Latest news with #OAPs
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pensioners are left without any money for five days after confectionery giant Nestlé fail to pay out - but firm blames HSBC for the no-show
Confectionery giant Nestlé has been accused of leaving pensioners without money for days - though they have placed the blame on HSBC bankers. British investors in the firm's pension scheme were relying on their latest payments reaching accounts last Thursday - only to be hit by an apparent glitch. Multinational Nestlé, which has its UK base in Crawley and is behind products such as Nescafé, KitKat, Smarties and Nespresso, runs a pensions investment fund. OAPs who have subscribed to the service have been sharing online their frustration after being denied their scheduled payments on May 29. Complaints have been raised on a messageboard set up by consumer guru Martin Lewis, who founded the website Money Saving Expert. One disgruntled investor wrote: 'I'm a Nestlé pensioner and find that my pension for May 2025, due to be paid in on Thursday 29th May, was not paid in. 'When I've contacted them they say that the fault is with HSBC that didn't transfer the money. 'My question is - do I have any rights to compensation from HSBC? I've had to shuffle money around to cover direct debits coming out of the pension account. 'The money is not paid yet (31st May) and has been promised by 3rd June.' He followed up by saying there was 'no financial loss so far' - but highlighted 'the hassle of moving money around'. He added: 'HSBC is the bank that Nestlé use to pay pensioners from. Fingers crossed the payment will go in on Tuesday and all will be well.' Nestlé has also faced questioning on X, formerly Twitter, from others missing out. One asked the company: 'My pension has not been paid and both your phone lines are down - what's going on??' The firm's social media account responded by saying: 'Hi, we apologise for the inconvenience, as the team is experiencing technical issues. 'We recommend trying again via phone later today or you can email.' Another customer posted: 'Mine should have gone in 29th May will not be paid until 3rd June so it says on their website due to banking error.' Investors in Nestlé Pensions have been commenting online over a delay in latest payments An apology has been posted on the Nestlé Pensions website, titled: 'Notice to pensioner members – May's pension payment will be paid on 3rd June.' It goes on to say: 'We are aware that there has been an issue with this month's pension payment and that pensions were not paid to our pensioners on 29th May. 'The issue was with our paying agent HSBC UK who did not process this month's payment in the usual way. 'Nestlé pensions and the UK payroll team have been working with HSBC and we can now confirm that pensions will be paid on Tuesday 3rd June. 'We know this has been a source of concern and frustration to all of our pensioners and we apologise for this extremely rare error.' And in a further statement, a Nestlé spokesperson told MailOnline: 'This was a third-party issue outside of our control and we have worked quickly to make sure that payments are made early this week. 'We apologise to those affected by the delay and will conduct a full review to make sure it does not happen again.' Nestlé is among the world's largest food and drinks firms, but announced last October a significant drop in sales over the previous year. The maker of Nespresso and Nestle coffee, Purina and Felix pet food, Lean Cuisine and Stouffers ready meals, San Pellegrino water and DiGiorno pizza said sales were down by 2.4 per cent for the nine months to the end of September. Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe told the Wall Street Journal, 'The perception of consumers everywhere but especially in the US is that food prices are high'. He added that the business would now cut prices and offer discounts to attract customers back. Other Nestlé procucts include Nesquik drinks and Vittel bottled water, while the company with its global HQ in Swiss town Vevey is also a major investor in L'Oreal.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Ripped off' – Latest price hike for Munster hurling final enrages GAA fans who bemoan alarming trend
STAND tickets for this year's Munster Hurling Championship final have been increased to €50 for adults. It represents a €5 increase on last year's showpiece while identical tickets for the 2023 decider were only €40 apiece. Advertisement 2 Limerick have won the title a record SIX years running 2 Cork and Limerick played a sold-out round-robin fixture at the same venue only two weeks ago The continuing trend has provoked anger among GAA supporters who have bemoaned "being ripped off". One fan fumed: "Once again fans from counties in Munster are being ripped off, a round-robin Munster ticket is 15 or 20 euro dearer than a Leinster one. "And now they're dishing out free tickets for underage players in Leinster while charging €10 a head in Munster, 50 and 40 euro is crazy." In a similar vein, Colin Campbell added: "Munster hurling subsidising the entire GAA. Milking it now at this stage." Advertisement Read More On GAA John Cregan noted the jump in cost across successive seasons. He posted: "It's a 25% increase from 2023 - it's over the top. €30 for a Stand Ticket to Munster Football Final." However, against that, there were plenty of people who felt the prices were fair given it is a major final in elite level sport - even if GAA players are technically amateurs. James argued: "Great value. What other sport would a final between the two best teams in it be below 50 quid?" Sharing that sentiment, Tony Kavanagh compared the price with what you'd pay for an Ireland soccer international. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling He tweeted: "Great value. (in comparison to international friendly nil all draws above in the Aviva Stadium. 80/100 euro?) "This is two of the best teams playing the best game on Earth in a final." RTE pundit Joe Canning urges GAA to make huge change for Leinster hurling final as fans 'totally agree' Terrace tickets will set fans back €40. The price hike is in line with the one instituted by the Munster Council for the round-robin portion of its prized competition. Under-16s tickets for the meeting of Cork and seven-in-a-row chasing Limerick have been set at €10. The long-held €5 concession remains in place for students and OAPs. Advertisement The Munster Championship has long been the jewel in the crown of the provincial hurling calendar. OPPOSITE SITUATION The clear contrast in demand for tickets between the Munster final and its Leinster equivalent was laid bare earlier this week. Granted, Kilkenny and Galway's June 8 occasion will play out at 82k capacity Croke Park compared to the 44k Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. But the fact the Leinster Council announced on Monday that Advertisement There's also been some ire expressed at tickets for Limerick against Cork on June 7 not going on general sale with them instead being solely distributed through their two county boards. But SunSport's GAA Correspondent Jason Byrne He pointed out: "Club volunteers and members should always get first preference for a high-profile fixture involving their counties. "Those moaning should join their clubs and get involved instead of just rocking up for the big games when it suits them." Advertisement
Daily Mirror
24-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Winter fuel payment 'could be restored to all but richest pensioners'
Keir Starmer promised to ensure 'more pensioners are eligible for the winter fuel payment after bowing to intense pressure to abandon the decision to strip it from millions of OAPs The winter fuel payment could be restored to all but the wealthiest pensioners under plans said to be being considered by Downing Street. Keir Starmer promised this week to ensure 'more pensioners are eligible" for the payment after bowing to intense pressure to change course. The Government's decision last year to means-test the £300 payment - stripping it from more than 10 million OAPs - has proved hugely unpopular with voters. The Prime Minister said further details would be announced at the Budget in the autumn but did not spell out how many people would be impacted or when it could come into force. The Mirror understands that the decision to change course was only made on Tuesday - a day before Mr Starmer announced it at PMQs. No10 has indicated that a full U-turn on the cut is unlikely. But officials are reportedly examining the option of restoring the allowance to all but the wealthiest pensioners. One plan on the table is restoring it completely and then clawing it back from the richest OAPs through the tax system, according to the Sunday Times. Tory Chancellor George Osborne used a similar method when he slashed eligibility for child benefit for the wealthiest families under the Coalition Government. However a decision is not likely to be made until autumn on how to widen eligibility for the payment. The PM's decision to change course on the winter fuel cut has triggered speculation about the future of other unpopular policies. The Government has delayed its long-awaited child poverty strategy until the autumn amid pressure from Labour MPs to axe the Tory two-child benefit limit. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who is leading the taskforce alongside DWP Secretary Liz Kendall, has previously said the strategy would look at the two-child benefit limit. Insiders said the decision to push back the blueprint was to align it with the Budget in October. Tonight, reports suggested the PM has ordered the Treasury to look at how it could pay for scrapping the cap, which could cost around £3.5billion a year. The PM has made it clear privately that he wants to act as part of his commitment to drive down child poverty, according to the Observer. But a decision won't be made until the child poverty taskforce reports later this year. The policy restricts parents from claiming Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits for any children beyond their first two. Experts say that scrapping the two-child limit would be the most effective way to lift hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer backtracked on winter fuel cut ‘amid fears of electoral disaster'
Sir Keir Starmer performed an about-turn on winter fuel payments after being warned by senior Labour figures that his decision to cut the benefit would spell disaster at the polls in Scotland. The Telegraph understands that in recent weeks, senior Scottish Labour figures have been lobbying the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to cut the annual payment to OAPs. They are said to have warned him the move had inflicted serious damage on the party's hopes of making big gains in next year's Holyrood election. A series of polls have shown that support for Labour has collapsed in Scotland, particularly among pensioners, with Nigel Farage's Reform UK threatening to become the second-largest party in Holyrood. In addition, Scottish Labour insiders were worried that the cut was undermining the party's campaign in a by-election for Holyrood's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat, scheduled for June 5. Imogen Walker, the Labour MP who holds the equivalent Hamilton and Clyde Valley seat at Westminster, is married to Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir's chief of staff and political svengali. Although the SNP is expected to comfortably win the by-election, Labour is facing the threat of being pushed into third place by Reform in what would be a big humiliation. Sir Keir's decision to means-test winter fuel payment applied to all pensioners in England and Wales, with control over the benefit devolved to SNP ministers at Holyrood. But John Swinney, the First Minister, has argued that he had no choice but to follow suit as the decision south of the border led to a £147 million reduction in the SNP government's funding through the Barnett formula. The payment of between £100 and £300 went to 130,000 Scottish OAPs in receipt of pension credit and other means-tested benefits last winter – 900,000 fewer than the previous year. Mr Swinney then used the record funding his government received from Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, to announce that all pensioners would receive a payment of at least £100 before this winter. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, then tried to limit the political damage to his party by promising to reinstate the full benefit of up to £300 if he became first minister after next year's election. However, his pledge appeared to cut little ice with voters, with polls showing no sign of support for Scottish Labour recovering. Mr Sarwar welcomed the Prime Minister's rethink, tweeting: 'Last year I made it clear that a Scottish Labour government led by me will reinstate the winter fuel payment.' Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary, said the Chancellor 'had to stabilise the economy' when she announced the cut to the benefit 'and now we're seeing the fruits of that'. But Mr Swinney tweeted: 'A reminder to everyone in Scotland that Labour cut the winter fuel payment for pensioners and @theSNP brought it back.' The social media post included a picture of himself with Katy Loudon, the SNP candidate in the by-election, in front of a campaign billboard. The left-hand side of the poster was red and contained a picture of Sir Keir with the slogan: 'Labour cut your winter fuel payment.' The right-hand side was yellow with an image of Mr Swinney with the caption: 'The SNP is bringing it back.' Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, said: 'Voters have lost trust in the Labour Party, which has broken the promises it made at the election. Keir Starmer is scraping around in desperation to recover the ground he has lost, but the damage is already done. Trust in his Government is broken.' Liz Smith, the Scottish Tories' shadow social security secretary, said: 'Labour's decision was quickly followed by the SNP in Scotland, who are now trying to also claim credit for partially righting their own wrong, which won't fool the nearly one million Scots pensioners who were hit by that decision. 'Which pensioner will ever trust Keir Starmer again over the winter fuel payment, given his constant shift in position on it?' Adam Stachura, the director of policy at Age Scotland, said: 'While there is very little detail of how it will be reintroduced in other parts of the UK, it is vital that any new money coming to Scotland as a result is used by the Scottish Government to directly increase the pension age winter heating payment.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Herald Scotland
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Charming new romance depicts a love story like no other
Muswell Press, £12.99 Rarely is romance depicted quite as Andrew Meehan does it here. "Why does a kiss in the rain always signal the end of a story?" he asks, positioning that climactic moment roughly at the midway point of this slim novel, where it marks just another milestone in a relationship rather than a cue for the end credits to roll. The fact that his couple decide they're pretty much done with kissing after that is an even bigger snub to the conventional love story. Ray Draper and June Wylie are 70 and 74 respectively, and although they've both been living for many years in the Dublin suburb of Glasthule (a location Best Friends shares with Jamie O'Neill's 2001 novel At Swim, Two Boys), they've never met. June cleans the grand houses of well-off families. She's been married three times, though only her second husband, who died young, seems to be remembered fondly. She lives in a little house with beehives in the garden and a rosebush that will never flower again. Ray has tended to bounce from one thing to another. Read more: Novel plunged me into 1920s Glasgow - and what I found there might surprise you This Scots author knows the power of a shocking twist and he's not afraid to use it A failed architect, he was a tree surgeon for 30 years until the realisation hit him that tree surgeons don't actually love trees, they love cutting them up. He spent a year in a monastery long ago, something even he seems to find hard to believe now. Unlike June, he's sexually inexperienced and has never known a woman's love. A chance meeting in a grocer's, where Ray impulsively decides to buy every jar of June's honey when he learns they're going to stop stocking it, leads to a courtship. What follows is a touching little gem of a story, a romance distinguished by a kind of hard-nosed tenderness, in which two OAPs who are both set in their ways learn how to accommodate each other in their lives, going through a process of negotiation and compromise on their way to coming to terms with the notion that "the end of being alone is not the end of who you are". It also, importantly, I think, reminds its readers what counts as a pensioner nowadays: June used to fancy herself as a ringer for Chrissie Hynde and Ray bears a passing resemblance to Willie Nelson. So not quite like your gran and grandad. Best Friends by Andrew Meehan (Image: Supplied) The thrice-married June is the warier and more emotionally pragmatic of the two: more fixed about what she's willing to compromise on and more alert to the signs that they might not be compatible. Ray is sweet and eager to please but clumsy at romancing, and their edges rub against one another as they try to work out what each other wants from their relationship. Ray, with his "lingering air of old spaniel", isn't it. Or so June convinces herself for a while. But for all the caution and uncertainty of taking on a relationship that's likely to be their last roll of the dice, this is still a romance. Meehan, from Dublin but currently teaching Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde, brings to the page the quiet excitement of falling in love, the way that ordinary moments and mundane objects are imbued with magic and significance. It's no less romantic for their decision to think of each other as best friends rather than lovers and leave the physical stuff out of it, when you see the companionship and intimacy June and Ray provide for each other. Short enough that you won't want it to end, Best Friends is a love story that's charmingly and wittily told, shot through with tenderness and poignancy.
