Many of the energy giant's customers are still being overcharged for gas and electricity - despite intervention by the energy regulator. ScottishPower says a state-of-the-art £200 million IT system has caused these problems. It is understood these issues have left some vulnerable customers without heating, while others have been overcharged hundreds of pounds or been unable to get credit payments refunded. Alexandra Bryant (pictured) is at her 'wits' end' after spending five months trying to resolve her billing problems.

Making a greetings call to distant friends or family is as much a part of the festive season as turkey and Christmas pudding. But plan ahead to avoid phone bill indigestion. Lucy Werner (pictured) likes to use her mobile to chat to friends and relatives in the US, Australia and Singapore - but she always keeps an eye on costs. Lucy, a freelance public relations consultant, says: 'I use a mixture of Skype, WhatsApp [an instant messaging app] and an international bolt-on with O2.'

Everyone loves chocolate, particularly at this time of year. Global sales reached more than £60 billion in 2013 and demand is rising steadily as consumers in emerging markets develop a taste for the sweet things in life. United Cacao intends to take advantage of chocolate's universal popularity. The company joined AIM last week to become the world's first listed producer of cocoa, the raw ingredient for chocolate.

Houses in market towns are highly desirable, but you don't always have to pay above the odds, says Graham Norwood. The bustle, the charm, the shops - these are a few of our favourite things about market towns. But what we are not so keen on is having to pay a premium of 150 per cent or even more to live in them. According to a Lloyds Bank survey, market town house prices can be two-and-a-half times those in the surrounding county, while even the average market town home carries a premium of £24,766 or 12 per cent.

Halifax reported property values up another £700 in a month yesterday, but the news left many of our readers commenting, 'house price rises, not near me.' The general trend is in line with the statistics from Nationwide, the Land Registry and the ONS, yet a common complaint is that many of our readers simply do not recognise the world of rising house prices described by the major property reports. We go behind the headline figures.

But analysts now believe there will be no rate increase before the General Election in May - with some arguing that they should stay on hold until 2016. Neil Woodford one of Britain's leading fund managers, said it would be a 'mistake' to raise interest rates in 2015 given low inflation, high levels of underemployment - where people have a job but would like to work more - and high levels of household debt.

Biotech and healthcare funds are riding high among the top performers of 2014 as promising new drugs and robust consumer demand lure investors to the sector. The question for investors is whether sentiment will turn against the industry - particularly biotech firms which might be dynamic but are also notoriously risky. We asked investing experts to assess the outlook and offer fund and trust tips.

Lauren Nicholson, 24, from Sheffield (centre), is pleased that around £4,500 is being knocked off the price of her first home under the new stamp duty rules. Meanwhile the Gibson family (left) will be able to move from their rented flat in Bournemouth and back into London after being priced out of the city. But for Jo and Alex Welman (right), from Sussex, even downsizing from their £1.9million farmhouse will cost them an extra £18,000 compared with the old system.

Spouses will now be able to inherit Isa pots tax-free, while pension income from annnuities left by those who die before 75 will also now incur no tax.Chancellor George Osborne said 150,000 married Isa savers die each year - and under current rules their prized Isa tax advantages go with them. Now, if a married Isa saver or one in a civil partnership dies, their partner can inherit the tax advantage.

Now it's your chance to fight back - and name and shame those organisations whose customer service has been nothing short of a calamity in the past 12 months. We are launching the seventh annual Wooden Spoon Awards. We want you to vote for the firm you think provides Britain's most shambolic service. Each week, hundreds of you write, call or send emails to tell us of your rotten experiences. Time and again, you've been left out of pocket through no fault of your own. Your gripes are well-founded.

I took early retirement from Prudential 15 years ago. I then divorced, which led to a pension-sharing arrangement with my former wife. I contacted the scheme's administrator to find out what my pension would be after my 65th birthday this year. I wasn't happy with the calculations and found my pension was incorrect by £2,567.64 pa. When my correct pension was paid I received only a proportion of the arrears. I was told all elements of my pension had been incorrect for seven years, and they clawed back £321.14 of overpayments.

HSBC has unveiled a five-year fixed rate at 2.48 per cent with a £999 fee, available from today. A homeowner with a £150,000 mortgage currently sat on a lender's 4% standard variable rate could save £6,222 over five years by jumping ship to HSBC's five-year fix, even once the £999 fee is taken into account, This is Money figures show.

This is Money is supporting Financial Planning Week, which takes place from 23rd to 29th of November. Financial education is finally being added to the curriculum in schools and, as part of the effort to help young people become more savvy about money, we're running a series of articles asking experts what lessons, with the benefit of their experience, they would give their younger selves.

To clear the average national household debt of £13,000 at 6% interest with a monthly repayment of £100 will take around 17 years. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear your debt - or boost your savings - in less than a year. This is Money's top 50 - updated - money-saving tips may appear light-hearted but are deadly serious.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

A warning of a global slowdown has underlined fears over growth, expected to keep interest rates down. Interest rates may remain stuck at 0.5 per cent until next autumn and inflation could fall below 1%, according to the latest Bank of England Inflation Report. Market expectations highlighted in the Bank's report are that rates will start to rise in late 2015, moving gradually up to 1.75 per cent in three years' time.

Midwives in the UK get paid on average £29,248: so where does your salary fit into the national league table, and how does it compare to the average in your profession? Our table lists hundreds of Britain's jobs from company executives and doctors to van drivers, waiters and textile machine operators.