Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 24th May)

Signing up to an energy deal that offers ‘added extras’ (e.g. charitable donations, shopping vouchers, free gifts) could swell your gas and electricity bills by hundreds of pounds a year. 
Examples include SSE Energyplus Pulse, who will give £10 to the British Heart Foundation if you sign up with them, but it costs £87 more than their own cheapest deal, and £138 more than the cheapest deal on the market. WHICH?

Dozens of civil servants were paid "off pay-roll" for over 10years, avoiding tax. Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, says they will not be named.
A Whitehall review found that 2,000 senior public officials on over £58,200 a year were found to be paid “off payroll”." TELEGRAPH

Landlords cash in on by renting to youngsters and families unable to get on the housing ladder due to banks’ tough lending checks.
Buy-to-let loans account for a record one in eight of all outstanding mortgages. Loans taken out by landlords increased by a third in the first three months of 2012, compared with the same period last year. DAILY MAIL

Small firms are victims of a potential mis-selling scandal which could equal the £9bn payout to victims of the payment protection insurance debacle.
Banks accused of misleading small firms on the risks of special Interest Rate Swap deals, driving many healthy businesses out of business. DAILY MAIL

HomeServe, one of the biggest home repair insurers, is under investigation by the Financial Services Authority for mis-selling: misleading scripts, automated silent calls, ignoring customer complaints.

CEO admits the brand has been damaged. They call themselves the "fifth emergency service" but wouldn’t it be nice if they got a visit from the first... GUARDIAN

Parents are being misled into paying top-up fees to get free nursery care, say MPs. Report says some families are being incorrectly told they are eligible for government-funded free nursery only if they pay for extra hours. 
The Commons public accounts committee (PAC) promises to “investigate and pursue” any such cases. GUARDIAN

Payday loan company Wonga has been sending threatening letters to customers accusing them of committing fraud, when no evidence of fraud exists.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has told Wonga to cease these aggressive tactics.  GUARDIAN

Investors sue Facebook over misleading forecasts after share price plunge. Facebook and banks including Morgan Stanley are accused of hiding weak growth forecasts ahead of its $16bn flotation last Friday.
The writ comes after stock market watchdog the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority launched a probe. DAILY MAIL

Survey says children naively believe that they will be earning £56,000 a year by the time they reach 35, more than twice the average yearly wage.
Points to an urgent need for financial education for children. TELEGRAPH