The amount of money lost through card fraud in the UK fell by 23% during the first half of the year as new prevention measures came into effect, new figures reveal.

The total cost of fraud on credit cards and debit cards fell to £232.8 million from January to June, down from £304.2 million in the first half of last year, according to Financial Fraud Action UK (FFAUK).

Losses from counterfeit card crime, where cards are skimmed or copied, fell by the largest margin, from £88.8 million last year to £46.3 million. Card-not-present fraud, including internet, phone and mail order crime, fell 18% from £163.9 million last year to £134 million.

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A year after the collapse of travel firm XL, 10,000 customers are still waiting for refunds.

Many find themselves stuck in a deadlock between the Civil Aviation Authority and credit card operators, both of which are supposed to protect consumers whose holidays fall through, while some customers have not yet received refunds because of difficulties in proving how much they paid for their holiday.

The XL Leisure Group collapsed last September, when it was the third largest travel group in the UK. The company was covered by the Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL) scheme, through which customers were advised to seek compensation.

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A county court judge has told a lender that it cannot demand payment of an £8,000 debt, possibly paving the way for thousands of borrowers to default on repayments.

Judge Jacqueline Smart at South Shields county court has ruled that the MBNA credit card company cannot demand that a customer repay her debt. The company tried to force Lynne Thorius to repay the £8,000 she owed on her card.

However, Judge Smart decided that there had been an unfair relationship between MBNA and Ms Thorius because of the way in which the firm sold her payment protection insurance.

The credit card was sold to Ms Thorius in the official Sunderland Football Club shop in 2002, along with payment protection insurance, which is designed to cover debt repayments in case of illness or redundancy.

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The Financial Services Authority has told banks and building societies to compensate customers who may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance.

The ruling covers firms that have sold more than 40% of their “single premium” PPI policies at the same time as giving unsecured personal loans. The FSA will also target other companies that have mis-sold PPI when offering secured loans or credit cards.

The regulator has asked firms to reopen 185,000 rejected complaints about PPI.

Payment Protection Insurance is designed to cover debt repayments if you can’t work because of illness or redundancy, and is usually offered whenever you take out a loan, mortgage, credit card or store card, or bought something on credit.

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted yesterday to keep interest rates set at 0.5% for the sixth consecutive month.

The MPC also decided against increasing the amount of money the Bank is pumping into the economy through quantitative easing - the option favoured by three members of the nine-strong committee - keeping the size of the scheme at £175 billion. It said that the Bank would carry out quantitative easing for another two months, adding that “The scale of the programme will be kept under review.”

The MPC’s decision follows recent evidence that the UK economy may be returning to growth after five quarters of recession in a row, including a rise in manufacturing output, a tentative rise in house prices and reports of increased activity in the services sector.

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Barclays has lodged an appeal against threatened limits on the sale of the controversial Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).

PPI is supposed to cover loan repayments if the holder is unable to work due to an accident or illness or if they lose their job.

In January the Competition Commission passed a ruling to prevent lenders from selling PPI alongside credit cards, loans and mortgages from October 2010. Instead they must wait seven days before contacting customers to sell them the cover.

In March Barclays lodged an appeal against the ruling, which is currently being heard in court. The bank argued that the ban is not justified by the evidence collected as part of the Competition Commission’s investigation.

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The total amount of personal debt in the UK has fallen for the first on record, according to new figures from the Bank of England. Mortgage repayments also outstripped new lending for the first time since records began in 1993.

Personal borrowing fell by £600m in July with the amount of money owed by individuals totalling £1.457 trillion. There was a decrease in both mortgages and personal loans.

The steep drop in mortgage lending was driven by the ongoing restriction of the amount banks and building societies are prepared to advance, with the British Bankers’ Association admitting last week that net lending in July fell to its lowest level since October 2000.

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Several shop customers have been charged twice for goods purchased using chip and pin following a technical problem with the Bank of Scotland’s electronic point of sale system.

The bank, which is owned by Lloyds Banking Group, said that a small number of customers had been affected by the hitch.

A spokesman said that customers would have their money reimbursed by the end of today (Wednesday) at the latest.

However, some businesses have complained they have had to deal with angry customers who mistakenly believed they had been overcharged by the shop where they had bought the goods.

“Some people have come to the shop very angry about it, because they think it is us who have charged them twice,” Chris Parton, owner of the Highland Soaps Company’s shop in Fort William, told the BBC. He added that his shop had made two refunds to appease angry customers.

Businesses also say there was no procedure in place to advise people who have the machines that there was a problem.

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Children as young as 13 will be able to apply for pre-paid Visa cards which can be used in shops, online and at cash machines.

The so-called “Load and Go” cards are being issued by mobile network O2 and can be obtained without parental consent, although parents will be informed when an application has been made.

The card, which is being launched in partnership with Natwest bank, comes with no fees and no overdraft facility, meaning that young users will not be able to spend more than they have loaded on the card. Money can be loaded online, at O2 stores, PayPoint and e-pay outlets. Users will be sent real time balance reports to their mobile phone.

A spokesman for O2 said: “This offers a much safer alternative to carrying cash around as it uses Chip and Pin security and can be blocked and replaced if stolen or lost, ensuring the money is safe and secure.”

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The high street bank HSBC has announced it is cutting the cheque guarantee limit on debit cards for some of its customers.

Currently around 300,000 HSBC customers have a cheque guarantee limit of £250. This will now be reduced to the standard £100 cheque guarantee available to the majority of the bank’s customers. However, debit card payments up to £250 will still be guaranteed.

HSBC said that it was cutting the higher cheque guarantee limit in an attempt to minimise losses from cheque fraud and to discourage people from spending money they did not have.

The banking industry as a whole is planning on phasing out cheque guarantee cards by 2011. Many retailers no longer accept cheques, and only 7% of cheques written are backed up by a cheque guarantee card.

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