The mortgage rate war seen at the start of 2026 is well and truly over as several major lenders announced hikes. 

Nationwide has increased rates by up to 0.19%, with Virgin following close behind with raises of up to 0.14%. 

HSBC has also upped some of its home mover, first-time buyer and remortgage products by up to 0.1%. 

It comes after Barclays recently made some price increases and product withdrawals, NatWest raised some fixed rates by 0.1% and Santander put up rates by up to 0.07%.

One broker described it as a "kick in the teeth" for borrowers, while others warned the road to lower rates could be longer than expected. 

Justin Moy, managing director at mortgage brokers EHF Mortgages, said rising swap rates, which banks use to determine mortgage rates, were to blame for the increases. 

"There are still some very good deals to take advantage of, but time is now of the essence for existing borrowers to get their paperwork in and secure the cheapest deals," he told Newspage. 

Darryl Dhoffer, founder at brokerage The Mortgage Geezer, added: "Nationwide and Virgin Money hiking rates signals an end to January’s price war. 

"This isn't a crash, but a correction: the market is realising the path to lower rates will be slower and bumpier than hoped."

Ben Perks, managing director at Orchard Financial Advisers,  described the rate increases as "a kick in the teeth for borrowers that have been full of optimism lately" but said he hoped this was a blip rather than the beginning of a more material repricing in rates.

"Hopefully there will be more positive news in the coming weeks and months if inflation falls back into line and the Bank of England cuts rates further," he said. 

The Bank of England is expected to hold the base rate at 3.75% this week - with markets predicting another cut by April.

A new 100% mortgage deal has launched to help renters buy their first home without a deposit. 

Melton Building Society has launched the five-year fixed rate product at 5.99%. It comes with a £199 application fee and £199 cashback on completion. 

But it is only available to first-time buyers purchasing a property in the East Midlands, with a plan to roll out the deal more widely later this year.

It's the latest 100% mortgage deal to return to the market after an increase over the past year. 

In total, there are 25 100% LTV products now available, according to Moneyfacts data shared with the Money blog. 

Reminiscent of the early 2000s, before the financial crash, they aren't without risk.

Some have described the latest product as a "responsible solution" for renters struggling to get on the housing ladder, while others have warned of the risk of negative equity and high monthly repayments. 

An estimated one million people missed the self-assessment tax return deadline, according to HMRC.

More than 11 million Britons met the 31 January deadline, but HMRC was expecting more than 12 million people to file a return.

Nearly half a million people waited until the final day to file, with more than 27,000 people filing in the last hour. Those who haven't could face fines.

The penalties for filing late are:

• An initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time;
• After three months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900;
• After six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater;
• And after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's chief customer officer, urged anyone who hadn't yet filed to do so "as soon as possible".

Rome is introducing a fee for tourists hoping to visit its most famous fountain.

From this week, visitors to the Trevi Fountain have to pay €2 (£1.72).

It follows similar efforts to curb crowds and raise funds from tourists elsewhere in Italy.

The first tourists who paid the charge yesterday seemed unbothered.

Ilhan Musbah, from Morocco, said: "Before, there were problems accessing the fountain. There were a lot of people. Now, it's very easy. You can take photos, you feel good, you're comfortable and on top of that €2 is not much."

The fee was introduced alongside a €5 fee (£4.31) for some of the city's museums.

Rome residents are exempt from both fees and officials estimate that as much as €6.5m (£5.6m) a year could be raised.

Millions of women working in local government will see their pensions improve under reforms coming in April.

The government is taking action to tackle a problem that experts say "actively punishes women for having children".

When women take unpaid additional maternity leave, it can create gaps in pension payments, affecting their retirement income and widening the gender pension gap.

The new measures include making unpaid additional maternity, shared parental and adoption leave automatically pensionable, as well as making gender pension gap data reporting mandatory.

Financial advisers welcomed the reforms, with Molly Pile, chartered financial adviser at Octopus Money, saying: 

"The gender pension gap actively punishes women for having children. What starts as a relatively small hit early on quietly compounds, and by the time many women see the full impact, they're already nearing retirement. It can be staggering when compared to their male peers."

Greggs is launching its first matcha drinks range.

The budget bakery, mostly known for its sausage rolls, will sell three flavours of the popular drink:

• Iced matcha latte, £3
• Vanilla iced matcha latte, £3.60
• Strawberry iced matcha latte, £3.60

The launch will put Greggs in competition with the likes of Starbucks and Costa, and to mark it, it has decided to hold "a Greggs-inspired Pilates session".

Greggs told Money:

"We're on a mission to offer our customers more choice and quality than ever before, without the premium price tag. By introducing our trio of iced matcha drinks, we're making a trending favourite accessible to everyone on the high street."

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Only yesterday we were talking about sharp falls in metal prices after Donald Trump revealed his nomination for chair of the US central bank.

But today gold is on course for its biggest daily gain since 2008 - and silver has risen nearly 9% so far. 

It appears the price drop encouraged investors to buy, which in turn pushed the value up. 

Precious metals reached all-time highs throughout January amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty and threats to the Federal Reserve's independence, boosting demand for investments like silver and gold, seen as safe havens. 

Mining companies have benefited this morning, with the top four biggest risers on the London Stock Exchange all mining giants. 

The pound could hit a six-month high against the euro this week. After rising over the past few weeks, a pound is hovering just below €1.16. Less than a week ago, you'd get €1.14.

City centre flats are quickly becoming "the sub-prime assets of the UK housing market", according to experts.

Brokers say more first-time buyers are skipping the first rung of the property ladder and buying homes they can grow into, rather than quickly grow out of.

This, experts say, is due to a combination of:

• Improving affordability;
• Growing awareness of the costs around moving;
• Issues with leasehold properties. 

Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, says he is seeing a definitive trend: "It's now crystal clear that more savvy first-time buyers are looking beyond traditional starter homes, such as flats, and setting their sights on houses as they are able to benefit from improved affordability. 

"This also enables them to bypass expensive stamp duty and other moving costs associated with repeated buying and selling.

"Gone are the days of moving every two or three years to climb the property ladder. The market is starting to see a significant shift in buying habits."

'A mug's game'

Kundan Bhaduri, portfolio landlord at The Kushman Group, warns the value of city centre flats could come under pressure if the current shift in buying habits continues.

He said: "Buyers have done the maths on the transactional friction of moving, namely stamp duty, legal fees and estate agent commissions, and realised that moving every three years is a mug's game in a high-tax economy.

"This shift spells disaster for the valuation of city centre flats, which are rapidly becoming the sub-prime assets of the UK housing market."

More than 140,000 people have now signed up to our free Money newsletter, which brings the kind of content you enjoy in the award-winning Money blog directly to your inbox every week.

In this week's newsletter, we look at the drawbacks of using the "pay by bank" option offered by major companies including Ryanair and Just Eat (and many more).

Also in Friday's newsletter:

• Love steak? We give you early access to our latest "Buy like a pro" feature on what to look for when buying a cut;
• "EDF back-billed me from years ago - help": Early access to our weekly Money Problem feature;
• Listed: Best deals on the market for broadband, mortgages, savings, bank switching and energy.

So join our growing Money community - and thanks to the tens of thousands of you who already have.

Every Tuesday, we get an expert to answer your financial problems or consumer disputes - you can WhatsApp us here or email moneyblog@sky.uk. Today's is...

I have a Grundig washer/dryer, which I've owned from new. Around two years into its three-year warranty, the machine failed, burning and shrivelling a full load of clothes. This was fixed under warranty. The engineer was advised the fault was with a thermostat and that the machine was tested and all good to use again. To my shock, the machine burnt and shrivelled the next load of clothes too. A second engineer visited and said the fault was due to the fascia sticking, meaning buttons were being pressed during the cycle through vibrations. He said it was fixed, checked for no further faults, tested and good to go. Not long after, you guessed it... the machine burnt and shrivelled a load of clothes again. The engineer took the machine apart and found faulty wiring within the unit, saying it was a miracle the machine hadn't faulted sooner. Only the third engineer took the machine apart in full to inspect all the root causes, so all this was avoidable. I have now had £1,000 of clothes and bedding damaged beyond repair, all as a direct result of a faulty machine under warranty. I have called Grundig more than a dozen times, never had a manager call-back as promised and have had no compensation. 

Benji, Peterborough

Hi Benji. You and I have exchanged many emails over the past few months as I've sought answers on your behalf from Grundig (via its owner Beko), a process I've found pretty frustrating myself.

Beko told me the delay in finding you a resolution was partly down to their merger process and integrating systems at Hotpoint and Beko. It seems evidence you provided could no longer be located.

The spokesman said the company was not making excuses - it was sorry and would now get back in touch with you to find a solution.

Since those first emails in mid-November, you heard from the Grundig customer service team, which asked you for photos of the damaged clothes.

You sent those the same day - you showed me the emails. Yet Beko kept insisting it hadn't received anything. Long story short, the company's email infrastructure seems unable to cope with basic tasks such as delivery of a photo, even via a link. We finally got round this when the press officer I'd been talking to agreed I could send the photos to his personal email address.

Here's one of them...

After receiving the photos, Grundig customer services sent you an email which you forwarded to me. It read...

Having carefully considered the information available, we note that heavy creasing in clothing is not a permanent condition and can commonly be rectified through several processes, including professional dry cleaning. Based on the images provided, the items do not appear to be structurally compromised by the creasing observed, and the decorative transfers and materials appear free from defect.

They offered you what they described as a goodwill gesture of £250 "as a contribution towards the professional rectification of the creasing identified".

You wrote back...

This is clearly inaccurate. The clothes were burnt in the wash, ruining lettering and logos, and wholly altering the fabric beyond repair. Others were discoloured. There was no amount of ironing, pressing or cleaning that could return the clothes to their original state. Whilst I appreciate you making an offer, it is far below the value of the damage caused and the amount I am entitled to claim. 

You counter to their offer was:

• Damage costs: £968
• Machine refund: £529
• Total claim: £1,497

That's where we are now, with Beko telling me "we remain in dialogue with Mr Deane to resolve his claim".

They have told me your claim for the washing machine has been rejected as it is three years old, so outside the two-year manufacturer warranty period.

That, as regular readers will know, is not a sustainable position give the Consumer Rights Act gives you an implied warrant for up to six years.

So what can you do?

For this I spoke to consumer disputes experts Scott Dixon.

"You could continue to pursue Grundig and demand a remedy, including full compensation for the ruined clothes and bedding," he said.

"Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that a trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill. Grundig have clearly failed this test."

If this doesn't work, he suggests switching your attention from the manufacturer to the retailer.

"Go back to the retailer and say they are in 'breach of contract' under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for selling you a faulty washer dryer."

Because you bought the machine more than six months ago, the onus would be on you to prove the goods had inherent faults at the point of purchase. 

"An independent report from a reputable professional in that field would suffice as evidence," said Dixon.

"And this isn't necessary in your case as the manufacturer has confirmed it's a manufacturer's fault."

Dixon went on: "Put your complaint in writing with all evidence clearly stating the fault, a timeline, evidence of failed repairs and receipts or proof of purchase for the product and your losses.

"The remedy would be a refund and compensation for the ruined bedding and clothing, although they are entitled to make a 'fair use' deduction for the time you have owned it."

Losses

There are two types of losses in cases like this

1. Direct loss

These are losses that naturally result from a breach or could reasonably have been foreseeable at the time of purchase.

"In your case, the ruined clothing and bedding are clearly a direct and foreseeable loss caused by the faulty washer dryer," said Dixon.

"Grundig has confirmed the faults were inherent when you bought the defective appliance, so you are entitled to be compensated for these losses."

2. Indirect loss

These are losses that occur as a knock-on effect of the breach, rather than directly from it. They are only recoverable if the loss was reasonably foreseeable at the time of the contract, meaning the retailer knew, or ought to have known, that you would incur such losses.

"Other issues, such as time spent trying to resolve your complaint or dealing with poor customer service, are usually dealt with by a goodwill gesture," said Dixon.

Going to court

If all the above fails, Dixon says you could take your case against the retailer to the small claims court if it is in England, or follow the simple procedure in Scotland. 

"Although you can technically take Grundig to court for breaching the terms and conditions of the warranty, your strongest legal rights are against the retailer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 because that is who your contract is with," he said.

"Before you file a claim, send screenshots of the draft court papers setting your case out and demanding a refund within seven days. Tell the firm that if they fail to do so, you will lodge a claim in the small claims court," said Dixon, adding that this often does the trick without having to follow through on the threat.

One alternative route

"You should always pay by credit card if possible, as this gives you additional free protection and holds the card provider jointly liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for purchases over £100 and up to £30,000 if there has been a breach of contract or misrepresentation," Dixon said.

This feature is not intended as financial advice - the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:

• WhatsApp here
• Or email moneyblog@sky.uk with the subject line "Money Problem"