Known for its rough-and-tough motorcycles that last generations in India, motorcycle maker Royal Enfield (RE) went all out with their impressive reveals at the 2024 edition of the prestigious two-wheeler auto conference, EICMA. The “built like a gun” bike maker introduces two major IC engine motorcycles—the bobber, Classic 650 and the scrambler, Bear 650—along with the launch of their electric line, Flying Flea.

Both Classic 650 and Bear 650 are motorcycles derived from Royal Enfield’s much coveted 650cc parallel twin-engine platform. The Classic 650 adds to its cousins, Super Meteor 650 and Shotgun 650, expanding the modern-retro lineup of the brand.

It also gets a semi-digital instrument cluster, armed with Tripper navigation, very much like the latest iteration of the Classic 350. It is expected to be priced around the same range as the Bear 650, once more details become evident.

The Bear 650 is a scrambler upgrade to the Interceptor 650 it is based on and will cost you about Rs 3.39 lakh to Rs 3.59 lakh, ex-showroom. It also gets a TFT display with an in-built navigation system that was first introduced in the new Himalayan.

Back in 2018 in Milan, Royal Enfield showcased the 650 twins—the Continental GT 650 Twin and Interceptor INT 650 Twin, which also grabbed headlines. But, lacklustre demand coupled with the impact of the pandemic on the automotive sector made the motorcycle brand lose a bit of steam.

ALSO READ | WATCH: Hero MotoCorp launches new Karizma, Xpulse bikes at EICMA 2024

However, the 650cc engine has gone through quite some upgrades and refinement as of now, and it demands a rather niche and loyal following in India.

The company now flaunts a roster of five 650cc bikes. It now remains to be seen if Royal Enfield can indeed capitalise on this brand synergy among the masses and bring in more customers to the fold with the new 650cc offerings.

HOUSE prices in the UK have hit a record high, ahead of the expected cut to interest rates this afternoon.

Halifax says prices increased by 0.2% in October compared to the previous month – the fourth month in a row that property prices grew.

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House prices were up 3.9% compared to the same time last year, easing from 4.6% in September.

The average house price was £293,999,  surpassing the previous peak set in June 2022 at £293,507.

Northern Ireland continues to record the strongest annual house price growth, with prices up by 10.2% year-on-year, Halifax said.

The average price of a property in Northern Ireland is now £204,242. 

Scotland was the weakest performing region, with prices rising by 1.9% over the year to £206,480.

The North West once again recorded the strongest house price growth of any region in England, up by 5.9% over the last year, to sit at £235,587.

London continues to have the most expensive property prices in the UK, now averaging £543,308, up 3.5% compared to last year.

However, this is still some way below the capital’s peak property price of £552,592 set in August 2022.

Overall, across the UK, prices were up 1.2% compared with the third quarter of 2024.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “The average property price has reached a record high of £293,999, surpassing the previous peak of £293,507 set in June 2022, towards the end of the pandemic-era ‘race for space’.

“Looking ahead, borrowing constraints remain a challenge for many buyers.

“Following the Budget, markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated, which could keep mortgage costs higher for longer.

“New policies like higher stamp duty for second home buyers and a return to previous thresholds for first-time buyers might also affect demand.

“While we expect house prices to keep growing, it will likely be at a modest pace for the rest of this year and into next.”

BANKING giants are paying out thousands of pounds in compensation after closing customers’ accounts by mistake, an investigation by The Sun has found.

We have found a number of cases where banks have shut customers’ accounts in error, but this has only come to light following intervention by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

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Known as “de-banking”, banks can close an individual or business’s account if they deem that it poses a financial, legal, regulatory, or reputational risk.

This can sometimes leave customers unable to access their cash for days or even weeks if the bank freezes the account or sends them a refund via cheque.

But the biggest kicker is that banks are under zero obligation to tell you why they shut your account, leaving many customers wondering what they did wrong.

The number of complaints received by the FOS related to de-banking has increased by 69% since the financial year 2020/21, rising from 2,281 to 3,858 in 2023/24 – although these weren’t all related to mistakes by banks.

But, it has emerged that some banks have closed customers’ accounts by mistake, but had refused to disclose this to the customer until the FOS got involved.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, told The Sun these findings could be “the tip of the iceberg” and that banks need to be quicker at putting things right if they make errors.

“There are plenty of examples in Ombudsman cases of errors that have meant accounts have been closed,” she said.

“This can be anything from an error of judgment to human error, or a fault in the systems which meant accounts were incorrectly updated.

“Given that most people give up fighting well before they involve the Ombudsman, this could be the tip of the iceberg.

“People make mistakes and we can’t expect them to be perfect, but we can expect banks to have processes in place to check these decisions and put things right as quickly as possible when things go wrong.”

THE CASES

The Sun trawled through dozens of entries on the FOS website and found a number of decisions showing de-banking errors over the past seven months, including from Barclays and NatWest.

In all of those cases, the FOS said the bank should pay disgruntled customers compensation for the inconvenience and distress caused – sometimes as much as thousands of pounds.

In several of those cases, the accounts were closed following what’s known as a KYC (Know Your Customer) review, where the bank can ask a customer for more information.

If a customer doesn’t return this information by a set deadline, the bank might react by shutting their account.

But some of these reviews have resulted in accounts being closed in error.

In one case we found, long-time NatWest customers known only as Mr and Mrs G complained to the FOS that their accounts were closed without explanation, causing them “inconvenience and worry”.

After initially refusing to provide reasons, NatWest later admitted it had mistakenly closed their accounts after the FOS intervened.

The FOS determined that NatWest had treated them unfairly, asking the bank to pay £350 and issue a letter of apology.

A spokesperson for Natwest said: “We are extremely sorry for the error we made in closing this account and have apologised and paid compensation to our customer. It is extremely rare for a customer’s account to be closed incorrectly.”

In another case, a customer known as “S” complained that Barclays wrongly closed their Business Premium account on 5 September, 2023 during a KYC review.

Barclays admitted the mistake, reopened the account after four weeks and offered £500 compensation for the inconvenience, but refused to cover the significant financial losses S claimed.

The FOS found Barclays should pay £3,850 for loss of profit, £500 for inconvenience, and 8% interest on the account balance.

Both parties partially accepted this decision.

A Barclays spokesperson said of these cases: “We are unable to comment on the details of these specific cases without the consent of our customers.

“However, we respect the decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman Service and are sorry for any occasions where we failed to provide the usual high levels of service that our customers can expect to receive.”

What is ‘de-banking’ and why might my account be closed?

De-banking is where your account is closed against your will.

Banks should generally allow customers 30 days to make alternative banking arrangements before axing their account, but in some urgent cases you may get no warning at all.

Perhaps one of the most well-known recent cases of de-banking is when Coutts Private Bank closed the account of Nigel Farage, the former UK Independence Party leader, in June 2023.

Lenders can suspend accounts if they detect any “suspicious activity”, such as sending or receiving large amounts of unexplained money or transactions don’t fit with the user’s typical spending pattern.

If a bank suspects a customer has been victim of a fraud – where large sums of money are sent – it will also close the account.

Which? Money editor Jenny Ross says: “Under some circumstances, banks are allowed to close accounts without notice and without providing a reason.

“This includes suspected fraudulent use of the account.”

Your bank could put an immediate freeze on your account if it sees spending or large transfers in or out that seem suspicious.

It might block money from leaving your account to help protect you if it’s worried that you’ve fallen victim to fraudsters.

Similarly, if a large amount of money is received, it might suspect you’ve been caught up in a money-laundering operation.

Fraudsters can manipulate customers into becoming so-called money mules.

This means that they might be helping crooks to move around cash earned from crime without even knowing it.

Sometimes victims believe they are helping out a friend or that they are being paid for a job that seems legitimate.

After putting a temporary freeze on your account, the bank will then investigate more thoroughly.

If it’s still not satisfied after this, it can permanently close your account.

Your bank could decide to ditch you as a customer simply because you don’t meet its terms and conditions.

For example, when you signed up you might have agreed to pay in a certain amount each month or to set up several direct debits.

In this type of situation, the bank would need to give you at least 30 days’ notice so you can move your money elsewhere.

In July last year, the Treasury confirmed it was looking into the rules surrounding closing bank accounts, such as upping the period to three months instead of 30 days.

But the government has not yet revealed any plans to enforce these proposals. The Sun has asked for an update when possible.

What you can do if your bank account is closed

Which? says that those who believe their bank account has been unfairly closed should attempt to make alternative arrangements for their payments to avoid fees or charges.

They should then make a complaint to their bank and make a data request to Cifas online to check for a marker, which they can then contest.

If that fails, customers could then attempt to make a complaint through the FOS.

Customers who successfully make a claim may not have their account reopened, but they could receive compensation and an apology.

But it’s worth bearing in mind that this can be a lengthy process and it might take a long time before you see any compensation.

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

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