Latest money news: Martin Lewis issues warning to millions of UK households

Martin Lewis has been warning about the epidemic of broken smart meters, which could leave customers with big unexpected bills.

He said it’s such a problem that word of mouth is telling people ‘Don’t bother’ and he called on Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to do more to deal with the problem.

Meanwhile, chocolate prices are in the spotlight today, with big price rises just in time for Halloween season.

Stocking up your trick or treat bowl is about to get a whole lot more expensive, even as the headline figure for inflation stayed level at 2.2%, the same as the month before.

The static figure hides quite a bit of variation, with air fares going up in price, particularly to European destinations.

Petrol prices went down, on the other hand, along with the price of alcohol in shops.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, have been taken as a sign that the Bank of England will hold interest at 5% when it decides tomorrow.

The widespread scam half of us don’t even know is possible

What would you do if you got a call from your sister telling you they were stuck before payday and needed some cash for an emergency?

If it was just a scammer’s text message, you’d probably ignore it, but what if it was their voice you recognised and they sounded upset?

It sounds dystopian but scammers are now able to clone people’s entire voices from as a little as three seconds of audio using AI.

A survey by Starling Bank found that although 46% of adults don’t even know this is possible, scammers certainly do, and are putting the tech to use with 28% of adults saying they had been targeted by such scams in the past year alone.

The bank launched a campaign to urge people to agree ‘safe phrases’ with their loved ones so that they can verify who they say they are if they do ever need to call in an emergency.

Read the full story here.

New ‘banking hub’ locations revealed… but some don’t even have printers

Over the past decade, as online banking became more widespread, thousands of banking branches have closed their doors.

It’s a big problem for those who aren’t as comfortable with tech, or who have a more complicated issue they need to speak to someone about.

Now, 15 banking hubs have been announced across the UK to make banking services available in person.

The hubs are spaces shared by several banks, where customers can access basic banking services and cash.

They have a counter service operated by the Post Office, and staff from major high street banks operate on a rotating basis to provide support to customers on more complex matters in a private space.

Here’s where the banking hubs will be located:

• Sidcup, London
• Normanton, West Yorkshire
• Hailsham, East Sussex
• Frome, Somerset
• Sheerness, Kent
• Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
• Rugeley, Staffordshire
• Newquay, Cornwall
• Market Harborough, Leicestershire
• Thetford, Norfolk
• Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales
• Morecambe, Lancashire
• Harpenden, Hertfordshire
• Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
• Yeadon, West Yorkshire

But the BBC reported today that the new hubs are having some teething issues, with some not even having a printer.

This is a problem because customers may need to take paper documents of their statements to show landlords or employers.

Cash Access UK, which is setting up the hubs, said it would look into making sure all hubs had printers.

This UK city has the cheapest night out at just £94 (including a hotel!)

If all this chat about money has got you feeling a two week trip to the Maldives isn’t on the cards right now, we looked at where in the UK your money will stretch furthest.

A UK city has been crowned the cheapest for a night out at just £94 in total (and that’s including a hotel).

Any guesses? It’s Bradford up in West Yorkshire.

Coming in at £52 cheaper than the UK average, this northern location has the most affordable hotel prices per weekend night at £67.

Taxi prices also won’t set you back too much as a one-mile journey costs just £3.55.

In 2024, the average cost of a pint came in at £4.35 – which will be music to the ears of most Londoners – but has actually risen by 45% in the last two years alone.

Find the full list of the best value UK cities here.

How have prices changed as inflation sticks at 2.2%?

UK inflation remained unchanged at 2.2% last month but this disguised quite a bit of variance within prices.

The Office for National Statistics data shows air fares soared by more than a fifth – 22.2% – between July and August, having fallen a year earlier.

But motorists had more money in their pockets, with the average price of petrol standing at 142.3p a litre last month, down from 148.5p a litre a year ago.

Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said there were also falling costs at restaurants and hotels and ‘the prices of shop-bought alcohol fell slightly this month, but rose at the same time last year.’

It means the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation has remained above the 2% target for the second month in a row, after rising for the first time this year in July.

Experts said it means the Bank of England is likely will hold rates at 5% when it decides on Thursday.

Jake Finney, economist at PwC, said the ‘Taylor Swift effect’ may be partly behind the more than doubling in cinemas, theatres and concerts price inflation, which jumped from 4.4% to 9.2% last month, with August seeing the last of her UK dates for the Eras tour.

Smart meter complaints ‘through the roof’, says Martin Lewis

Martin Lewis has said the rollout of smart meters to help people better track their energy use has been ‘dire’.

He has written to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to ask him to do something about it, saying targets should be shifted away from just installing them to making sure they actually work and get repaired where needed.

The MoneySavingExpert (MSE) founder warned in an open letter that ‘too many smart meters don’t work’ and ‘word of mouth is often saying “don’t bother”.’

In a blog on his website, Mr Lewis wrote: ‘Too many people tell me theirs are broken. Others refuse to have them and feel companies are forcing them.

‘I’m generally in favour of the concept of smart meters, though I think the way they’ve been rolled out since the start has been dire.’

In his letter to Mr Miliband, he continues: ‘I am regularly contacted by people asking: “What’s the best tariff I can get without having to fit a smart meter?”, as many who don’t have one now are willing to pay more to avoid getting one.’

A survey by MSE suggested that 19% of households with a smart meter said theirs did not work, including problems with in-home displays that will not communicate or connect, incorrect data on tariffs or usage, and prepay top-ups that do not register correctly.

Earlier this year, Citizens Advice warned that millions of households were missing out on the benefits of their smart meter due to faults and poor service from their supplier.

It has called for new rules to ensure energy suppliers identify and fix problems as quickly as possible, saying it was particularly worried that people could end up with huge unexpected bills if their supplier is not able to take an automatic reading for an extended period of time.

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