Six-year-old spends £734 on TV shows, plus the people who don't shop

A six-year-old ran up a bill worth hundreds buying television shows through a BT remote. Photograph: Stephen Barnes/Technology/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

HSBC shutting four bank branches a week

UK 4G coverage worse than in Romania and Peru, watchdog finds

House prices to rise 2% in 2017, says Rightmove

UK ‘failing to keep up with online consumer fraud’

Feature

Dreaming of a frugal Christmas? Meet the people who’ve stopped shopping

Sarah and Ryan Koontz with their daughters Anya (left) and Nadia: ‘Our family is able to enjoy the traditions of Christmas more now that we have eliminated consumerism from the holiday.’ Photograph: Kristi Foreman

In pictures

A perfect pair of pumping stations

A Grade II-listed property in Misterton, near Doncaster. Photograph: Onthemarket

Consumer champions

My six-year-old bought £734 of BT TV programmes

Venting our anger on Yodel’s approach to parcel delivery

Great Western Railway is going off the rails with refunds

In the spotlight

Buy-to-let landlords face a set of changes in 2017 that could cut into their profits. One told Guardian Money how he feels that he and other investors are being “vilified”.

Tax changes could lead to landlords selling rather than letting. Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian

Money deals

If you’re planning to send money overseas for Christmas get competitive exchange rates and free online currency transfers from Moneycorp, provider of the Guardian money transfer service.

Get 21 days of winter sports cover as standard with the Guardian’s annual travel insurance, provided by Voyager.