Financial news

• Era of ‘massive’ UK house price rises nearing end, says OBR economist

  18-05-2023 16:56
  
  David Miles says working from home, stalling population growth and higher interest rates will shape marketThe era of “massive” house price rises in the UK may be about to end, according to a senior economist at the government’s spending watchdog.David Miles, a member of a key committee at the Office for Budget Responsibility, said one of the main factors that would make runaway house price growth less likely was the increase in working from home. Continue reading...
  
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• Renters in England: how will the pet proposals in the Renters Reform Bill affect you?

  18-05-2023 15:57
  
  Landlords can no longer unreasonably refuse a tenants request to keep a pet in their home under the proposed lawRenters in England will soon have a legal right to request their pet lives with them, according to proposed laws in the Renters Reform Bill.The proposals will see an end to “blanket bans” as landlords must now consider and cannot unreasonably refuse a tenants request to keep a pet in their home. Continue reading...
  
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• Ovo and Good Energy ordered to pay £4m compensation after overcharging

  18-05-2023 14:14
  
  About 18,000 households could receive refunds of up to £181 on electricity and gas billsOvo Energy and Good Energy have been ordered to pay £4m after overcharging thousands of households on their gas and electricity bills by breaching the government’s energy price cap.The affected households will receive a combined total of £2.7m from the two companies while an extra £1.25m will go to vulnerable customers in the UK under Ofgem’s voluntary redress fund. Continu
  
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• Tell us: did you buy a house without viewing it first?

  18-05-2023 12:32
  
  During the pandemic, house viewings were temporarily postponed – but some prospective buyers went ahead with their plans Most people would never have dreamed of buying a property without viewing it at least once – until lockdown. During the pandemic, house viewings were temporarily postponed – but some prospective buyers decided to go ahead with their plans all the same, moving into homes they had never seen until they became the owners.A few years on, we’re keen to hear
  
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• Yes, banning no-fault evictions is a good start. But renters are still at the mercy of rogue landlords | Dan Wilson Craw

  18-05-2023 11:33
  
  The renters reform bill is long overdue – but until the rules are enforceable the odds remain stacked against rentersDan Wilson Craw is the acting director of Generation RentAnyone who has been looking for a new home to rent knows the market is brutal. Navigating mass viewings and intrusive referencing processes, and making agonising decisions on space and location in order to find something in your budget, is exhausting. When you finally sign a tenancy agreement and get hold of the keys,
  
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• Record numbers of British workers are sick. No wonder the economy is too. But there is a cure

  18-05-2023 09:00
  
  The Tories have failed to pursue the obvious answers to this crisis, punishing ill people and NHS strikers insteadBritain has a sick economy. That’s not a metaphor for the flatlining of growth over the past year, but a statement of fact. Never before have so many people been out of the labour force due to long-term sickness or disability. Never before has there been such a loss of human potential.Better health is desirable in itself. Ill-health makes people miserable, so it shouldn’t
  
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• I can’t get a refund as my John Lewis card is now defunct

  18-05-2023 08:00
  
  The issuer, HSBC, says there’s nothing it can do … and so does John Lewis FinanceI’ve been going around in circles for a month with my insurer and John Lewis Finance. I was due a refund on the remainder of my home insurance policy after selling my house in March. My insurer paid the £72.80 it owed to my John Lewis Mastercard, with which I had originally paid the premium. The problem is, the card no longer exists, as John Lewis Finance changed its lender and I did not wis
  
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