Age discrimination act

There are more cases of age discrimination in the workplace than of any other type of discrimination. But, to date, there is very little a victim has been able to do about it. From next month this is set to change.

Broadband

This summer has seen a price war between broadband providers after Sky’s announcement that it is to offer a free service to 8m of its TV subscribers. While lower costs are great news for consumers, the “free” deals for high-speed internet connection are not easy to compare and experts say broadband users must be careful not to get locked into an unsuitable deal.

Online shopping

This weekend is the start of the busiest two weeks of the year for online shopping. IMRG, the industry body for internet retailing, predicts that Britons will spend a record £7bn online in the 10 weeks before Christmas, compared with £3.3bn in the whole of 2004.

Charitable giving

The taxman shows a kindly streak when it comes to giving to charity. Money gifts receive 28 per cent extra from HM Revenue & Customs if you fill out a Gift Aid form. For every £100 you put in, the charity can claim back £28.20 of basic rate tax from the Revenue. Higher-rate taxpayers can reclaim a further £23.08 (ie 18 per cent of the gross donation of £128.20) on their tax return.

Credit scores

Ever been refused a credit card and don’t know why? It could be one of a number of details about your financial history that are tracked and recorded by credit reference agencies to help lenders assess you for credit.

Endowment mis-selling

Prudential last week became one of the last big insurers to enforce a time bar on policyholders for lodging misselling complaints about their mortgage endowments.

Financial services compensation

If you are an investor who has a complaint about or a claim against a financial services company, it is wise to know something about how the Financial Services Compensation Scheme works.

Banking codes

On Monday an independent review of personal and business banking codes will begin, conducted by an independent consultant, Mike Young. The revised codes will be published in March 2008.

Financial advisers

Finding a good adviser to help you make the right savings and investment decisions is hard enough. But wading through the “alphabet soup” at the bottom of an adviser’s business card is also disconcerting.

The FSA

Depolarisation

Switching utilities

EBay