Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 5th September)

20% of British Workers earning 'Below Living Wage'

The think tank The Resolution Foundation said it meant that a total of 4.8 million Britons, 20% of all UK employees, were paid at a level below the rate deemed necessary for a basic standard of living, an increase from 3.4 million in 2009. They said: "Britain has a sorry story to tell on low pay. Only a handful of our close competitors do worse and the large majority have much lower rates of low pay - sometimes half as much." SKY NEWS

Bank of England: consumers turn to loans, credit cards and overdrafts

Data from the Bank of England, released on Friday, show that the 3.5% annual increase in consumer credit, which includes borrowing on overdrafts, credit cards and unsecured loans, was the most rapid increase in four-and-a-half years. The fresh evidence of consumers' willingness to turn to costly borrowing on personal loans – which charge average rates of more than 7%, compared with the Bank's base rate of 0.5% – will increase fears that the UK is experiencing an unsustainable, "Alice in Wongaland" recovery, a phrase coined recently by the economist Ann Pettifor. GUARDIAN

Wonga profits leap 35% as demand for loans increases

Wonga, the short-term loans provider, has reported pre-tax profits of £84.5m for 2012, an increase of 35% on the previous year. In its annual statement, Wonga reported £1.2bn in lending, an increase of 68%. Wonga has also opened a business lending arm, and expanded abroad. So called "payday loan" firms, which often lend to those who cannot get a loan from a High Street bank, are currently the subject of a Competition Commission review. BBC NEWS

G20 summit: states chase tax evaders with plan to swap data globally

World leaders attending the annual G20 summit are expected to promise to develop powerful tools to help the authorities combat international tax evaders, with a deadline of next June. New treaties will require financial institutions to automatically disclose customer assets to overseas tax bodies. This bold approach has been pioneered by the US and has attracted accusations from tax havens of human rights abuses and economic imperialism. But the G20 nations will all sign up to the measures. Meanwhile, the G20 heads of state are also expected to give their formal backing to an unprecedented programme of tax reform designed to curb widespread tax avoidance strategies pursued by multinational corporations. GUARDIAN

Mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance complaints about finance firms push total to record high

Complaints about financial firms have surged to a record high as a huge insurance mis-selling scandal continues to weigh on the industry. The ombudsman said some lenders continue to drag their heels on repaying mis-sold PPI, causing "long waits and unnecessary delays" for customers. Complaints about Lloyds Banking Group were almost five times higher than a year earlier, at 129,293. They also rose 38% on the prior six months to make the part-nationalised lender the most complained-about group. The compensation payout, first estimated at around £9bn, has now doubled to over £18bn. STANDARD

Postcode divide in state pension, says TUC

A study of England by the TUC showed that women living in East Dorset - which has the longest life expectancy for men and women - could expect to live nine years longer than a woman in Corby, the area with the shortest female life expectancy. It worked out that, because they lived longer, they receive £67,000 more in state pensions over a lifetime. The difference for men living in East Dorset and in Manchester - the area with the shortest male life expectancy - would be £53,000. BBC NEWS

First pay-outs for small businesses mis-sold “rate-swap” loans by banks

So far, 10 firms have agreed to accept payments, averaging £50,000 each. Up to 25,000 more businesses could be in line for compensation, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is thought about 40,000 small businesses were sold the products in the years between 2001 and 2008. Those affected include vets, care home operators, hauliers and pub owners. BBC NEWS

Owners of empty properties offered £15k loans to bring UK's uninhabitable homes back to life

Loans up to £15,000 will be provided to homeowners to help bring some of England’s 710,000 empty properties back to life under a new scheme announced today. The scheme, which aims to tackle Britain's housing shortage, is a joint initiative between the charity Empty Homes, Ecology Building Society, central government and 39 participating local authorities. Owners of empty properties are often unable to access funds to bring them back into use, creating a vicious decline in areas with a high number of empty properties.

The intention behind the fund is that the empty property must be let at an affordable rent level that will have been agreed at the time of the application once it has been refurbished. DAILY MAIL