Eleanor Langford

MOTORISTS could see their car insurance premiums increase by over £90 a year as companies pass the cost of fake tinnitus claims onto consumers.

With the government cracking down on false whiplash claims, lawyers and insurers fear that tinnitus claims could become the "new whiplash".

Tinnitus suffers hear noise or ringing in their ears and it's believed to affect 6million people in the UK and it can be triggered by a car crash.

Drivers saw their yearly insurance costs rise by up to £90 a year ...

BENEFITS will increase for the first time in four years from April 2020, with claimants getting a 1.7 per cent boost to their payments.
But, which benefits are affected and will you actually be better off after benefits increase?
Most working age benefits have been frozen since 2016, meaning that payments have been increased each year in line with inflation.
The last time benefits increased was in 2015, and payments have been stayed at that level ever since.
George Osborne announced the decis...

MOST of us go for a chocolate advent calendar, but what about curry spice, pork crackling, jigsaw pieces or protein balls?
Here are some of the strangest alternative advent calendars you can buy this year to mix up your festive season.
Some of the more popular non-chocolate calendars available this year include Aldi’s sell-out wine advent calendar and a movie night calendar.
You can even get a cheese advent calendar with eight cheese varieties to sample before Christmas.
Beauty advent calenda...

BONFIRE night is finally here and many of us will be setting off fireworks at home tonight - but light them at the wrong time and you could be faced with a £5,000 fine or jail.
If you want to set off fireworks on your property, make sure you know the rules so you can avoid getting in trouble.
You can only buy "adult" fireworks if you’re over 18, and they can only be bought from registered sellers on selected dates.
Fireworks are assigned different categories depending on their intended purpos...

BANKS should watch customer’s spending habits to spot those at risk of financial difficulty and debt problems, a new report suggests.
According to the research, half of UK adults think their bank or building society should use their personal data to identify money problems.
The report by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI), which is chaired by MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis, spoke to over 2,000 people about their views on the idea.
The data suggests that half of UK adults t...

OVER 7,000 Nationwide customers are set to share £2million in refunds after it was found that the bank failed to send them PPI information.
Between 2012 and 2019, the bank broke competition rules by failing to send reminders to customers about their PPI policy, or sending them inaccurate information.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered Nationwide to refund all customers who received inaccurate information.
It must also appoint an independent body to audit its PPI processes...

UNIVERSAL Credit is gradually replacing many benefits including child and working tax credits - make sure you know how this will affect you and your money.
If you’re already getting tax credits, you will not need to do anything unless your circumstances change.
But, if they do, the amount you are getting could go up and down depending on your new circumstances and what benefits you are claiming.
Will I be moved onto Universal Credit automatically?
Universal Credit is gradually replacing these...

NEW figures show that the average cost of car insurance premiums fell for young drivers, but increased for those over 30.
The report by MoneySuperMarket analysed 1.7m car insurance quotes to track changes in price.
It found that, while car insurance prices had fallen overall since 2018, only younger road users were feeling the benefits.
Drivers aged 17 to 19 have seen their insurance drop by four per cent on average since 2018, leaving them £41 better off.
In fact, the report claimed that the...

IF your house is in the catchment area of a poorly performing school you could face a £14,000 “penalty” when you try to sell.
Research by PwC has shown that living near a badly performing primary or secondary school can reduce the value of your house by up to five figures.
Overall, living near a bad primary school is better for your house price than living near a bad secondary school.
Homes near the country’s worst primary schools are worth £9,000 less than the local average while homes near ...

A TEACHER has revealed how she started her clothing business from her living room after borrowing £45 off her mum to get her started.
Alice Hall, 31, now employs 70 people seven years later and racks up £25million of sales a year through her website selling glam party dresses.
After graduating from university with a degree in journalism, Alice struggled to find a job in the industry.
She ended up taking on a full-time role as a cover teacher while also working nights at a bar.
Then, she spott...

MILLIONAIRE teen Jack Bloomfield started his first business when he was just 12 and has shared his tips for starting a successful business in your spare time.
Jack, 17, who lives in Australia, started out by launching an online gift card company and a medical data website.
He claims to have earned millions from his five e-commerce sites where he sells trending products bulk-bought from places like China and South Korea.
As well as being a successful entrepreneur, Jack is also still a student ...

CALCULATING your child maintenance can be confusing, especially if you’re claiming benefits - here’s how it works.
Under UK law, parents are required to provide for their children financially no matter the living arrangement.
Child maintenance, or child support, are regular payments between the legal parents of a child when one parent does not live with the child.
You need to arrange these payments if a child is under 16, or under 20 if they’re in education or training.
The payments are meant...

ALDI shoppers in Wales have been urged to check their bank balances after a glitch meant over one month of purchases were charged at once.
The fault at a newly opened store in Rhyl, North Wales meant that any card purchases made in the first five-and-a-half weeks weren’t processed.
Earlier this week, the store told customers that they will now be charged all in one go for any purchases made in that period.
The blunder mean some families are faced with hundreds of pounds coming out of their ac...

A NEW study has shown that almost a quarter of Brits are owed money by their mates and it’s leaving them seriously out of pocket.
The survey of 2,000 people by social payment app VibePay found that those whose friends owed them money were down by £98 a year on average.
Some of the most common reasons people were owed money included buying gig tickets, booking holidays, rounds of drinks and group presents.
And, many people apparently don’t chase money owed when it’s under £15, so small amounts...

PARENTS with kids celebrating their 16th birthday this year risk getting their benefits cut if they don't tell Universal Credit about their children's future plans.
Universal Credit includes payments to support your children - called the child element - but only until the end of August following each child’s 16th birthday.
After that, you can only include your child in your Universal Credit claim if they count as a “qualifying young person”.
This means they must be still living at home and in...