Don’t get left in the dark over payouts if your power is cut off

When a huge surge hit Ruth Emery’s home, appliances were broken and the children had to bathe in a paddling pool. She explains how to get compensation if you suffer a similar fate

Rachel Reeves pledges ‘big bang’ for private pension funds

Chancellor says industry taskforce will allow retirement scheme managers to increase pension pots by up to £11,000

Global IT outage shows dangers of cashless society, campaigners say

Cash provides essential fallback when digital payments break down, Payment Choice Alliance points out

Ofcom to ban inflation-linked mid-contract price rises on phones, pay-TV and broadband

From January 2025 providers will have to tell customers upfront in ‘pounds and pence’ about expected increases

Parents saving up to £10,000 in nursery benefits may face unexpected tax bills

HMRC says several commercial schemes are exploiting tax exemption aimed at employers who provide nursery places

UK house purchases delayed by problems with Chaps payments system

Bank of England said issue affected some payments on Thursday but that service had been restored by 4.30pm

Southern Water boss handed £183,000 bonus despite huge rise in bills

Award for Lawrence Gosden comes after criticism of business plan and attempts to increase bills by 73%

Debt collectors are chasing my 84-year-old mother over a water bill

Water Plus wants £500 it says a tiny Methodist church in Cheshire owes

BoE should ‘stop squeezing living standards’ and cut rates, says policymaker

Swati Dhingra says Bank of England’s monetary policy committee should lower interest rates in August

Number of agreed UK house sales over past month ‘up 15% on 2023’

Buyers not fazed by election or Euro 2024, says Rightmove, as ‘gamechanging’ interest rate cuts anticipated

‘I feel sick’: couple say new-build home turned into disaster valued at £1

A couple’s Barratt house that surveyors say should be worth £350,000 has been left almost worthless due to defects

Mobile banking: alarm as fraudsters take over handsets and raid accounts

Scams underline risks of banking on mobile, with not all lenders prepared to refund victims

‘I’ve got a case’: the UK workers fighting their boss over return to office

Employees share how they are increasingly turning to the courts amid growing resistance to back-to-desk directives

Ofwat accused of showing ‘contempt’ to customers over water bill price rises

Politicians and campaigners condemn charging proposals, as regulator puts Thames Water into special measures

Water bills in England and Wales: how much more might you be paying?

The regulator is allowing different companies to put up prices by different amounts. Here’s what it will mean in your area