Over a million homeowners are due a mini-windfall. That’s thanks to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) ruling that banks and insurers unfairly raised mortgage insurance premiums, and reduced cover, as the chances of a policy-holder being made redundant increased.
Indeed, the cost of mortgage payment protection insurance has increased by up to 60% in the last few years, says Moneysupermarket.com. But the FSA’s decision means MPPI providers should refund additional charges to customers and put them back in the position they were in before the policy was changed, says Paul Farrow in The Sunday Telegraph.
• The number of Isas on offer to the over-50s looking to take advantage of their increased allowance has risen this week. Nationwide has launched a Three Year 50+ Fixed-Rate Isa paying 4%, the Post Office offers a Fixed-Rate Cash Isa offering 3.2% for one year, while West Bromwich Building Society has launched a 30-day Notice Over 50s Fixed-Rate Isa, paying 3%.
• Intelligent Finance has been accused by Elizabeth Colman in The Sunday Times of “driving away customers”. That’s because the bank has written to customers saying that from next April they will no longer be able to take their existing Intelligent Finance mortgages with them when they move house.
• The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced that banks will have to state more clearly how much customers have been charged in fees on their current account. In future, providers will have to display this information more prominently on statements and provide customers with average credit and debit balances, in order to help them estimate the benefits of switching from one provider to another.
• If you do all, or even part, of your Christmas shopping online, it’s time to get organised, warns Martyn Hocking in Which? magazine. Royal Mail postal strikes are expected to cripple deliveries in the run up to Christmas as postal workers struggle to cope with the backlog of post left by a summer of strikes. “If you are planning to shop online, check final delivery dates well in advance – and keep checking in case they change.”