Leading credit card companies have agreed to give more help to customers who are heavily in debt, after talks with government ministers on Wednesday.

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, met with credit card companies and anti-poverty charities to push for fairer payment terms for credit card customers struggling to pay back their debt. In particular, he urged credit card companies to make clear to customers when rates change, as some credit card companies have been increasing their rates with little warning to customers, even as base rates have fallen sharply.

“The government is deeply concerned that borrowers aren’t getting a fair deal,” said Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas, who also attended the meeting. “That’s why we’ve taken swift action to bring the industry in to look at how costs are being applied to people’s existing debts.”

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The winter months are a particularly tough time for cars. As the days get shorter and colder, lights, heaters and windscreen wipers all put higher demands on the car’s battery; with more driving done in the dark, visibility is impaired; ice and snow can cause your car to skid off the road, and low temperatures can cause engines to freeze. Indeed, the AA reports that the number of breakdowns it has to deal with almost doubles whenever there’s a cold spell.

At this time of year it is therefore particularly important to make sure that you have adequate breakdown cover, which typically provides roadside assistance and alternative transport where needed. Some companies will also pay for or subsidise overnight accommodation near to your intended destination.

Aside from taking out adequate insurance, there are a number of steps you can take to minimize the risk of breaking down.

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Areas around the south of England have apparently been targeted as part of a wide-reaching cash machine scam. Residents of in the Amesbury, Salisbury and Andover areas have already fallen victim to the scams, which have seen shoppers who have made withdrawals from tampered machines defrauded out amounts up to £1,000.

Apparently, several customers have reported mysterious transactions being made on their cards, at Tesco branches in Slough, Hammersmith and Fareham.

Barclays have advised customers to always make sure that no-one else is looking at the keypad when you’re entering your PIN number, and not to use any cash machine that looks like it has been tampered with in any way. As a preventative measure, customers should also consider making cash withdrawals over the counter where possible, and asking for cashback at checkouts instead of using machines.

As getting money back from fraud claims can take up to 3 weeks, and the mad shopping run up to Christmas approaches, we warn all customers to be vigilant with their PIN numbers, and to cover the keypad with your other hand whilst entering the number.

Research analysing ten million claims made over the past ten months has revealed that motorists in the village on Winchelsea, East Sussex are most likely to have their car stolen or damaged, with 4.1% of the population making claims on their car insurance in the last five years.

Next in line were the towns of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in Cleveland and Godstone in Surrey, with just over 3% of the population making a claim between 2003 and 2008.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the survey was that the highest number of claims came from villages and small towns. However, large urban centres including Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and the London borough of Hackney also proved to be a massive target for thieves.

The results of the online survey highlight the importance of taking out Third Party Fire and Theft or Comprehensive insurance, rather than relying on Third Party Only insurance, the absolute minimum amount of insurance allowed under the law. As its name suggests, Third Party Fire and Theft insurance entitles you to claim for damages if your car is stolen or sustains damage as a result of theft, or is damaged or destroyed by fire.

While no-one can fully protect their car from being broken into, motorists can certainly reduce the risk by making sure that valuable items such as mobile phones, sat-navs and stereos are hidden from view. Additional cost-effective methods include fitting an alarm or steering wheel lock. Motorists with access to a garage should keep their cars locked away at night, which can also reduce insurance premiums.

Timed to cash in on the release of his latest book, but perhaps ill timed in light of today’s financial climate, historian Niall Ferguson fronts The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, starting tonight on Channel 4.

Ferguson’s line is that “financial history as the essential back-story behind all history,” and as such he takes us on a whistle stop tour of the world, first stopping off at Bolivia, heartland if the former Incan empire and from there introduces us to inflation, charting the blame for the decline of the Spanish Empire at the door of the Conquistadors who flooded Europe with so much precious metal, that silver became next to worthless.

The first part, entitled Dreams Of Avarice sees Ferguson introducing us the origins of banking, credit and debt and how today’s market conditions amount to little more than a footnote in history’s great narrative. Little comfort when you’re struggling to put petrol in your car though, eh Ferg?

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Recent research published by the Highways Agency show that many UK motorists sail dangerously close to the wind in winter months – over half of all drivers surveyed for the report said that they would be prepared to hit the road in order to get home or to work despite severe weather warnings, and of that half, a third would not carry out checks on their vehicle before heading off.

Derek Turner, director of network operations at the Highways Agency, said if motorists had to head out in more treacherous travel conditions it was important they were adequately prepared.

“Being caught out by cold weather, strong winds or heavy rain isn’t nice, especially if you’ve broken down,” he warned.

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