Veterans to retain military ID, allowing easier access to services READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/veterans-to-retain-military-id-allowing-easier-access-to-services

In 2007 Government presumably Labour, in Parliament agreed that a lass OR fellow living ALONE could have savings of £16000 , HOWEVER, if they go together,married in one householder. Then this total i.e £32,000 was reduced to just £16,000. Move on to 2016 and these figures have not been changed. Yes! the single person home still has enough permitted finance . BUT not the couple. Before anyone says,but surely the couple have enough! Costs have gone up dramatically, even if it is only funerals to consider. So if any of my readers have parents, now is the time to ensure they are aware of this ancient ceiling. Since, if they are now or could be on benefits of any kind - then going over the limit can be costly. Being unaware of the maximim savings you or your parents can hold will not stop severe penalities on discovery. Indeed the penalities can be thousands. Where the money came from is immaterial - even if it was from recovery after a crime! Burglarly card fraud for example. We hear of cases of relations discovering shoe boxes of cash when clearing out their deceased houses. Also parents being assisted by helpers, having cash stolen, then too proud to tell relatives. Perhaps rare but neither the less heartbreaking incidents. Personally I was below the permitted level, then repayment of stolen credit card money +the interest+ my monthly payments - sent me over the limit. Irronically I'd been warned that whilst a credit card company can repay the looted funds,SHOULD they later discover any of the items should not have been compensated -they do claw back these payments. If you have parents, or yourself, ensure you know the requirements,plus warn against squirreling away cash at home. Obviously 'hidden' cash in banks is not secret from Government though. Finally if you get a windfall, and are on Government support EVEN if it is just A COUPLE of QUID - Tell them least they may think you have other money stashed away. Readers query this last item - In my case it was £1.06 a month pension!!

Under the current system, consumers who want to switch but keep the same number have to notify their existing provider and request a Pac code, which they take to the provider they plan to join. Ofcom's preferred option is for responsibility for the switch being placed entirely in the hands of the new provider, which would mean an end to the process of contacting the existing provider in order to end the current contract. Ofcom would like to see mobile companies handling the switching process on behalf of the customer, which means you wouldn’t have to ask for a PAC code at all. Basically, it’d be like switching energy companies, or broadband contracts, where you can choose the start date of your new contract, to try and avoid any overlap in payments, or avoid any periods where you’re not connected. Sadly, Ofcom are not able to force mobile companies to accept their new rules, but the businesses will have to provide an alternative. A final decision will be made in the autumn. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35882026

First things first—and let's make this very clear—Apple Pay has not been hacked. It does, however, appear that Apple's introduction of the contactless payment system has helped some [problem]mers commit credit card fraud. If you have never used Apple Pay, here's a video made by The Verge last year showing how you set it up, and how you make mobile payments with it. Seems simple, right? And, unfortunately, the way that [problem]mers can take advantage of Apple Pay appears to be remarkably simple too. Did you see the part in the video where the guy adds a new card to Apple Pay? He chooses to do it the way most people will choose to do it—by taking a photo of a card and allowing it to scan in the credentials (such as the long card number, expiry date, etc.). However, you can also choose to enter those details manually, which means you don't have to have physical access to a card to add it to Apple Pay. Charles Arthur, writing for The Guardian, mers"]explains the issue further: Apple’s support pages for the service says: “When you add a credit or debit card to Apple Pay... Apple sends the encrypted data, along with other information about your iTunes account activity and device (such as the name of your device, its current location, or if you have a long history of transactions within iTunes) to your bank. Using this information, your bank will determine whether to approve adding your card to Apple Pay.” US banks are using a “green path” for cards they approve straight away on such data, and a “yellow path” for cards requiring more checks. But some banks have made the task too simple by asking callers to verify their identity with the last four digits of their social security number (SSN). And therein lies the problem. It appears that the authentication methods used by the bank to confirm whether a credit card should be added to Apple Pay is proving too easy for fraudsters to waltz around—whether it be via requesting digits from a social security number (which online criminals may also have been able to steal, as they are frequently grabbed by hackers) or having the iPhone owner ring a call center to authenticate themselves. Mobile payments specialist, Cherian Abraham, writes that fraud enabled by Apple Pay is "rampant." Ironically, according to Abraham, Apple Stores are frequently targeted: These are organized crime rings that are handing out pre-provisioned devices to mules that are then being used to commit fraud – with much of fraud (for some issuers) – occurring around Miami,FL and Dallas,TX. Prepaid cards unsurprisingly are a tool of choice as they can be quickly converted to cash or goods – and subsequently, untraceable. What was surprising to hear was how many times Apple stores themselves popped up as the store of choice for the fraudster – and yet unsurprising, due to its nature as a luxury retailer. There is a certain irony in one compromised Apple Pay device paying for another – only to be drafted subsequently in to the fraudsters service. The answer, therefore, seems not to be to beef up the security of Apple Pay—but for Apple and the banks to ensure that stronger methods are used to authenticate a card holder really *is* who they say they are, when they try to add a card to Apple Pay. Until that happens, chances are that fraudsters will continue to find ways to make purchases using your credit card, with a little help from a (no doubt stolen) iPhone.

Hopefully good news for Gym members at LA Fitness and Dave Whelan Sports (DWS) and those with other gyms whose Admin is handled by Harlands :- These gyms have agreed to make cancellations easier for folks when their circumstances change. See The OFT report here - http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2013/62-13 Extract from The OFT press release on 10th September :- The undertakings to the OFT from LA Fitness, DWS and Harlands Group include: * Extended rights for members to cancel their contracts early should their circumstances change in a way that makes attendance at the gym difficult or unaffordable - for example if they lose their job or suffer an injury * A commitment not to describe membership as being of a fixed duration, if the contract automatically continues on a rolling basis after the initial membership period has expired * Greater transparency about key membership features, including initial membership periods and cancellation rights, and for these to be provided upfront as part of the sales process. It will be interesting to see how well the gyms or gym admin Co's stick to the new undertakings. This is in addition to the agreement that The OFT reached earlier this year with Bannatyne Fitness Limited, David Lloyd Leisure Limited and Fitness First Clubs Limited, to change their contract terms. Time will tell ...............

A new bank-style switching service that should make it easier for some people to change phone and broadband providers is to be introduced in the UK. Regulator Ofcom wants a system where a customer only needs to contact the new provider in order to switch. That firm will then deal with the whole process. This is a similar operation to the way the bank account switching process works. The new service should be in place by early 2015. 'Clear and simple' The current system requires a customer to contact their existing phone and broadband supplier to cancel their contract, as well as signing up to the new provider. The regulator said that this gave too much control to the existing supplier. "It has an incentive to delay or disrupt the transfer," an Ofcom spokesman said. More...