Money blog: Bar charges holidaymakers £690 for two drinks; savers have a rare opportunity - but it might be the last hurrah (2024)

A safety charity has warned England fans against buying cheap electronics online amid a "blitz" of advertising.

Electrical Safety First is urging fans bombarded with ads for discounted goods "don't bring it home" in a new campaign to raise awareness of unregulated online marketplaces.

The charity have previously uncovered substandard and dangerous electrical products across major online marketplaces.

Examples of such include portable heaters posing a serious risk of electrocution, hair straighteners and hair dryers featuring illegal UK plugs and e-bike chargers that pose a fire risk.

"Football, and other global sporting events, are experiencing advertising blitzes by major online marketplaces across the globe, and at a time when millions of people are struggling with finances, we understand how appealing low-cost deals will be," said Electrical Safety First's chief executive Lesley Rudd.

"But it's important for fans to remember that they risk scoring an own goal if the deal they bag turns out to be a substandard or dangerous product.

"Substandard electronics can have serious consequences for your safety and an innocent purchase could put you and your family at risk."

The charity makes the following suggestions to consumers selecting electronics from online marketplaces:

• Pay attention to the plug - if a product is listed with a foreign plug and travel adaptor, do not buy it.
• Do not buy on price alone - not all bargains are worth it
• Make sure you do your homework if you decide to buy products below high street retail prices.
• Beware of a product with solely glowing reviews, especially if the reviewers are not verified.
• Make sure you know where the supplier is based - a "co.uk" URL doesn't guarantee the website is UK-based.
• If there is no address supplied, or there is just a PO Box, be wary; many dodgy electrical goods are manufactured overseas.
• Look for websites that allow you to pay safely – these have a padlock symbol in the address bar of the website you are visiting. If you cannot see it, do not enter your payment details.

Consumer spending on car purchases has risen three times faster than for public transport journeys, new figures show.

Around £57.4bn was spent in the UK on new and used cars in 2023, up 6% on five years earlier, according to AA analysis of Office for National Statistics data.

By comparison, consumer spending on public transport - including rail, buses, flights and taxis - was £60.9bn, representing a 2% increase on five years ago.

AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens claimed the figures highlight how vital motoring was for people in the UK, as well as the country's finances.

He said: "These latest ONS figures underline the UK's reliance on cars and the huge amounts of money they generate for the economy - not to mention VAT on that spending, and other tax.

"Cars are not just necessary but essential on so many levels. Even if a significant amount of car use was transformed into take-up of public transport, the impact on the economy and other income generation would be dramatic.

"Just think how much councils would lose if a high percentage of cars stopped turning up to their car parks or needing parking permits, and getting fined.

"The key question is whether what consumers spend on cars would translate into income for public transport and cover the cost of infrastructure investment to enable that.

"It seems that getting travelling consumers to fork out for their own transport and its maintenance, and then tax the heck out of them, is a pretty good deal for the public purse."

Running a car also accounted for a large chunk of the £78.6bn spent on what is described as the operation of personal transport, with spending on fuel and lubricants up 20% since 2018 to £41.7bn.

New car purchases down

But despite the fact more consumers are spending money on cars than on public transport, the number of purchases of new cars by private buyers has declined for nine months in a row, new figures show.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 67,625 new cars were registered by private consumers in June, down 15.3% from 79,798 during the same month last year.

Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader, said: "With average new car prices rising almost 40% over the last five years, it's clear cost is the culprit.

"Manufacturers are responding with discounts but they're failing to keep pace, which is forcing many buyers to opt for a used alternative.

"Whoever forms the next government needs to address electric car affordability and provide long-term stability for the market."

Environmental impact

Despite comments from the AA, the billions of pounds spent by consumers every year on cars is having a clear effect on UK roads - where overall traffic levels in 2023 were 2.2% higher than the previous year.

More cars on the roads means more air pollution, which is among the biggest environmental health risks facing people in the UK.

Burning petrol and diesel fuel creates harmful by products like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, while vehicles emit carbon dioxide, the most common human-caused greenhouse gas.

Even electric vehicles produce particulate matter from the friction between their tyres and the road.

Researchers from University College London estimated that 48,625 adults die prematurely each year in the UK due to particulate matter pollution.

Presently, 79% of the UK exceeds the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual mean guideline for safe fine particulate matter levels.

A Greek restaurant has faced criticism for its "rip off" prices.

Holidaymakers have been warned to stay away from DK Oyster on the popular holiday island of Mykonos, which has received swathes of bad reviews onTripadvisor.

The restaurant, which describes itself as being an "oasis of ultimate luxury and extravagance", has an average star rating of two on the website - although, in the interests of balance, it has 4.8 on Google reviews.

Angry punters say they were lured into buying a drink at DK Oyster after being told the sunbeds were free, only for the prices for those drinks to be sky-high.

Among the latest to complain is Lori E, who said she returned home from her Greek holiday to see a charge of $876 (£690) for two drinks.

She wrote: "Total rip off! Make sure you get a receipt before leaving and check your credit card because they over charge.

"Was told beds were free to sit it if we order food or drink. No problem....ordered 2 drinks which we afterwards saw were 51 euros each.

"If that wasn't crazy enough we returned to the states and had a $876 charge on our account. FOR 2 DRINKS!!!"

The tourists are now trying to dispute the charge with their credit card company after never receiving a paper copy of a receipt.

Responding to the Tripadvisor review, DK Oyser said: "Our sunbeds come with minimum consumption, so we encourage all visitors to check the menus, before placing their orders.

"I would like to note that our menus are displayed on blackboards near the entrance, showing the prices of our food and drinks to keep our guests informed."

Other reviews claim DK Oyser charged them £253 for sea bass and £100 for a jumbo shrimp that "wasn't cooked properly".

DK Oyster has been contacted for comment.

Iceland is set to partner with parenting website Mumsnet to launch a range of children's products.

Mumsnet CEO Justine Roberts, and the brand's partnership director Sarah Murray-Muncila, met with members of Iceland's innovation team last week to work on the products.

According to The Grocer, the new products will hit the stores in early 2025.

"We've been working on something truly special in partnership with Iceland Foods," Mumsnet said.

"Big things are happening for little ones."

Iceland has launched several new collaborations in recent months, including exclusive products with brands such as Slimming World, MyProtein and boxer Tyson Fury's Furocity.

It's not just a big day in the UK with voters heading to the polls but also in the US with 4 July celebrations taking place.

And there's plenty to celebrate for those with a stake in US stocks.

Last night, there was another record high for the S&P 500 index that tracks the share price performance of the 500 largest companies listed on US stock exchanges.

The performance of companies on the tech firm-heavy New York-based NASDAQ too reached a new high.

It came as Elon Musk's Tesla saw its share price reaching a six-month high, along with the rise and rise of trillion-dollar AI microchip maker Nvidia.

Today and tomorrow will likely be quieter as the US markets close.

In the UK, both the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 and 250 indexes are up - 0.76% in the list of 100 most valuable companies and 0.42% in the 101st to 250th most valued firms.

While the pound does by buy less euro than it did earlier this month, with £1 equal to €1.18 it's still buying more than during most of the last year.

Against the dollar, sterling has held the gains of the last few weeks and a pound will get you $1.2749.

There is no let up for motorists as the oil price is sticking around the two-month high mark. A barrel of the benchmark Brent crude oil costs $86.59.

As house prices continue to rise, so too does the age at which young people can expect to own their own home.

Unfortunately, even the ceiling of the term "young people" isn't far off from being challenged - with fresh research suggesting that the average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is 33 years and 8 months old, according to Mojo Mortgages.

In comparison, in 1960, the average first-time buyer was 23 years old, according to separate research by Keepmoat Homes.

Comparatively, however, the average age of a first-time buyer in 2014 was 32 years, 6 months old, according to the Office for National Statistics.

During the same period, the average price of a house in the UK rose from around £188,000 (January 2014) to £282,000(January this year).

Back to today's figures - and those in Wales are able to buy their homes the youngest, with the data suggesting the average first-time buyer there is 31 years old.

Naturally, the older you buy a home, the later in life you'll pay off a mortgage.

With an average mortgage length of 30 years, it seemsthe average UK first-time buyer isn't expected to be mortgage-free until they are 63 years and 8 months old.

And if you live in the capital,you'll surpass the current retirement age at 66 years, 8 months.

Here's a full breakdown of how old first-time buyers are, the average mortgage length and age they can expect to be mortgage-free by region...

A lot of people have had to renegotiate or extend their mortgages thanks to soaring interest rates in recent years - and the data from Mojo tells us a little about that too.

The study found extending your mortgage term by 10 years (to 35 years) will cost today's average first-time buyer an extra £110,640, which may impact later life planning and their pension.

Barclaycard is cutting the minimum amount its customers have to repay each month.

While the move may sound like good news on the surface, it could well mean you're in debt for longer and end up paying more interest.

At the moment, most Barclaycard customers have a minimum repayment of 3.75% of their balance, 2.5% of their balance plus interest, or £5.

But, from 22 July, that will change to the highest amount out of:

• 1% of their balance
• 1% of their balance plus interest
• £5

This means if you are currently only paying the minimum on your card, you'll likely repay less each month.

But, minimum amounts are designed to keep people in debt for as long as possible, and lowering them just makes this period even longer.

MoneySavingExpert says the change means it could now take a customer with a £1,000 debt an extra decade to pay it off, if they only pay the minimum amount.

On average, it says it will take 19 years and three months to clear and the interest will total £1,655.

Founder of MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis says the change is "worryingly under the radar" and urged customers to check if their repayments are set to the minimum amount.

"Minimum repayments have always been credit card firms' secret weapon. Letting people repay little looks appealing – hence why Barclaycard says this is about 'flexibility'. Yet it takes flexibility to kick your own backside, and this will hurt some just as much," he said.

A Barclays spokesperson told Sky News: "We regularly review our products and from July, some Barclaycard customers will see changes to their minimum monthly payments, alongside adjustments to the APR.

"Customers will benefit from a reduction in their minimum monthly repayment and the vast majority have no change to APR, while some will receive a decrease.

"We have made these changes to increase flexibility for our customers and have been clear in our communications that paying more than the minimum can help customers clear their balance sooner and pay less interest."

Marks and Spencer is to launch a clothing repair service next month.

The retail giant has teamed up with clothing repair and alterations experts SOJO, which was founded in 2021 by Josephine Philips, to give clothes "another life".

From August, M&S customers will be able to book a bespoke repair service through a new online hub, "M&S Fixed by SOJO".

Repairs will start from £5 and be carried out by SOJO's in-house repair team.

The items will then be returned directly to the customer's doorstep within seven to 10 days.

Richard Price, managing director of clothing and home at M&S, said: "Through the launch of our repair service, we're making it even easier for customers to give their clothes another life, whether they are using our new repair service or long-standing clothes recycling scheme."

This week, Savings Champion research and development managerDaniel Darragh givesan overview of the savings market right now and reveals the best rates on offer across a range of accounts…

On the topic of savings rates, he says...

It is great to see that rates have remained steady throughout the year, despite frequent speculation over when the Bank of England would be decreasing the base rate.

This means that, with inflation slowly dropping month on month (and finally hitting the Bank's target of 2% in May) there are now more accounts that beat inflation than ever before, meaning savers have a rare opportunity to really increase the purchasing power of their money.

That being said, the Bank of England has signalled that it will cut the base rate at some point in the year, and with the election result looming in the next few days, the decision may be taken sooner rather than later.

Such a decrease will see borrowing and savings rates likely fall – so this may be the last hurrah for savers to get some of the best rates seen in years.

This explains why longer-term fixed rates are lower than shorter term – called an inverted curve, which indicates that we can expect interest rates to fall over the next few months and years.

So, while locking your money away for, say, five years, may earn you a lower interest rate now than a one-year term could currently earn you, that might not be the case in a year's time when and if interest rates fall as predicted – meaning your hard-earned funds increase much more in value over a five-year term than they would in renewing one-year terms every year.

That being said, the last few years have shown us how unpredictable and quickly economic conditions can turn!

Another interesting and important shift we have seen of late is that ISA rates, particularly on variable rate ISAs, have kept pace with, and in some cases outstripped, those of non-ISA accounts.

As an example, the best non-current account linked, non-ISA easy access account is paying 5.07% via the Flagstone platform, versus the best non-current account linked ISA account paying 5.17% with Plum on new ISA funds.

Of course, funding of ISA accounts is limited to the current limit of £20,000 per tax year, but this shift shows that ISAs have become increasingly popular again, as more savers find they are breaching their Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) with smaller and smaller amounts.

Hawksmoor is reportedly looking at funding options which could see the steak restaurant chain valued at around £100m.

Investment bank Stephens has been hired to run the process for the business, which is currently seeking opportunities to expand outside the UK.

Hawksmoor currently has three restaurants outside the UK, which are located in New York City, Chicago and Dublin. It has 10 other sites, including seven in London.

Private equity firm Graphite Capital owns 51% of Hawksmoor. If new investment comes in, co-founders Will Beckett and Huw Got are expected to retain their minority stake and continue to run the business.

Beckett said: "We've got a great relationship with Graphite, and together we are getting to know the US investment community in more depth. As that continues, an opportunity may emerge that we wish to explore together."

The Co-operative Bank is withdrawing its switching deal this week, leaving people just days to get £150 for free.

New customers, who switch using the CASS system, can bag £75 upfront for opening a standard current account or an Everyday Extra account.

They can then get paid £15 a month for five months if they also open a Regular Saver account.

Anyone making the switch will receive the initial £75 within seven days of meeting all the qualifying criteria.

This includes setting up two direct debits, depositing at least £1,000, making a minimum of 10 card transactions and registering for online or mobile banking.

All of these tasks need to be completed within 30 days of making the switch.

To qualify for the extra £75, you have to open a Regular Saver account before the last day of the month you receive the free cash incentive and deposit £50.

The offer is due to be withdrawn on Friday 5 July.

The average monthly rent being asked outside London has hit a record high of £1,316, according to Rightmove.

The new record across Britain means that average advertised rents outside the capital are around 7% higher than a year earlier, the property website found.

London has the highest rent prices in the country with an average of £2,652 per month, it said.

The South East has the second highest at £1,836, which is a 6% rise since last year.

The cheapest region is the North East, which typically costs £894 a month.

Rightmove has urged the next government to accelerate housebuilding and incentivise landlords to invest in more homes for tenants.

A budget supermarket chain has announced higher welfare standards for its chickens.

Aldi has said it will introduce improved stocking density requirements for its fresh chicken suppliers, which will mean the birds have 20% more space than the industry standard.

The extra space will let the chickens engage in "natural behaviours" such as stretching their wings, dust bathing and roaming, it said.

"Animal welfare is of paramount importance to us," said Aldi's managing director of buying, Julie Ashfield.

"We're already one of the UK's largest providers of responsibly farmed chicken and we've been working hard with our suppliers to reduce stocking density to help us improve the living conditions of these animals even further."

The move is due to be completed by October 2024.