March 2021

Supermarket giant Asda has ditched free plastic bags for fruit and vegetables and shoppers now need to bring their own or pay 30p for a reusable one in-store. 

A new private parking ticket appeals service will launch next year, the Government has confirmed. Meanwhile, a raft of measures designed to make private parking tickets cheaper and fairer have also been announced.

Lifetime ISA providers are setting early deadlines for savers who want to withdraw cash penalty-free without using it for a first home or retirement – so if you want to do that, don't wait until the official early April cut-off. In some cases savers have just days to make a penalty-free withdrawal – we've a full provider-by-provider breakdown below. 

The first areas of the country to get an ultrafast broadband upgrade have been named, with work due to start next year. As many as 510,000 homes and businesses should initially benefit from the £5 billion upgrade with more regions to follow in future.

Bupa UK health insurance customers will be refunded the equivalent of around one month's premium after coronavirus disrupted some people's planned medical treatments last year. 

Many Scots with student loans will see repayments drop sharply next month, as the income threshold at which loans begin to be repaid will rise from £19,390 to £25,000. We've full analysis of the changes below - including who's likely to pay more and less in the long run as a result. 

Energy suppliers will be forced to automatically refund in-credit balances each year and will have limits placed on the size of customers' balances under new proposals from the energy regulator. The shake-up could result in households getting an average refund of £65.

The Government is leaving millions of people with mental health problems exposed to scams by failing to combat online fraud in its forthcoming Online Safety Bill, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has warned. It comes as new research has found those with mental health problems are three times more likely to be victims of online scams.  

Savings provider Marcus is cutting the interest rate on its best-buy easy-access account again next month.

Accord Mortgages will become the first lender to bring back standard 5% deposit mortgages after the majority of lenders pulled out of the low deposit market a year ago due to fears the coronavirus crisis would have a negative impact on borrowers' ability to afford loans.