Dear Listener

Some of you may have noticed that you have not received your newsletter for the last three weeks. I have written it and devoted colleagues have sent it off by email and received the comforting ‘sent’ message from the software. But due to a weird computer glitch involving a changed password it has not arrived. So if this week’s doesn’t arrive please let me know by email as soon as it doesn’t hit your inbox. Har har. If there is a week in future when that happens you can always read the current one on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox/newsletter

It’s been a difficult year for the banks. Among other things the Financial Services Authority has decided to get tough over the way they treat their customers. In 2011 it has fined five banking groups and one building society a total of £38.1m. The fines break down like this.

•     HSBC: £10.5 million for misadvising nearly 2500 elderly customers through its NHFA subsidiary.

•     RBS Group: Coutts fined £6.3m for mis-selling high net worth customers £1.45bn of investments and RBS/Natwest fined £2.8m for the way it handled customer complaints

•     Lloyds Banking Group: Bank of Scotland fined £3.5m for mishandling complaints about retail products

•     Barclays: fined £7.7 million for mis-selling investments to 12,331 customers.

In addition Credit Suisse was fined £5.95m for sales of £1bn of structured capital products to customers. And Norwich & Peterborough Building Society was fined £1.4m for giving unsuitable advice about Keydata products. It is the first year that so many banks have been fined for the way they treated customers. In fact nothing like it has ever happened before. Perhaps they will treat us all a bit better in 2012.

***IN MONEY BOX THIS WEEK***

Are you over 50? Do you worry about being a burden on your loved ones? In which case do not take out an over-50s plan. You could end up paying in £5400 so they can claim £2980 when you die. That’s the average cost and payout of seventeen over-50s plans from some top name supermarkets and insurers. We find out the awful truth from Which? Executive Director Richard Lloyd.

The Co-operative Bank seems set to buy 632 branches and five million current account and mortgage customers from Lloyds TSB. It will also get Intelligent Finance. Will the deal increase competition on the High Street? Will Co-op’s mutual structure and ethical stance affect the way other banks behave?

A Church of Scotland Minister tells us he was charged £30 for receiving texts of a nature he did not like and which he had not asked for. We look into the murky world of charging customers to receive commercial text messages.

‘Voucher Value: £70.55’ said the statement. But when one listener claimed his money back he was told there was a ceiling of £30. We compare loyalty bonuses. And did he get what was promised….

Having been mis-sold payment protection insurance, waited for months for their case to be sorted out, customers of Lloyds face further delays as the bank misses the target of actually giving them their compensation within 28 days.

Five top items to squeeze into our 24 minutes this week. Will we make it? Find out on Radio 4, Saturday at midday. Or catch the repeat at 9pm on Sunday or of course listen online anytime www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/moneybox - or download the most popular business podcast (ours) through iTunes.

There is more information on these stories on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also download transcripts of past programmes and send us ideas or problems you want us to look into. And you can tell us what you think of those over-50s plans.

This newsletter is available at bbc.co.uk/moneybox/newsletter around the time it hits your inbox (tell your friends who don’t subscribe). And you could join more than 17,400 people who follow me on Twitter to enjoy (or rant about) my random but timely thoughts on money and a few other things whenever I’m awake at twitter.com/paullewismoney.

Paying for long-term care is the subject for Money Box Live on Wednesday at 3pm. Call with your question anytime after 1pm on that day 03700 100 444 or email through the website when the programme page is updated later. Or of course just listen.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS I will be on BBC One Breakfast on Saturday trailing one of our stories. And back on Breakfast later in the week, probably on Thursday and usually around 0640 and 0820 talking about a money story and answering emails and tweets. But the time, and occasionally the day, can vary.

e-mail Paul Lewis