A high court test case on overdraft charges started last week with eight of Britain’s leading banks defending allegations of unfair charges. Lawyers for the banks told the court that rules governing what is a fair contract do not apply to bank charges for unauthorised overdrafts. Around 50,000 claims against the banks have been put on hold pending the outcome of this case.

I read this article that suggests millions of BT customers could reclaim charges imposed on them because they do not pay via direct debit. The charges were brought in last year and mean that customers who not pay by direct debit are subject to a £4.50 quarterly fee. However because many of these customers were with BT before it implemented the charges they may be able to reclaim them. The Office of Fair Trading believes customers who were with the company before it brought in the charges have a strong case to argue against paying them.

EDF have announced a 12.9% price rise for gas and a 7.9% increase in electricity prices. They are the second firm to announce they will raise prices, following npower’s announcement that will raise prices by up to 27%. EDF blame the increasing wholesale and distribution costs for the rise which it says will add about £1.92 each week to the average fuel bill. Other energy providers are not expected to follow suit with similar announcements.

I was looking around at some Valentines Day gifts and came across a nice website that not only offers valentine day flower delivery but also has an extensive range of gifts. They sell gourmet food gifts and cookies as well as wine and cheese gifts. Whereas women are usually easy to by for on Valentines Day, I mean what woman doesn’t like flowers, it is nice to see a website that offers a bit more choice. I often look at valentines gifts for my husband and find I am restricted to chocolates but he would love one of these gourmet cookie baskets or perhaps a luxury cheese selection.

EMI have confirmed that thousands of staff will lose their jobs in cuts proposed the new owners. Terra Firma who now own EMI have said that they will cut the worldwide headcount by between 1,500 and 2,000 in a drive to cut costs. EMI have also recently issued a number of profit warnings and have also undergone a management reshuffle.

It can be difficult to know who to turn to if you need a loan but have credit. That’s where websites likes BadCreditOffers.com can help. They specialise in offering bad credit loans from many of the major loans providers. Their website offers a free resource for consumers who have a poor credit rating. It allows you to compare different loans from several different providers so that you easily work out which is the best loan for you. They also cover a range of different types of loan from home and auto loans to loans that can help you repair your credit rating. The website also allows you to apply online for a no obligation assessment.

A new car has been unveiled by the Indian buyers of Jaguar that costs only £1,250 making it the world’s cheapest car. It has no air conditioning, no power steering, no passenger side mirror and only one windscreen wiper but it big enough to carry four people. Called the Nano its makers hope that it will make motoring accessible to millions of Indians who can’t currently afford a car. The car measures ten foot long and five foot high and is powered by a two cylinder petrol engine. It has a top speed of 65mph and does 50 miles to the gallon.

Asda is to introduce fines for customers who park in disabled or family bays when they are not meant to be using them. The fines were rolled out yesterday across all of its stores. Any profits made from the scheme will be donated to the charity Tommy’s and to the Motability car scheme for the disabled.

Despite it being well publicised that McDonalds food is unhealthy sales are up in Britain. They are now selling more burgers than at any time since they arrived in Britain 34 years ago. Last month there were an amazing 88 million visits to McDonalds. This figure is up nearly 10 million on the previous year.  Although the McDonald’s menu has changed to include healthier options such as smoothies and wraps the most popular choices are still the traditional products such as burgers, fries and ice creams.

Land of Leather shares have lost 48% of their value after the retailer’s biggest new year sale failed to tempt customers. The results meant they had to issue a profits warning. Within minutes of issuing the announcement to the London Stock Exchange revealing a 25.5% drop in sales orders shares in the company plummeted by almost 50%.