Ofcom publishes guidance about 'small print' charges

Regulator Ofcom has published guidance that tells communications providers how it thinks the law - the the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 - applies to any charges consumers may have to pay in addition to their regular bill. These charges are usually for not paying by direct debit, for receiving paper bills, for late payments or for leaving before a contract ends. Ofcom has also published a consumer guide that covers the same subject. Its guidance says charges for late payments and different payment methods should be limited to the cost of dealing with payments, charges for itemised billing shouldn't be more than £1.50 per bill and consumers who end contracts early should never have to pay more than the payments left under the contract. [Press release; Consumer guide (pdf)]

Mobile phones to be used for £295 billion of financial transactions by 2011

Mobile phone customers are expected to conduct over $587 billion (£295 billion) of financial transactions over the phone by 2011, according to a new report from Juniper Research. It says around 612 million customers worldwide will be using their phones to handle their money in 2011 with most using their phones for mobile banking, although 204 million users are expected to spend $22 billion in mobile payments.

British press speculates on Sarin's pay

There's been quite a bit of press speculation about the amount of money heading towards Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin. The company's share price has lept by around a third in 2007, which has prompted suggestions he's likely to receive around £45 million in a combination of share options and performance-related pay. [Source: TimesOnline.co.uk]