Our investigation reveals how vulnerable customers are bombarded with calls, emails and letters encouraging them to take out expensive loans that can wipe out a lifetime of mortgage payments.
Rogue firms are paying search engines so that they appear at the top of results pages. Their sites have auto-dial functions to entice people into making a call, but they hide their fees in the small print.
In one case, a grandmother was denied entry to her local Halifax branch after taking a taxi to deposit a large amount of cash she felt unsafe keeping at home.
In August last year, my ten-year-old twin sons combined their birthday money to buy a Sony PlayStation 4 from Argos, costing £225. In February, the console stopped working.
Equity release, also known as a lifetime mortgage, is a fairly niche financial product. Yet elderly and vulnerable homeowners are bombarded with regular TV adverts, letters and emails.
Savings rates have plummeted to record lows since the Bank of England base rate fell to 0.1 per cent in March. But experts warn that customers with big providers are suffering the worst of the rate cuts.
Many stores extended their returns policies after being forced to close as a result of social distancing restrictions. But the clock will be ticking again now non-essential shops are re-opening.
A rising number of lenders have ended mortgage offers for borrowers with 5 per cent and 10 per cent deposits. The move has left many young buyers ‘effectively barred’ from the housing market.
For millions the idea of a cashless world is desperately worrying. But the move towards digital payments and online shopping could prove a lucrative opportunity for investors.
Working lives across the country have changed beyond recognition since the pandemic. Now, as many businesses are beginning to re-open, workers are facing fresh uncertainty.
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