Ofwat, the water regulator, says it plans to block Thames Water's request to increase customer bills by up to 8% next year. The regulator has published a draft decision blocking Thames Water's request for the interim increase. Thames had asked to add an extra £29 to the annual average household bill. The draft decision will be followed by a short period of consultation to allow for any new evidence. The final decision is due in November. Thames says it has faced extra costs of £291m, because various items have cost more than the amount estimated when the price regime was set in 2009. Ofwat and Thames disagree about how much these items will cost the company. These include bad debts, the transfer of private sewers, land purchases and higher Environment Agency charges and could not be fully estimated at the time. As part of the regulatory process, Thames Water had planned to apply for an increase once the figures were known, In response to Ofwat's statement, it said: "We will review Ofwat's draft proposals and submit our response in due course." Evidence Every five years, Ofwat sets the prices that water companies can charge. It said it had now looked at the evidence that Thames Water had provided and that although the company did face higher costs, they were not high enough to trigger a price rise. Thames is the only one of the 18 regulated water companies to have applied to the regulator for a bill increase in advance of the next pricing review. Ofwat's chief regulation officer, Sonia Brown, said: "We said we would challenge Thames Water's request. We have looked at the details and do not believe the current evidence justifies an increase in bills." The regulator's consultation on its draft decision gives all parties, including Thames Water, the opportunity to submit new evidence. Any price increase would start from April next year. Ofwat's previous agreement with Thames allows it to increase charges by 1.4% above inflation in 2014-15. More on this story...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/wonga-fraud-complaints-continue

Bad debt charges rose for the third consecutive year at rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse, hitting £23.7m for the year ending March 2013. This was a 10% increase on the £21.5m bad debt charge the firm incurred in 2012, according to a results statement for BrightHouse Group that said bad debt fell from 8.1% to 8% of total turnover in the 12 months to March 2013. But a rise in turnover meant on that basis that bad debts stood at £23.7m for 2013 based on annual revenues of £296.9m, a rise on the £21.5m of bad debts incurred in 2012 from revenues of £266.4m. The rise could in part be attributed to increased customer numbers, which climbed to 246,800 in the last year from 227,200 in 2012. BrightHouse also opened 27 new stores during the year to take its total number of stores to 280. The company said demographic analysis had revealed the potential for up to 450 stores in the UK, though there is no timeline for this expansion. In a trading statement, the business said 2013 had been a “challenging environment” due to the pressures on customers from high inflation, low wage growth and uncertainty over employment. “In addition, the government’s much heralded changes to the welfare system have increased uncertainty for a significant portion of BrightHouse customers who are completely or partially reliant upon benefits,” the firm said. “This environment leads consumers to be cautious when purchasing large ticket items for the home and reluctant to extend themselves when signing up to a three-year credit agreement.” Despite the rising bad debt charge the firm, which sells household goods to customers with poor credit histories paid for through weekly instalments, posted rising profits and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). The Group made pre-tax profits of £8.3m for the year, down from £12.4m the previous year, while EBITDA grew by 10.8% to £49.4m in 2012/13 from £44.6m the year before. Leo McKee, chief executive of BrightHouse, said: “BrightHouse has delivered another year of growth in what has been a tough retail environment. “We have continued to focus on delivering exemplary service and meeting the evolving needs of our customers. Our focus on the customer has helped us deliver these results.” Link: http://www.credittoday.co.uk/article/15826/online-news/bad-debt-rise-at-brighthouse

Thames Water has asked its regulator, Ofwat, for permission to raise prices. It wants to put up bills by about £29 per household during 2014-15, but has asked Ofwat if it can spread the rise over more than one year. The company says the rise is needed because of increases in Environment Agency charges and to cover the cost of preparing for the construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Ofwat will examine the proposal and make a decision in three months. More...

Started work for a company on 10th June 2010 pay rises are on 1st July every year didn't get the pay rise as they said I wasn't entitled to it as I was a new starter and still have never received that pay rise but have had my yearly pay rises the same as everybody else but people on the same grade as me are being paid more as they got this pay rise. Should I not havebeen entitled to it after I passed my 6 months probation Also could this pay rise be back dated

Hello, I can't find this subject anywhere, so I hope its ok to post it here. I have received a letter from Santander explaining that they did not specifically tell me about the Cap Margin increase, (and, that part of my mortgage was on a fixed rate) I have looked at my statement of 2008 to date. It shows: 1) Details of the early repayment charge 2)The interest rate (SVR) is 5.34% I'm very confused about what I should do (if anything), the gist of the letter is that Santander could have mislead me as the communications sent to me in 2008 may have left me unaware that I could have moved to a better deal offered by another lender. Their letter says that I would need to call them if I have any complaints, I'm slightly unsure about phoning them, as it might be a way of them putting me off making a claim,(if I'm eligible) I would appreciate any constructive advice on this please many thanks

Hi I currently have a problem with a pay rise that i should have received a long time ago. I work in a small team but i currently earn less than the others. I have been told various things i need to achieve before i get my rise. I have hit all the targets that have been asked of me and new ones are added every time i go back. I have just recently hit the last targets and was told i won't be getting a pay rise and they can't say why.... Is this classed as being discriminative?? I have worked 10 years more in the company than others and my work is more productive. Yet i'm still being refused a pay rise to match others. I was promised on each occasion of the meetings that i'd get a rise if i hit the set targets. My boss ignores all my emails requesting my review meetings. So overall i've worked at the company longest, work faster than others paid more in the same job (I have statistics to back everything up) Constantly being denied a pay rise i was promised and being ignored whenever i raise my issues. Is this right and is there anything i can do? Thank you

i know its not a huge rise but wifes on a low wage and isnt happy shes just had a letter to say her contracts going up by 50p a month shes still fixed into a contract, only 9 months into a 2 year contract i assume theres some sort of get out clause for them to put it up even tho its now going to be more than agreed

Women are being urged to check their car insurance ahead of a new rule coming into force next month which will ban firms from taking gender into account. It means female drivers will see their premiums go up by as much as 25% after 21 December. Some insurers say it might even be cheaper to cancel a policy and sign a new deal before the changes come in. More ... It was obvious they would up the womens policy and not lower the mens. This is twice now the government has forced extra profit on insurance companies and forced us to pay more. First was the con of the 'continuous insurance' and now the 'no gender concessions'. Are MPs shareholders in insurance companies, it would seem that way.

Good news is customers will be allowed to leave without any penalties. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/bills/article-2216136/Sky-hikes-line-rental-18--charges-SECOND-time-year.html

The second wettest summer on record has blighted UK harvests and will lead to food price rises, farmers and retailers have warned. Wheat yields in England are down by almost 15% on the five-year average, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) reported, with some areas in the west of England suffering worst from the summer rain. The world price of grain has already been rising in recent months following a heatwave in Russia and the worst drought in 50 years in the US, which destroyed 45% of corn and 35% of the soya bean crop. Read more here :- http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/10/food-prices-rise-wettest-summer?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038 Farmers are taking the first hit as feed wheat and compond foods for stock have risen by £50 a tonne this month !!! Lex