Money blog: BT shares continue to slump after Sky deal; returns charges at major brands revealed (2024)

By Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist

It was the dream Facebook notification.

In January 2021, Lorna Lyons was tagged in a post telling her she had won a £10,000 kitchen from The Range.

With appliance and fittings included, the mum of three was excited to replace "the heart of the family home" after entering the giveaway.

But three years on, their kitchen is condemned and the family cook their meals in an air fryer in the living room.

What went wrong?

Issues arose from the very beginning, Ms Lyons says.

First, she says, the designer tried to pressure her into accepting a white kitchen - something completely unpractical for the cooking fan in a household of three boys.

"I told her I don't want to spend all day up to my armpits in bleach cleaning the kitchen," Ms Lyons, 43, told Sky News. Eventually, The Range Kitchens (at the time branded as Jonas & James) agreed to design her a navy blue kitchen.

Then, she says, the designer measured wrong, with the wrong items being sent out - they were promised a dishwasher which didn't fit. When installing the kitchen in May 2022 (delayed due to the pandemic), she says the fitter damaged several drawers and doors, but while replacements were ordered, they never materialised.

Within a year, their brand-new hob had cracked, but after their pleas to The Range went unanswered they decided to order a new one themselves. But when it arrived, a different kitchen fitter refused to install it, telling them everything in the kitchen had been wired wrong and all the electrics were unsafe.

Instead of each appliance being housed within its own junction box, they were all taped together in one bundle.

I reached out to James Watkins, who posts on Instagram as Jimbo the Electrician, to see exactly what risks this could pose (he had no involvement in the installation - but gave me his expert opinion).

He told me: "So looking at the photo there are a few issues that I can see: Single insulated cables on show (Code 2 - potentially dangerous). No adequate enclosure with tape being used and terminals accessible without the use of a tool (Code 2). Overall workmanship very poor."

This, he said, could potentially lead to an electric shock.

Correspondence shared with Sky News shows Ms Lyons has repeatedly contacted The Range about the issues with her kitchen, but no solution has been forthcoming.

"I am struggling mentally and emotionally, I am just drained. I feel as if I am getting nowhere," the NHS call handler said.

Sky News contacted the Range about the issue.

A spokesperson said: "We're sorry to hear that Ms Lyons is having an issue with her kitchen which was installed in good faith using an independent installer in 2022.

"This issue has only just been bought to our attention and we plan to investigate the matter fully."

But Ms Lyons says she has not heard from the company in more than two weeks.

What rights do competition winners have?

Generally speaking, if a contract is involved, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives people certain statutory rights when goods are supplied to them by a business.

But, whether there is a contract will depend on the circ*mstances. If something is completely free, and the consumer doesn't have to give or do anything in return, then the Consumer Rights Act 2015 may not apply.

But if it does, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 goods should be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and match their description. If a business also agrees to install the goods it is supplying or agrees to arrange for them to be installed as part of the contract, then it must ensure that the goods are installed correctly.

Where consumers' statutory rights are breached, someone may have a legal right to a solution under consumer law, such as a right to a repair or replacement. Depending on the circ*mstances, someone might be able to bring a claim under the general law for damage caused to their property (even if there isn't a contract), but they should seek independent legal advice before doing so.

Anyone who experiences an issues with the prize from an advert should speak to Citizen's Advice for further help.

One in four Britons fear they could be forced to turn off their heating and hot water this winter due to an expected rise in energy bills, a survey suggests.

The proportion who said they may be forced to take such action increased to 31% for households with children and 39% for bill payers on a low income, according to the survey from Citizens Advice.

The charity said it was helping record numbers of people with energy debt "even in the height of summer".

It warned that "without urgent intervention from the government, households will continue to face impossible choices and drastic cutbacks to be able to afford to heat their homes".

The survey found 48% of respondents said they would have to turn their heating or hot water down or off.

And 34% said they would have difficulty affording food or other essentials, such as their mortgage, rent or childcare - while 7% said they would be forced to skip meals.

Energy regulator Ofgem is set to confirm a new energy price cap for October to December on Friday - which experts predict will rise by 9%.

Citizens Advice said 7% of households (nearly five million people) are in debt to their energy supplier, a figure that rises to more than 14% of households with children under 18.

It said the predicted price cap increase of £150 would pull a further 187,000 people into a negative budget - equivalent to the population of Bournemouth.

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

The share price slide for BT continued today. It topped the leader board as the biggest price faller in the FTSE 100, with shares down 1.36%.

Yesterday, an estimated £1bn was wiped from the company's value after an internet network rival CityFibre struck a deal with broadband supplier Sky, the owner of Sky News.

It means Sky will use CityFibre's network, rather than Openreach, to offer its services starting next year.

Sky is the largest third-party broadband provider on Openreach, with around 5.7 million customers.

Citi's analysts, however, said they believed the financial impact for BT was manageable, noting that Sky would maintain its long-term relationship with BT's Openreach given the significantly larger size of its network.

CityFibre has plans to expand to eight million premises, challenging the dominance of BT's national Openreach network and Virgin Media O2's second ranked network. It is backed by Goldman Sachs and Antin Infrastructure Partners.

The oil price is this week back below $80 a barrel which should make refilling a car cheaper in about a week to 10 days' time. The benchmark oil price, a barrel of Brent crude, is $77.36, cheaper than for most of the last year.

One pound is equal to €1.1708, down from the highs of July but better than early this month. Against the dollar, sterling is strong, buying $1.3026 - the highest in more than a year.

Ed Conway, our data and economics editor, has warned there is a "lot of bad news to come" as Labour try to get a grip of the UK's finances.

Earlier, we reported that government borrowing rose to its highest amount since the pandemic in July, with public sector spending on the rise.

But Conway is clear most of this pre-dates the Labour government.

"What it's showing is the state of public finances is not actually terribly good," he says.

"Having spoken to people in government, they are going to be raising taxes, they are going to be cutting spending.

"What we are going to hear about in the budget that is coming up at the end of October is frankly going to be quite miserable.

"It's going to be quite grim."

He adds: "There's going to be a lot of bad news to come, I'm afraid."

A reminder the prime minister and chancellor have vowed not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.

Reports in the Guardian and Mirror newspapers suggest the chancellor may look to raise more from inheritance tax and capital gains tax, among other measures like not scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

Signs that the upward movement on rents is finally easing have been reported by Zoopla.

In research commissioned by the BBC, the property website found "the recent boom in rent rises for new lets is coming to an end".

Across the country, rents have risen by 1.6% over the last six months - way down from the 11% we saw overall in 2022 and 8% in 2023.

Zoopla expects this year's overall figure to come in at between 3-4%.

But interestingly, the picture differs across the country - with rents now falling in places such as London, Brighton, Glasgow, Nottingham and Worthing...

In London, a third of boroughs are seeing rents come down, most noticeably in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich...

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

Government borrowing rose to the highest amount since the pandemic in July, official figures show.

Not since 2021 has there been a July with such high borrowing, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There was a £3.1bn difference between what the government took in from things like taxes and how much was spent on public sector services - a net deficit made up for with borrowing.

Compared with the same month last year it's £1.8bn higher.

The sums are also higher than expected when looked at across a four-month period, despite being £500m below the same time in 2023.

So far the government has borrowed £51.4bn over the first four months of the 2024-25 financial year.

Independent forecasters the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expected borrowing to be £4.7bn less and come in at £46.6bn.

Despite better-than-expected economic growth in recent weeks, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widelyexpected to raise some taxesin her first October budget having said there is a£22bn black holein the public finances.

Today's figures are likely to add to that expectation.

Every Wednesday we ask Michelin chefs to pick their favourite Cheap Eats where they live and when they cook at home.This week we speak toJames Mackenzie, chef and owner of East Yorkshire's only Michelin-star restaurant - the Pipe and Glass in South Dalton.

Hi James,can you tell us your favourite places in East Yorkshire where you can get a meal for two for less than £40?

You can't beat brunch at Drewton's Farm Shop and Kitchen. Nestled in the beautiful Yorkshire Wolds, they serve a fantastic all-day breakfast using local ingredients, including their own craft sausages and Doreen's black pudding. It certainly sets you up for a busy day.

My second choice is Laveracks, a butcher/deli with shops in nearby Holme on Spalding Moor and Pocklington. They make great sausage rolls that hit the spot if I'm out and about - they're a generous size wrapped in delicious home-made pastry. The pies are chunky too, they don't scrimp on the filling and the flavours are fab. They also offer a top-quality selection of meats - everything that a great butcher should be.

What is your go-to cheap eat to cook at home when you have a night in?

You can't beat a family Sunday roast complete with all the trimmings and a sky-high Yorkshire pudding or two.

Yorkshire pudding is the first recipe that I ever made. I was about five or six, and I can remember cracking the eggs and whisking like mad, and my mum saying, "Carry on, they need more air" - but I think this was just a ploy to keep me occupied and had nothing to do with her recipe.

This recipe is simple and it uses an excessive amount of eggs to create the biggest Yorkies you've ever made.

And make sure you don't make the common mistake of seasoning your batter too early.

Make sure you let it rest before adding salt at the last minute before cooking - otherwise it affects the rise.

Ingredients (makes 10)

• Six eggs
• 300ml full-fat milk
• 260g plain flour
• Goose or duck fat or beef dripping, or rapeseed oil if preferred
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4;
• Place the eggs and milk into a mixing bowl and whisk together, sieve the flour in and mix with a hand blender until you've got a smooth batter. Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes;
• In a 12-hole baking tray place a tablespoon of fat into each mould and put in the oven until smoking hot;
• Season the batter immediately before you pour it into the smoking hot tray - this will stop the salt breaking down the egg and your puddings will rise really well;
• Fill up 10 moulds nearly full around the edge of the tray, leaving two moulds in the middle free to allow the heat to circulate evenly;
• Bake for 35 minutes and don't be tempted to open the oven door earlier or they will collapse.

We've spoken to lots of top chefs - check out their cheap eats from around the country here...

Over half of fashion retailers now charge customers for postal returns, new research shows.

The consumer choice website Which? found that 12 out of the UK's 20 biggest online retailers no longer offer free postal or courier returns.

PrettyLittleThing, H&M and Boohoo are among the stores charging the lowest return fee at £1.99 while MandM Direct charges customers between £2.99-£3.99.

Also among the retailers Which? looked at were JD Sports, Matalan, New Look, Next, River Island, Sports Direct, TK Maxx and Zara.

When Which? examined the pages for Zara, River Island and New Look it found the stores outlined their fees on product listing pages, but many of the other retailers did not explicitly state during the checkout process that customers have to pay for returns.

And apart from Sports Direct - which only accepts online returns via post - all of the retailers in Which?'s research that have physical shops do offer free in-store returns.

Gurpreet Chokar, Which? consumer law expert, said that it was becoming "increasingly common" for customers to foot the bill if they couldn't return their item to a physical shop as many online retailers were now shifting away from free online returns.

"While some shoppers will be able to return items at physical stores without any extra charges, retailers must ensure that any return fees are clear upfront so that customers can make an informed decision before they place their order," Ms Chokar said.

What are your rights?

Regulations state that consumers have a right to return an item they have purchased online.

The product doesnot have to be in its original packaging, but a company is entitled to ask for some form of proof of purchase.

Companies are not allowed to charge you for items that were placed in your online shopping basket as a result of a pre-ticked box.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, consumers also do not have to pay for returns if their item is faulty or not as described.

The first £1 coins featuring King Charles have entered circulation, with collectors encouraged to look out for the historic addition to the nation's change.

Nearly three million of the new designs will be making their way into pockets and tills across the country this week, via Post Offices and banks throughout the UK.

The £1 coin has a pair of British bees on the "tails" side, in honour of the King's passion for conservation and the natural world, and Charles' official coin effigy on the obverse, or "heads".

The other designs, which will be introduced in line with demand, are the 1p showing a hazel dormouse, the 2p red squirrel, the 5p oak tree leaf, 10p capercaillie grouse, 20p puffin, and the £2 with the national flowers - rose, daffodil, thistle and shamrock.

Giving workers the "right to switch off" is key to productivity and could boost economic growth, Downing Street has said.

Labour has promised to give employees the right to ignore work-related calls and emails out of hours, so homes do not become "24/7 offices".

Ministers are looking at models in other countries where there is already a right to disconnect, such as Ireland and Belgium.

The prime minister's spokesperson said the plan was about making sure "we're not inadvertently blurring the lines between work and home life".

The plans were not a "one size fits all" and would recognise companies vary and people have different roles, she added.

The number of firms in England and Wales going bust last month rose by 16% year-on-year, according to official figures.

Commentators said the 2,191 company insolvencies showed how many businesseswere still recovering from the impact of high inflation and borrowing costs, despite growing optimism about the UK's economic outlook.

The figure was 7% down on June's total, but insolvency levels remain much higher than those seen during both thepandemic and in the years following the 2008/09 financial crisis, officials said.

Rebecca Dacre, a partner at advisory firm Forvis Mazars, said the data was "a strong reminder that many businesses are still a long way off from recovery".

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

BT's share price has fallen, wiping off an estimated £1bn from the company's value.

One share now costs £134.45, a low last seen 10 days ago.

It comes after an internet network rival CityFibre struck a deal with broadband supplier Sky.

This means that Sky will now use CityFibre's network to offer its services starting next year.

It's a hit to BT as Sky customers are hosted on BT's Openreach network. Under the plan, Sky aims to connect so-called "hard-to-reach areas".

CityFibre reaches 3.8 million homes and aims to expand and reach "at least" 8 million premises in the coming years, it said.

"This partnership with Sky is a huge vote of confidence in our business and has cemented CityFibre's position as the UK's third digital infrastructure platform," said company chief executive Greg Mesch.

Formerly British Telecoms, BT is worth roughly £14.44bn, based on the number of shares issued and the share price.

The head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell Danni Hewson said the CityFibre detail may not be that significant.

"BT shares came under pressure on fears of an enhanced competitive threat for its Openreach broadband operation amid chatter Sky might start partnering with CityFibre in 2025.

"However, CityFibre's modest scale and focus on rural areas suggest it shouldn't be a huge issue."

Sky is the owner of Sky News.