Rupert Jones takes a sideways look at the news

Rupert Jones takes a sideways look at the news

Assets-stripping: After raiding lottery cash, destined for the arts, heritage and grassroots sports, to finance the London Olympics, Gordon Brown and his pals are now looking at grabbing money lying in so-called dormant bank accounts to fund youth clubs and other community schemes. These "unclaimed assets" could amount to £400m. However, only money in accounts which have seen no activity for at least 15 years would be transferred to the central fund, and account-holders would retain the right to reclaim their money at any time.

Touting a new approach: As investigators continue to rake over the remains of collapsed gig ticket agency tickettout.com, some bands seem to have found a way to outwit the touts: charge so much for tickets that you need to turn up with a van-load of cash to buy one outside the venue. A week ago, the Reporter's pal booked two tickets for Lou Reed at London's Hammersmith Apollo in July. Total cost: £137.50 (2 x £60 plus £17.50 in fees). He didn't buy via some dodgy online outfit; he used leading ticket company See. If you're fed up with paying through the nose, why not log on to liveroom.tv - a new website where you can watch gigs by up-and-coming bands for free, without leaving your sofa.

Withdrawal symptoms: Talking of paying over the odds, people who use their credit card to get cash from an ATM are now forking out a lot more for the privilege.....continued below

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than they were two years ago. A study by price comparison website uSwitch.com found that the average APR for cash withdrawals has jumped from 20.83% in May 2005 to the equivalent of 27.06% today. "People who use a credit card to withdraw cash may already be struggling under the burden of debt, and are having to resort to this method of borrowing to make ends meet," says Nick White at the website.

Fee bite: Banks and building societies are also raking in more than ever from the fees they charge people taking out their mortgages. The typical home loan "application fee" has nearly doubled since 2004, according to another website, Find.co.uk. It found that the average flat-rate fee on a fixed-rate mortgage has soared from £334 in February 2004 to £611 in February 2007.

Union dues: It's enough to make you want to tell your bank to go jump in a lake. Trouble is, it's hard to get through life without a current account. But now there is an alternative to banks and building societies. Eight credit unions have just launched their own current accounts. You get a debit card that can be used in shops and to withdraw money from ATMs. You don't get a cheque book or overdraft, but you can set up standing orders and direct debits. The credit unions taking part in the pilot are: Capital Credit Union (Edinburgh, Lothian and the Borders), Glasgow Credit Union, Hull and East Yorkshire Credit Union, Leeds City Credit Union, Scottish Postal Workers Credit Union, Scotwest Credit Union, Southwark Credit Union (London) and White Rose Credit Union (Wakefield, West Yorkshire). But there's a catch: some of the credit unions will be imposing account charges. Glasgow Credit Union's charge is £1 a month, while Capital Credit Union's is £1 a week.

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