Money blog: 'My Deliveroo order was wrong and they refused to replace it. Is that allowed?' (2025)

By Beth Rigby, political editor

Those with "milder mental health" issues and "lower-level physical conditions" could see their disability benefits cut, as the government looks to shave £6bn off the welfare bill.

Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary,is expected to target sickness and disability benefit payments for savings today, which comes ahead of the spring statement next Wednesday.

Her welfare reform green paper will arrive after Downing Street insisted there is a "moral and an economic case for fixing our broken system".

Government figures argue the rising sickness and disability bill, which has ballooned since the pandemic, is unsustainable and will "leave the welfare state losing legitimacy" in the eyes of the wider public if not dealt with.

What changes should we expect?

Ms Kendall is expected to target personal independence payments (PIP) - one of the main forms of disability benefits for those with long-term illnesses or disabilities - amid a spike in claimants.

The PIP bill has grown from £13.7bn a year before the pandemic to £21.8bn in the current financial year, and is set to increase to £34.1bn by the end of the decade.

The number of people claiming this disability benefit is projected to more than double from two million to 4.3 million.

The work and pensions secretary will tell MPs that Labour will protect those who have a serious condition and can't work, andthe government's rowed back from plans to freeze PIP payments after backlash from its backbench MPs.

These payments are now expected to rise in line with inflation, but the eligibility criteria will be tightened to whittle back the number of people eligible to claim.

One government figure told me it would result in some conditions - such as "milder mental health" or "lower-level physical conditions" - being ineligible for PIP.

But they stressed that those with more severe conditions and who are never going to be able to work would be protected and cared for.

Rigby goes on to explain that these cuts could be just the start. Read her full piece here...

Every Tuesday we get an expert to answer your Money Problems. You canWhatsApp us yourshereor email us atmoneyblog@sky.uk

Today we are tackling this issue sent to us by Patrick...

My Deliveroo arrived with the main item wrong. They wouldn't issue a replacement and would only give me credit or a refund. Even with credit, to replace it would cost me delivery fees of £2.99, a £0.50 service fee and a small order service fee. Is it legal to refuse to replace? What are my rights when a takeaway arrives wrong?

We asked consumer expert Scott Dixon from The Complaints Resolverto tackle this one.

He says issues with takeaway deliveries had soared since the creation of delivery apps, with companies able to fob customers off with a range of excuses.

"Common problems I see are delays resulting in food being cold and inedible, spilt coffee over food, orders never arriving or being delivered to the wrong address, wrong orders, missing items and refunds being refused in line with the food delivery platform's policy after investigation," he explains.

"Consumers often don't realise the order they have accepted was wrong until it's too late and the delivery driver has left. Orders are often delivered in sealed bags so it's impossible to check the items before a driver leaves, with delivery companies giving small credits which are a fraction of the food and delivery costs."

When these issues occur, Dixon says, customers often find themselves caught in the crosshairs between the delivery company and the takeaway provider.

What are you entitled to?

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods ought to arrive as described and if the food you have received is not what you ordered or items are missing, this is considered a breach of contract and you are entitled to a remedy.

Dixon says that in this particular case, you would be entitled to ask for a replacement and the outlet should offer it, without charging you any fees.

However, the offer of a credit or refund would be considered a fair and reasonable remedy.

But charging you delivery fees, service fees or an order fee could be considered as a breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, according to Dixon.

So, what should you do?

To start, Dixon says you should contact the delivery company via the app that the takeaway has a contract with - so Deliveroo in this case.

"If you have a problem with your takeaway order, you need to contact the delivery food company and takeaway as soon as possible to give them an opportunity to put things right and explain what has happened," he says, stressing that being nice is more likely to get you a quick outcome.

"Proof is key in these disputes, so gather your evidence. You need the date and time you placed the order, receipt, time it arrived, screenshots and photos to prove your case.

"If you ring to complain, note the time you called, who you spoke to, what was promised and put it in writing to confirm what was discussed to create a paper trail if you need to escalate your complaint."

If your request has been denied, what happens next?

If you are denied a replacement or a credit for missing items and cannot resolve a dispute, Dixon said you should escalate the complaint and stress there has been a "breach of contract" under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

With takeaways, you're not talking about the kind of money that would make going to the small claims court worthwhile, and the best way to get your money back would be via chargeback.

"It's worth saying that if you are unwilling or unable to put things right, you will contact your bank or credit card provider and raise a chargeback to dispute the transaction," he adds.

"You need to push hard on chargebacks citing 'breach of contract' as they are often rejected on the first attempt.

"Chargebacks are problematic and costly for retailers, so even mentioning it will often elicit a swift outcome to close your dispute."

This featureis 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 ushere
• Email moneyblog@sky.uk with the subject line "Money Problem"

Sir Keir Starmer is gearing up to sell further tough choices to his MPs as he lays the ground for big changes to the UK's welfare system.

The prime minister's motivation is the cost of long-term sickness and disability benefits for working age people, which has risen by £20bn since the pandemic and is forecast to hit £70bn over the next five years.

Ministers have stressed there are currently 2.8 million people not in work due to ill-health, while one in eight young people are not in education, training or employment - prompting fears of a "wasted generation".

The prime minister's argument is that this must all change if the government is to grow the economy, pay for improvements to public services and increase defence spending, as was announced last week.

However, disability charities have warned against draconian cuts to welfare, with Scope warning that 700,000 more disabled households could be pushed into poverty if one type of benefit - personal independence payments - is cut.

Sky News takes a look at what changes could be coming down the track - and what impact they may have...

While new spring buyers won't be able to beat the stamp duty deadline (it's going up on 1 April), they will benefit from the highest property choice at this time of year for a decade, according to Rightmove.

The property website said this could result in sellers having to lower their asking price.

"Historic averages show that this March is likely to be one of the strongest months of the year for sellers to spring into action," Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove said.

"However, sellers can't just rely on these historic averages for success, as this year they are facing a decade-high level of competition.

"Those who are successfully finding buyers right now are working hard with their agents to price competitively and present their home in the best possible light."

Nationwide has warned customers have just weeks before it withdraws its switching incentive.

From 31 March, the bank will pull its market-leading incentive - which pays £175 to those switching their current account.

To qualify for the incentive, customers must complete a full switch using the current account switch service and at least two active direct debits must be transferred to the new account.

Customers must also deposit £1,000 and make at least one direct debit payment within 31 days.

"Our switching incentive is a demonstration of how we are making banking more rewarding for customers," Nationwide's retail director Tom Riley said.

"We would encourage anyone looking to switch their account to do so now to benefit from the offer as it will be withdrawn later this month."

The Bank of England's latest decision on the base rate will be announced on Thursday.

Rates were lowered from4.75% to 4.5% - their lowest level for 18 months - in February, but the Bank said it would take a "gradual and careful" approach to further reductions.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, says the BoE is set to stay in "wait-and-see mode" as financial markets are hit with trepidation about what's in store for global trade.

She says it's unclear what Donald Trump's tariff trade war will mean for the UK, but given how intertwined we are with the global economy, it will feel the effects of an escalation.

"There are hopes of a trade deal between the US and the UK, but given Trump's capricious policymaking, until any agreement is signed, sealed and delivered, the UK is set to stay vulnerable," she adds.

"Given the precarious growth situation, two more rate cuts are on the cards for this year, but it's likely that we will have to wait until May at the earliest before another cut is delivered."

What got you talking this week?

Our feature by Katie Williams on returning to work after spending a long time on leave with a baby has been the subject of many comments.

You can read the full piece here...

Many of you got in touch and argued that the system isn't working...

What we need is a system where women have real choice, where those who would rather spend more time raising their family are financially supported to do so. The focus has always been on getting women back to work. Economic, social and health benefits are huge if we valued mothers.

Laura Howard

I have a three-year-old and work but trying to find childcare that does evenings is impossible as everyone wants evening work to have a job. When it's literally just yourself trying to juggle everything. I want to work but I’m finding it very difficult even with the 30 hours free.
SSh

The system has always been broken. 2008 I was a single mum on £36,000, I went back to work after nine months maternity, I then paid £700pm childcare. My employers were tough they didn’t like my new responsibility, in 2011 I quit and had to go on benefits for two years. I lost my career.
Single mum

And one reader argued it's not just a problem facing women...

It is not just women who face this issue (I was single parent dad) and over 10-year period until daughter reached secondary, worked part time, with major loss in earnings, financial hardship and pension sum for future.

MJ13

We had a Turkish Airlines passenger get in touch with a Money Problem after she said she was thrown off her flight due to her severe nut allergy.

Despite telling the airline ahead of time, Isla said the airline refused to stop serving nuts on the four-hour flight and was told to disembark.

If you have nut allergy, that's not a good way to tell a passenger to get off the plane and not give her a refund that's total discrepancy and misbehaving.
Gfalak

But our some of our readers weren't exactly as sympathetic...

I've been on flights before with my bag of peanut & only to be told not to open them. So honestly it's nice to hear this story round the other way, why should everyone else have to adapt to your situation.
Adam

Stop flying then, she cant expect everyone else to have to comply just for her.
Sadiq

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

While there was bad news for the UK economy from the OECD (see 10.33 post), it wasn't looking good for the whole world either.

The poor global and US performance provided a silver lining for the UK - the pound was up as the dollar fell on the back of OECD forecasts showing smaller economic growth for the world due to Donald Trump's tariffs.

One pound neared a four-month high at £1.2975. The highs of £1 buying €1.21 early in March seem far away, as sterling hangs around €1.19.

On the stock markets, the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose for the fourth day in a row.

The list of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange is up 0.27% while the larger FTSE 250 made up more of UK-based companies is down 0.2%.

It comes as no exemption was made for UK steel and aluminium exports to the US. Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of UK exports are now subject to a 25% tariff in the US.

We're in that brief time of year where New York is just four hours behind rather than the typical five hours. It means we can bring you Wall Street news an hour earlier than usual.

Today, US stocks are recovering from the steep falls of the past weeks as uncertainty over tariffs turned to concern when policies took effect.

The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.45% with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 0.28% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index of 30 major companies listed on US stock exchanges up 0.38%.

The contactless limit for card payments could be scrapped as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers whether the move would benefit consumers, merchants and economic growth in the UK.

Businesses could be given greater control under the proposals being considered, and could promote innovative payment methods or fraud prevention solutions.

It comes after the FCA first announced it was exploring changes to the contactless limit in a letter to Sir Keir Starmer in January.

Among the options put forward, firms using technology to reinforce fraud control could be allowed to set their own limits, as happens in the US.

"This is the perfect opportunity to explore whether we can improve and increase trust in the UK's payments system," David Geale, executive director of payments and digital assets at the FCA said.

"We've worked fast to progress this work, which is one of around 50 measures we put forward at the start of the year to help support economic growth across the UK and, in turn, improve lives."

One of the main themes this week will be the government's plans to change welfare and benefits as they look to save money from the public purse.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to set out the reforms tomorrow, but details of where those cuts could fall are proving highly divisive within Labour.

You can keep across updates in the Politics Hub as the story develops.

Meanwhile, a study released today feeds into the debate.

Research from PwC suggests economic inactivity will continue to grow, with 10% of workers actively considering leaving work for an extended period.

A further 20% have considered leaving in the past year - which rises to 25% for those aged between 18 and 24 - with concerns about mental health being the most cited factor.

Nine in 10 employers say they are concerned about inactivity, with six in 10 seeing an increase in the number of employees leaving the workplace.

57% of businesses say they are worried about recruiting someone who has been inactive, while over a third of employers associate inactivity with people "gaming the system".

Number of inactive workers a 'fundamental challenge'

The number of inactive workers in the UK has been described as a "fundamental issue" by Marco Amitrano, a senior partner at PwC.

"It's the fact that when you go to work with your employer, you're going to feel like it's a place you belong," he told our presenter Darren McCaffrey on Business Live.

"You want to feel like it's a place you want to stay, you want to feel like it's a place that supports you, and people - particularly young people - are not feeling like that."

Amitrano added that there was a "much more holistic solution" that could be pursued involving businesses and the government working together.

"Every client I speak to... they're all willing to lean in because they're all concerned about it," Amitrano said.

"They all see that it's an important matter for them to unlock their ambitions and growth, that in turn fuels the economy."