0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Petrol stations introduce new £99 charge to pay at the pump Supermarket petrol pumps are starting to charge drivers a £99 fee to pay at the pump under a new European-style rule change by Visa and Mastercard.The "pre-authorization charge" is being introduced to ensure drivers have enough money to cover the amount of fuel they put in their cars if they choose to pay at the pump instead of at a kiosk.Last month Asda became the first supermarket to introduce the charge at three stores, but has been met with complaints from customers. One customer claimed the £99 charge was deducted from her bank balance and not returned for two days. Although the money is deducted from the customer's bank balance or credit card limit it is held in limbo but never actually leaves their account.Once the payment for the petrol has cleared the charge will reappear on the customer's balance. This can take as little as 20 minutes or as long as two to three days. It is understood that supermarkets have now put plans to introduce the charge on ice following consumer outrage and confusion. Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons have not yet implemented the £99 charge but are "reviewing the situation" and plan to introduce it in the near future.
BMW recalls 300,000 cars that risk stalling completelyBMW is extending a UK recall of its cars after the BBC's Watchdog found that vehicles could cut out completely while they are being driven.It is recalling 312,000 vehicles: the BMW 1 Series, the 3 Series, the Z4 and its X1 petrol and diesel models made between March 2007 and August 2011.
Jobcentres sanctioning refugees for learning English, watchdog findsReport on vulnerable person resettlement scheme criticises Home Office’s lack of oversightFamilies who fled war in Syria are being wrongly sanctioned by jobcentres for attending English language courses, the chief inspector of borders and immigration has said in a report critical of the Home Office.David Bolt said recently arrived refugees faced “substantial barriers” to finding work and some had had welfare payments stopped while trying to learn English.
Google Duplex: Company reveals 'terrifying' artificially intelligent bot that calls people up and pretends to be humanBot even pauses and says 'hmm' to give the impression it is real
Police to add bike patrols to ten more citiesWith the addition of 64 bicycles, 12 of which are electricity powered, more police will be on bikes in a measure authorities describe as being successful since being introduced 2.5 years ago.Police bike patrols will be introduced to Hydra, Spetses, Kastoria, Halkida, Mytilene, Chios, Rethymno, Heraklion, Lefkada and Trikala.
Cinema fizzy drinks contain 'concerning' bacteria levelsDrinks from three of the UK's largest cinema chains have been found to contain unacceptably high levels of bacteria, a BBC investigation has found.Fizzy drinks from Cineworld, Odeon and Vue were tested in 30 cinemas, for BBC One's Watchdog programme.Seven branches sold drinks with unacceptable bacteria levels.
UK broadband speeds leap ahead, according to Ofcom studyThere has been a marked improvement in home broadband, according to an annual survey by the UK's communications watchdog Ofcom.It said that average fixed-line download speeds rose by 28% over the year to 46.2 megabits per second, while uploads gained by 44% to 6.2 Mbps.It added that the typical household now consumed 190 gigabytes of data a month, in large part due to the use of Netflix and other streamed TV services.But rural consumers still lag behind.
Revealed: Network Rail's new £800m scheme to remove all 'leaf fall' treesExclusive: five-year ‘enhanced clearance’ programme targets trees along 20,000 miles of track to avoid delays, according to an internal document
US government 'killed thousands of kittens' as part of secretive decades-long experiments'Put simply, it creates life to destroy life'
Policeman shoots groundhog dead as it tries to cross busy road'The deputy then put the animal down for the public's safety,' sheriff's office saysA policeman in America pulled out his gun and shot dead a groundhog that was trying to cross a road after the officer tried and failed to herd it to safety.