Savers, tax, pensions and sterling

Savers looking for the stability of a fixed-rate account over the long term are facing pitiful returns as rates have plummeted throughout 2016.

At present, the best buy five year fixed-rate savings deal in the This is Money savings table pays a paltry 1.95 per cent. In January 2016, after a brief flutter of competition among new providers, savers would have been able to beat this rate – with a 12-month fix.

It means savers would have to lock away their cash up for an extra four years if they want to obtain the returns they would have easily bagged at the start of the year, when Close Brothers Savings had a two per cent rate over 12 months.

Self-assessment

People wishing to file their tax return on paper face a looming deadline, but flexible workers in the self-assessment process need to be aware of the rules.

About one in 10 people in the system files tax returns on paper. The deadline for doing so is October 31. Online filing has a deadline of the end of January 2017. The self-employed and those with more than one source of income must file. Accountants say changing work methods mean more people may be in the system. Pensions

Fraud losses in the period following the introduction of pension freedoms could be a quarter higher than initial estimates, analysis of City of London Police statistics suggests.

Previously, it was thought some £10.6 million of pension fraud losses had been reported to City of London Police in the six months following the introduction of the pension freedoms in April 2015.

However, updated statistics obtained by investment platform AJ Bell reveal the figure has been revised up to £13.3 million – 25 per cent higher than the original estimate. The reason for the new, higher figure is that victims often update their reports to reflect the full amounts lost.

It means the year-on-year spike in fraud reports was actually 146 per cent, from £5.4 million in the corresponding period in 2014.

Care prices

Nine out of 10 councils in the UK are failing to pay realistic prices to support older and disabled people in their own homes, the industry says.

The UK Home Care Association calculated the minimum price councils should be paying was £16.70 per hour, but the average was over £2 less. Councils said they had been left with little choice given the squeeze on their finances by the government. But the UKHCA said the situation was threatening the future of the market. Banks

New figures, from a survey of 10,000 current account customers, shows that once again Britain’s big banks have been beaten by their smaller rivals in the customer satisfaction stakes – according to uSwitch.com, the price comparison and switching website. 

The survey reveals that RBS has taken the wooden spoon for Overall Satisfaction, for the third year in a row, being voted the worst provider overall by its customers. However, the biggest loser is HSBC which has come bottom in seven categories including Best Customer Service (branch), Best Current Account, and Best App.

However, RBS and HSBC aren’t the only providers disappointing their customers over the past 12 months. Clydesdale Bank has seen the biggest falls compared to last year, sliding in eight out of the 12 categories including Best Customer Service (branch) and Best Switching Service, which they topped last year. Clydesdale also slumped from second to 11^th in the Overall Satisfaction category.

Pound devaluation

The pound’s recent devaluation after June’s Brexit vote has already led to some price rises, and model railways are one business feeling the effects, according to the BBC.

Early in October, the leading manufacturer Hornby told retailers that wholesale prices for many of its trains would rise by an average of 10 per cent. The company has been making its models in China for more than 20 years. ‘We have put prices up, but it’s the first time in two and a half years,’ said a Hornby spokesman. Thanks to manufacturing abroad, the firm’s international trading is denominated in US dollars, so sterling’s 17 per cent devaluation against the US currency since 23 June means that UK prices must inevitably rise. Meanwhile, Tesco chairman John Allan told the Today programme that it’s likely prices will go up if the pound stays at its current weak level. The supermarket chain temporarily pulled Marmite, PG Tips and other brands from supplier Unilever from its website in a dispute over rising costs linked to the weaker pound. Allan wouldn’t be drawn on whether it won the stand-off with Unilever, but said it’s scrutinising cost increases from any of its suppliers.