Money
What banks require of business accounts, transfers and fees, credit and debt, benefits and saving.
Home insurance in the UK: buildings vs contents, what a renter needs and how not to lose your payout
Buildings insurance covers the structure and is compulsory with a mortgage; contents covers what's inside — and it's the only policy that matters for a renter, because the landlord's never covers your things. Citizens Advice rules explained: new for old, the excess, rebuild cost vs market value, and where to complain.
TV Licence in 2026: who needs one, the £180 fee, who watches free — and the £1,000 fine
Netflix and YouTube need no licence — but live TV on any channel, even a foreign one over the internet, and BBC iPlayer do. From 1 April 2026 a TV Licence costs £180. The GOV.UK rules explained: house shares, students, the free licence for over-75s, instalment plans and how to cancel legally.
Wills, inheritance and probate in the UK: who inherits without a will, the £325,000 threshold, 40% tax and a £526 probate fee
With no will, the law in England and Wales decides who gets what — and an unmarried partner gets nothing. From the primary sources: the £322,000 statutory legacy for a spouse, two witnesses and why marriage cancels an old will, the £526 probate fee, 40% above £325,000, the seven-year rule on gifts, and what changes for pensions on 6 April 2027.
How to get your money back through the courts in England: claims online from £35, a £10,000 small claims limit and free mediation
A landlord kept your money, a tradesman took a deposit and vanished, a friend will not repay. In England and Wales the process is still called the small claims court and it is built for people without lawyers. From GOV.UK and the statute: time limits, fees, fee remission, compulsory free mediation and what to do when you win and they still do not pay.
Two-thirds of UK fraud comes from abroad. How to get your money back from the bank: 5 business days and an £85,000 cap
On 24 September the Home Office announced an agreement with Cambodia against scam centres: more than two-thirds of the fraud affecting the UK originates overseas. ONS figures for the year to March 2026 show 3.8 million victims, up 10% on the year before. Here is where to report after 4 December 2025, and how mandatory bank reimbursement works: 13 months to claim, 5 business days to pay, an excess of up to £100 and an £85,000 cap.
Child Trust Fund: 827,000 people have not claimed their money — £2,310 on average
HMRC said on 23 September that almost 3 million Child Trust Funds have been claimed, but around 827,000 matured accounts are still untouched, worth £2,310 on average. An account was opened for everyone born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Here is how to trace yours in five minutes, and what you can do with it at 16 and at 18.
Help to Save: the government adds 50p to every £1 you save — £300m in bonuses paid out
HMRC said on 21 September that more than £300m in Help to Save bonuses has now been paid, across 656,700 accounts and £676.7m of deposits. You can put away £1 to £50 a month and the government adds up to £1,200 over four years. The catch is the entry rule: you must be on Universal Credit and have had at least £1 of take-home pay in your last assessment period.
How to return goods in the UK: 30 days for faults, 14 days for online orders, and chargeback when the shop says no
The law gives you 30 days to reject faulty goods for a full refund and 14 days to cancel an online order without giving a reason. For the first six months the retailer must prove the fault was not there at purchase. If the shop refuses, the bank pays: Section 75 on credit cards from £100 to £30,000 and chargeback within 120 days on debit cards. A step-by-step guide.
Bank of England holds Bank Rate at 3.75% — three of nine voted to raise it to 4%
The decision came at noon on 17 September: Bank Rate stays at 3.75% for a fourth meeting in a row. The vote was 6–3, with three members backing a rise to 4%. Inflation hit 3.1% in August and the Bank warned it is "likely to rise further over coming quarters". Nothing changes today for trackers and SVRs, but if your fix ends this autumn, do not count on cheaper deals arriving by themselves. The next decision is 5 November, with new forecasts.
£150 off your electricity bill: entitlement was fixed on 23 August, letters arrive in November — and it is not just for pensioners
The Warm Home Discount reopens in October for the 2026/27 winter. About 6 million households will get it, 96% of them automatically with no application. Universal Credit and Housing Benefit qualify, not only Pension Credit. But the electricity account must be in your name, and the qualifying date — 23 August 2026 — has already passed.
UK inflation accelerates to 3.1% as diesel jumps 14 pence in a month — a day before the rate decision
The ONS has published August data: consumer prices rose 3.1% over the year against 2.9% in July, a third consecutive rise. The cause is almost entirely fuel: motor fuels are up 23% over the year and petrol is at 161.3 pence a litre, the dearest since November 2022. A full tank of diesel costs £7.10 more than a month ago. Core inflation and services, meanwhile, did not move, and food has held at 1.3% for a third month.
Child Benefit: £27.05 a week per child — and why you should claim even if you have to pay it all back
Child Benefit is paid regardless of income: £27.05 a week for the eldest child and £17.90 for each additional one — £1,406 and £2,337 a year for one and two children. But the money is not the point: the claim automatically credits one parent with National Insurance towards the state pension until the child turns twelve, even if they opted out of payments. One warning: under a no recourse to public funds condition you must not claim.
How to complain about a bank, energy supplier or water company in the UK — and get compensation
Complaints here run on a clock: a bank has 8 weeks to reply, a telecoms provider 6, a water company 10 working days at each of two stages. Miss the deadline or fob you off, and an ombudsman takes the case for free — with a decision the company must honour. Who covers which sector, what to put in the letter, and why big purchases belong on a credit card.
UK state pension set to pass £13,000 — and overtake the tax-free allowance for the first time
The ONS has published wage growth for May to July: 3.9% including bonuses, the weakest since 2020. It is the first of the triple lock's three numbers, and on it the full new State Pension rises from £241.30 to £250.70 a week from April 2027 — £13,037 a year. The Personal Allowance is frozen at £12,570, so a pensioner with no other income gets a tax bill for the first time: around £93.
What changes from 1 October: six things that will touch almost everyone
Energy bills rise £60 a year, but VAT on electricity goes to zero. Right-to-work checks extend to couriers and subcontractors. The tribunal time limit doubles to six months. Date by date — plus three deadlines to meet.
The Autumn Budget lands on 28 October: what is already confirmed
The Budget is set for Wednesday 28 October 2026 and will be delivered by Chancellor John Healey — his first as Chancellor. Several measures are already named: £2 single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January 2027, zero VAT on electricity from 1 October, and a 20% business rates cut for pubs from April 2027. The rest is still rumour — and that is where the biggest sums sit.
Energy price cap rises 4% from 1 October: £1,723 a year for a typical home
Ofgem lifts the cap from £1,663 to £1,723 a year — £60 more, about £5 a month. Gas is the driver, with its unit rate up almost 9%. Electricity barely moves, because VAT on it drops to zero on 1 October.
Winter Fuel Payment 2026: who gets £100–£300, and who has to give it back
This winter’s heating payment goes to everyone born on or before 27 June 1960 who lives in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. For most people no claim is needed — the money arrives in November or December. But if your own income is above £35,000, HMRC takes it back through the tax system. Opting out: by phone until 6pm on 18 September, online until 11:59pm on 20 September.
The UK State Pension: 10 years, 35 years and an age of 67 — how it is actually counted
The full new State Pension in 2026/27 is £241.30 a week, about £12,548 a year. It is not paid to everyone and not automatically: you need at least 10 years of contributions, usually 35 for the full amount, and from April the pension age started climbing from 66 towards 67.
Changing money and sending it abroad from Britain: where the cost hides and what to check
The fee is not the biggest cost — the real money goes into a spread nobody displays. How to work out what an exchange truly costs, why you should never be billed in pounds abroad, why non-bank services carry no FSCS protection, and the honest position on transfers to Russia and Belarus.
Universal Credit: who can claim, what it pays, and why many people must not apply
The standard allowance runs from £338.58 to £666.97 a month, savings are capped at £16,000, and every £1 earned cuts the payment by 55p. But first things first: most visas carry a no recourse to public funds condition, and claiming without the right damages your visa. How to check your condition and what to do if you have no right to claim.
Council tax in 2026/27: what you pay, who pays less, and what happens if you fall behind
The average Band D bill in England is £2,392 a year. A 25% single-adult discount, 50% and full student exemptions, and the separate Council Tax Reduction scheme — none of it applies automatically, only on application. And seven days after a missed payment, the whole year becomes due.
Russia's digital rouble goes live: 12 banks, a 300,000-rouble cap and what it means from the UK
From 1 September the digital rouble has left the pilot stage: the twelve largest banks open wallets, retailers turning over 120 million roubles must accept it, and top-ups are capped at 300,000 a month. No interest, no cashback, and transfers cannot be reversed.
Digital currency explained: the pros and cons of the digital rouble, euro and pound
There is no exchange rate for a digital currency and never will be, nobody is being made to convert their money, and cash is not being abolished. Smart contracts for controlling earmarked spending, on the other hand, are real and documented. What already works in Russia, when the digital euro and pound arrive, and which fears have substance.
Food in Britain: where it is genuinely cheaper, and the money you may not be claiming
Yellow stickers on a timetable are a myth, and four of the big chains confirmed it. Meanwhile free school meals now go to every family on Universal Credit whatever their income, the old Household Support Fund has closed and been replaced, and community fridges hand out food with no voucher and no means test.
Credit history from zero, cards at 35%, and sending money home: what works differently from what you were told
A foreign credit record does not travel, and the standard advice to register to vote is simply unavailable to a large group of people — for whom there is another technique. Also: what a first card really costs, why the advertised rate is not yours, how Section 75 makes the bank liable for the seller, and what actually happens with transfers to Russia — not prohibited by law, but closed off by banks.
UK law does not require proof of address — and nine banks must open you a basic account
Checked against the rules themselves rather than the banks' websites: nine designated banks must open a basic account within 10 business days, the grounds for refusal are a closed list, and neither a poor credit file nor a missing address is on it. What to bring instead of a utility bill, where £120,000 of protection applies and where none does, and what changed on 28 April 2026.
VAT on electricity goes to zero on 1 October — and the bill still goes up
VAT on domestic electricity falls from 5% to nothing, taking about £45 a year off the Ofgem cap. At the same time the cap itself rises 4%, to £1,723 a year for a typical home. Net effect: you pay more, but less than you would have.