Calls for protection for trapped home owners

Vulnerable home owners who find themselves "trapped" in their existing mortgage when stricter lending rules come into place must be given more protection so they do not suffer unfair treatment, a consumer body has said.

The Financial Services Consumer Panel warned mortgage customers could be charged a higher interest rate because they are unable to move their deal elsewhere, with more borrowers facing this "acute" risk when new rules tightening up on mortgage lending come into place.

Fears have been raised of a "ticking time bomb" of people on interest-only deals who may find themselves unable to remortgage, while more than a million borrowers have also been hit by a recent spate of lenders announcing mortgage rate increases.

The panel is a statutory body that advises the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which is clamping down on irresponsible lending and making sure borrowers can only take out mortgages they can afford. It suggested that the FSA may need to delay its plans in order to allow the housing market to recover.

The FSA's Mortgage Market Review (MMR) proposals, published last December, will place new rules around mortgage advice and income will have to be verified in every application, with lenders placing greater emphasis on other regular outgoings.

But the panel said a new rule should be introduced which would ensure "mortgage prisoners" are not unfairly treated or discriminated against because they are unable to take out other, more competitive mortgages, due to a lack of equity for example.

It said: "The risk of being charged a higher interest rate because a consumer is unable to move their mortgage elsewhere is particularly acute.

"This applies both to borrowers who are already trapped, because they do not meet current tightened lending criteria, and those who may be trapped in the future following implementation of the MMR.

"We suggest a specific rule to ensure that consumers impacted by the transitional arrangements are not unfairly treated or discriminated against by reason of their inability to access alternative, more competitive mortgage products."

The FSA does not plan to implement the proposals before the summer of 2013, but it has said that if there is widespread support for particular plans, it may put some aspects in place sooner.

New advice website for online security

Twitter users will likely be familiar with the latest phishing scam by now – a direct message saying there is a bad blog going round about you and to click on the link to read it. Yet the link takes you to a copy of the twitter homepage where logging in will pass your details into the hands of fraudsters.

Thankfully there is a new weapon in the battle against scams like these, with a new website launched by Google and Citizens Advice this week offering consumers advice on online security and privacy issues.

The Good to Know website features comprehensive and easy to follow information on a range of issues, from creating a strong password and understanding how cookies work, to details of scams like phishing and the importance of logging out of public computers. The site is aimed at computer users of all levels. It is being run alongside a series of adverts, which also offer advice on protecting personal data online.

Recent research by Ofcom's consumers communications panel showed that 26% of UK internet users had concerns about the safety of their personal details, 14% were worried about privacy and 13% about fraud.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Google. Citizens Advice is all about straightforward, simple advice on the issues that matter, so helping people take control of their safety and privacy online is right up our street."

The two partners have come up with five tips for consumers to stay safe online:

• Pick a strong password. One idea you can try is to choose a line from your favourite song, film or play, such as "To be or not to be, that is the question". Then use numbers, symbols and letters to recreate it: 2bon2btitq. The more unusual the phrase you choose the better.

• Never reply to suspicious emails with your personal or financial information, and never enter your password after following a link from an email you don't trust.

•Look for "https" and a padlock in the URL bar to check a site is secure. When you go into a branch of your bank you recognise the official staff by their name, uniforms and the services they offer. Having this level of reassurance shouldn't be any different for online banking or other sensitive services.

•Always sign out and shut down your browser. Ever gone out for the day and left your front door wide open? Exactly. The same principle applies when you leave yourself signed in to online accounts on the computers you use.

• Use two-step verification for accounts that offer it, such as Google and Facebook. Two-step verification adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring you to have access to your phone – as well as your username and password – when you sign in. This means that if someone steals or guesses your password, the potential hijacker still can't sign in to your account because they don't have your phone.

NHS prescription fee rise to £7.65 comes in to effect

Prescription charges exist in England but not in other parts of the United Kingdom

An increase in NHS prescription charges in England of 25p to £7.65 has come into effect.

Health Minister Simon Burns outlined the changes earlier this year, and the government says exemptions mean 90% of prescription items are dispensed free.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society campaigned for a freeze and says the rises are completely unacceptable.

Dental treatment costs will also rise. There are no prescription charges in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

In England, the cost of a prepaid prescription payment certificate (PPC), which is valid for three months, will remain at £29.10, while the price of an annual PPC will be held at £104.

These certificates allow people who have a lot of prescriptions to save money by paying a lump sum in advance for a set number of items.

Further increases include:

• The cost of hospital-supplied elastic stockings and tights, wigs and fabric supports.
• A 2.5% rise in the cost of vouchers for glasses for children, people on low incomes and those with complex sight problems.
• The dental charge payable for a basic "band 1" course of treatment - examination, diagnosis and advice, including X-rays, a scale and polish and planning for further work if necessary - will rise 50p to £17.50.
• Band 2 charges, covering fillings, root canal treatment and extractions, will rise by £1 to £48.
• For band 3 work, such as crowns, dentures and bridges, the cost will increase by £5 to £209.

The government says abolishing prescription charges in England would leave the NHS £450m short each year.

'Reform needed'

But the British Medical Association has said the current system is "unfair" and called for prescription charges to be scrapped in England.

Neal Patel, from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, told the BBC he worried those with chronic conditions might neglect their health because they could not afford the charges in the current economic climate.

He said he would like to see the "unfairness" reformed.

"The prescription charge system at the moment seems to penalise people that have certain long-term conditions, but not others.

"It is perhaps a false economy to think if we don't take these medicines there is a reduced cost to that patient. But, longer term, they may end up in hospital and cost the NHS more."

A Department for Health spokesman said it was investing an additional £12.5bn in the NHS and had found an extra £4.5bn for patient services by "cutting back on bureaucracy".

He said the £450m funding from prescription charges was "valuable income" - equivalent to the salary costs of 18,000 nurses, or 15,000 midwives, or 3,500 hospital consultants.

"This income helps the NHS to maintain vital services for patients."

Those exempt from prescription charges include children under 16, income-related benefit claimants, pregnant women and people with serious long-term medical conditions. Contraception is free.

Free prescriptions were introduced in Wales in 2007, Northern Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2011.

Europe's mobile call and data costs cut

Eurocrats have agreed to slash the rip-off cost of mobile calls and data roaming charges when Brit's go abroad.

A provisional a deal agreed by MEPs and the Danish Presidency of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday evening still needs to be approved by Parliament as a whole, but if approved, it would slash costs from 1 July 2012.

There is currently no cap on how much overseas firms can charge travellers for a megabyte of data. From July this year it would be limited to 70 cents (59p) coming down to 45 cents next July and 20 cents – or less than 17p - in 2014. My last trip abroad with Vodafone cost £1 a megabyte. That £1 becomes 17p in three years.

Calls made are currently capped at 35 cents per minute but with would drop to 19 cents this year, 24 cents next year and 19 cents in 2014. The extra cost you pay for receiving calls will more than halve over three years from 11 cents per minute now to 8 cents in July, 7 cents a year later and 5 cents in 2014. That's just 4p.

Text messages will drop too from an 11 cents ceiling now to 9 cents in July, then 8 cents next year and 6 cents in 2014.

This is great news for holidaymakers and business travellers.

Up to 50,000 migrants 'exploited student visa flaw to work in UK'

The border agency was slow to withdraw leave to remain in the UK, the National Audit Office finds 

Up to 50,000 migrants may have exploited flaws in a new student visa system in its first year to come and work in the UK, a report by Whitehall's spending watchdog says.

Under a system introduced in 2009, each student must be sponsored by a licensed college and cannot change institution without gaining permission.

But "key controls" had not been put in place, the National Audit Office found.

The Home Office said "tough new rules" were cutting student visa numbers.

Under the previous system, there was no limit on the number of non-European Economic Area students a college could enrol and students were free to move college and course without notifying the UK Border Agency.

The replacement, brought in by the Labour government, states that each student must be sponsored by educational institutions licensed by the agency and cannot change college without applying to it.

'Low priority'

Colleges are responsible for judging people's intentions to study.

But the audit office said the system had been brought in "before the key controls were in place" and that "in its first year of operation, between 40,000 and 50,000 individuals may have entered the UK... to work rather than to study."

It added: "The agency did not check that those who entered the UK as students were attending college."

The report continued: "The agency has taken little action to prevent and detect students overstaying or working in breach of their visa conditions because the agency regards them as low-priority compared to illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers."

The agency has removed 2,700 students since 1 April 2009, but the audit office said it had "been slow to withdraw students' leave to remain in the UK, where it has cause to do so. This has meant that, in many cases, enforcement teams have been unable to arrest students found working and not attending college."

Addresses for almost a fifth of more than 800 migrants wanted by the agency were found in just one week at a cost of £3,000 by a contractor hired by the watchdog.

Amyas Morse, head of the audit office, said the flaws in the student visa system had been "both predictable and avoidable".

He added: "Action planned by the agency to ensure that those with no right to remain in the UK are identified and required to leave must now be pursued more vigorously."

Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: "This is one of the most shocking reports of poor management leading to abuse that I have seen... The agency needs to get a grip and fix the way it deals with student visas."

But immigration minister Damian Green said: "This government has introduced radical reforms in order to stamp out abuse and restore order to the uncontrolled student visa system we inherited.

"These include tough new rules on English language, working rights and dependants to ensure only legitimate students come to the UK. New restrictions on post-study work mean that all but the very best will return home after study."

He added: "These measures are beginning to bite, we have already seen the number of student visas issued drop considerably in the second half of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010."

Universities UK chief executive Nicola Dandridge said "good progress" had been made tightening up the system.

She added: "Visa abuse in relation to UK universities is very low compared to other parts of the education sector and universities are committed to reducing it further."

Should you fix your cash ISA rate?

ISAs, like all other savings accounts, are offering fairly meagre returns at the moment, with the best easy-access account on the market paying 3.10% on £1,000 or more.

You could earn 4.20% if you are prepared to lock your savings away for five years. But is it worth it in the long run? We investigate. 


You can put up to £5,340 into a tax-free cash ISA this tax year. And with the countdown to the end of the 2011/2012 tax year well underway, anyone yet to take advantage of their allowance is likely to be looking for the best account. But which account should you go for?

Easy-access cash ISAs 
The best easy-access cash ISA currently on the market - according to comparison website MoneySupermarket - is the Nationwide Building Society Online ISA. It pays a headline interest rate of 3.10%, which includes a bonus of 2.90% lasting until the end of September 2013.

Benefits of the account, which can only be managed online, include that you get make withdrawals at any time and that you can transfer in cash built up with other ISA providers over the years. 


Potential disadvantages include that you must have at least £1,000 to open the account and that you will need to have a Nationwide card account to qualify. It is also worth pointing out that the large bonus included in the advertised interest rate will probably mean that you need to switch again next year to avoid missing out.

Other accounts worth considering include the ING Direct Cash ISA, which pays 3.00% and can be opened with just £1. The interest rate on this account does not include a bonus.

However, it is only guaranteed for 12 months, which means that it may become less competitive after this time.

Fixed-rate cash ISAs 
The Halifax ISA Saver Fixed, which has a five-year term, pays a generous 4.20% on £500 or more.

It accepts transfers in from other ISA providers and account holders with balances of at least £5,000 also qualify for the Halifax Savers Draw, through which 10 customers will win £100,000 in May.

However, you cannot make any withdrawals or deposits during the five-year term, and anyone needing to close the account early to access their cash will forfeit 365 days' interest.

Those looking for a new home for ISA savings built up in previous tax years, meanwhile, could earn 3.90% with the NatWest/RBS Preferential Fixed Rate ISA. It lasts for two years and requires a minimum deposit of £1,000 - which must be transferred from a rival ISA provider.

Which should you go for? 
You can only have one cash ISA for a particular tax year's allowance. So for anyone planning to add regularly to their ISA savings pots, the main disadvantage of the fixed-rate accounts mentioned above is that they do not allow additional deposits.

Those signing up for the Halifax account, for example, would therefore have to pay in the full £5,340 in one go to avoid missing out on some of their allowance - unless, of course, they decide to close the account and pay the price in loss of interest.

Despite the higher rates, longer-term fixed rate accounts should also be approached with caution as interest rates will start going up at some point, probably within the next five years.

You may, however, like the idea of a shorter-term fixed-rate account if you do not want to be tempted to dip into the pot you have built up so far.

Otherwise, one of the best easy-access accounts is probably the best option - as long as you keep an eye on the rate and switch away if it becomes uncompetitive.

Fingerprint-checking smartphone patent filed by Sony

Sony says placing sensors behind phone screens would simplify scans 

Technology to allow smartphones to scan their users' fingerprints through their screens as an identity check has been patented by Sony.

It describes a range of ways to build "light-transmissive displays" to allow sensors to look out of the screens.

It says an unidentified material would obscure the sensors so users would only see graphics telling them where to place their fingers.

Sony has not given any indication of when it might introduce the feature.

The innovation has been submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office and was flagged up by the website Unwired View.

It would not be the first time a smartphone has offered a fingerprint lock - Motorola Mobility launched the Atrix last year - a handset with a biometric scanner fitted to its back.

However, Sony's application suggests that allowing the scan to be carried out via the front of the phone would simplify the process.

"[It would] allow even a user who is not familiar with the fingerprint authentication to readily execute an input manipulation for the fingerprint authentication," the patent document says.

Many technology analysts predict that mobile phones fitted with near field communication (NFC) technology will be used in place of credit cards to buy goods in the near future.

To feel safe with the idea consumers may demand that their phone's security checks are more robust than a four-digit pin code.

'Better video calls'

"Making transactions easy for consumers is something that is a goal for retailers and technology providers," Brian Blau, research director at Gartner told the BBC.

"Having something like this that securely guarantees the users' identity can only be a good step forward."

The patent document illustrates the advantage of the user being able to look directly into the front camera

Sony's patent document suggests handsets with a camera sensor behind the screen would also be better for video conferencing,

It says the handsets could have bigger displays without increasing their overall size since they would not have to leave space for a camera at the top of the phone.

It adds that the move would also help to prevent the "uneasy feeling" created at present when users do not maintain "eye contact" because they are looking at each other images on their screens rather than directly into the phones' cameras.

Sony is not alone in seeking a way to solve this problem.

Apple filed for a patent four years ago to place a camera sensor in the centre of a computer screen so that users could naturally video conference with each other and take self-portrait pictures of themselves while looking at own their faces. It has yet to put the innovation to use.