Money blog: The UK's favourite supermarket revealed; your parking disputes resolved by expert (2025)

Some of the most significant home insurance claims have related to one particular household item - an air fryer, an insurance giant has warned.

Claims for damage relating to the cooking devices have run into tens of thousands of pounds over the last four years, according to Aviva, with claimants' home suffering from considerable fire and smoke damage.

Some claims have run as high as £80,000, it said.

In 2024, the average claim relating to air fryer incidents hit £29,555.

Some people described seeing flames erupting and melting air fryers, destroying kitchen surfaces. In one case, the appliance set an entire room ablaze.

Hannah Davidson, senior underwriting manager at Aviva, said a survey by the firm showed nearly one in five UK residents had encountered fire-related issues with air fryers.

"Simple practices such as not leaving air fryers unattended, avoiding excessive amounts of oil when cooking, placing air fryers on non-flammable surfaces, and ensuring proper ventilation during use can significantly reduce fire risks," she said.

"Keeping a fire blanket and a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen is also good practice.

"In the unfortunate event of an air fryer fire, never throw water on an electrical fire. Instead, use a fire blanket or a fire extinguisher rated for electrical fires, and call the fire brigade if necessary."

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

More than seven million Anglian Water customers in eastern areas of England are at risk of seeing their bills rise even further.

Today, the water company appealed against the 29% bill increase - equivalent to an extra £140 a year - approved by regulator Ofwat in December.

Instead, it's seeking a 32% hike, which would make annual bills £649 pricier by 2030.

The average annual bill is currently £491.

Anglian has argued that Ofwat's cap "falls short" and "the overall risks are not balanced". It said there has been underfunding for asset maintenance "which puts long-term investment and resilience at risk".

Elsewhere, it's even less likely we'll see cheaper borrowing next month, as traders are pricing in a 23% chance of a March interest rate cut.

It comes as higher wage rises fuelled fears of more inflation.

The UK's benchmark stock index the FTSE 100 has fallen 0.04%, driven by a near 5.5% drop in the value of BT shares.

The pound has held its gain against the dollar and now is worth $1.26.

M&S has been crowned the nation's best supermarket for the fourth year in a row.

In a survey by Which?, shoppers praised the quality of the retailer's products and their in-store experience.

It performed so well that the consumer champion made it a Which? Recommended Provider for the first time in recent years.

Tesco came in second place, earning four out of five stars for store appearance, product range and stock availability.

Aldi and Iceland, which came in joint third, scored the highest value-for-money ratings, but customers were less impressed by product quality, queuing times and the helpfulness of staff.

Asda and Morrisons came joint last, with poor ratings for staff availability and helpfulness, overall customer service and value for money.

You can see how other supermarkets fared below...

For online shopping, the table looked a little different, with Tesco and Ocado taking the top spot with their five-star delivery rating.

Waitrose came in a close second but was criticised for its value for money.

You can see what people thought of online retailers below...

Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor, said: "Our supermarket survey shows that a good shopping experience and quality products really matter to consumers - and M&S beating its rivals to the top spot shows some shoppers are prepared to pay a bit more for that.

"Aldi, Lidl or Iceland may be the preferred choice for those who prioritise affordability above all else. For people lucky enough to have a choice of supermarkets, mixing and matching to get the right mix of quality and bargain prices might be the right approach."

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Wages have risen while unemployment unexpectedly saw no change, official figures show.

Average weekly earnings rose 6% in December, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed, while wages - excluding bonuses - grew 5.9%, despite economists expecting a 5.8% rise.

Even when inflation is factored in, wages are still rising. In the same month as earnings grew 6% the rate of price rises was 2.5%.

It marks the third month in a row of wage growth.

Both private and public sector worker pay increased.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.4%. A rise was anticipated by economists who were polled by the Reuters news agency.

Every Tuesday we get an expert to answer your Money Problems - but today we are doing things a little different.

After consumer expert Scott Dixon, aka the Complaints Resolver, tackled a reader's parking dispute last month, we were inundated with other questions about parking fines.

So, we decided to ask him to tackle five problems in one day, starting with these two...

I received a parking notice from a private land parking company. They are claiming that I was there in parking for 6.5 hours from 11am to 18.30pm. I did enter at 11am but was out within few minutes and I entered again around 18.30pm and again out within few minutes. I have asked for camera footage for 11am to 11.10am and same for the evening but the parking operator has refused by saying that didn’t have any access to the camera and the parking system is managed by an ANPR system. Also, photos they have sent me for entering and exiting are both entering in the morning and entering in the evening. What should I do?Sharad

Mr Dixon says this scenario is known as "double-dipping" and is a well-known common error with ANPR systems, where only the first entrance and last exit of multiple visits are counted.

"Theparkingoperator has access to the ANPR camera system, as they rely on this evidence to pursue you for aparkingcharge notice. Their business model is to extract money from you, hence why they have been economical with the truth on your appeal," he adds.

He explains that evidence is key with appeals and says Sharad could use shopping receipts, dashcam footage and a mobile phone with Google location tracker to help him make his case.

"I suggest you contest their original response and appeal as keeper of the vehicle providing approximate entry and exit times for each visit and say they should check their data log, including the error log, for matches or near matches of your vehicle registration and cancel the charge," he adds.

In another avenue, he says he could lodge a formal complaint with either the British Parking Association or the International Parking Community, as well as the DVLA and the Information Commissioner's Office.

"Being a member of the trade association allows them easy access to the DVLA keeper database if they have reasonable cause," Dixon says.

"In your case, they clearly did not have reasonable cause."

The second question came from our reader Anne Page...

I alerted the relevant authorities about a change of address – however, a parking fine from Morrisons went to a previous address and I missed the court date and now have a bad mark on my credit report. What can I do to expunge this?

Mr Dixon says she must "act fast" to resolve the issue and decide what course of action to take.

"This hinges on the reason why theparkingcharge notice was issued and if you have a realistic prospect of defending it," he adds.

He set out three things she needs to do to try to fix the problem:

1. Contact the DVLA to get your details updated
2. Submit a data subject access request to the private parking operator to retrieve all paperwork. Once you have all this evidence, you can…
3. Decide to either pay the outstanding amount or apply for it to be set aside

On the court judgment, Mr Dixon says there are two options to consider.

The first, if you think the parking charge notice was issued unfairly, you can apply for it to be set aside.

"To set aside a County Court Judgment (CCJ) you need to contact the court that issued the judgment and complete application notice N244 to explain why you believe the judgment should be set aside enclosing a £303 court fee," he said.

"You will have to attend a private hearing at the court to explain why you do not owe the money.

"Also write to theparkingoperator and explain why you did not respond in time and reasons for the delay in applying for the CCJ to be set aside."

If you think theparking fine was issued fairly, Mr Dixon suggests paying the outstanding CCJ and debt.

"Paying within a month will remove the CCJ from your credit report," he adds.

"I suggest you periodically check your credit file once the debt has been settled and write to Experian to add a Notice of Correction to add further information to an entry on your credit report, so lenders can consider the context of the CCJ."

We'll be back with part two of the parking Money Problem special this afternoon...

You can send us your problems onWhatsApp hereor emailmoneyblog@sky.uk.

The UK competition regulator has warned Topps Tiles' purchase of 30 rival shops could make prices more expensive and services worse.

Today the competition regulator the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said the acquisition of CTD Tiles stores could lead to competition issues.

This could mean less choice, and worse deals and service. Topps Tiles is the largest specialist tile retailer in the UK, and CTD Tiles was the second biggest before it collapsed into administration last year and was bought for £9m.

It meant Topp Tiles effectively bought its previous biggest competitor.

Shein is facing calls to cut the valuation of its planned London stock market listing further, according to reports.

The fast fashion giant has been in talks over an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange for the past year.

Bloomberg reported that investors in the group are pressuring the firm to float with a valuation of around $30bn (£23.8bn) instead of a proposed $50bn (£39.7bn).

It suggests that investors believe an adjustment is needed to help get its potential London float over the line.

The private equity backer of Motor Fuel Group (MFG), one of Britain's biggest petrol forecourt empires, is exploring the sale of a stake in a deal that could value it at about £7bn, our City editor Mark Kleinman reports.

Sky News has learnt that Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CDR), which has built MFG from a mid-sized industry player over the course of more than a decade, is working with advisers to examine options for selling a large minority shareholding.

City sources said this weekend that CD&R was expected to run a process during the coming months, with a deal anticipated later this year.

A stake of roughly 25-30% is expected to change hands, although the final shape of any deal has yet to be determined.

We love having a look at all your comments, and there is one story that has caught the attention of lots of you today...

It's this piece by our Money features writer Brad Young, which looks at the state of the vegan market, and the chef who has an idea to fix it.

You can read it here...

Many of you were quick to leave your thoughts on why you thought the plant-based industry had flatlined since 2021...

It is more about vegan food being grossly overpriced rather than the taste

Tim

I think that the issue of veganism was summed up right at the beginning of the piece, where the chef received death threats for opening up a restaurant selling meat. It's exactly that type of fundamentalism that puts ordinary people off becoming vegan.

Mrs Wainwright

The reason veganism is declining is it expensive and tasteless full of sugar and salts. Processed with chemical flavourings. Food looks pale and not appetising. Most products are high in calories and not healthy at all.

Lispiataylor

Myself and my son went plant based in January 2024. But we only lasted 10 months as it just doesn't taste that good. You feel like you're helping the environment and animals, but after a while you're just bored and uninspired by what's on your plate.

Kellie

There are some tasty plant-based alternatives nowadays. I think vegan options have lost momentum because they're often expensive (the cost of living crisis is affecting shopping choices), and possibly due to new worries about ultra-processed food (the basis of many vegan options)

domlzz

Some of you thought manufacturers and retailers were missing a trick...

Manufacturers are missing the point and a massive opportunity with vegan food. Stop producing tasteless, unhealthy meat alternatives and focus on delicious and healthy, whole food plant based food.

Susie16

A lot of vegan food tastes excellent, but sadly it still doesn't take up a lot of space in the supermarkets or restaurants near me. It always seems like an afterthought. When I watch TV, I can see in other countries vegan restaurants are popular and busy.

minniefloracat

My daughter is vegan and is am extremely fussy eater, a forever reducing range in supermarkets is scary, especially when all I want is for my daughter to eat.

Anonparent

Others believed the solution was to stick to making meals at home...

Vegan food is just too expensive most of the time but what you're paying and what you're getting just doesn't add up and the reality is that most people are vegan are quite happy to cook and make their own and use just one staple such as soya something similar.

Simonwinkler

I have just gone vegan / plant based & prefer to cook food from scratch using tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils etc. The price and processing of prepared meals puts me off ready meals that try to mimic meat. So many lovely, quick, healthy recipes are now available to make at home.

Primrose

Ian Rankin is dead right. I'm a veggie and never buy veggie ready meals, they're dreadful. I always cook better veggie meals that I have in bars or restaurants. This stops me going out to eat.

Pab

You can leave your comments in the box above.

Homeowners spend an average of £3,876 on unexpected expenses after moving into their property, a survey has suggested.

Two in five buyers said they had overlooked costs and were forced to fork out the extra cash on issues such as boiler breakdowns, mould problems or leaky roofs after moving in, online estate agent Purplebricks found.

Generation X, those aged 44 to 49, coughed up the most to cover emergency costs, averaging £4,331.

Gen Z, those aged 18 to 27, reported average unexpected costs of £3,412, according to the survey.

Baby boomers, aged 60 to 78, paid the least in unexpected expenses, at £2,767 on average.

Tom Evans, sales director at Purplebricks estate agency, said: "It's essential for all buyers to factor in a little extra into their removal budget to account for these unforeseen expenses.

"Planning ahead, understanding potential risks, and building a financial cushion for emergencies can help alleviate the pressure and make the experience of moving into a new home a more positive one."

Parking fines in London are set to increase to as much as £160 after plans were approved by the city's mayor.

The move is aimed at deterring anti-social and obstructive parking, with all types of parking fines set to jump by £30.

Higher level charges in band A areas, which are usually considered to be parts of inner London, will rise from £130 to £160.

These charges cover more serious breaches, such as parking on yellow lines, or where an obstruction has been caused.

Lower level fines, which tend to be imposed when drivers haven't paid to park in a car park, will rise from £80 to £110.

Band B areas, typically outer London authorities, will see higher level fines rise from £110 to £140, and lower level fines rise from £60 to £90.

Drivers who pay within two weeks will still receive a 50% discount.

Following Sadiq Khan's approval of the plans, the transport secretary has a month to raise any objections.

Across London, 4.5 million parking penalty charge notices were handed out in 2023/24.

Last week, private parking companies pledged to stop penalising drivers for taking too long to pay.

Drivers using private car parks have been handed tickets as their payment was not made within a certain time after their arrival.

Two industry bodies representing the sector announced their code of conduct will be updated to provide a "safeguard" when motorists experience delays in making parking payments.

Tomorrow, we'll kick off a special two-part Money Problems feature, answering all your questions about parking fines with consumer expert Scott Dixon.