Consumer association Which? has accused energy companies of taking “free loans” from customers through monthly direct debit payments.

The regulator found that customers paying by direct debit were in credit by an average of £74 on their electricity bill and £84 on their gas bill, and that 13% of customers were more than £100 in credit on their energy bills.

This amounted to “free loans” for energy companies, Which? said in its report.

In the latest Which? consumer satisfaction survey the most common complaint was direct debits were set too high by energy providers.

“It seems incredible that energy companies can take hundreds of pounds more than they need to from their customers, and profit from the interest that this money will earn at our expense,” said Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? Money.

“While a small amount of credit built up over the summer months can be used up during the winter, it is difficult to see how a £200 credit will be used up - particularly as the customer makes the same payment each month.”

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Savings deposits fell again in February, indicating that consumers’ budgets are coming under pressure due to the recession, the British Bankers’ Association has said.

According to the BBA, personal deposits dropped by £0.1 billion last month, after a much larger £2 billion fall in January, because of increasing pressure on personal finance from the ongoing credit crunch and a series of rates cuts by the Bank of England.

Savings have fluctuated recently, as consumers face conflicting financial pressures. On the one hand many people are uncertain about their financial future, and are likely to save their money for a rainy day rather than go out and spend it.

On the other hand, the Bank of England’s policy to cut interest rates to 0.5% had has a marked effect on savings rates, with average instant access savings accounts yielding just 0.17 percent a year in interest. Some consumers are likely to consider it pointless to make personal deposits when the return is negligible.

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The government has been criticised for allowing Northern Rock to continue writing high risk loans for six months after it was given emergency support using taxpayers’ cash.

The National Audit Office said that ministers were slow to respond and underprepared when Northern Rock asked the Bank of England for an emergency loan in September 2007 because of problems raising cash in short term wholesale debt markets, prompting a run on the banks.

A report from the public spending watchdog found that the bank was still giving out its notorious 125% ‘Together’ mortgages in early 2008. Between September 2007 and February 2008, when Northern Rock was nationalised, more than £1.8 billion of high risk loans were written, the NAO said.

But it said that nationalising the bank had protected taxpayers’ money.

“The Treasury successfully met its objective to protect Northern Rock’s depositors and stopped the run on the bank,” said Tim Burr, head of the NAO.

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The introduction of the chip and PIN system has helped reduce credit card fraud, according to payments association Apacs.

Credit card fraud as a percentage of turnover fell between 2004 and 2008, despite an increase in losses because of the crime, indicating that chip and PIN is working, the body said.

Apacs figures show that credit card fraud resulted in £609.9 million total losses in 2008, up from £535.2 million the previous year. However, the percentage of lost turnover due to card fraud went down from 0.14% in 2004 to 0.2% in 2008. According to Apacs, this reduction indicates that chip and PIN is proving a success.

“The two main areas of fraud were on transactions not protected by chip and PIN: specifically internet, phone and mail order fraud; and fraud abroad - committed by criminals using stolen UK card details in countries yet to upgrade to chip and PIN - which has nearly doubled in two years,” the group said in a statement.

Apacs has urged countries without chip and PIN, which include the USA, to adopt the technology.

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Sending you pets to the vet for regular health checks could reduce your insurance premiums, according to a leading insurer.

As well as keeping your pet in good health, regular trips to the vet also mean that potentially nasty conditions can be nipped in the bud at an early stage, this avoiding expensive treatment claims, M&S Money has said.

For example, a single treatment which lowers the chances of animals catching fleas cost as little as £4, but treating a serious case of fleas could set you back by up to £2,000. This is because a flea infestation tends to weaken an animal’s immune system, leaving it more susceptible to diseases such as tapeworm. The fleas themselves can trigger an allergic reaction in animals.

Judith Roberts, Insurance Manager at M&S Money, said, “Responsible pet owners know that regular treatments can help to reduce the likelihood of their pets suffering from common conditions.”

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Thousands of British holidaymakers may be choosing their holiday destination based on false assumptions as to which countries fall in the eurozone, according to a recent survey.

A report by the Post Office found that significant numbers of UK holidaymakers, concerned about the weakness of the pound and high prices in the eurozone, may avoid Europe’s cheaper destinations, mistakenly thinking that they use the euro. Others are unaware that some of the most popular destinations in Europe use the Euro.

Of the 2,000 customers interviewed for the survey, 20% were unaware that key tourist hotspots such as Greece and Portugal are eurozone members, and a staggering 43% believed that Austria, a founding member, did not use the currency.

Conversely, many tourists incorrectly thought that many of the Europe’s cheapest destinations use the euro. 33% of holidaymakers believed that Turkey, which uses the lira, was a zone member, while over a quarter said that the Czech Republic (koruna) and Hungary (forint) use the euro. Denmark has consistently been a strong defender of its own currency, the krone, yet almost half of those surveyed thought that the euro was the nation’s currency.

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New rules designed to limit risky mortgages have come under criticism from experts in the property market.

Under the planned legislation, to be announced by FSA chairman Lord Turner later this month, mortgages would be limited to three times the buyer’s annual salary. There are also plans to ban 100% mortgages as house prices continue to fall.

The recession has seen a sharp rise in house repossession as homeowners struggle to make their mortgage repayments, with many in negative equity. Reckless lending by banks has been seen to contribute to the UK’s high-debt levels, as people are unable to afford the mortgages for which they have signed up.

However, John Charcol Mortgages, an independent mortgage advice firm, has warned that the measures will hurt first-time buyers.

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The government is planning to ban credit card cheques as part of a crackdown on high-risk lending.

Legislation will also be introduced to prevent credit card companies from raising a customer’s credit limit when this has not been requested - a practice used by firms to encourage customers to get into more debt. Currently Britons owe £53 billion in credit card debt.

“We are concerned that people may be tempted to borrow irresponsibly if credit card companies increase borrowing limits without this being requested by customers, or send out unsolicited credit card cheques,” said Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas.

“It’s vital we protect consumers at this time and we are exploring these issues carefully,” he added.

Credit card cheques function in a similar way to cheques on current accounts. They offer an alternative means of drawing on a credit card account when the card itself is not accepted, for example to pay a trader. However, they often carry more expensive charges than credit cards, with fees of up to 3% and typical interest rates of 20% or more, and do not offer the same level of protection against faulty goods.

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A mobile phone insurance scam is being investigated by Trading Standards, after hundreds of people were duped into giving out their payment details.

The fraudsters ring up people with a new phone, claiming to be from the network or shop from which the customer bought the phone. They then offer the customer cheap insurance. But after the consumer gives their payment details, the insurance they end up with is often non-existent.

Several companies have been involved in the scam, and most of these are based in Swansea. Currently, Trading Standards is investigating 10 firms, and has urged consumers to be vigilant when they receive calls advertising phone insurance and other products.

The companies involved in the scam are thought to be buying new phones and tapping in similar numbers to their own, until they find someone with a new phone.

Though customers from all the major networks have been targeted, the scam is proving a particular headache for O2. The fraudsters have focussed on the company because of booming sales in the new iPhone.

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