The FSA has hinted that financial advisers could be forbidden to call themselves “independent” if they earn commission from financial products.
According to the FSA’s review of the sector, commission-based sales could lead to “consumer detriment” shorthand for mis-selling.  
One well-known consumer group said: “There is an inherent conflict of interests in commission-based advice which can […]

Leeds Mercantile Court in Yorkshire is bracing itself for some 200 cases regarding bank customers’ demands for the return of overdraft charges.
Some have been settled before a hearing, as the banks are extremely wary of going to court and losing a case that may set a precedent which could cost them millions of pounds in refunds […]

UK house price growth ‘bounced back’ in June, with prices rising 1.1%, according to the latest property price survey from Nationwide.
This was a stronger than forecast performance and lifted the annual rate of growth from 10.3% in May to 11.1% now.
Nationwide reported that prices were rising twice as fast as last year, with the average […]

Low-income households that tend to comprise the bulk of pre-payment energy customers are missing out on average savings of £100 a year by not being able to switch supplier, according to the energy regulator Ofgem.
This is a significantly higher saving than direct debit customers could achieve by switching, the regulator added.
However, the pre-payment energy sector has always been […]

The UK’s interest rates are still low, according to the deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve.
At a speech in Guildford, Surrey, he explained the reasons behind his vote to increase the rate - he was one of four members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) who did so at its June meeting […]

Battered homeowners and businesses, particularly in the north and east of England, were today counting the cost of the recent storms that have brought havoc to huge swathes of the country.
Insurance industry insiders have estimated the damage to be in the region of tens of millions of pounds, and are reckoning that the typical claim will […]

People’s average council tax bill has almost doubled since Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister in May 1997, according to a recent analytical report from mortgage lending bank Halifax.
The rise, from £550 to nearly £1,100, is three times higher than the rate of inflation and twice the rise in annual earnings, standing at 91% higher than […]

As Wimbledon 2007 gets underway - the first to offer male and female competitors the same prize money - a women’s campaign group has called on Gordon Brown to do more to close the gender pay gap in all areas of society.
The Fawcett Society says it wants UK firms to pay an equal wage to all […]