Same old, same old in 2013?

Happy New Year to one and all! Hope you all had a great festive break.

Just in case you missed them, here are some FS-related stories that broke over the Christmas/New Year period... 

Former FSA chief executive Hector Sants was knighted in the New Year Honours list. Yes, they gave a knighthood to the guy who was part of a system that failed spectacularly. Words. Fail. Me.

A computer systems crash at Lloyds Banking Group left New Year revellers unable to withdraw cash. Customers took to Twitter to vent spleen at being unable to make cash machine withdrawals and use their debit cards. Some also claimed that credit in their accounts had been wiped out. You can read The Daily Mail's typically understated report here.

Wonga (the payday lender behind those comedy OAP puppet ads we all know and hate) ran into further controversy when it launched a new “buy now, pay later” service via retailers’ websites. In November, the company got into a spot of bother when it was accused of “legal loan sharking” by MP Stella Creasy. It was forced to apologise to Creasy after one of its employees used an anonymous Twitter account to attack her, calling her mentally unstable.

Of its new offering, Michael Ossei, personal finance expert at uSwitch.com, comments: "Short-term lending at rates of seven per cent may seem like a great way to ease the burden of a purchase, but there are cheaper ways to fund your shopping. And as well as the overall cost of using Wonga’s new service being relatively uncompetitive compared to some credit card deals on the market, there is a bigger cause for concern  - what happens if consumers can’t pay off their bills in time? Unfortunately, there have been a number of worrying incidents in the past where vulnerable customers have been subject to heavy-handed debt chasing practices. The worry is that this could become more widespread as Wonga expands its offering and becomes more readily available, especially if customers aren’t fully aware that it’s Wonga who they are borrowing from in the first place."

"Although some retailers might believe the service helps their customers – by giving them another way to help pay for things – it could lead to confusion if Wonga’s terms and conditions aren’t clearly stated upfront. Consumers need to make sure they know exactly what they’re signing up to. There is a real risk of mis-selling and unless retailers are careful, they could end up attracting the attention of the OFT," he added.