Postal company defends technology but suspends surcharge, while app allowing customers to scan own stamps developed

Royal Mail has suspended controversial fines for letters with stamps it deems counterfeit after claims that it was penalising the public for its own inadequate technology.

Addressees have been forced to pay a levy of £5 to receive post if Royal Mail suspects that a fake stamp was used by the sender. Hundreds of fines have been issued since barcoded stamps became mandatory last July.

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We’d like to hear from people who have been purchasing luxury goods and experiences in recent years, and how they feel about their spending habits

We’re interested to hear about people’s spending habits in the area of upmarket or luxury goods, services and experiences, and whether they are generally happy with their spending on non-essentials.

We’d like to know whether you have spent money on expensive non-essential items such as designer clothing, high end housewares, luxury holidays, expensive beauty or wellness treatments, or exclusive dining, for instance, in the past year, and if so, whether you have struggled to afford this.

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The UK does not have a sicknote problem. It has a government-couldn’t-care-less problem

Another week, another phantom menace for Rishi Sunak. The people he is talking about, regarding his benefit reforms, do not exist. The 1.35 million people who could work but just don’t want to , who have a label of depression or anxiety but are just a little bit sad, who could have their benefits replaced by vouchers and find that incentivising: these people do not exist.

People are not signed off work because we are all a little bit more comfortable talking about our moods. People are not on disability benefits because Prince Harry did a podcast. We don’t have a “ sicknote culture ” because it’s too easy to get a sicknote. The pressure on GPs will not be lifted by parcelling out sicknotes to private contractors. Those with depression and anxiety severe enough to claim a personal independence payment (Pip) are catastrophically unwell. If numbers have surged over the past 14 years, which they have, it is because Conservative governments make you catastrophically unwell.

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With the Olympics just a few weeks away, waiters in Paris are apparently encouraging tips on top of the required 15% service charge. Sacré bleu!

Name: French tips.

Appearance: All over Paris, allegedly.

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Home workers aim to tackle smelly athleisure clothing, save money and be kinder to the environment

For years, laundry detergents have focused their cleaning power on stain removal and getting whites white but now a new invisible enemy has emerged in the shape of the musty smell that clings to your gym gear.

The shift to remote working has fuelled the popularity of “athleisure ” clothing such as T-shirts, joggers and leggings which, rather than shirts and dresses, are now the default work wardrobe of many Britons.

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For first time since August 2021 people expect position to be better in a year, Paul Thwaite adds

Consumer confidence is bouncing back in the UK, with people predicting a brighter financial future for the first time in two years, NatWest has said.

Paul Thwaite, the bank’s chief executive, said easing price pressures as inflation comes down seemed to be feeding through to the general public. Headline consumer price inflation is still above the Bank of England’s 2% target at 3.2% but has fallen sharply from a peak of 11.1% in October 2022. Natwest’s own economic forecast suggests inflation will fall to 2.5% by the end of this year.

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From a modern development in the heart of Edinburgh to a Grade II-listed townhouse in Ramsgate

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Credit card holders who make minimum repayments warned they could be in debt for years longer

Some Barclaycard customers who only make the minimum repayment each month will take an extra decade to clear their debt and pay hundreds of pounds in extra interest after the credit card provider changed its terms.

Barclaycard – thought to be the UK’s biggest credit card provider – has written to customers telling them it is cutting their minimum payments to give them “more flexibility”.

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Instead of buy-one-get-one-free offers, everyday life now involves carefully comparing prices and feeling increasingly powerless

Under capitalism, prices are supposed to be the centre of everything. They are the key agreement between buyer and seller. They are the one clear and reliable piece of information, on which the whole often opaque and unstable system depends.

So it struck me as strange when some of my local London shops stopped displaying the prices of some goods a couple of years ago. It started with upmarket fishmongers, and I wondered whether this was because wealthy customers didn’t need to count their pennies. But then the practice spread to corner shops and greengrocers, with a wider clientele, and to everyday purchases such as fruit and vegetables. There was a cost of living crisis going on, the worst in Britain for 40 years, but parts of Hackney seemed to be in denial.

Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist

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