Moneyblog

After being been paid a week or two early due to Christmas, and then shelling out on festive gifts and nights on the town, for many of us there’s too much month left at the end of the money. It’s at this time of the year that the overdraft facility from your bank can be a real lifesaver; it might cost a few quid for the privilege but at least you can get on with your life without worrying about not being able to pay the bills. However, not everybody relies on their overdraft on an occasional basis or for a little flexibility now and again to tide them over

Britain’s biggest mobile operator EE has been fined £2.7 million for overcharging more than 30,000 customers. Between July 2014 and July 2015, the company added almost £250,000 to the bills of customers who called its 150 helpline while abroad in the European Union. They were incorrectly billed as though they had made a call to the United States and charged a rate of £1.20 a minute instead of 19p. EE was fined more than 10 times the amount it overcharged as punishment for failing to refund affected customers until its regulator, Ofcom, stepped in. The company had previously maintained it was unable to trace individuals who had been mistakenly billed

Asked earlier this month for his 2017 financial resolution, the newly knighted former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb replied it could be summarised in four words: ‘get a financial adviser’. No matter how much assistance you can find online these days, most people would still think twice before setting out to sell their own house or draft their own will. Nor would they be inclined to fit their own boiler or do their own dentistry. And yet, for whatever reason, people tend not to think of financial advice in the same way. I say ‘for whatever reason’ but, historically, two elements have tended to loom pretty large: trust and cost.

At some point a few years ago, after the financial crisis had passed but the economic stats still showed the effects, while wandering down the posh bit of my local high street where all the top-end furniture retailers, Italian delis and estate agents reside, I suddenly got it. I noticed that the ones carrying the White Company, Fenwicks and Russell & Bromley shopping bags were all roughly between 50 and 60. Despite the country apparently being in the doldrums, this well-dressed, insouciant and slightly aimless tribe had money to spend. All the economic indicators were telling us GDP was still pretty flat, unemployment and wages were still struggling, food bank

When asked recently by a waiter if I was enjoying my pizza, I replied: ‘It’s great, thanks.’ But I was lying. It tasted no better than a £2 supermarket pizza, and I was further put off by a rather persistent fly hovering above the table. While we’re all good at moaning – a reassuringly British sign as we head further down Brexit Road, and Donald Trump becomes the most powerful man in the world – we’re dreadful at doing it publicly or in a way that actually makes a difference. But for the good of the financial services industry (and Newcastle’s Pizza Express), we need to stop putting up with the

I’m drowning in a sea of Post-it notes. They are everywhere. Yellow, blue, orange, pink. They dominate my life to the point where, every now and then, I consolidate the lot into one big pile in the hope that will force me to deal with them. Life admin is exhausting. From the endless list of things to do jotted on said Post-it notes to the additional chores recorded in my diary and on my phone, it’s a wonder I have time to earn a living. Added into the mix of ‘must buy cat litter’ and ‘must pay lecky bill’ is the myriad of personal finance-related contracts and accounts. Money management

There are just 19 dreary January days left to complete your online self-assessment tax return and – here’s the important bit – pay what you owe. Miss the midnight deadline on Tuesday 31st January and you could face a stiff financial penalty. More than 10 million of us were organised and settled our annual accounts on time last year, but nearly 900,000 let it go down to the wire. HM Revenue & Customs reported that 823,000 taxpayers waited until the 30th and 31st to file their returns. The Revenue’s single busiest day for returns was the 29th January, when 513,271 people submitted their records. Men were the most likely to pay

Ah, January. The month when the nation’s gyms are full of red-faced newbies looking confused on the cross-trainer or baffled by the battle ropes. According to new research by American Express, the most popular New Year’s resolution for 2017 is to achieve a healthier lifestyle, with a third (33 per cent) of Britons planning to exercise more and a further 30 per cent hoping to eat healthier. This commitment to physical wellbeing ranks ahead of saving money which 28 per cent of respondents cited as their New Year resolution. The two rarely go hand in hand – if you splash out on membership of a big fancy gym, losing lbs

Back in the 1980s, when I was embarking on a lifetime of sweat, toil and tears in order to bring home the bacon, I lived in a pensions desert. I couldn’t see, feel or feed one (a pension, that is) for miles around. During this decade, against a backdrop of privatisations, a rampant Prime Minister (Margaret Thatcher), Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Madonna’s virgins, I was privileged to work for four employers. A major chartered accountancy practice, a big and little publisher and a now defunct building society. Not one offered me the opportunity to save into a company pension. At the time I wasn’t bothered – life was for living, a

I watched some extraordinary television yesterday. It was the kind of TV that makes your eyes widen and your jaw drop to the floor. Not Sherlock, obviously. Much as I love the uptight detective, I know what I’m getting when I press the play button. I mean Morph, the animated clay character who made his debut back in 1977 and has now been recreated for the Sky Kids channel. You read that right, Morph. In a homage to the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap and The Sugarhill Gang, the legendary American hip-hop group, the diminutive children’s favourite and his cream-coloured pal Chas change (or, er, morph) into a couple of seasoned

This year, I’m swapping my debit card for a credit card. It’s not because I’m starting 2017 in the red. It’s to make sure I stay comfortably in the black. My New Year’s resolution is to make my money go further – and this is where my credit card comes in. I’ve taken inspiration from friends and family who’ve long been rewarded for paying for virtually everything other than their mortgage and bills on credit. I’ve watched as their spending has earned them perks including concert tickets, meals out, hotel stays and even free flights. So my plan is to do what they do – pay for everything that doesn’t

Amid the cacophony of moaning and groaning accompanying this week’s nationwide return to work was an eye-catching headline from satirical site The Daily Mash: ‘So we meet again, Southern tells commuters’. As someone who used to brave the Northern line on a daily basis, I can imagine the impending sense of doom felt by thousands of Southern customers as January 3 edged ever closer. Months of disruption thanks to staff shortages, industrial action and, if social media is to be believed, complete ineptitude on the part of the train operator, is enough to give anyone a New Year hangover. And now, what fresh hell is this? More strikes on the horizon,

If you’re planning on buying a second property this year, then help is at hand thanks to Spectator Money. Stamp duty costs, mortgage tax relief changes and the possible impact of Brexit are just a few things to consider when buying a second home, a holiday home or a buy-to-let in 2017. Price versus Value ‘Location, location, location’. This age-old saying still speaks volumes. When searching for a property, you’ll benefit in the long run if you do your homework at the outset. Infrastructural changes have a direct knock-on effect with property prices, as does the weather and local amenities, such as roads, schools and shops. If you can search out areas that

What happens if you wander into Tesco, help yourself to some food and walk out without paying? I haven’t tried it but I reckon those big burly security guards that Tesco employs (well, they do in my corner of South London) will be straight after you. The police will probably turn up blue lights a-blazing, arrest you and it will all end up in court. At best, you’ll have to pay Tesco for the food. At worst, you’ll have a criminal record. But the law works a bit differently when it comes to landlords and tenants. While rogue landlords face various fines and penalties, tenants are seemingly free to fleece

Unwanted Christmas gifts have always been part and — excuse the pun — parcel of the festive season, whether it’s an unfeasible number of French hens, or an over-pungent celebrity-endorsed Myrrh bath oil. We all have our favourite stories of mis-judged pressies: from the husband who bought his wife a gravy separator for Christmas (we are still married), to Auntie Mabel’s attempts to buy fashion items for a 14-year-old. Nationwide, the value of these duff gifts is now estimated to be some £2.6 billion, according to a recent survey by Triodos Bank. Among the most unpopular gifts are Christmas jumpers, onesies, celebrity autobiographies, novelty socks and kitchenware. That’s what charity

When the Bank of England is not indulging employees with the kind of taxpayer-funded hospitality that would make a bailed-out banker blush, its lofty and unelected officials might like to consider how they could help us ordinary mortals in the new year.  It has emerged that the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street spent nearly £100,000 of our money on its annual summer party, just weeks after the Brexit vote tossed the country into economic and political turmoil.  Following a Freedom of Information request, the central bank admitted that it lavished more than £94,500 (excluding VAT) on food, entertainment and the venue for the Governors’ Day event, with nearly another £4,500

My mother is a good woman. But on being greeted by a charming golden retriever, a shaking red bucket and the dog’s well-meaning human handler from a local animal charity, a line had been crossed, even for her. Having already put her hand in her pocket for multiple charities in the town centre while Christmas shopping – from the wonderful Salvation Army brass band playing Away in a manger and the granddaughter she sent forth with a few quid, to the ebullient veteran who offered to pack her bags at M&S for a military charity – as a pensioner with no private income, she felt there was nothing more she could

Skiing as a pastime is now more accessible than ever but for those seeking a home in the Alps, particularly in Switzerland, the market is far from all-inclusive. Recent rules and regulations setting out who can buy what, and where, means it pays to do your research. In the 12 years I’ve worked in Knight Frank’s international research team one of the biggest challenges has been keeping abreast of the new policies, taxes, and referenda that buffet the housing markets in the 55-plus countries that we monitor. Nowhere is this more challenging than in Switzerland. The Swiss, it would seem, love a referendum. In 2012 Switzerland passed a new law

‘I don’t get excited when I hear EITC. Do you?’ This is a line from the late, lamented West Wing. The acronym EITC refers to Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit for low to moderate-income working people. One of the characters, Charlie, is trying to fight for it, only to be told by Annabeth that this won’t be easy because it doesn’t have a catchy name like ‘Marriage Penalty’ or ‘Death Tax’. She’s right. Who would understand EITC, let alone get behind it? It’s the same on this side of the pond. Financial phrases like AER (Annual Equivalent Rate), DB (Defined Benefit) and OEICs (Open-Ended Investment Companies) don’t exactly roll off the tongue,