For updated information surrounding the Coronavirus please check the government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus Nearly a million Universal Credit claims in past two weeks The Department for Work and Pensions said 950,000 successful applications for the payment were made in the past fortnight. They would normally expect 100,000 claims in a two week period. Loans for […]
Statutory Sick Pay from day one for those affected by coronavirus As part of emergency legislation to deal with coronavirus, the Prime Minister has announced that Statutory Sick Pay will be made available from day one when self-isolating, instead of day four. The change will be temporary to respond to the outbreak and will lapse […]
Ovo Energy to pay £8.9m for overcharging customers Regulators has made Ovo repay customers it overcharged. Customers who paid too much will receive an average of £131.20 each. Ovo is also making a payment into a voluntary redress fund to help vulnerable customers Wonga borrowers to receive only 4.3% of compensation claims People who have […]
Increase in rail fares with effect 1 January 2020 Rail fares increased by 2.7% at the start of the 2020 by 2.7%. New online repayment service for student loans The Department for Education has announced the launch of a new online repayment service in 2020, which will provide graduate with more up-to-date information than they […]
Universal Credit adverts banned for being misleading The government ran a series of advertisements in May and June claiming to debunk myths about Universal Credit. However, following complaints the Advertising Standards Agency has banned the adverts from appearing again in the form complained about. It also told the DWP to ensure it had sufficient evidence […]
UCAS criticised for promoting ‘inappropriate’ private loans to students University admissions service UCAS has been accused of promoting “inappropriate”, high-interest private loans to students. UCAS Media sent an email to those who had opted in to receiving marketing emails which included an advert for Future Finance, offering student loans with interest rates of between 8% […]
New report by Citizens Advice shows benefit claimants struggling to meet essential costs New data from national Citizens Advice reveals that almost one in two (49%) benefits claimants have struggled to pay for essentials, while 40% have lost sleep due to money worries. Two in five (39%) of people who claim have less than £100 […]
Mobile phone scam Beware of a scam involving criminals ordering an expensive mobile phone using another person’s identity, and then trying to intercept – or trick the person into handing it over, such as posing as a courier to collect the “wrongly delivered” item. The scam usually happens when fraudsters get hold of an individual’s […]
Plans to allow renters to access to the Rogue Landlords Database The Rogue Landlords Database, launched in 2018, contains information about private landlords and letting agents who have been prosecuted or fined. At the moment there are only ten names on the database. The list is only available to local authorities, but government plans would […]
Universal Credit Scams Beware of scammers claiming to be from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offering ‘government loans’. They use a victim’s personal details to apply for universal credit and an advanced payment, which is paid to the person’s bank. The scammers then charge the victims for the ‘service’. The individual does not […]