Unzipped: Cheques saved from being written off after investigation by Treasury

Published on Friday 15 July 2011 12:51

THE Payments Council has reversed its decision to scrap cheques after the Treasury found no credible and coherent case for abolishing them.

Plans to phase out cheques by 2018 met with criticism, particularly from charities and small businesses. The Payments Council has vowed cheques will continue for as long as customers need them.

Fuel poverty on rise

RISING utility bills pushed one million more homes into fuel poverty in 2009, according to government figures.

More than 5.5 million UK households spent at least 10 per cent of their income keeping warm, the highest level since 1996. Consumer Focus warned the figure could rise to 6.4 million when the latest energy price increases hit.

Seven out of ten fuel-poor households contain an elderly, ill or disabled inhabitant or a child.

Bonds beat inflation

BM SAVINGS has issued two new inflation-busting bonds and Isas with three or five-year terms.

The interest rate tracks inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index plus a fixed rate of 0.5 per cent on the five-year term or 0.25 per cent on the three-year term. The products accept deposits between 500 and 1m. Withdrawals are subject to a 5 per cent charge.

Leeds Building Society has launched a postal bond paying 2.8 per cent fixed until January 2012 with unlimited penalty-free access to all of the funds. The bond accepts investments between 1,000 and 1m.

Nationwide has introduced two 18-month loyalty savings accounts for existing savers, paying 3.3 per cent. The fixed-rate bond and Isa are for customers who have had at least 1 in a Nationwide savings account for three months.

The accounts can be opened with 1 and allow deposits of up to 5,000 for the loyalty bond and 5,340 for the Isa.

New mortgage deals

CHELSEA Building Society has entered the 90 per cent loan-to-value mortgage market with a two-year fix at 4.39 per cent and a five-year fix at 5.29 per cent. The mortgages charge a 1,495 fee.

Yorkshire Building Society has introduced new fixed rates starting at 2.89 per cent for two years and 3.89 per cent for five years, with a 25 per cent deposit. Both mortgages charge a 995 fee.

The Mortgage Works has reduced selected tracker mortgage rates by up to 0.8 per cent and its fixed rates by up to 0.95 per cent.

The updated range includes a five-year fix at 3.99 per cent with a 30 per cent deposit and 0.5 per cent fee, and a two-year capped tracker at 2.19 per cent above base rate, capped at 3.69 per cent, with a 30 per cent deposit and 995 fee.

OFT websites warning

THE Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into websites that resell government services, following the closure of four websites that charged 10 a time for free European Health Insurance Cards.

The OFT warned that websites are posing as government agencies and deceiving customers into overpaying for services, including driving theory tests.