MONEY MORSELS
£1m potholes
POTHOLeS are costing drivers and insurers at least £1 million a month owing to huge car repair bills, according to the AA. It says the number of pothole-related claims it has seen during the first four months of 2018 is more than for the whole of 2017.
Check-in change
RYANAIR customers will have the amount of time to check in for flights slashed from four days to two from June 13. But those who buy a seat reservation will be able to check in from 60 days before departure. The cost of booking a priority seat with extra legroom is £15. Seats at the front are £13.01 and standard seats further down the plane are £4. Those who fail to check in online in advance will be charged £55 per person at the airport.
Slow connection
ALMOST one in five broadband customers could upgrade to a faster service and still pay the same price for their connection. Nine in ten houses in Britain can access fibre broadband, with a typical download speed of at least 30 megabits per second (Mbps) according to Ofcom. But a fifth of homes still receive the internet through copper wires, with a speed of 10Mbps or less.
Mileage fraud
UP TO five million cars may have had their mileage digitally altered. Car technology firm Carly says it has found almost one in five cars in London has had its mileage tampered with. It believes finance plans, which hit drivers with huge penalties for exceeding the mileage limit, may be to blame.
No plans in place
FeWeR than one in ten adults in england and Wales has taken steps to appoint someone to look after their affairs if they become incapacitated. Office of the Public Guardian figures show that only 1.4 million financial lasting power of attorneys and 600,000 health and welfare ones are registered.
Mortgage penalty
MORE than 140,000 homeowners are paying hundreds extra because they are not fixing new mortgage deals in time to avoid their lender’s most expensive rate. Research by online broker Dynamo shows that a third of borrowers whose deals expired last year spent six weeks on a lender’s standard variable rate and paid around £371 more than if they’d moved to a new deal.
Energy estimate
ALMOST half of households have paid more than they should have for their gas and electricity in the past two years, as they failed to submit meter readings. Research by switching site Labrador found in the past ten years, only 12 pc of households sent their supplier regular readings. Those who don’t get estimated bills based on the average consumption of similar properties and how much energy the last occupant used.