Financial news

• Javid accused of doing dirty work for Tata

  28-05-2016 15:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BUSINESS Secretary Sajid Javid has been accused of doing Tata’s “dirty work” by members of his own Government, after unveiling plans that will drastically cut the pensions of steelworkers.
  
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• Beware new EU law if you are hiring a car in Switzerland this summer

  28-05-2016 08:01
  
  A Swiss-registered hire car cannot be driven across the border to France, Germany, Italy or Austria by an EU citizenA new European Union regulation that came into force on 1 May is causing chaos among holidaymakers heading to Switzerland who hire a car.The rule bans EU citizens from driving non-EU registered hire cars in the EU. But with Switzerland, a non-member, at the heart of Europe there are problems at car hire offices: a Swiss-registered hire car cannot be driven across the border to Fran
  
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• What can my daughter buy her form tutor as a leaving gift?

  28-05-2016 08:00
  
  We don’t even know if this is still the done thingEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.This week’s question: Continue reading...
  
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• Left without internet for six months (and I’m in the shade of the BT Tower)

  28-05-2016 08:00
  
  After BT failed to install broadband when she moved in, a first-time buyer in central London says more than 100 emails have got her nowhereIt is one of central London’s most striking landmarks and dominates the skyline over Sheila Coombes’s flat in Fitzrovia. But for her, the very sight of the BT Tower – a mere three-minute walk away – adds insult to injury over what she describes as appalling treatment by the telecommunications giant.Nearly six months since moving into a
  
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• Ferry firms go overboard in charging British travellers

  28-05-2016 08:00
  
  Crossings to and from Britain can cost twice as much as others in Europe, but there are still ways for a family to save this summerBritish holidaymakers face some of the highest ferry prices in Europe, according to a Guardian Money price check, with the worst fees on the routes out of Portsmouth to Normandy and Brittany.A British family of four hoping to take their car abroad at peak time in August, departing on a Saturday, will pay £723 return if they book the Brittany Ferries Portsmouth-
  
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• Expensive and worthless: the whole of life insurance plans sold to millions

  28-05-2016 08:00
  
  Many people are facing huge hikes in premiums, and discovering that the controversial policies sold as investments are anything butSince the late 1980s Kusumben Amin, now 82, has scrimped and saved to build a nest egg for her two daughters. But after handing over £35,000 to a reputable insurance firm over a period of 29 years, she has now discovered it is worth a paltry £1,227.Although Amin, who speaks little English and reads none, thought she had taken out a savings policy, what sh
  
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• When sky-high repair bills can make right to buy the wrong choice

  28-05-2016 07:59
  
  Former local authority tenants who bought their properties for as little as £44,000 are facing demands of up to £50,000, which they can’t afford to payCouncil tenants thinking of taking up the right to buy their home have been warned they could end up being virtually bankrupt by eye-watering major works bills from their local authority freeholder. The issue affects people who have bought former council flats on the open market, as well as right to buy owners.Take, for example,
  
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• Student loans: the next big mis-selling scandal?

  28-05-2016 07:59
  
  A change to loan conditions, made after it’s taken out? A mortgage company can’t legally do that to borrowers, but it seems the government canMany graduates have been shocked this week to see just how their debt is escalating, with interest charged at up to 3.9%. That’s more than the typical rate on a first-time buyer mortgage. Have they been mis-sold a dodgy loan?University of Nottingham graduate Simon Crowther’s post on Facebook went viral this week, after he revealed h
  
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• Chased for a tiny Halifax debt – but only after it let it spiral into three figures

  28-05-2016 07:59
  
  I haven’t used an account for 20 years, and suddenly it wants more than £100 from meI’ve been contacted by a debt recovery agency asking for £106 to settle an outstanding sum on a Halifax account I didn’t remember having. Finally it sent me some previous statements dating back to 2008, when I apparently owed £22.42, but these had been sent to an address I lived at up until 1996. Overdraft charges have raised the sum to £106.Since I can’t have used
  
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• So THAT'S why they don't want us to leave: Brexit set to send German exporters bust

  28-05-2016 01:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  SCORES of German companies would be left facing bankruptcy if Britain leaves the European Union, according a report by a leading credit insurer.
  
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• Homes in converted schools – in pictures

  28-05-2016 00:45
  
  Do your homework before picking from a listed cottage in Scotland and a flat in south LondonContinue reading...
  
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