The Jersey Consumer Council is calling for a centralised electoral register as part of a response needed to prevent further credit card companies from pulling out of Jersey and other Crown dependencies. For more than two years, we've been meeting with credit card company representatives, credit reference agencies, the Jersey Bankers’ Association, finance leaders and the Jersey Financial Services Commission to try and understand, on behalf of consumers, why credit card companies are refusing new applications to Island residents, refusing to provide Islanders with a new card once their existing one expires, or, in some instances, closing existing accounts, despite excellent credit history. And during the summer of 2022, we received more than 600 responses to a survey we conducted to try and get a better understanding of how consumers were being impacted by the move. The Council has found that, while a number of factors seem to be influencing the credit card companies’ decisions – particularly the move by UK-based banks and lending corporations to ringfence or limit their business to the UK only, following the 2008 banking crash – the lack of a centralised electoral register in Jersey is a huge stumbling block for credit reference agencies to validate applications from Island residents. Complications in pursuing individuals in debt through Jersey’s court system have also been cited. Jersey Consumer Council Chairman, Carl Walker said: “We have worked very hard to try and get clear answers as to why this is happening to not only Jersey residents, but also those in Guernsey and the Isle of Man, but it is a very complicated problem we are facing. “It would seem, in Jersey‘s case, that the inability of credit reference agencies to easily prove or check who people are, particularly those who have no credit history from living in the UK, is a huge, stumbling block. Experian, one of the UK’s leading credit reference agencies, told us that many applications would be successful if they had better access to Islanders’ data.” Mr Walker added: “We are mindful of Jersey’s unique electoral system, and the identity and authority each parish does, and should hold, in this Island. However, if some kind of resolution can be found, which does not remove any authority from the parishes, then it should be explored as a matter of urgency. “We are very concerned that this trend from UK banks could spread towards mortgage applications, loans, credit and other finance-related services. We would be happy to work with whatever agency or government department can take this forward, on behalf of Islanders, to get a quick result, before the problem gets any worse.”

The wholesale price of Jersey Dairy milk has increased by 15 pence per litre. It’s not yet known which local supermarkets and stores will pass on the increase to their customers at the tills, or which, if any, will absorb the increase themselves. However, the increase came into effect on Monday, 9 January, and, by the following morning, one consumer told us that they’d already seen an increase of 17 pence per litre in one supermarket overnight. Jersey Dairy blames ‘significant increases in farm costs over the last year’ and says: ‘The Russian invasion of Ukraine, global trade barriers (including Brexit) and Chinese COVID-19 lockdowns have all caused supply chain issues, market volatility and sharply moving currency exchange rates, creating uncertainties, and impacting costs at Jersey Dairy and on Jersey dairy farms.’ In a statement on their website, they added: “The level of cost increases on local dairy farms, particularly fuel, imported feed, fertiliser, and wages are continuing to hit farms hard. “Jersey Dairy has also been subjected to significant inflationary cost increases on raw materials, packaging, fuel, energy, etc. During 2022, Jersey Dairy has implemented significant price rises to export markets to finance these escalating costs, with more increases planned for 2023.” It’s the second time in less than a year that the price of wholesale milk has increased, after it rose by eight pence per litre in February last year, which at the time was blamed on farming costs rising at a ‘magnitude not seen for many years’. Eamon Fenlon, Managing Director of Jersey Dairy, commented: “All of the income raised from this price increase will be passed back to our dairy farmers, however, this will be insufficient to address in full the farm profitability issue that has been identified, and hence price increases will also be implemented in our export markets. The Government are also exploring how they can play their part in addressing the situation.” Read Jersey Dairy’s full statement here. You can keep an eye on the price of milk, and other groceries, on our Price Comparison website, or download our Jersey Price Comparison app.

The cost of posting a letter will be going up from the start of next year – just nine months after Jersey Post last increased its postal tariffs. The increases mean that the cost of sending a ‘Rest of World’ letter at the start of next year will be almost double the price it was at the same time this year. ‘Rest of World’ letters, which apply to anywhere further than Europe, cost £1.30 for the first quarter of 2022, before rising to £1.75 in April. From January, they’ll be rising by another 80 pence to £2.55 Jersey Post’s latest stamp price increases are effective from Sunday, 1 January 2023. They follow a previous rise in postal tariffs on 1 April 2022. From January, Islanders who send letters to Europe will have to pay £1.85 for a stamp – a rise of 65 pence, from £1.20. Meanwhile, the New Year increases will also see the cost of posting local letters rise by four pence, from 56p to 60p, while letters to the UK, Isle of Man and other Channel Islands will rise by 16 pence, from 82p to 98p. Jersey Post blames the rises on increased operating costs and a decline in outbound mail. In a statement on Jersey Post’s website, Niall McClure, Managing Director, Postal and Logistics, said: “Due to the current economic climate, the postal sector as a whole is experiencing a number of challenges. “One significant challenge for us in Jersey is the high cost of the mail plane. Using the plane allows for next-day delivery for certain postal products to and from the UK. However, to operate the mail plane costs approximately £1.23 per item in conveyance charges. “Historically, we have subsidised the cost of sending mail by air. Where we can, we have tried to minimise the costs next year to the end customer. For one of our most popular routes, the 100g letter to the UK, we are absorbing some of the cost by only charging 98p. In addition, we have held the local 2023 price changes in line with June’s RPI which was 7.9%. The latest RPI figure as of September is 10.4%.” In a statement on its website, Jersey Post says it has seen a 13% decline in outbound mail volume so far this year, which is steeper than predicted, and this downward trend is forecast to increase in 2023. It adds that while outbound mail declines, Jersey Post’s operating costs remain high and that, from 1 January, the postal charges levied on Jersey Post by Royal Mail and other postal authorities will increase substantially. Last month, Jersey Post defended its decision not to make this year’s reduced-price Christmas stamps available to use during the month of December for the first time, after a number of Islanders contacted us to complain. Islanders have also contacted us this month about the increased costs of sending Christmas parcels to the UK and further afield.

Jersey's government has received almost 4,000 submissions for the Community Cost Bonus this year. The annual payment is available to help Islanders who are struggling with increasing food costs. It used to be called the Food Cost Bonus and supports families who are just above the Income Support level, by covering the cost of GST on food. To date, 3,850 applications have been made for the 2022 payment, which has doubled this year from £258.25 to £516.50. The payment is available to households in which at least one person has lived in Jersey for the past five years, where no one is receiving income support, and if the household has a combined tax liability of less than £2,735.00 for 2021. On Thursday (24 November) a proposal to remove GST on food altogether was rejected by the States Assembly, by 27 votes to 17. You can apply for the bonus by visiting the gov.je/CCB website or by calling Customer and Local Services on 444444.

Jersey Post has defended its decision to not make this year’s reduced-price Christmas stamps available to use during the month of December for the first time. A number of Islanders have contacted us about the fact that the deadline to take advantage of the reduced seasonal postage is Friday, 25 November – including for Christmas mail to Jersey and the UK. Jersey Post has offered reduced-priced stamps in the lead-up to Christmas for a number of years. When the scheme first launched, it was available into the second week of December, though last year the deadline was brought forward to 2 December. However, consumers have told us that they ‘don’t think it’s fair’ that this year the deadline is another full week earlier. One consumer said: “As we’re currently in a cost-of-living crisis, it would have been nice for the reduced Christmas postage for 2022 to have been available for even longer than last year, so that more Islanders could benefit from it, or at the very least until the same date as last year, rather than yet another week earlier.” And another Islander told us “If you post your local and UK Christmas cards by 25 November, they’ll probably arrive up to a few days later, which would still be a few days before even the start of December, when people traditionally even think about starting to celebrate Christmas. “I can’t understand why the reduced-price stamps are even going to be Christmas-themed, as the mail will arrive in the last week of November.” One consumer added: “I appreciate that offering reduced-price Christmas postage is a community-spirited thing for Jersey Post to do each year. I also appreciate that it’s important to post earlier than ever to ensure that Christmas mail arrives in Europe or further afield in time for Christmas. However, having the local and UK deadlines so early means that consumers have the choice between paying full price for stamps, or being embarrassed that friends and family will think we’re mad for sending our cards so early.” However, defending the move, Niall McClure, Jersey Post’s Managing Director, Postal and Logistics, said that they’d brought the deadline forward this year ‘following feedback from customers who said they wanted this’. “Despite the complaints you have received, over the last two years we have received feedback at our post office counters that customers are in favour of the promotion being earlier," he said. “As an organisation, we promote posting as early as possible. Given that the last posting dates have become earlier (we try to align with Royal Mail to avoid confusion), we have ensured that our reduced posting rates allow for items to reach European and rest of the world destinations in plenty of time. “Retail and counter managers throughout our network were consulted about these dates and were all in favour based on the customer feedback they had previously received.” Mr McClure added that, because of the feedback Jersey Post had received, their Philatelic department had timetabled the Christmas-themed stamp issue to be earlier this year, meaning they ‘can’t be flexible about when they run their discounted postage rates, as the promotion needs to go live and align with the stamp issue date’. He added: “From an operational point of view, having the reduced posting rates earlier helps ease the pressure in our sorting office as volumes can be managed more efficiently and we can minimise any disruptions to customers. This has been highlighted by the recent disruption to the ferries, meaning lots of mail and parcels were backlogged in the UK and we are having to cope with much increased volumes in an effort to catch up. “Those customers wishing to send to the UK after the promotion ends can still benefit from a 1% discount by buying their postage online.” You can see all of Jersey’s Posts information for Christmas 2022 at https://www.jerseypost.com/christmas/2022/, or on the Christmas Guide that was sent to all homes in the Island.

As the weather gets colder and the nights get longer, the idea of a New Year holiday in the sun becomes more and more appealing. But if the idea of a free holiday sounds appealing, please be aware that any invitations to a British Airways giveaway that are currently doing the rounds are not legitimate. The ‘British Airways Black Friday giveaway’, which Islanders have been sharing on social media and in local WhatsApp groups, is in fact a scam. British Airways have commented: “We are aware of a fraudulent promotion that is being shared via WhatsApp and social media, which has been reported. This message is not from British Airways and we advise anyone who receives it not to click any links and to report it as spam or delete it.” The Online Threat Alerts website reports that the ‘British Airways Black Friday giveaway’ promotion in fact contains a link that goes to a phishing website called shortlinks.su. They explain: “The website uses the ".su" top-level domain, which was designated for the Soviet Union (USSR). “The shortlinks.su website will attempt to trick visitors into completing surveys that steals personal information and may go to other phishing websites thats steals financial information. Therefore, if you were tricked into disclosing your financial information by the British Airways scam, please contact your bank for help.”