Since the Financial Conduct Authority moved to a portfolio supervision model, this portfolio strategy letter has emerged as the most relevant communication for our sector.

While the Business Plan is still essential reading, the portfolio strategy letter gives more sector-specific insight, including what the FCA’s priorities are and, crucially, what its expectations are of advice firms.

It’s great to read that the regulator is looking to increase its industry engagement with an acknowledgement of the insights this can bring. At the same time, it is important all firms are on top of the FCA’s communications.

There will be no excuses if the FCA subsequently finds issues within the retirement income advice or control framework

Although only three pages long, there is a wealth of information contained within the hyperlinks to keep us all busy. Here are some of the key headlines and actions firms should be taking:

1. Retirement income advice

Since 2019, when the FCA announced its second quality of advice review would focus on retirement income, it has been clear this is a major area of emphasis. Since then, the FCA has completed and released the findings of its thematic review of retirement income advice.

Leading with this subject again indicates it was not satisfied with the overall findings from its review.

Consolidators should review their business plans, strategy documents, policies and procedures

With the Dear CEO letter that accompanied the findings of the thematic review, chief executives were written to three times in under two years about the importance of their firms ensuring retirement income leads to good customer outcomes. There will be no excuses if the FCA subsequently finds issues within the retirement income advice or control framework.

Having clearly set out its findings and expectations in relation to areas such as know-your-customer information, risk profiling and cashflow modelling, it is essential firms can demonstrate they have gone through the FCA’s report and can confirm what action they have taken to satisfy themselves that their customers are receiving good outcomes.

2. Ongoing advice services ­­­

Our sector has been discussing ongoing advice reviews all year. In fact, this focus almost overshadowed the findings from the FCA’s thematic review of retirement income advice in March.

While we await the findings from the FCA’s thematic review of ongoing advice later this year, there is still more firms should be doing. This includes reviewing their fair value statements to ensure they demonstrate their service provides value for clients.

CEOs were written to three times in under two years about the importance of their firms ensuring retirement income leads to good customer outcomes

It’s also important to review your ongoing advice policy to ensure it clearly confirms the services clients will receive, the disengagement process and the process for paying refunds where services are not delivered in accordance with the client agreement.

Firms should also ensure they monitor their ongoing advice service appropriately. Historically, business assurance has focussed on new business but, with the vast majority of clients receiving ongoing advice, this needs to be a key focus of business assurance going forward.

3. Much-anticipated consolidation review

Consolidation has been a key feature of our sector for many years. Given the FCA’s last thematic review was in 2017, it is no surprise to read it is planning thematic work in this area.

With the vast majority of clients receiving ongoing advice, this needs to be a key focus of business assurance going forward

Consolidators should review their business plans, strategy documents, policies and procedures, including integration plans and management information, in advance of the thematic review. It is important to be able to demonstrate clients are receiving clear communication and good outcomes.

The FCA has explicitly stated firms should undertake adequate due diligence on client books. With its key priority of reducing and preventing serious consumer harm, it is important firms can demonstrate the work they have undertaken where the due diligence on the client bank and more general due diligence identifies concerns.

David Boyhan is technical director at TCC 

VINTED went down this morning, leaving hundreds of shoppers and sellers locked out of their accounts.

Between 9am and 10.40am, over 717 users reported issues with the second-hand marketplace on DownDetector.

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According to the website, over 78% of customers could not use the app.

Another 19% said they could not log in to their account on the website.

It soon became clear that the issue was not due to a glitch but rather “scheduled maintenance”.

Affected users received the following message when trying to log in: “Vinted is temporarily down for scheduled maintenance.

“We’re making improvements to Vinted which will take a few hours to successfully complete.

“This will delay some of the activities you may be running on the platform, but they will resume once the system is back up.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused by this. Thanks for your patience.”

People took to X (formally Twitter) to complain.

One user said: “Vinted is down are you kidding me.”

Another said: “Is there an issue with the app today? I keep getting an error.”

“The scheduled maintenance better improve the servers and add a feature to filter by price,” said a third user.

One customer told The Sun that they’re still getting notifications about sales but can’t click through to view what items have been purchased.

We’re making improvements to Vinted which will take a few hours to successfully complete

Vinted

However, others joked about the temporary outage, with one user saying: “The amount of money I’m saving right now because Vinted is down is crazy.”

Vinted last went down at the end of October when more than 1,000 users complained about being unable to use the second-hand marketplace.

Payments won’t be affected

As the issue was related to scheduled maintenance, the temporary outage should not have affected your payments.

However, if you’re struggling to get your cash from Vinted, get in touch through the app (once it’s back up) and let customer service know you haven’t received your money.

You’ll usually need to provide evidence to show you haven’t received the money, such as your latest bank statements.

This will delay some of the activities you may be running on the platform, but they will resume once the system is back up

Vinted

There is also information on Vinted’s help page for users who haven’t seen their money hit their bank account.

Visit vinted.co.uk/help/73-my-withdrawal-has-failed to find out more.

You can contact the website’s member support team directly via the app if you are still experiencing issues.

If you’re still having issues or aren’t happy with how you have been treated, you may be able to complain to a third-party dispute resolution service, such as Complain.biz.

More Vinted news

Vinted launched a “pro” version of the app last month, which allows sellers to register as sole traders and be identified as professional sellers

The upgrade is free to use and users can sell unlimited items for free.

However, The Sun revealed the second-hand seller had paused new registrations to its professional selling feature after it made some users’ National Insurance (NI) numbers available, putting them at risk of fraud.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) advises that you should not share your NI number with anyone who does not need it to prevent identity fraud.

The Sun has learned that the Independent Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating the breach after several sellers reported it.

Commenting on the issue, a spokesperson for Vinted said: “For a small number of Vinted Pro members, their NI number was visible on their profile page.

“While our teams were working on fixing the issue completely, we temporarily halted the ability to upgrade accounts to Vinted Pro.

“We apologise to anyone that was affected and encourage members who have questions to reach out to our member support team.”

Do you need to pay tax on items sold on Vinted?

QUICK facts on tax from the team at Vinted…

• The only time that an item might be taxable is if it sells for more than £6,000 and there is profit (sells for more than you paid for it). Even then, you can use your capital gains tax-free allowance of £3,000 to offset it.
• Generally, only business sellers trading for profit (buying goods with the purpose of selling for more than they paid for them) might need to pay tax. Business sellers who trade for profit can use a tax-free allowance of £1,000, which has been in place since 2017.
• More information here: vinted.co.uk/no-changes-to-taxes

The 1994 movie Forrest Gump starred Tom Hanks as a man who randomly encounters legendary figures from 20th-century history: Elvis, John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Abbie Hoffman, John Lennon and Richard Nixon. Quincy Jones, who has died at the age of 91, liked to refer to himself as the “ghetto Gump”. It’s easy to see why. 

Over a seven-decade career, Jones enjoyed stellar success as a record producer, film composer and entertainment mogul. Along the way, he rubbed shoulders with, among others, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Pablo Picasso, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk.

The ghetto bit was only kind-of true. Jones was born in Chicago in 1933 to working-class parents. After his mother, who had schizophrenia, was institutionalised, he was sent to Kentucky for a while to live with his grandmother, who sent him down to the local river to catch rats for her to kill and cook.

Moving to Seattle with his father, having survived a car crash in which the other four people in the vehicle died, Jones got hooked on music and became a trumpeter. Friends with another local schoolboy, Ray Charles, at 18 he joined Lionel Hampton’s jazz band and toured the US. 

Jones’s next move was to New York, where he worked as a musical arranger for Count Basie and others. He travelled the world with Dizzy Gillespie’s band, then lived in France, where he regularly dined with Picasso, a neighbour. In 1958, Grace Kelly asked him to conduct and arrange for Frank Sinatra at a charity concert in Monaco.

This launched a relationship with the singer during which Jones produced many of his greatest works, including the acclaimed 1966 album Sinatra at the Sands. Back in the US in the early 1960s, he also worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Sammy Davis Jr, proving himself a dexterous producer able to work with sometimes monstrous egos.

Joining Mercury Records, Jones soon rose to vice-president. He could see that jazz was in retreat and pop was on the rise, and produced several million-selling singles for teenage starlet Leslie Gore, including her 1963 US number one “It’s My Party”.

But he craved work in the movies. Moving to Los Angeles, he scored dozens of films, including In The Heat of the Night (1967) and The Italian Job (1969) and wrote music for TV shows, including the theme from Ironside, and won an Emmy for his work on Roots.

Surviving a 1974 brain aneurysm that forced him to give up his beloved trumpet, Jones embraced soul and funk, producing hit albums for Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer and George Benson. He also found time to make his own music, enjoying US top 10 albums with Body Heat and The Dude.

Yet Jones will, for many people, forever be associated with the 1980s, and in particular his collaborations with Michael Jackson. Having worked with Jackson on the 1978 movie The Wiz, Jones became the superstar’s studio producer and helmed his three career-defining albums.

Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987) have, in total, sold more than 100mn copies. Thriller spent 37 weeks at the top of the Billboard chart and remains the best-selling album of all time (and, in the streaming era, will probably remain so). Jones also found time to produce the multi-artist 1985 charity single “We Are the World” to raise funds to help fight famine in Ethiopia.

He had a laser eye for talent. In 1985, he plucked Oprah Winfrey from local TV in Chicago to star in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple (1985), which Jones also co-produced and scored. Five years later, he linked with Time Warner to form Quincy Jones Entertainment, which created hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and launched the career of Will Smith.

Jones’ personal life was as busy as his career. He married, and divorced, three times, and is survived by seven children, including the actress Rashida Jones.

In more recent times, he was a neighbour of Elon Musk, and claimed to have frequently enjoyed dinner with him, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Jeff Bezos.

Fittingly for the Ghetto Gump, tributes have been paid by Paul McCartney (“He had a twinkle in his eye”), Michael Caine, Elton John and two US presidents, Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Stevie Wonder told Rolling Stone: “Quincy should be remembered as one of God’s greatest gifts to the world.”

MILLIONS of households could save money on their water bills by making just six simple changes to how they use water.

Annual water bills are set to rise by about £27.40 to £473 from next year, according to water regulator Ofwat. 

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Between 2025 and 2030 they are forecast to rise again by an average of £19 a year.

The increases will put pressure on households already finding it difficult to make ends meet.

Around 18% of households are already struggling to pay their bills but this will climb to 40% if the changes go ahead, according to the Consumer Council for Water.

But experts at bathroom supplier Wholesale Domestic say a family of four who make small changes to their home could save more than £200 a year.

Switch to water-efficient fixtures – £50

“One of the simplest and most effective ways to save money on your energy bills is to use water-efficient fixtures,” said Brian Toward from Wholesale Domestic.

“Modern showers and taps come with aerators and flow restrictors that reduce water usage without compromising on pressure.”

The devices are very easy to install and can be fitted either inside the spout of a tap or attached to the end of it.

Prices start at around £6.50 for four.

Meanwhile, a shower head aerator is installed in the same way as a basic shower head, which means they are one of the easiest ways to reduce your water consumption.

You can pick up one of the devices for about £8.

Switching to a water-saving shower head could reduce the water you use by up to 40%.

Overall, a family of four could save around £50 a year by cutting down their water consumption with these efficient fixtures.

Lower the temperature of your water heater – £50

Your water heater temperature controls how hot water will be when it comes out of your tap or shower head.

But most households have it set far higher than needed explains Mr Toward.

“By reducing your water heater temperature to around 55°C you can still have hot showers without wasting excess energy,” he said.

“Lowering the thermostat even slightly can make a significant difference over time and save you around £45-50 a year.

Most water heaters will have a knob on the front which controls the water temperature.

Turn this to the left to reduce its flow temperature.

Do not turn your temperature down too much as this could cause harmful bacteria to grow in the water.

Take shorter showers – £20

It’s an age old tip but reducing the length of your shower can help you to save significantly on your water bills.

Heating accounts for a large part of every household’s energy consumption.

“If every member of your household reduces their shower time by just one minute, you could save hundreds of litres of water each month,” Mr Toward suggests.

“Based on a family of four this could be a saving of around £20 a year in energy bills.”

Fix dripping and leaking fixtures – £35

Although the amount of water coming out of a leaking tap may look small, it can slowly add up over the course of a year.

“A slow-dripping tap can waste up to 5,500 litres of water a year,” Mr Toward warns.

“Not only is it a waste of water but it’s a direct hit to your energy bills if it’s a hot tap.”

If you get it fixed you could save up to £35 a year based on UK water heating costs.

Leaking toilets are another culprit.

Toilets take up about 30% of the total water used in a household according to water saving organisation Save Water Save Money.

A constantly running toilet can waste over 200 litres of water a day.

Install a thermostatic mixer shower – £30

If you have an electric shower, consider changing to a thermostatic mixer shower.

These showers mix hot and cold water more precisely than an electric shower which can prevent overheating and wasted energy.

By doing so they can help to regulate water temperature more effectively and reduce the energy needed to heat the water.

Prices start from around £75.

Swapping to a thermostatic shower can shave around £30 a year off your energy bill, especially if combined with a more efficient boiler.

Use your towel dryer wisely – £20

Towel radiators and heated towel rails have become popular in many bathrooms but they can waste energy if not used wisely.

Mr Toward advises: “Limit the time you have your towel rail on as many are left running for far longer than necessary, which can eat up electricity.”

Instead, set a timer or use a programmable rail to save between £15 and £20 annually.

How else can I save on my household bills?

You could apply for a water meter to shave hundreds of pounds off your water bill every year.

Water meters charge you for the amount of water you use, so consider your household use before you get one.

If you get through a lot of water then it may not be worth getting one.

The Consumer Council for Water has a free water meter calculator which will tell you how much you could save.

Meanwhile, you could get water-saving devices from your water company. 

Get in touch with your supplier for more information or visit savewatersavemoney.co.uk.

Companies also cap the bills of households who are struggling through the WaterSure scheme.

To apply you must be on benefits and need to use lots of water for medical reasons or because your household has a certain number of children.

You must have a water meter or be waiting to get one installed.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

THERE’S a pub in the middle of an English forest that people are calling a hidden gem.

Aptly named the Pub in the Woods, its found in Wild Park Derbyshire, an outdoor activity centre.

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It opened in 2021, inspired by the outdoor drinking that was enforced during the pandemic.

Inside are a range of bookable tables, which is advised due to the small nature of the pub.

The cabana fire pit has space for up to 12 people, inside a purpose built wooden cabana so has a bit of shelter in case it rains.

There are also tipi tents, also with shelter and fire pits, or tables on the veranda.

Otherwise you can risk it with an open-air table.

Prices range from £10 to £50.

There is a fully stocked bar, where you can find everything from beer and fizz to mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates.

There’s food to soak up the alcohol too, ranging from burgers and hot dogs to pizzas and snacks.

Along with boozing, there are are live music nights, running once a week with two acts per night.

An on December 5 and 6, the pub has it’s own mini Christmas Market with more live music as well as gift stalls and food and drink.

The website says: ” Think live music; beer, mulled wine, hot chocolate (boozy & virgin); food; fire pits; festoon lights and friends – socialising outdoors in the fresh country air.

“Get booked in, bring your coats, hats and long johns (blankets, hot water bottles, quilts – whatever you fancy!) and visit The Pub in The Woods.”

Previous punters have been left impressed by the pub, raving about the staff and the atmosphere.

One person said: “The photos don’t do it justice. Environment is outstanding, so so cozy, beautiful fairy lights dotted around, staff were approachable and really attentive.

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“The people that repeatedly served us kept checking into see if we needed anything, lots of spare wood to add to the fire pits.

“Nothing was ever too much even filling up my hot water bottle for the journey home.”

Another said: “Truly unique experience and could not recommend highly enough.”

A third called it “Derby’s best-kept secret”.

If you want to explore the adventure park while there, you can book both laser tag and paintball sessions as well as quad biking and archery.

Stay in the nearby ‘trending’ town of Ashbourne

Near the pub is the town of Ashbourne – which was named a trending destination this year.

Research from Independent Cottages revealed that it was the place that saw the largest increase in attention from Brits.

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It is known as “the gateway to Dovedale” a valley in the Peak District, named one of the seven wonders of the UK by the Royal Geographical society in 2021.

Ashbourne gingerbread is even famous with legend saying the recipe was given to a local by a chef of a captured French general during the Napoleonic War.

Another ‘hidden’ bar is Cafe Pacifico, the UK’s first ever Mexican cantina and tucked down a side street in London.

And here’s what its like to drink at the UK’s most isolated pubs.

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