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Latest Consumer News Daily Information Today Wednesday March 10 2010

Wed, 2010-03-10

1.  Promote money making sites like Ebay and online TV to get the poor online says Watchdog.

Promote money-making sites such as eBay and internet TV services to encourage poorer people to get online, Consumer Focus has told the Government. Their recommendation is based on interviews with people earning less than £11,500 a year and without home internet and found there was a ''limited motivation'' to get connected. Consumer Focus's Broadband Minded report said online savings were of ''limited relevance'' to low income homes because many of them lacked bank accounts or debit cards to see the benefits.   FULL STORY (telegraph.co.uk)

2.  Banks may be forced to repay £4 billion in Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) mis selling scam.

According to the Daily Mail, banks and insurance companies may have to repay a staggering £4billion to customers who were taken in by a 'loan protection racket'. City watchdogs have published their first estimates on the scale of repayments due to people sold payment protection insurance (PPI) alongside personal loans, mortgages, credit and store cards.Vast numbers of the expensive policies were sold to customers without proper checks on whether the policies were suitable.  Salesmen sold PPI to people who would never be able to make a claim, including pensioners, those in seasonal work and people with long-standing medical conditions.  FULL STORY (dailymail.co.uk)

3.  PATIENT CARE CONCERN: Patients regularly treated in mop cupboards and  corridors says new survey.

A shortage of space in overcrowded NHS hospitals means patients are routinely treated in television rooms, mop cupboards and corridors, a new survey of nurses suggests. Kitchens and storage areas are also used while extra beds are put on wards, increasing the the risk of infections spreading. The poll of more than 900 nurses for Nursing Times found that 63 per cent were aware of patients being placed in areas not designed for clinical care.  Almost eight in 10 respondents (79 per cent) said they believed this resulted in patient safety being put at risk, due to patients not having access to call bells or water, or fire exits being blocked. FULL STORY (timesonline.co.uk)

4.  E.ON finally cuts its energy prices but Which? says the whole market needs to be overhauled with more competition.

EON has finally cut its gas prices - by a modest 6%. But the E.ON announcement was swiftly followed by a statement from Which? which said:  "While any price cut will be welcomed by consumers, the predictable game of follow the leader played by energy suppliers every time price changes are announced highlights the lack of competition in the UK energy markets. What we really need to see is a complete overhaul of the UK's energy markets, with genuine competition and transparency in how energy companies set retail prices, so that consumers can tell whether they’re getting a good deal or not." E.ON cuts gas prices by 6% (guardian.co.uk)

5.  Brussels extends childhood leave for parents.

The period of leave for parents intended to help keep them in the workforce has been extended from three to four months by the European Union. Parental leave, a benefit separate from maternity leave, can be taken by a mother or father at any time during their child's first seven years under the EU rule. The timing is left to national governments, which also decide whether it is paid or unpaid.  Parental leave is part of an EU push to keep parents in the work force by making it easier for them to mix work with child-rearing.     FULL STORY (businessweek.com)

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