| E-tailers beware: OFT web sweep is imminent
Do your ecommerce operations comply with the law? The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Local Authority Trading Standards Services are planning a sweep of the UK's top 600 retail websites to ensure they meet key legislation. Paula Barrett warns particular attention will be paid to distance selling rules. The Distance Selling Regulations deal with business-to-consumer sales which are not made face to face - therefore they apply to internet sales. They set out a number of consumer rights, including seven-day post-purchase cancellation rights, a right to a refund and a raft of information that must be provided pre- and post-sale. Despite estimates that �14bn will be spent by consumers online this Christmas, recent research by the OFT indicates that very few online shoppers are aware of additional legal protection provided by the regulations and that many websites may be failing to respect consumers' rights.
7 tips to help you shape up financially in 2008
I've never been much for New Year's resolutions. Why wait until the start of the year to make improvements if the urge strikes in June? And if you mess up, does that give you a license to goof off until the next year? Still, I understand the appeal of a new year equaling a new start. So with that, here are seven financial resolutions for 2008 and suggestions for how to achieve them.
Resolve to . . .
1. Save more. Shave a percentage or two off your take-home pay and redirect it into your workplace retirement plan. Or set up an automatic transfer from checking to savings of whatever small sum you can afford. If money is too tight, vow to save any mini-windfall (birthday money, for example) that you see in 2008.
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Thousands Adopt New Deed Poll Names
The UK Deed Poll Service is one of several companies preparing for a record number of name-changing requests this year. "We've seen applications up by around 20% year-on-year, and 2008 already looks like it could set a new record. We had nearly 40,000 people last year who changed their names with us," said a spokeperson. Mouth O'Mighty, formerly Chris Gray from Bingley in Yorkshire, was one of them. He even changed his middle names too. "I just thought it would be funny if the police stopped me and asked me for my middle name, I could answer truthfully 'Who Wants To Know'," he told Sky News Online. .
Susan Powter works out a cyberspace return
New to the mix this time is her rant about a world that is fatter and more in love with TV, computers and processed foods than ever before. "The food industry is directly connected to obesity," she says. "It has found a way to make the labels more deceptive, to advertise faster at you, and the mega-blasts at consumers are coming at the speed of light." Those consumers, she adds, aren't looking for an easy way out, but they do need help sorting through the rubble. And that's where she comes in, with advice, workouts and support. It remains to be seen if the world opens its collective arms to Ms. Powter once again. In addition to her site, she has a revised edition of an old book due out in the spring titled The Politics of Stupid; a set of videos featuring new workouts and lifestyle advice coming early in 2008; and digital workouts available by download later in the year.
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