UK money news stories - 13 August 2025

Asda Rewards: will you lose your cashback after revamp?

A shakeup of the Asda Rewards scheme earlier this year means countless customers could have money stuck in their Asda Cashpot with no way of withdrawing it before it expires. We’re calling on Asda to do right by their customers and let them access the money that’s rightfully theirs. 

Faulty smart meters to be tackled and automatic compensation paid for problems – here's what's happening

New rules hopefully being introduced next year will offer compensation to households with faulty smart meters, quicker fixes and shorter waiting times for installation. But what else can we expect?

M&S Bank bans customers from making payments by cheque and giro

Campaigners have accused M&S Bank of ‘pushing away their most loyal, older customers’ by blocking cheque or giro payments. This is after it stopped accepting payments in its stores in April, a temporary decision which later became permanent. 

HMRC uses AI to spy on social media posts

We’ve had our suspicions for years but HMRC has finally admitted that it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to look at workers’ social media posts to see if they can spot any tax cheating. Staff also check peoples’ spending, financial records and tax returns.

27 ‘is typical age parents expect children to reach financial independence’

While 27 (and a half) is the average age parents believe their offspring will no longer rely on them financially, 1% of parents think they’ll have to keep funding their grown up kids beyond the age of 50!