We're looking at buying a house, and we've so far started talking with pretty much the first mortgage advisor that got back to us, from a recommendation of an estate agent.

He's part of Countrywide Mortgage Services which in itself is completely fine, and I don't think there's anything shady going on, but I feel like we're being rushed and heavily pressed into moving as quickly as possible into booking viewings, buying into "mortgage protection" (basically life insurance packages with loads of bollocks on top) and it's giving us a bad taste after our last two meetings with him.

At the same time, he's shown us the portal he uses for finding mortgage rates and its clear we'd save more than the £700 price for his services, and we definitely do want someone to help handle the process for us, but are they meant to feel as pushy as car salesmen?

Britain's TSB bank (SABE.MC), opens new tab has been fined 10.9 million pounds ($14.25 million) for failing to ensure customers in arrears were treated fairly, the markets watchdog said on Thursday.

The bank, which has paid 99.9 million pounds in redress to 232,849 mortgage, overdraft, credit card and loan customers affected, also lacked suitable systems and controls to secure fair outcomes, the Financial Conduct Authority said.

The regulator ordered an independent review in 2020 into how the bank treated customers who fell into arrears, finding it risked agreeing unaffordable payment arrangements or charging inappropriate fees.

"TSB's woeful systems and controls exposed its customers to risk of harm and meant it missed opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing," said the FCA's co-head of enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/10682339

The cost of some items including meat, crumpets, chocolate biscuits, furniture and household items fell. However, petrol and diesel prices rose.

Lower inflation does not mean prices overall are coming down, they are just rising less quickly.

British households are on course to be worse off at the end of a parliamentary term for the first time in modern history, leading economists have warned, after Jeremy Hunt’s £20bn autumn statement tax cuts favoured the richest 20% of earners.

A day after the chancellor’s speech, the Resolution Foundation thinktank said sluggish economic growth, persistent inflation and higher taxes meant the average household would be £1,900 poorer by January 2025 than they were in December 2019.

...

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the chancellor had “almost one-for-one” paid for tax cuts by slashing spending on public services, after refusing to top up funding to protect against rising inflation.

Paul Johnson, the IFS director, said Hunt’s plans to were likely to inflict more “pain” than the austerity drive undertaken by George Osborne in the 2010s.

“George Osborne managed to get the size of the state back down after the financial crisis. That was painful. Doing it again will be more painful still,” he said. “Mr Osborne made his cuts after a decade of big spending increases. Mr Hunt, or his successor, will have no such luxury.”

The Resolution Foundation said the top fifth of households in Britain would gain most from Hunt’s tax cuts. It said they would benefit by £1,000 on average, five times the gains of the bottom 20%, who would be only £200 better off from measures that include a 2p cut in national insurance.

Because it turns out SW/Lloyds replaced their computer system last July, and since then none of my pension payments have been going into my account.

Our accountant has had to chase them up since somebody noticed at the start of the year. And only now have they admitted it, and making noises about fixing it.

the team at MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE.com) has reported that several energy firms are now offering existing customers fixed-tariff deals which could give households a bit of financial stability over the next 12-months. Octopus, Sainsbury's Energy, E.on Next, Shell Energy and British Gas are offering deals that are just below, or on, the level of the current price cap (£2,074) - something MSE.com said “could be worth considering”.

But it also reminded people of its founder, Martin Lewis' ‘rule of thumb’ over whether you should switch to a fixed-energy tariff.

For the current fixed-tariff deals available to view on MSE.com, the consumer champion said: “Based on current predictions, if any firm offers a fix for under the July Price Cap, that looks a decent deal. If it's the same or a little more, it may still be worth considering for the sake of price certainty.