NEW When I broke up with my ex I gave her £6,000 in cash and furniture worth £2,500 as a gesture of goodwill so she wouldn't have to worry about money. But now she has a new partner I've asked her to pay me back and she's refusing, is there anything I can do?

The Civic Type R has had plenty of plaudits for its properly rambunctious attitude - it's like a touring car racer that's been slightly civilised for the public highway. But is that too much to live with day-in day-out? We spent a week behind the wheel to see if it's a step too far for family motoring.

A shed has hidden qualities that can make it far more than just a place to store tools and bikes. Here, The Mail on Sunday discovers how the humble shack can be transformed into an idyllic retreat - inspiring you to learn new hobbies, improve family relationships and make money.

Residents of Kingston Upon Thames have the best credit scores in the UK followed closely by Lerwick while Sunderland tops the list of the postcodes with the worst scores. Check how your postcode compares using the ClearScore interactive map

The index fell another 97.25 points to a seven-week low of 6693.26 - taking losses since Monday to 4.3 per cent. The last time London suffered such a heavy weekly loss was at the start of 2016 with a 5.3 per cent fall in its worst ever opening to the year. On Wall Street, the flagship S&P; 500 fell for a ninth day in a row, its longest losing streak since 1980.

Care workers must be prioritised if a points system for immigration is introduced following Brexit and a care credit scheme should be introduced in the Autumn Statement, according to Adam Pike, a former policy adviser at the Cabinet Office and the Treasury.

House prices will rise by more than £50,000 in some areas over the next five years, Savills forecast, as it mapped out potential property gains across the UK. The typical value of a home across the country will rise 13 per cent by the end of 2021. However, the biggest monetary gain is tipped for the South East, where higher prices combined with a larger percentage increase led to a forecast rise of £53,200 over five years.

William Hindmarch setup BOTB in 1999, first venturing into Heathrow with a Porsche he had to clean with bottles of Evian because there were no taps on site. Now, thousands of people use his site every week to play for luxury vehicles. We chatted to some of the people who've won over the last two years.

The ferocious US presidential election is causing ructions in financial markets as Donald Trump closes in on frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the final days of the race. Polls showing Trump just behind or in a few cases slightly ahead have upset the conventional view that he was heading for defeat, and prompted a global sell-off.

Some parts of the capital have 100 per cent properties being leasehold, while some parts of the North-East are all above 90 per cent, new research has revealed. It could be an issue for buyers as leasehold properties tend to take longer to purchase and come with additional legal obligations and costs.

Standalone policies, particularly those pedalled to you when signing up for a contract can be eye-wateringly expensive, so before you take out mobile cover check that it won't overlap with any existing policies to handing over extra cash to needlessly double up.

Venture capital trusts offer generous income tax relief, tax-free dividends and the chance to strike it rich with early stage companies, yet remain something of a mystery to many investors. To find out more about what VCTs do and what they invest in, we invited Stuart Lewis, of Octopus Investments to join us on the Investing Show.

It's easy when you're 45 to say that one day you'll sell up the family home and move when you retire. It's much harder to do, when you reach retirement age, as many find out. We look at what you need to think about if you are considering cashing in on your home to help fund retirement.

We've been warned that inflation could hit 4% next year. Needless to say, if that happens it spells bad news for our money. The answer is to invest spare cash, says one expert, what we know about long-term financial history indicates it to be a wise suggestion. But what counts as spare cash and what's the point in holding cash at all?

Nissan said last month it would build the next generation of the Qashqai in Sunderland as well as the next X-Trail - following a meeting between Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn and Prime Minister Theresa May. Nissan had publicly fretted over whether the UK's departure from the European Union would see it hit with tariffs both on its car exports and supply chain. The EC's competition authorities have wide-ranging powers to stop governments subsidising companies or industries.

The case relates to the overseas sale of goods from its website on which it charges and pays millions of pounds in VAT. EU rules require Sports Direct and other firms to pay VAT in dozens of member states, based on where shoppers are when making purchases. But Sports Direct believes it has developed a structure that would allow it to simplify the complex tax requirements and instead switch to paying more VAT in the UK.

Want a new car but don't want to spend a small fortune? We've enlisted the help of the expert test panel at What Car? to tell us which sub-£10,000 models are worth considering. The winner is a fairly modest brand that's managed to dethrone the might of the VW Group, but is it any of the cars pictured? Top left to right: Hyundai i10, Suzuki Celerio, Vauxhall Viva, Skoda CitiGo, Toyota Aygo, Dacia Sandero.

People don't work forever: retirement, illness or unexpected events can, and do, have a big impact on businesses. An estimated 4.6million UK businesses are family-owned and having a succession plan in place and making sure the younger generation feel involved are crucial to business success.

I have tried - without success - to teach our son to budget and live within his means. He is 19, works full-time on a zero-hours contract and lives at home. My worry is what could happen if he gets into debt. Say, for example, he fails to pay his mobile phone contract and, ultimately, (if demands are ignored) this leads to court enforcement officers turning up to demand payment.

Controversial binary trading firm BinaryBook has been encouraging UK savers to trade. But a group of investors are taking legal action against the firm. Some victims claim to have lost as much as £600,000. Employees of firms linked to it were pictured partying in Greece and being given BMWs wrapped in ribbons as rewards. The firm appears to be part of a group of linked companies owned by Israeli Yossi Herzog (inset).

The monthly change in house prices across the UK was 0 per cent last month, Nationwide's House Price Index showed, the first month not to post a rise in over a year. Meanwhile, house sales are down 10 per cent on levels seen a year ago, which may 'in part' reflect April's stamp duty hike on buy-to-let and second homes, Nationwide said. However, it also warned on affordability, with homes costing six times wages.

Property bounced back in September, as it becoming the third best-selling fund sector just months after spooked investors were locked in by fund management giants. A rush of £117million worth of investors cash into property funds saw them come in behind mixed asset and money market in Investment Association figures.

Henrik Fisker, the Danish designer who brought us the Fisker Karma in 2011 is back, and this is the vehicle he envisages battling with Tesla, called the EMotion. A five-door family car with 'Butterfly doors', it could price match the Model S if it does make production.

In the past companies often advertised misleading 'free' broadband deals, with a separate monthly line rental charge buried in the small print. New rules from the Advertising Standards Agency however mean companies must display the overall monthly cost and any up-front fees.

Savers who have used a high interest-paying current account trick to bolster the meagre returns on their standard savings account are being hit by bank cuts. The first arrives tomorrow, as from 1 November, Santander's 123 account will pay a single interest rate of 1.5 per cent up to £20,000, down from 3 per cent.

Premium bonds celebrate their birthday today, 60 years after being launched by former Prime Minister Harold MacMillan (pictured). With savings rates plummeting, Britons continue to snap them up in hope of scooping one of the two £1m jackpot prizes. Launched on 1 November 1956, the first ever premium bond was bought by Alderman Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd, the then Lord Mayor of London.

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.

Despite endless media coverage of the political wrangling and financial speculation, the average Briton can be forgiven for remaining confused about what 'soft' and 'hard' Brexit really mean. About the difference between the 'Norway model' for the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the UK and the 'Swiss solution'. But a clever table put together by HSBC in a report called 'Is Brexit Getting Harder?' cleaves some clarity from the murk.

An interest rate cut before the end of the year looks less likely following the plunge in the pound. However, the Bank of England has indicated that higher inflation driven by rising import costs won't make it lift rates.

Musicians have seen pay rises averaging nearly 20 per cent in 2015, while cleaners are getting 17.8 per cent more, and window cleaners 12.3 per cent. Artists in general are earning 14.6 per cent more in 2015 than 2014, according to the huge annual data dump of pay scales by the Office For National Statistics highlights.