Britain is back in love with credit cards, plus fighting sexist retail surcharges

‘When credit grows quickly, the result can be people standing on a financial cliff edge.’ Composite: Alamy

Hello and welcome to this week’s Money Talks – a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some things you may have missed.

Money news

Nearly 3m UK couples missing out on free tax break

UK office workers spend £350 a year on tea and leaving presents

Govia withholds compensation from delayed rail customers

Bovis accused of pressuring buyers to move into unfinished homes

UK house price average surges by £4,000 in December

Feature

Shopper’s champion goes on the offensive over UK retail’s sexist surcharge

Guess which razors are more expensive – the pink one for women or the blue version for men. Photograph: Marlene Ford/Alamy

In pictures

Homes for post-festive belt-tightening

Snap up a two-bedroom flat in a former mill in Lower Vickers St, Manchester for £144,950. Photograph: Ascend

In the spotlight

Consumers are partying like it’s 2007 when it comes to credit. Zoe Wood asks how we got back to living on the never-never.

Official figures show consumers are racking up debt at a rate not seen since the spending frenzy that preceded the 2008 financial crisis. Photograph: Brand New Images/Getty Images

Consumer champions

Ebay Australia won’t help as a member sends rape threats and obscenities

Taking flight from BA as it washes its hands of our problems

Fake IT support scammers accessed my online payments – and are still calling

How did Amazon know my new Visa card information before me?

Money deals

Save 10% on Guardian travel Insurance, provided by Voyager – use the code WIN10 before 31 January 2017 to claim your discount.

Get competitive exchange rates and free online transfers when you send money overseas with the Guardian money transfers service, provided by Moneycorp.