Money, in brief

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Britain's competition and consumer watchdog, fined three firms about 6m pounds in total on 14 October for illegal sales tactics. [1]

Wayfair, an online furniture shop, was fined 4.8m pounds for offers that claimed to end soon, with phrases like 'Here Today, Gone Tomorrow' and countdown timers. [1]

Many of those products were still on sale at the same price or lower after the deadline had passed, so the deadline was false. [1]

Appliances Direct, an online electricals shop, was fined 1.2m pounds for the same practice. [1] It had also signed customers up to extras, such as recycling their old machine, without them choosing it. [1]

Gold's Gym, a US gym chain, was fined 45,000 pounds for leaving its joining fee out of the membership price it showed. [1]

Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym must refund 440,000 pounds: about 25 pounds each to thousands of Appliances Direct buyers, and up to 50 pounds each to 726 gym members. [1]

Customers do not have to claim. The firms must contact them, with deadlines of 11 March and 29 March. [1] The BBC's report lists refunds from those two firms only. [1]

All three admitted breaking the law and settled early, which cut each fine by 40%. [1]

Wayfair called the penalty excessive. [1] Nick Glynne, who runs Buy It Direct, the owner of Appliances Direct, called the CMA's sums a 'black box' and said he settled only because an appeal would cost too much. [1]

The three were among eight firms the CMA began investigating in November 2025. [3][10] These were its first cases under a 2024 law that lets it decide a case and fine a firm without going to court. [4][10]

Its earlier cases ended with refunds too. [5][6] AA's driving schools were fined 4.2m pounds and refunded 760,000 pounds, about 9 pounds a learner, for a booking fee shown only at checkout. [5]

StubHub, a ticket resale site, was fined almost 900,000 pounds in June and refunded more than 590,000 pounds to 51,350 fans, about 10 pounds a purchase. [6][7]

A researcher writing in The Conversation says even a true 'only two left' message puts shoppers under pressure, and the law does not cover that. [2]

Why it matters. Watch the cases still open, Viagogo's from the first eight and Trainline's, Virgin Atlantic's and RED Driving School's from August, for whether each fine again comes with money back to customers. [6][8]

Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, said on 14 October that firms which missed performance targets in 2025-26 must hand money back through bills. [11] Yorkshire Water must return 75.1m pounds, about 27 pounds off an average bill, and Thames Water 45.8m pounds, about 7 pounds. [11] Severn Trent and Northumbrian Water met their targets and may collect 41.8m and 35.9m pounds more, so Northumbrian bills could rise about 21 pounds. [11] The figures are a draft; Ofwat decides by 15 December, for bills from April 2027. [11]

Why it matters. Customers cannot switch water company, so these automatic penalties and rewards stand in for the choice they lack. [11] Thames Water's boss said in July that some of its targets were 'not realistic'. [12]

Which?, a UK consumer group, checked 36 online car insurance quotes in August for a 42-year-old driver in Yorkshire. [13] Paying monthly means borrowing the year's premium from the insurer and paying it back with interest. [13] Half the quotes charged more than 25% a year, and two more than 50%. [13] On 22 quotes, paying monthly cost 10% to 16% more than paying at once, up to 368 pounds extra. [13]

Why it matters. The extra falls on drivers who cannot pay a whole year at once. [13] Which? wants the Budget to ban charging them more, and one firm, City Insurance, says it will cut its rate from 53% to about 36%. [13]

The UK Department for Transport will review the fees airports charge drivers to drop passengers at the terminal. [14] The RAC, a motoring group, found these fees up by a third on average since summer 2025. [14] Gatwick and Stansted went from 7 to 10 pounds. [14] London City Airport began charging in January 2026 and takes 8 pounds for five minutes. [14][15] None of the ten biggest airports in the European Union charges for drop-offs, the RAC says. [14]

Why it matters. Airports UK, which speaks for the airports, says most UK airports are private and pay full business rates, unlike many abroad. [14] The UK government has asked airports to hold back rises where there is little public transport. [14]

Only 2,400 of about 233,300 carer's allowance cases have been reviewed in the first five months of a scheme to cancel wrongful benefit debts. [16] Carer's allowance pays 83.30 pounds a week to people caring 35 hours or more, and earning 1p over the weekly limit meant repaying the whole week. [17][18] In 2020 UK welfare officials quietly stopped carers averaging out uneven pay, and many ran up debts. [16] So far 100 carers have been repaid 40,000 pounds, about 342 each. [16]

Why it matters. At this pace the work would take about 40 years, campaigners say. [16] The Department for Work and Pensions says it will finish by March 2029 and will double its staff on the scheme to 250. [16]

Banning claims for anxiety, ADHD or autism from personal independence payment (PIP) would not save much, said the Resolution Foundation, a think tank on living standards. [19] PIP is a UK benefit that helps with the extra costs of disability, and it will cost about 28bn pounds this year, rising to 34bn. [19] Most claimants have several conditions, so cutting by condition does not work, it says. [19] It suggests ending cash for about 670,000 claimants who report no extra costs, saving about 4.4bn pounds a year. [19]

Why it matters. Ministers are said to be weighing ending PIP for under-25s while they wait for an official review of the benefit. [19] A push for 5bn pounds of PIP cuts collapsed last year after Labour MPs rebelled. [19]

John Healey, the UK chancellor, is reported to be planning to make online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay collect VAT, a sales tax. [20] It would cover every seller on them with sales over 90,000 pounds a year. [20] Some foreign sellers dodge today's rules by posing as British firms. [20] The change could raise up to 1bn pounds, which The Times says would pay for lower business rates for high street shops. [20] Amazon welcomed it. [20] The Budget is on 28 October. [20]

Why it matters. Healey has little room: the Institute for Fiscal Studies says he faces 35bn pounds of spending pressures. [20] The IMF has praised the UK for cutting its borrowing faster than the rest of the G7. [21]

The Done family, which owns Betfred, a UK bookmaker, took a 30m-pound dividend before warning it would close shops if a tax on betting machines rises. [22] Healey is said to be weighing doubling machine games duty from 20% to 40%, which a think tank says could raise up to 460m pounds. [22] An industry letter warns of up to 1,470 betting shop closures and 15,900 lost jobs. [22] Betfred took a record 996m pounds from British gamblers in the year to March. [22]

Why it matters. Since 2019 Betfred has threatened to close nearly 1,000 shops over taxes and rules, and its estate shrank by about 330. [22] Gambling arcades, often in poorer areas, could gain if rival bookmakers close. [22]

UK pub, restaurant and hotel chains will offer up to 100,000 placements over three years to people aged 18 to 24 who are not in work, education or training. [23] They include Wagamama, Nando's and Premier Inn, and each placement lasts up to four weeks. [23] Alan Milburn, a former health secretary writing a government review of youth jobs, warns the number of such young people could reach 1.25 million in five years. [23] His review is due soon after the Budget. [23]

Why it matters. The work and pensions secretary calls them 100,000 jobs, but what the chains offer are placements of up to four weeks. [23] Ministers are also weighing replacing a disability benefit for under-25s with help into work, the Guardian reports. [23]

The average wait for a driving test in Great Britain fell to 19.7 weeks in September, under 20 weeks for the first time since November 2024. [24] The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which runs the tests, held 191,682 that month. [24] It had aimed for seven weeks by the end of 2025, and now expects that only next autumn. [24] Since this year only learners can book their own test, a change meant to stop bots grabbing slots to resell at up to eight times the 62-pound fee. [24][25][26]

Why it matters. A long wait holds back learners who need to drive for work or study. [24] Instructors say there are still too few examiners, though the DVSA says it has the most since 2017. [24]

Citizens Advice, a UK advice charity, estimates 47,500 people in Sheffield have a 'negative budget'. [27] That means they cannot pay for essentials even after claiming every benefit and cutting to the bare minimum. [27] The figure is in a cost-of-living report to Sheffield City Council, which says about one child in three in the city lives in poverty. [27] A community grocery has opened in Woodseats, charging 1 pound a year to join and selling staples from 50p. [27]

Why it matters. Years of rising costs have left some households with little savings and with debts, so they cannot absorb another shock, the report says. [27] A mother on maternity leave told the BBC that with little money coming in, budgeting before Christmas is hard. [27]

Applications for US home loans fell 2.7% in the week to 9 October, and loans to buy a home were 16% lower than a year earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association says. [29] The average 30-year fixed rate reached 7.5%, the highest since November 2023. [29] A rise from 6.66% to 7.4% since August means a buyer with 2,000 dollars a month for the loan can afford more than 22,000 dollars less house. [29] Bank of America's home lending fell 12% in three months. [32]

Why it matters. Traders now put the chance of a US rate rise this month above 50%, NerdWallet reports, which would push loan rates up again. [30] More borrowers are choosing loans whose rate can change, now 10.5% of applications. [29]

There were about 63% more US home sellers than buyers in September, the widest gap in Redfin records going back to 2013. [33] Redfin is a US property website. [33] Buyers fell to about 929,000, the fewest on record, while sellers rose to 1.51 million, the most since March 2020. [33] 41 of the 50 biggest metro areas are buyers' markets, led by Miami, Nashville and Houston. [33] New pending sales were 15.4% below a year earlier, HousingWire data show. [31]

Why it matters. Redfin's economist calls it a buyer's market 'born out of caution, not strength', because many buyers are priced out. [33] In Dallas about half of homes for sale have had a price cut. [31]

Robert Reffkin, head of Compass, a large US estate agency, defended selling homes privately instead of on the shared listing databases agents use, called MLSs. [34] He says those sites make a home look 'damaged' by showing how long it has been for sale and every price cut. [34] California Regional MLS has asked a court to rule its rules lawful after Compass threatened to sue. [35] A Zillow survey found 74% of Hispanic and 73% of Black sellers were advised to list privately, against 24% of white sellers. [35]

Why it matters. A home fewer buyers see may sell for less: Zillow estimated off-database homes in communities of colour sold for 3.2% less. [35] The essay's author notes Zillow has its own interest in public listings. [35]

Philadelphia has had 152 reports of deed fraud so far this year, close to 2025's full-year total of 159. [36] Deed fraud is when a criminal forges papers to move a home into their own name, then sells it or borrows against it. [36] It often targets elderly owners. [36] Larry Krasner, the city's district attorney, says criminals find out when a long-time owner is ill or has died. [36] The city offers a free alert when a document with an owner's name is filed. [36]

Why it matters. The city's records chief says the rise may come from easier reporting, not more crime. [36] One woman got her late brother's house back after his carer, added to the deed for 1 dollar, pleaded guilty to exploiting an older adult. [36]

NPR, the US public radio network, found hundreds of complaints that mall skincare shops pressured shoppers, many old or disabled, into paying thousands of dollars. [37] A man with dementia in Michigan was charged 42,000 dollars. [37] The shops sell brands from Mazal Group, a California firm run by one family, which holds more than 50 trademarks. [37] Receipts said 'All sales final', and some shoppers got money back by disputing the charge with their card company. [37][38]

Why it matters. New Mexico sued one shop, which agreed in 2025 to pay 350,000 dollars back to its customers. [37] Others remained out of pocket by thousands, and arrests were almost never made. [37]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the US agency for consumer finance, says it will investigate nine big banks over 'debanking'. [39] Debanking means closing or refusing someone's account. [39] A report by the OCC, the US bank regulator, says the banks did it over political or religious views or lawful trades such as guns, oil and tobacco. [39] The banks include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. [39]

Why it matters. The CFPB has not yet named any action against a bank, and is asking people to complain if they think they were debanked. [39] It calls the work part of President Trump's order on fair access to banking. [39]

Two US senators, Ted Cruz and Lisa Blunt Rochester, want to remove the 35,000-dollar lifetime limit on moving unused 529 savings into a Roth IRA. [40] A 529 is a US account for education costs that is not taxed while it grows. [40] A Roth IRA is a retirement account with tax-free withdrawals. [40] Money taken from a 529 for anything else pays income tax plus a 10% penalty on its gains. [40] Yearly moves would still be capped at 7,500 dollars. [40]

Why it matters. It helps families who saved large sums for a child who then did not need them. [40] Advisers are split on whether it passes, partly because it would cost tax revenue. [40]

Which? found Facebook and Instagram ads falsely claiming the backing of the British Dental Association, Boots and Asthma + Lung UK. [41] Meta's own ad library estimates more than a million profiles saw the dental ads between 14 and 29 September. [41] UK rules against scam adverts under the Online Safety Act are not yet in force. [41] Meta removed the ads Which? reported to it. [41]

Why it matters. The British Dental Association says it has found no real way to get such ads taken down. [41] The Advertising Standards Authority, the UK ad watchdog, says criminal advertisers fall outside its usual investigations. [41]

70% of UK adults plan a holiday abroad in the next year, ABTA, the UK travel industry body, found in a poll of over 2,000 people. [42] Only 7% say the cost of living will stop them going. [42] But 21% will book cheaper places to stay and 19% will eat out less while away. [42] 48% of package-holiday buyers chose one as the best value, up from 43%. [42]

Why it matters. Families are cutting what a holiday costs rather than dropping it, the poll suggests. [42] Spain stayed the top destination, visited by 36% in the past year. [42]

A working group of Portugal's parliament approved fully paid parental leave of 180 days when parents share it, or 150 days when one parent takes it all. [43] Today full pay covers 120 days, or 150 if the father takes 30 days alone. [43] Lone parents would get the full 180 days at full pay. [43] The joint plan from the PS and PSD parties still needs a committee and a final vote, and would apply to leave starting next year. [43]

Why it matters. It falls short of a 2023 citizens' proposal for 180 days at full pay for everyone. [43] Spain already gives each parent 19 weeks on full pay. [43]

Dubai has set minimum standards for shared housing, the rooms and bed spaces many low-paid workers rent. [44] Each person needs at least 5 square metres, with one toilet for every four people. [44] Landlords have until 1 September 2027 to comply in 43 areas, or face fines up to 500,000 dirhams, about 136,000 dollars. [44] One operator says a room may need 2,000 to 3,000 dirhams a month to pay its way, where many workers can afford 700 to 900. [44]

Why it matters. Tenants gain one- or two-month contracts with legal protection, the city says. [44] But six in ten Dubai workers earn under 5,000 dirhams a month, so safer rooms may cost more than the lowest-paid can pay. [44]

A 94-year-old woman in Florence, Italy, may lose the flat she has lived in since the early 1960s. [45] Her landlord says the rent will rise from 450 to 1,200 euros a month. [45] Her contract ends in February, and she lives on a minimum pension and her late husband's pension. [45] Her case recalls Madrid's 'Maricarmen', an 87-year-old evicted after a rent rise who died days later. [45] Tuscany issued 2,427 eviction orders in 2025. [45]

Why it matters. Her daughter says the landlord gave no chance to negotiate, and has asked the tenants' union Sunia for help. [45] Florence accounts for about 35% of eviction requests in Tuscany. [45]