Was there a hidden boost in Queen’s Speech for YOU?

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Was there a hidden boost in Queen’s Speech for YOU? New legislation that could boost your household

Sunny outlook: The Queen’s Speech was full of new laws that could improve your finances

From protecting victims of scams to ending fake reviews, the Queen’s Speech was full of new laws that could improve your finances. Read by the Prince of Wales in Parliament last week, here’s what the new measures could mean for you.

No more subscription pitfalls: Most of us signed up for a “free” trial subscription and then forgot to cancel before payments were deducted from our bank account or credit card.

New rules will mean companies will have to remind customers when a special introductory offer ends or when a contract is about to renew automatically. ‘

Subscription traps are a major irritation which has apparently cost us £1.8billion,” says Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Forcing companies to notify people before payment is made could be the boost we need to cancel in time.”

False reviews prohibited: Millions of us rely on online reviews to make decisions about the products and services we choose. But as The Mail on Sunday reported last year, around half of all online reviews are fake.

New legislation is in place to prohibit fake reviews. It will become illegal to order or offer to provide false reviews or post reviews without taking care to ensure that they are real.

Over time, this should give consumers greater confidence in the authenticity of the reviews they read and save them from costly mistakes.

Protection for Christmas Savings Clubs: Money held in savings clubs will be protected against business failure. Many households put money into a savings club throughout the year for Christmas or other big events such as weddings.

Strict new laws will require all prepayment schemes, including Christmas savings clubs, to safeguard customer money with insurance or in trust accounts. In theory, this means that the funds must still be protected even if the company goes bankrupt. The Mail on Sunday has long campaigned for better protection for savers who use these services – following the collapse of the Farepak club 16 years ago when 116,000 savers lost £40million.

Free ATMs and Shared Banking Hubs: Finally, let’s hope that access to liquidity will finally be better protected, thanks to a new bill on financial services and markets.

This is to ensure that everyone can withdraw and deposit money for free. The Mail on Sunday’s ‘Keep Our Cash’ campaign has long demanded that communities have access to cash – through street banks and free cash machines.

Five million people in the UK rely on cash to make their budget. Elderly and vulnerable people in particular suffer when an ATM or bank branch closes, preventing people from easily accessing cash. Measures are likely to include shared bank branches in communities where the last bank branch closed.

Natalie Ceeney, president of the Access to Cash Action Group, said: “Free access to cash is essential for the most vulnerable people in society who use it for day-to-day budgeting.”

Retirement pensions could benefit from a boost: Plans to untangle European Union red tape around the financial sector could help boost rent rates. New rules will mean that insurance companies will be able to free up more money for investments, which should in turn allow them to offer higher annuity rates. Last year, a pension pot of £100,000 might have bought you a single life annuity of £4,882. As part of the changes, actuarial experts estimate this could rise to around £5,700 a year. The boost would only apply to people taking out new annuity offerings.

Vote for your neighbor’s extension: A building permit overhaul could mean residents can vote on whether extensions to buildings on their street are allowed. It is hoped that the changes will allow residents to become more involved in local development.

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