Weekly Money: the stories we noticed 30 November to 4 December

The personal finances stories you may have missed this week

Bang! It was the week Cameron decided to bomb Syria

4 December

Good news - the City Watchdog is going to force insurers to tell consumer what their previous year’s premiums were. It will mean they will no longer be able to slip through sneaky price hikes.

The Financial Conduct Authority said its proposals aim to deal with worries that consumers end up paying higher prices by remaining loyal to an insurer, particularly for a long period of time.

Andrew Hagger of Moneycomms said the change was well overdue. “It’s disappointing that it’s been down to the regulator to have to force this through - it’s basic transparency and information that customers should have already been receiving as a matter of course.”

The regulator is seeking feedback on its proposals by 4 March 2016.

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We’ll splash £570 each on presents this year, with women forking out an additional £160 than men, according to Destination CMS. But then again women take much more time to choose presents - 32 hours compared to just 20 hours for men.

Its research suggests the north east is the most generous region, spending an average £683, while Cornwall spends the least at £527.

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One in five over 50s will struggle to pay their energy bills this winter with one in ten planning to go to bed earlier and get up later in order to avoid putting their heating on. Those in the north east, Scotland and Wales are the most worried about energy bills, reports Saga,

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Time to lag your pipes? December is the worst month of the year for burst pipes, with 27 December the worst day, warns Aviva. The average cost of a burst pipe claim is £5,000.

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George Osborne’s decision to raise stamp duty for buy-to-let landlords will cost tenants an extra £55 a month in rent, according to Kent Reliance. Osborne announced an additional 3 per cent stamp duty on second homes and buy to let properties in his Autumn Statement.

3 December

The UK state pension has been revealed as one of the worst in the world. Among developed countries only people in Mexico and Chile can look forward to a relatively worst retirement payout.

That’s according to a shock new report from an international think tank. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that average earners without a private pension will end up with the third worst income equivalent when they retire, while high earners will end up with the worst.

Its figures reveal that UK workers would get around 16 per cent of what they had been earning as a wage if they rely on the state pension, although that will rise to 22 per cent when the new state pension is introduced next April. Basic pensions are equal to 20.5 per cent of average earnings on average across OECD countries, with a high of 40 per cent in New Zealand.

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Generous credit and debit card rewards schemes took a step closer to disappearing yesterday as the Payment Systems Regulator set out rules for the new cap on fees plastic card companies can charge retailers.

The cap will be introduced next Wednesday 9 December and is likely to led to increased charges for consumers with many plastic card company already cutting back on expensive cashback or reward schemes. For instance Tesco slashed its reward scheme for Clubcard credit card users from yesterday following similar changes for its World credit card customers last month. RBS scrapped its Your Points scheme in July, hitting a million NatWest and RBS customers while Capital One cut cashback on its card in June.

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A Lancashire based claims manager has been fined £850,000 for bombarding people with nuisance calls. National Advice Clinic made nearly 6 million calls between October 2014 and April 2015 about noise induced hearing loss claims.

“It showed an alarming disregard for the misery its tactics can cause, particularly to elderly and vulnerable people,” said Claims Management Regulator head Kevin Rousell.

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When are you planning to retire? Two out of three of us reckon we’ll have to work beyond 65, according to employee benefits firm Portus.

Frighteningly, one in 10 fears they will have to work beyond the age of 76 - or never retire. The reason? People don’t think they will have enough money to live on.

Some 13 per cent say they will have to provide financial support to children, while 4 per cent think grandchildren will be a cash drain.

2 December

Fresh help for first-time buyers comes in the form of the new Help to Buy Isa, which was officially made available yesterday, You can start one of the tax-free savings schemes with £1,000 and then save £200 a month towards a deposit and eventually earn a government bonus of 25 per cent of the amount you save, up to a maximum £3,000.

Not all savings providers are offering the new schemes yet but the likes of Nationwide, NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC and Aldermore have launched Help to Buy Isas paying 2 per cent. But Virgin Money is paying 3 per cent and Halifax has topped the lot with a more generous 4 per cent.

Meanwhile Santander is targeting existing customers by offering a 2 per cent rate to 123 World and Select users, but just 1.5 per cent to other customers. Barclays said its deal paying 2.25 per cent will be available from 17 December in branches.

Some are much less generous. Newcastle building society’s pays just 1.5 per cent and that includes a 1 per cent bonus. At Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks the rate is just a relatively paltry 0.7 per cent.

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Comparison sites are being unfair to consumers by hiding the cheapest energy deals. That’s because they only show deals from firms that pay them commission unless you click on a button asking to see the whole of market.

So, for instance, you won’t find deals from independent supplier GB Energy, even though they may be cheapest. The supplier asked people if they knew about the problem and the answer is a resounding “no”,

In fact its research published today reveals that 59 per cent of those switching energy suppliers had no idea that price comparison sites don’t show the cheapest energy deals available unless the supplier pays them a fee.

“It’s unfair that people looking for a cheaper deal online are duped into believing they’re saving the most money possible when they choose the deal that price comparison sites tell them is the cheapest,” said Luke Watson, chief executive of GB Energy.

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More than half of new homes being built today are not big enough to meet the needs of the people who buy them, the Royal Institute of British Architects warns.

Its research suggests that buyers of an average new three bedroom home are missing 4 sqm – which is the size of a family bathroom. Meanwhile the smallest three bedroom homes it surveyed are missing space equivalent to a double bedroom

New homes in Yorkshire are by far the smallest in England and smaller than London ones by the equivalent of a double bedroom and a family living room!

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People in the UK owed £1.456trn at the end of October, up from £1.42trn at the end of October 2014, reported the Money Charity. That’s an extra £7 - or 6.71 per cent - for each UK adult.

Total credit card debt in October worked out an average £2,324 per household. For a typical credit card with an average interest charge, it would take a staggering 25 years and 5 months to repay the debt if you made only the minimum repayment each month.

1 December

A man who only bought a Premium Bond last year has hit the million pound jackpot as one of the top prize winners in December’s draw. The Cumbria man bought his winning bond back in June 2014 and currently holds £27,590-worth of bonds.

The other December winner is a woman from Bedfordshire who bought her inning Bond in October 2006. She has £38,600 invested in the government-backed prize draw.

Meanwhile there remain more than 1.1 million unclaimed Premium Bond prizes worth collectively more than £51m. You can find out if you have an unclaimed win by using the online prize checker at nsandi.com

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Britain could be at risk of another financial crisis, with almost 40 per cent of people feeling as though they don’t have enough knowledge, confidence or money to invest for their future.

They’ve been classified as ‘Naked Investors’ by TD Direct Investing because they’re financially vulnerable. “Most people are familiar with banking products and cash Isas, but not enough people are talking about investing and this is creating this sense of financial paralysis, warned John Tracy, TD boss.

He says there should be better financial education available to people, but that with the growth in digital and self-investment and more flexibility in pensions and Isas, individuals must start taking control.

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There’s been fall in the UK’s disposable income, according to the latest Disposable Income Index from Scottish Friendly. After bills and essentials have been paid, people are currently left with just 10.1 per cent of their salary in spending money, an average of £237 per person, compared to £278 this time last year.

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Help to Buy Isas are officially available from today, Tuesday 1 December. Aimed at hopeful homeowners saving up for a deposit for a house, the government will hand over up to £3,000 - or £6,000 to couples - to those using the new savings schemes. Halifax is offering the highest payout with 4 per cent annual interest.

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Some 17 million parcels worth £695m sent over the Christmas period will miss the delivery time promised by the retailer, research by LCP Consulting suggests. It comes as an estimated tenth of the £1bn orders placed on Black Friday are expected to arrive after the advertised delivery slot.

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Tandem, a new digital retail bank founded by Azimo-founder Ricky Knox and Matt Cooper, co-founder of Capital One, has today been granted authorisation by the Bank of England. It will be based in London and offer current accounts, credit cards, savings, and loans online from next year.

30 November

Fresh help for first-time buyers comes in the form of the new Help to Buy Isa, which is officially available from tomorrow. You can start one of the tax-free savings schemes with £1,000 and then save £200 a month towards a deposit and eventually earn a government bonus of 25 per cent of the amount you save, up to a maximum £3,000.

The likes of Nationwide and NatWest are paying 2 per cent on their Help to Buy Isas while Halifax is offering 4 per cent. The new tax-free savings schemes are available for individuals which means couples can take advantage twice, saving up to £400 a month between them.

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Christmas could cause financial hardships for parents this year a charity has warned, with three out of five having previously cut back on spending on themselves to buy Christmas or birthday presents for their children.

The Action for Children charity warns that more than a third of parents regularly struggle to make money last to the end of the month, meaning the festive season puts particularly strain on their finances.

“Parents worried about their money situation should seek help now to prepare for Christmas and to avoid the dreaded day in January when the Christmas bills land on the mat,” advises Sir Tony Hawkhead, chief executive of Action for Children.

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More than 1,400 charities and businesses are joining the global grassroots movement to give something back on #GivingTuesday tomorrow 1 December. It’s the charitable antidote to last week’s shopping excesses surrounding Black Friday.

#GivingTuesday simply asks people to give a little time, money or their voice to a cause they care about.