MONEY MORSELS
Energy firm ban
POWER firm Iresa has been banned from taking on new customers, hiking their direct debits or hitting them with one-off payments for up to three months. Energy watchdog Ofgem, which launched a probe into the firm’s customer service last month, has also told the firm to extend its call- centre hours and deal with emails and calls more promptly.
Pre-paid funerals
SAVERS bought around 207,700 funeral plans last year, compared to 210,700 in 2016. The small drop follows a crackdown on the sales practices of third parties who sell plans on behalf of registered providers, according to watchdog the Funeral Planning Authority.
Tax robots
ROBOTS could soon be checking tax returns as part of a push by HM Revenue & Customs to automate millions of its systems. Brigid McBride, HMRC’s digital transformation director, says the taxman is planning to use artificial intelligence to process ‘compliance and complex tax cases’.
Help to Buy flop
FAR fewer savers than expected have signed up for Help to Buy Isas. The accounts allow first-time buyers to save for a house deposit tax-free and get a 25 pc boost of up to £3,000 from the Government. It had forecast £700 million for the top-ups by the end of the year. But Office for Budget Responsibility figures show savers have so far claimed just £104 million.
Bad advice
ROGUE financial advisers who lure savers into cashing in final-salary pensions face a crackdown by the City watchdog. The Financial Conduct Authority is concerned that savers are being duped into giving up valuable pension payouts in roughly one-third of cases. New rules next month mean advisers must do more to protect savers.
Remortgage rise
PROPERTY owners are rushing to take out new home loans to avoid being hit by future interest rate rises. Remortgage approvals have soared by 9 pc in the last year, says the tradebody UK Finance.
Text scam
SOME 25,000 customers are to get refunds after they were charged for texts. Pro Money Holdings Limited cold-called customers and charged them £4.50 a month for messages to enter a competition they did not sign up to. It has been banned for five years and fined £50,000 by the Phone-paid Services Authority.
Pensions risk
SAVERS using their pensions under new freedom rules risk running out of money in old age. Around 700,000 people are withdrawing cash from their pensions, according to insurer Aegon. On average, they take 5.2 pc of the nest egg each year or £645 a month from a £148,750 fund.