Bankers would struggle to work their way lower in most people's estimation at the moment, but managers at Barclaycard are giving it a jolly good go.

Last week our Troubleshooter helped a woman who was unfairly charged a late-payment fee and interest on her credit card after Barclaycard unexpectedly moved forward the payment due date by nine days. The woman in question, like many Times Money readers, is diligent with her finances and usually pays her bill in full each month. She was understandably indignant and felt that she had been tricked into making a late payment. Sadly, after publishing her story, we discovered that she was not alone. In the past week we have been inundated with e-mails and letters from readers who have fallen victim to the very same tactic by Barclaycard.

Not since British Gas introduced its woefully inadequate boiler breakdown cover or TalkTalk underestimated demand for its “free” broadband have we received so many letters on a single subject. The sheer scale of the correspondence suggests an orchestrated attempt by Barclaycard to confuse borrowers into missing their payment dates so that it can levy extra interest and charges. Worse still, to judge by the letters we have received, the lender appears to be targeting borrowers who usually clear their balances in full each month.

Barclaycard's inadequate explanation is that it gives all customers a minimum of 20 days to pay from the date that a bill is generated, but that this payment window can be as many as 32 days. It says that the date can change because of weekends, Bank Holidays and, crucially, “operational expediency” - a vague notion that can only mean “whenever we wish to boost profits”. This is simply not good enough.

Borrowers have a responsibility to check their bills, but it is misleading to vary payment dates so greatly and without justification. Many readers fell victim because they were on holiday when their bills arrived. We will forward the letters to Barclaycard and await its response. We call on it to reverse this policy, or at least make payment dates clearer on bills. Meanwhile, customers should consider whether they might receive a fairer deal elsewhere.

Brown's deplorable failure on fairness for the elderly

Politicians are an unusually mendacious bunch. On Tuesday Gordon Brown delivered his keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in Manchester. Fairness was the overriding theme, with this buzzword being mentioned no less than 39 times, more even than the omnipresent political slogan of “change” (at 25 mentions). Yet, as we report this week, fairness is about the last word that any reasonable person would use to describe the Government's latest policy on pension credits.

From October 6 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is cutting the length of time that pensioners can backdate claims for unpaid credits, as well as housing and council tax benefit. Charities representing the elderly are understandably outraged. With winter coming, and pensioners on low incomes already suffering disproportionately from rising living costs, this change is inexcusable.

The Government's explanation could not be less convincing if it had come via e-mail from Nigeria. The DWP says that it is reducing backdating to make claims simpler and to increase automation. Utter hogwash. The DWP is reducing backdating to save £240 million over the next three years.

This pennypinching comes at the expense of some of the most needy people in society. Research by Age Concern suggests that rising living costs have forced half of pensioners to cut back on essentials, such as food and heating. One in ten is having to borrow to survive. The charity says that many of those getting into debt are not claiming the benefits to which they are entitled.

Although simpler forms and more automation are welcome, they should not come at the expense of backdating. Reducing the amount available to claim is no way to encourage more people into the system. (At present, two million pensioners still do not claim their entitlement.) Nor is making economies that hurt the most vulnerable any way to govern. It appears that Mr Brown has learnt nothing from the 10p tax fiasco. Is it any wonder he remains so unpopular?

Forward planning essential for both savers and borrowers

The financial turmoil of the past couple of weeks has been a real worry to anyone with savings, particularly those with nest eggs of more than £35,000, the limit protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Under the mantra of better safe than sorry, many savers will have tried to move their cash at short notice. But as our investigation this week shows, plenty will have been scuppered. The combination of complex account rules and our own forgetfulness over security details means that instant or easy access can turn out to be anything but. The lesson for worried savers is to make sure that they are prepared fully and know exactly how to access their cash if they want or need to.

Perversely, however, it is borrowers, not savers, who need to act with haste. The events of the past fortnight have refrozen thawing credit markets. Without a US-led bailout of the banks, the trickle of lenders that have already started raising mortgage rates will soon become a flood. Anyone who needs to remortgage soon would be wise to secure a loan quickly, before the best deals disappear.