MONEY MORSELS
Bogus British Gas
BRITISH Gas is warning households to watch out for visitors claiming to be from the company, after staff uniforms were stolen. Engineers always carry identification so be sure to check it. If you are unsure, shut the door on them.
Call ban
PENSION cold-calling will be banned from January 9 in a bid to clamp down on scams. The longawaited rules mean firms cannot make unsolicited marketing calls, texts or emails to savers about pensions. Those that do could be fined up to £ 500,000 by the Information Commissioner. Victims of pension scams lost £91,000 each, according to 2017 figures.
Car cover
OVER-50S face the biggest rises in car insurance premiums, according to research by Consumer Intelligence. the price paid by motorists has begun to go up in the past three months, rising by an average of 0.3 pc compared to 1.3 pc for the over-50s. Bills across the market are down over the past year, but still 20.6 pc higher than five years ago.
Inheritance hike
INHERITANCE tax receipts are set to hit record highs. HMRC took in £ 3.7 billion in IHT receipts between April and November, according to analysis by NFU Mutual. Last year, the Treasury took in a record £5.2 billion from the tax. Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual, says: ‘The latest numbers from HMRC show people are passing on more and more to the taxman rather than their loved ones.’
Energy bills soar
THIS year was the worst yet for energy bill rises. there were 57, compared to 15 the year before, according to switching service Look After My Bills. the firm says £840 million was added to household bills — an average of £74 each. the Big Six all raised prices, but the worst offenders were smaller suppliers. Economy Energy hiked prices by £311 in just one rise.
Death tax
A ‘DEATH tax’ to hit bereaved families with bills of up to £6,000 will be voted on by MPs in the New Year. The controversial new probate fee increases were voted through in the Lords last week.
But while the Lords allowed the order to go to a Commons vote, they backed a ‘ regret motion’ to put on record their concerns that the hike in fees was a ‘stealth tax’. The order still has to be passed by a Commons vote before it can come in to force in April.
Fake whiskies
HIGH demand for rare whisky has led to the market being flooded with frauds. A third of supposedly ‘vintage’ whiskies were fake — 21 of 55 tested — according to a study by rare Whisky 101 and the Scottish universities Environmental research Centre laboratory. Investors and collectors are urged to take care.