Insurance tax hike, estate agent clampdown and more: 4 changes affecting you from October

October brings with it longer nights, chillier mornings and even some changes to your money - both good and bad. 

Here's all you need to know.

Insurance Premium Tax rise

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is jumping 0.5% to 10% from today, as announced in the last Budget. Back in November 2015, IPT was sitting at 6%, so it has increased by a whopping 66.6% in less than a year.

The latest hike will add around £2.60 to the cost of an average annual comprehensive car insurance policy of £568.47. Experts from the AA claim that continued hikes could lead to more uninsured motorists on the road, especially amongst younger drivers.

20 million homeowners will be affected by the change as well, so it might be time to start thinking about switching your building and contents policies.

You don't need to worry too much for now - those who pay their insurance in instalments or are part-way through their policy won’t be affected by the change. However, on renewal your premiums will rise according to the new IPT rate.

That’s why it’s so important to shop around – you could stand to save a significant amount, or even offset the cost of the hike altogether. Why not start at the loveMONEY car insurance centre?

'Portal juggling' by estate agents

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme will be issuing updated versions of its Codes of Practice to tackle major industry issues like ‘portal juggling’.

Portal juggling involves agents misleading homebuyers by removing and then re-listing homes on property portals so that they can hide price changes and give the impression that a property is new to the market when it really isn’t.

Other revisions include:

Disclosure on pre-contract deposits – agents will have to clearly state what action is needed to ensure all parties involved in a pre-contact deposit arrangement have agreed on the terms and conditions attached to the payment;

VAT on fees – to ensure all fees and charges are quoted inclusive of VAT;

Disclosure of referencing – making sure that landlords receive all of the relevant facts, regardless of whether the tenant has met or failed to meet the referencing criteria.

More rights for rail travellers

Rail travellers will get three new rights from today.

First, have the right to receive any compensation in the same form you paid for it. This means that rather than being able to fob you off with vouchers, they have to offer cash.

Second, rail companies must refund you within 14 days.

Finally, if you are unhappy with the level of compensation you have been offered, you now have the right to take the train operating company to the small claims court.

However, don’t think these new rules mean rail compensation has finally been simplified.

Far from it, the whole process remains a minefield. You can learn more about this in our guide to what the Consumer Rights Act means for rail travellers.

Energy tariffs

A mega 15 energy tariffs are set to end on September 30. Households could see a rise of up to £332.71 (43%) in energy prices if they are moved on to their provider’s standard tariff.

On average, bills will go up by £165.12 (14.89%) if they don’t shop around. Of the 15 tariffs set to expire, nine will result in higher bills.

Not sure if your deal is about to expire? Have a look in the table below:

*Based on dual fuel payment by monthly direct debit averaged across all UK regions and for households with an annual energy usage of 13,500kWh has and 3,200kWh electricity.

In some cases, the supplier’s standard variable tariffs are cheaper than the fixed deal that the customer is already on.

As you can see, British Gas, Npower and Scottishpower have tariffs expiring that could their customers’ bills by £53.54. That said, you could make a saving of hundreds of pounds if you switch to a completely different deal.

To make your search a bit less painful, we’ve rounded up 10 of the cheapest energy tariffs on the market.

*Based on dual fuel payment by monthly direct debit averaged across all UK regions and for households with an annual energy usage of 13,500kWh has and 3,200kWh electricity.

Source: loveMONEY Energy Centre

Want to find out more? Head to loveMONEY’s energy comparison centre to get a quote today.