Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 4th July)

Tens of thousands of small and medium businesses still wait for compensation from banks a whole year after ruling on £2bn “rate swap” loan scandal

So far, only a small number have even received offers from the banks. It's estimated that over 90% of firms that signed up for the "rate swap" loan had been mis-sold to. Campaign group Bullybanks, which represents affected firms, claims more than 400,000 jobs have been lost due to the mis-selling, with the Treasury losing £1.7bn a year in revenue. This January, the FSA put forward a scheme so that the 40,000 firms affected could receive ‘immediate’ compensation. Responding to the delay, the British Bankers’ Association said: ‘Each bank’s priority is that the correct outcome is reached for all customers as soon as possible.’ DAILY MAIL

(Ripped-off Britons quickie quiz time! COMPLETE THIS SEQUENCE: 
...‘immediately’
...‘as soon as possible’
[A] Just kidding! Here's your £2bn back 
[B] Just #*@%  off)

David Cameron 'warned he cannot stop pay rise for MPs'
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is expected to say backbench MPs' £66,000 salaries should rise to over £70,000 after the next election. Mr Cameron said: "Whatever Ipsa recommends, we can't see the cost of politics or Westminster going up. We should see the cost of Westminster go down. Anything would be unthinkable unless the cost of politics was frozen and cut." BBC NEWS

Bank of England condemns lobbying by banks against new rules

City regulators have brushed aside complaints by Barclays and Nationwide over tough new liquidity rules. At a meeting last week Mervyn King, the former Bank of England governor, told MPs that banks' executives had lobbied the Treasury and No 10 to block the rule changes before 2015. GUARDIAN

Mobile phone insurers use vague wording to wriggle out of paying up

An investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority found vague wording that allows insurers to wriggle out of paying up. Insurers who said they would cover losses in “public places” rejected claims for phones lost in a hotel or taxi. One firm turned down more than four in 10 claims for telephone theft. Yet 70% of customers who have claims rejected by insurers win on appeal. The FCA confirmed it is about to hit an unnamed company with a “significant” fine for poor handling of complaints. The FCA said: “There is a gap between what the customer thinks they are getting, and what they are really getting. Closing this gap will lead to greater trust and confidence.” MIRROR

(...And we say: There is a gap between the FCA’s use of the word ‘gap’ and every normal person’s use of the word ‘lying, thieving cheats’...)

Lord Adonis defends the £50bn HS2 rail link following claims it is an 'expensive mistake'

Lord Adonis, the architect of High Speed 2 for the last Labour government, has launched an impassioned defence of the £50bn rail link from London to the north of England after his former Cabinet colleague Lord Mandelson attacked the plan as an "expensive mistake" and described the former Labour government’s cost estimate as “almost entirely speculative”. The row over the cost of HS2 was rekindled last week when the latest cost estimate had increased by £10bn to £42.2bn, with the cost rising to £50bn including rolling stock. GUARDIAN

£150 loan from payday lender soars to £15,500 in two years

After borrowing just £150 from a payday lender, a borrower found out the hard way how the rip-off fees can mount up horrendously. Debt charity StepChange said it highlights how people who do not repay loans on time, and who are already in desperate financial trouble, can be hit with extortionate charges and interest rates. The OFT published a damning report in March that slammed “widespread irresponsible lending”, and has now referred the payday industry to the Competition Commission for a full-blown investigation. Also, payday firms have been summoned to a Government-led summit to explain themselves. The meeting will also include regulators and campaigners. It will be first time all the parties have met together in one room. In another damning probe, Citizens Advice has found payday firms lending at sky-high rates to under-18s, the mentally ill, and people who are drunk.  MIRROR

Banks must now, on your request, cancel “recurring payments” on debit and credit cards 
Continuous payment authorities (CPAs) are used to pay for subscriptions to such things as magazine and gym membership, and are notoriously difficult to cancel. Banks and building societies were failing to cancel CPAs when asked to do so by a customer. Instead, the banks told the customers to contact the merchant directly because only they could cancel a CPA. Following the rule change, about 30,000 consumers who lost out because a bank failed to cancel a CPA are in line for compensation. More recently CPAs have been adopted by some payday lenders to aggressively grab repayments, and increasingly by firms selling beauty products online – consumers agreeing to "free" trials of anti-aging creams found themselves paying for monthly shipments they couldn't stop. GUARDIAN

Cost of updating Parliament toilets to be £100,000

The cost of refurbishing two toilets in the Palace of Westminster could cost up to £100,000, according to a Commons contract on a government website. The upgrade work would need to be carried out in line with English Heritage requirements for the Grade I listed building. The contract put out to tender says the work includes installing "historic oak panelling", minor demolition work, decorations and sanitary equipment. BBC NEWS