More than 23m Britons think they may be due compensation for mis-sold car loans, UK poll finds
More than 23 million people believe they could be due compensation for a mis-sold car loan, according to a poll before this month’s supreme court decision.Borrowers, banks and the government are anxiously awaiting the ruling, which could trigger one of the biggest redress schemes since the £50bn payment protection insurance (PPI).The PPI saga forced UK banks to compensate people who had bought often worthless insurance cover.The survey, conducted for the consumer law firm Slater and Gordon, found that 45% of people think they might be entitled to a payout over a car finance plan taken out between 2007 and 2021.The car loans scandal has been rumbling on for more than a year, but ballooned in October when a court of appeal judgment vastly expanded a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation into potentially harmful commission arrangements.
It determined that paying a secret commission to car dealers, which had arranged the loans without disclosing the sum and terms of the commission to borrowers, was unlawful.Lenders including Santander UK, Close Brothers, Barclays and Lloyds are potentially on the hook for up to £44bn, according to some analysts.The FCA is working on a potential compensation scheme under which lenders that mis-sold loans would check their records and decide who gets compensation.The public’s expectations of compensation are high, according to the survey.Of the 4,000 people surveyed, 45% believed they were likely to be eligible for money back, which equates to more than 23 million adults across the UK.
Forty per cent said they would consider a legal challenge if dissatisfied with the outcome of their claim.Consumers also showed little trust in the ability of banks and lenders to check records and distribute compensation.There are also concerns that some consumers could miss out because most banks purge customer data after six years.The FCA ordered lenders to cease doing so in January 2024, when it launched the investigation, but files relating to customers with contracts that ended more than six years earlier may have already been lost.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionThe chief operating officer of Slater and Gordon, Elizabeth Comley, said the public rightly expected to be compensated for their losses.
“The FCA is trying put things right, but there’s a risk that a redress scheme leaves many people disappointed and keen to challenge the process,” she said,“That sort of backlash would be bad for everyone – the scandal would drag on for years, the courts would be inundated with challenges and the public would be denied the clear resolution they want,”
EU leaders race to secure a deal as deadline looms in Trump trade talks
The EU is entering a crunch week with only two days of talks left to secure a trade deal with Washinton to avert Donald Trump’s threatened 50% tariff on its imports into the US.According to the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, on Friday, the negotiations – which continued over the weekend – are focussed on 15 to 18 agreements with important partners, while Trump warned of import tax rates of up to 70% on others.The uncertainty created by Washington has sent shock waves through the global economy. Businesses have paused investment and the dollar posted its worst performance in 50 years in the first half of the year.With the clock ticking down to Trump’s 9 July deadline, the European Commission remains uncertain how he will treat the bloc, threatening €1
Born into crisis, gen Z is saving for retirement like no other generation | Gene Marks
Research published at the end of last year by the Investment Company Institute with help from the University of Chicago found that gen Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – are “outpacing” earlier generations in contributing to retirement, having more than three times more assets in their 401(k) retirement savings accounts than gen X households had at the same time in 1989, adjusted for inflation.This mirrors a 2023 study from the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, which found that gen Z is doing a “remarkable job” saving for retirement with many putting away as much as 20% of their income towards the future.It’s no wonder why.The oldest of this generation probably have early memories of the 2009-2010 financial crisis. They have lived through a global pandemic
Skirting the issue: Designer dress goes missing from Bezos-Sánchez wedding
Lauren Sánchez packed 27 designer dresses for her wedding to the billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, in Venice last week, but left with only 26 after one went missing.The couple, who are now honeymooning in Taormina, Sicily, were wed during a star-studded three-day celebration in the lagoon city.They left Venice on Sunday, but mystery over the missing dress has generated chatter in Venice, with Corriere della Sera claiming that it was stolen, possibly by someone who evaded security and gatecrashed a party on the tiny island of San Giorgio, where the couple exchanged rings, on Friday. The newspaper said the number of gatecrashers to the event was such that officers from the local unit of Italy’s anti-terrorism squad, Digos, were called to the island.The newspaper also alleged a vintage Dolce & Gabbana-designed dress, either worn by the bride or wedding guest Ivanka Trump, was torn and caught fire during another party
Fears AI factcheckers on X could increase promotion of conspiracy theories
A decision by Elon Musk’s X social media platform to enlist artificial intelligence chatbots to draft factchecks risks increasing the promotion of “lies and conspiracy theories”, a former UK technology minister has warned.Damian Collins accused Musk’s firm of “leaving it to bots to edit the news” after X announced on Tuesday that it would allow large language models to write community notes to clarify or correct contentious posts, before users approve them for publication. The notes have previously been written by humans.X said using AI to write factchecking notes – which sit beneath some X posts – “advances the state of the art in improving information quality on the internet”.Keith Coleman, the vice-president of product at X, said humans would review AI-generated notes and the note would appear only if people with a variety of viewpoints found it useful
Remorseless Australian bowling onslaught blows away West Indies in second Test
The second Test in Grenada finished like the first in Barbados, with a batting performance as shambolic and uninspired from the home side as their bowling had been impressive. Everybody is bored of the eulogies for West Indies cricket: we’ve all been reading them for 25 years, and some of us have been writing them for what feels as long. But it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen The Shawshank Redemption, you still feel a pang of sadness when Tommy Williams steps out to meet Warden Norton for a midnight chat.Australia shot down West Indies with as little remorse, all out for 143 in less than 35 overs on day four, the visitors winning by 133 runs at the Grenada National Stadium and going 2-0 up to win the series. It’s not that the scoreline is a surprise, given the resource disparity between the teams and administrations, but it still feels wrong to feel that a Test side has no chance of chasing once a target approaches 250
‘All the hard work paid off’: Norrie says tough times make Wimbledon run even better
Cameron Norrie said his spectacular run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, where he will face the defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, has been made even more satisfying by his recent struggles with form and injury, which led to him falling down the rankings.Norrie, the last British singles player standing, held his nerve to defeat Nicolás Jarry 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3 in an epic four-hour 27-minute battle to reach his second quarter-final at the All England Club. The left-hander had held a match point on his serve at 6-5 in the third set tie-break before Jarry turned the match around with his enormous serve, eventually forcing a five-set shootout.“It feels a little bit better and more deserved coming back from the injury and kind of coming back and trying to push back into the top of the game,” said Norrie. “So all the hard work, it’s paid off
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