

Beware – there are still sharks swimming in the sale-and-rent-back pool

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Against many analysts' expectations, Britain remains deeply entrenched in recession, with all the woe that brings for job prospects and family incomes. Lenders may have promised to be sympathetic to those behind with their mortgage payments, but there are still thousands of homeowners up and down the country facing the possibility of losing their homes. Where do they turn?

Big credit-card shake-up could hit you in the pocket

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The world of credit and store cards is heading for a massive shake-up. The Government wants to call time on much-criticised practices such as lenders raising credit limits without being asked by customers; taking only tiny minimum monthly repayments; and arranging it so that the most expensive debt gets paid off last. These seem like much overdue reforms and a win-win situation for consumers – but is this really the case?

Julian Knight: Let's recognise the 'specialness' of the live-in partner

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It's a difficult one Should people who are cohabiting have the right to claim the estates of their loved ones when they die in the same way bereaved spouses or civil partners do? The UK Law Commission says yes. But others say that if the cohabitees had meant their partners to have a share of their wealth they would have either got married or written a will. Dig deeper and the argument becomes one about protecting the "specialness" of marriage.

Wealth check: Help me break from bank of mum and dad

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The patient

Full-time student Ed Gibbs, 19, looks forward to supporting himself once he starts an apprenticeship in the new year. But with little cash now, and a quiet winter on the cards, he is concerned that his hopes of self-sufficiency may be out of reach.

Solicitors offer bargain wills in charity drive

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

As part of Will Aid month, starting today, solicitors all over the country are offering to draw up basic wills in exchange for charitable donations.

Are fund managers serving a dog's dinner?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The reputation of the fund-management industry has been at a low ebb for the past few years. Stock-market turbulence combined with chronic underperformance and the widely reported problems at some management groups, such as New Star, have led many investors to simply give up on the cult of the big-name fund manager.

City watchdog bares teeth to fine GMAC and Swinton

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Tens of thousands of mortgage and insurance customers will be entitled to compensation after the City regulator's investigations regarding unfair practices.