From Winter Fuel SOS to benefits blunder – Inside Sun Money’s biggest wins of the year saving readers from scandals

WE have been fighting your corner all year on the big issues hitting your wallet.

From energy firms ripping off customers with sneaky terms to struggling households being wrongly asked to pay back benefits cash, our Sun Money team has worked tirelessly to uncover the biggest scandals affecting your bank accounts.

Laura Purkess, our consumer champion has also won back thousands of pounds through her Squeeze Team column where she holds companies to account.

So, this week, I wanted to celebrate some of the biggest wins of the year from the team. Thank you to everyone who has got in touch – we couldn’t do it without you.

I know the stories we have written will have helped you all save money and that is why I love doing this job.

It has never been so vital to reveal your experiences, as I know many of you are still struggling with the cost of living.

Next year, we will continue to fight for you rights – and help save you money.

WINTER FUEL SOS CAMPAIGN

I AM very proud of our Winter Fuel SOS campaign where we helped thousands of readers who were set to miss out on the payment of up to £300.

We opened our phone lines and worked with experts to give advice to you.

We helped war hero Arnold Walton, 98, get half of his energy bills covered by British Gas for six months after he called our Winter Fuel SOS helpline.

British Gas also agreed to fix the damp in his home and replace his ageing cooker and washing machine for free.

We also helped 75-year-old former construction worker Richard Holden get £4,087 in backdated pension credit after he chased the Department of Work and Pensions for over a year.

The deadline to claim this year’s winter fuel payment was December 21.

But if you think you are eligible, you can get in line for the 2025/26 payment by applying for pension credit now. It unlocks almost £10,000 worth of benefits.

BENEFITS BLUNDER

WE also revealed how thousands on low incomes were forced to pay back benefits cash that they did not owe.

Our probe found that a number of instances where pension credit, universal credit and tax credits claimants were wrongly told they had been overpaid and were asked to repay significant sums.

And experts told us our findings pointed to a more “widespread issue” potentially affecting many more households.

In one case, 75-year-old pensioner Robert Vincent received a demand for £22,000 of overpaid pension credit, which he would have been paying back until he was 86.

But after we intervened, it turned out that this was a mistake and the debt was wiped.

And Steve Fellows, 66, was asked to pay back £1,100 in child tax credits from 15 years ago within 30 days.

Yet when we stepped in, HMRC said the overpayment demand letter should not have been sent.

A government spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the mistakes made in these cases, which have now been resolved.”

BROADBAND RIP-OFF

BROADBAND bills are expensive enough as it is. But an investigation by Sun Money this year found many households are paying over the odds for “superfast” internet speeds that their address can’t actually achieve.

For example, we found that telecoms firms can advertise a product as “superfast” if it offers speeds of between 30Mbps and 300Mbps. In reality, this can be the difference between waiting 41 minutes for a download and waiting 4 minutes or less — but you’d be paying the same price.

Experts told Sun Money it is a “postcode lottery” as to what broadband speeds are available at your property.

Sabrina Hoque, telecoms expert at Uswitch, told us: “There are some areas, particularly rural, which do not have access to some of the faster speeds available.”

OAPs LOCKED OUT OF ONLINE FINANCES

OLDER and vulnerable people particularly struggled this year as we revealed millions are being locked out of daily life by the switch to online.

Our reporter James Flanders found older customers are finding it difficult to pay their energy bills, join loyalty schemes, get access to cash or do basic banking because all of those services require using the internet or a digital app.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, told Sun Money: “Millions of older people are perfectly capable of managing their financial affairs, but struggle to do so simply because they aren’t online.”

PROTECTION POLICY PAY-OFF

WE revealed the story of Carla and Craig Jefferson who were both hit by serious illness within a few months of each other. But thankfully had taken out £12-a-month critical illness cover.

The couple, who live in Southampton with sons Harvey, 14, and Jacob, nine, were terrified about how they would manage after Carla was diagnosed with breast cancer and Craig needed heart surgery.

But their protection policy through Carla’s employer Scottish Widows, meant they were able to get a payout of £50,000 each to see them through treatment.

“If we hadn’t had this cover, we’d frankly have been screwed,” Carla told Sun Money.

The Association of British Insurers revealed to Sun Money that it paid out £7.34billion for protection policies in 2023.

Shop around using a comparison website to find the cheapest cover for you.

LANDMARK PENSION CASE

SUN Money revealed earlier this year how thousands of savers could be owed cash in the aftermath of a huge pension mix-up.

A landmark court judgment over the summer found employees of Virgin Media may be owed pension cash, and now experts are concerned that hundreds of thousands of workers across a number of firms could be affected.

In July 2024, the Court of Appeal upheld that Virgin had not obtained the legally required sign-off on changes to its company pension scheme several years ago.

So, the changes were deemed invalid, and the court said they should be reversed. If any savers had reduced pension benefits due to the changes, they would be owed money.

But we uncovered that Virgin Media is not the only firm that did this.

And insiders told Sun Money that those companies’ pension schemes are lobbying the Government to reverse requirement to have their changes signed off to avoid having to pay out.

Responding to our article, a DWP spokesperson said: “We will carefully consider the wider implications for both schemes and scheme members.”

PREMIER INN MARKETING MESS

PREMIER Inn has prided itself on its “Good Night Guarantee”, which has been stamped all over the hotel chain’s marketing.

It states: “We’re so confident you’ll have a great night’s sleep that if you don’t, we’ll give you your money back.”

But reporter Olivia Marshall found that, after having multiple issues with her stay, the hotel chain refused to refund her because she hadn’t brought the issues to the staff’s attention in the middle of the night.

And when she dug deeper into the problem, she found that dozens of other people complaining about it.

After we contacted Premier Inn and reported it to the Advertising Standards Agency, the hotel chain changed the wording around its guarantee to make it clearer for customers in future.