This profiteering must stop
WHEN energy giants complain about the price cap, it’s hard to feel all that sorry for them.
Yes, soaring gas prices mean firms are making a loss because they can no longer charge customers enough to cover their costs.
But let’s not forget they brought all this on themselves. If they hadn’t exploited loyal customers for years on end, energy bills would not have been politicised and there would have been no need for a cap.
Well, now it is the insurers’ turn to reap what they sowed.
As we report on pages 35 and 36, firms will at last be banned from ripping off faithful home and motor insurance policyholders in the New Year. Experts fear the new rules will just push up the cost of cover for savvy switchers, as insurers try to protect their bottom lines. But after years of trying — and failing — to coax firms into doing the right thing, the City watchdog had little choice.
Take 98-year-old Gordon’s experience, for example. His premiums were hiked each year until he was paying £568 — six times the cost of a policy elsewhere. The size of the goodwill gesture offered after our intervention — £1,123 — gives a good indication of how much he’s been fleeced over the years. And that was despite buying his policy through a charity for older people. Blatant profiteering such as this just could not continue.
Even now, with only two months until the clampdown, some insurers are still shamelessly hiking prices for existing customers.
Others are sneakily offering discounts of just a few pence, knowing it’s enough to tempt most people to stay put.
But what many households won’t realise is that falling premiums mean that by doing nothing, they will likely miss out on far bigger savings elsewhere — which could help offset spiralling energy bills.
Insurers have behaved poorly in the pandemic, repeatedly relying on small print to pass the buck or deny claims. And after pocketing millions of pounds after claims plummeted as we were all stuck at home, they really have no excuse not to pass on savings to us.
I was assured recently the industry is working on ways to rebuild trust — and sincerely hope this is the case. But until then, it’s up to you to fight for a better deal.
Bag a bargain
SPEAKING of switching to save, my mortgage broker really wants me to take out a new deal. I know this as it is emailing me non-stop with motivational messages: ‘Doing nothing could cost you £2,500 a year’; ‘There has never been a better time to switch your mortgage’; ‘Move quickly to lock into a low rate’; ‘Beat the energy price hike with a great mortgage deal’.
But it’s not wrong. With an interest rate rise on the horizon, home loan costs are only going in one direction.
And as we revealed on Saturday, the cheapest fixed deals are already starting to disappear.
But rates are still incredibly low. So if remortgaging is on your to-do-list, bump it to the top and lock into a bargain deal today.
Braced for Budget
All eyes are on the Chancellor ahead of the Budget today.
Although, after releasing a blizzard of spending announcements totalling more than £30billion over the past week, I’m at a loss as to what else the Treasury has left to reveal.
let’s just hope Rishi Sunak has not been holding back the bad news. What with the soaring cost of living and looming tax rises, ordinary families still reeling from the pandemic can’t take much more financial doom and gloom.
Card status
YOUR bank card can say a lot about you. For years, a black credit
card was the ultimate symbol of wealth.
More recently, mobile banking app Monzo’s trendy neon-coral card had a waiting list of customers
eager to show off how tech-savvy they were.
And now the eco-conscious can even get their hands on a recyclable card.
Well I’ve got a ‘sleek’ new debit card, too. It is plain black and wait for it... has no raised numbers on the front.
Instead, all the information is ‘laser printed’ on the back — which apparently lasts longer.
It’s just a shame it looks like a budget hotel room key. Not great for my image when splitting the bill with friends.