Two days after switching energy supplier from Utility Point, I received an email from the company informing me that my account was in credit by £377.62, which would be refunded within 10 working days. Six weeks on, I have still not received it. Online reviews suggest that, like myself, many people were attracted to cheap…
Women over 50 in the UK are paid almost £8,000 a year less than men, according to research revealing that the collapse of retailers during the pandemic has hit women much harder than men. An analysis of official data found that the median annual salary of women working full-time in their 50s was 23% less…
When the UK entered the coronavirus age in March, state resources and collective commitment were mobilised on a scale not seen since the second world war. Decades ago, Britain had revealed itself, thanks in part to being able to marshal the industrial might of the empire, to be a formidable world power. Its economy was…
Will I see prices rise at the supermarket? There had been warnings that products such as meats, dairy and cereals sold in the UK could have faced tariffs of as much as 50% under World Trade Organisation rules. But the deal means there will be no tariffs on products sold between the UK and the…
There’s a whiff of nostalgia for my awards from previous years. Back in those days, we got exercised over airlines failing to pay compensation for delayed flights, obscure restrictions on train tickets and recalcitrant retailers. Then came Covid. Never mind compensation – the battle of 2020 has been to get hold of refunds for flights…
Coronavirus has changed lives and industries across the UK, accelerating fundamental shifts in behaviour and consumption that were already on their way. Debates about home working, preserving local high streets and the ethics of air travel were bubbling away before coronavirus rampaged across the world, but the consequences of the worst pandemic in more than…
