News in July 2006
- 31 Jul 2006 Argos card's extortionate charges A £300 iPod could cost you £405 with an Argos Easy Shop store card, this month's Which? warns.
- 31 Jul 2006 Woolworths now sells cars High-street stalwart Woolworths has started selling cars at discounted prices.
- 31 Jul 2006 New egg shows when it's cooked Two new inventions could spell the end of the humble egg-timer but may be the perfect solution for the generation that doesn't know how to boil an egg.
- 29 Jul 2006 Thames Water tops pollution list Thames Water’swoes have continued after it emerged that the water giant clocked up the biggest fines for pollution in England and Wales last year.
- 28 Jul 2006 New herbal medicine advice The medicines watchdog has stepped up its fight against herbal remedies which make bogus claims about their health benefits.
- 28 Jul 2006 Home makeover pitfall warning Watch out for home improvement deals where you have to pay everything upfront.
- 28 Jul 2006 Stolen phone crackdown Britain’s mobile phone networks are joining forces to combat the growing problem of mobile phone theft.
- 27 Jul 2006 BT's 'groundbreaking' DVD deal Film buffs will soon be able to download Hollywood blockbusters from the internet on the day of their DVD release.
- 27 Jul 2006 British Gas raises prices again British Gascustomers face more misery after the energy giant confirmed it will be hiking up energy prices by as much as 12.4 per cent.
- 27 Jul 2006 BBC launches podcast trial News addicts can now download news programmes from the BBC to mobile phones and video iPods.
- 26 Jul 2006 Recycling scheme set for 2007 A recycling network will be set up across the UK to deal with the country's unwanted electrical and electronic goods.
- 26 Jul 2006 Rare clematis flowers in heatwave The scorching hot weather is thought to be behind the first flowering in more than 25 years of a plant most botanists didn't even know was in the UK.
- 26 Jul 2006 Blair threatens junk food ad ban Tony Blair has warned the food industry to take action over junk food adverts or face a government crackdown.
- 25 Jul 2006 Private hospitals not giving NHS value for money The government's drive to send NHS patients for treatment in private hospitals has failed to cut waiting times or save money, an influential group of MPs said today.
- 25 Jul 2006 New rules to protect motorists' privacy New measures have been announced to stop motorists' personal details being passed to ‘parking enforcement cheats' such as rogue wheel clampers.
- 25 Jul 2006 Passport prices rise again The cost of a British passport is to rise for the second time in ten months to pay for new anti-fraud measures, says the Home Office.
- 25 Jul 2006 Microsoft set for Zune landing Microsoftis mounting a challenge to Apple’s domination of the MP3 market by developing a portable music player.
- 25 Jul 2006 Carphone Warehouse tweaks net deal Carphone Warehousehas changed its 'free broadband' offer after criticism from the advertising watchdog last week.
- 24 Jul 2006 Cadbury linked to salmonella outbreak Health officials say that contaminated Cadbury's chocolate bars were the most likely cause of a salmonella outbreak in England and Wales.
- 24 Jul 2006 MP3 radio gadgets to be legalised Transmitters which enable iPods and other MP3 players to be played over car stereos and home entertainment systems look set to become legal in the UK.
- 24 Jul 2006 GP clinics set for Boots stores High-street chemist Boots is planning to put GP surgeries and hospital consultants in its stores across the UK, according to reports.
- 24 Jul 2006 Britons hooked on mobile phones Mobile phones are changing the way we interact with each other and are becoming an increasingly important part of our lives, according to a new study.
- 24 Jul 2006 EDF Energy hikes up prices Power giant EDF Energy has announced it’s hiking up its fuel prices by up to 19 per cent.
- 23 Jul 2006 Film4 prepares for free launch Channel 4’smovie channel Film4 will re-launch on Sunday evening as a free service for digital television viewers.
- 21 Jul 2006 NHS failing allergy sufferers Health chiefs have admitted that many allergy sufferers feel let down by the NHS and some wait up to nine months to see specialists.
- 21 Jul 2006 Hair dye chemicals banned over cancer risk The European Commission is to ban 22 chemicals found in permanent hairs dyes because of cancer fears.
- 21 Jul 2006 Airline complaints soar Complaints from air travellers almost trebled last year according to figures from the official passenger watchdog.
- 20 Jul 2006 Thames Water facing Ofwat fine The UK's biggest water supplier Thames Water is facing more criticism after it failed to meet customer service standards.
- 20 Jul 2006 Carphone Warehouse rapped over advert Carphone Warehouse has been told to stop running adverts claiming the broadband element of its TalkTalk service is ‘free forever’.
- 19 Jul 2006 Which? gets estate agent contracts changed Twenty five estate agents have had to remove or change unfair terms on their contracts after Which? reported them to the government.
- 18 Jul 2006 Sky joins broadband battle Satellite broadcaster Sky is the latest company to enter the increasingly competitive broadband market.
- 18 Jul 2006 NHS charges a 'complete mess', say MPs The system of NHS charges has been branded a ‘complete mess’ by a committee of MPs.
- 18 Jul 2006 Air fares to be clearer Airlines will no longer be able to separate out taxes and charges on air fares to hide the true cost of a flight, under new EU proposals.
- 18 Jul 2006 Some cereals more than half sugar Some breakfast cereals contain the same levels of sugar or salt as a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps, Which? reveals today.
- 18 Jul 2006 Which? slams government over HIPs backtrack Which? has slammed the government for its ‘half-baked’ decision to delay a vital part of forthcoming Home Information Packs (HIPs).
- 17 Jul 2006 Bargain holiday bonanza Travel companies have started knocking hundreds of pounds off their holidays after being left with a glut of unsold packages.
- 17 Jul 2006 Parents' web ignorance puts kids at risk Parents lack the technical skills to protect their children from internet risks such as online porn and violence, says children’s charity NCH.
- 14 Jul 2006 Patient privacy under threat from NHS database Doctors say there will be a serious threat to patient confidentiality if everyone’s medical records are stored on one main database.
- 14 Jul 2006 Blueberries-easy to grow, delicious to taste Blueberries are a great summer fruit packed with vitamins and antioxidants and are definitely worth growing, says Gardening Which?
- 13 Jul 2006 Water firm complaints rise Householder complaints about water companies are up 10 per cent on the same period last year, according to new figures out today.
- 13 Jul 2006 Phoning over the net can save a fortune In its latest issue the magazine examines how customers can use their PC as a telephone with the services VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) provides.
- 13 Jul 2006 Digital switch fears More needs to be done to ensure viewers are not left behind by the switchover to digital television.
- 12 Jul 2006 Parking system overhaul Councils will only be able to use wheel clamping to tackle the 'most persistent' parking offenders under new guidelines revealed today.
- 12 Jul 2006 Ski yoghurt advert misleading Nestlehas been criticised by the advertising watchdog after a Ski yoghurt advert misleadingly implied the product contained no additives.
- 12 Jul 2006 Plans to slash mobile roaming charges The European Commission has unveiled plans to cut the cost of using mobile phones abroad by up to 70 per cent.
- 11 Jul 2006 MPs demand action over stroke deaths Not enough priority is given to stroke victims resulting in hundreds of people dying unnecessarily in England each year and many more left with serious disabilities, MPs have said.
- 11 Jul 2006 Asda moves into property market Supermarket chain Asda has branched out into the property market with a home selling service.
- 11 Jul 2006 Microsoft ends Windows 98 support Computer software giants Microsoft has urged customers to upgrade from Windows 98 as it pulled support for the software.
- 10 Jul 2006 Tesco labels confuse shoppers Tesco’s decision to use its own 'healthy' food labelling system has confused shoppers, Which? research has found.
- 07 Jul 2006 Organic sales boom Sales of organic produce have seen a 30 per cent increase in the past year, with two out of three UK consumers making sure at least some of their food is now organic.
- 07 Jul 2006 Whooping cough endemic among schoolchildren Whooping cough is 'endemic' among UK schoolchildren even though most have been immunised, health experts revealed today.
- 07 Jul 2006 Australia flight deal It should soon become much easier and cheaper to fly between the UK and Australia after the two countries struck a new airline deal.
- 07 Jul 2006 Dell makes contracts fairer to consumers Computer giant Dell has agreed to change its terms and conditions to make to it clearer what consumers are buying.
- 06 Jul 2006 Travel agent insurance warning Holiday insurance sold by travel agents is often expensive and sold without the right questions being asked, Which? warns today.
- 06 Jul 2006 Superminis no match for thieves Some superminis are no match for thieves and can be broken into in just three seconds, Which? reveals today.
- 06 Jul 2006 Database for stolen goods Shoppers can now use a hi-tech database to check whether a product they are buying is stolen.
- 05 Jul 2006 Householders flee energy rises Hundreds of thousands of householders have responded to hikes in energy bills by switching suppliers to save money.
- 05 Jul 2006 Cadbury criticised over salmonella scare Cadbury failed to adequately assess the risk of salmonella in its chocolate, the government's food experts have said.
- 04 Jul 2006 Thames Water escapes fine The UK's biggest water supplier Thames Water has escaped a fine for failing to meet its leakage target.
- 04 Jul 2006 More action needed on ID fraud The government has been urged to do more to tackle the growing threat of identity fraud which has already hit more than one in four Britons.
- 03 Jul 2006 Bank faces inquiry over debtor's suicide One of Britain's biggest banks is facing a probe after it emerged a customer killed himself after running up credit card debts of GBP 130,000.
- 03 Jul 2006 New ombudsman for energy disputes Gas and electricity customers who dispute their energy bills will now be able to take their complaints to a new ombudsman service.
- 03 Jul 2006 'Dry' garden unveiled at show A ‘dry’ garden has been unveiled at a leading flower show to illustrate how gardeners can help save water.
- 01 Jul 2006 Don't get burnt by misleading sun screens Some sun screens don't offer the protection they claim and could put your health at risk, Which? warns today.
