Ethical spending rose in 2014 but solar cuts could hit this year’s figures

Value of sales for a sector that spans charity shops, vegetarian food and energy efficient lightbulbs, rose to £38bn in 2014

10 things you need to know about the price of oil

With oil prices falling to an 11-year low, we look at whether it’s good news or bad for motorists, airlines and the economy

Bad vibrations as Fiat denies design fault with the 500

From the ‘best car ever’ to the worst – one owner is shaken up every time he takes his nearly new convertible over 40mph

Europcar hoovers up £112 of our cash for ‘damage’

There was just some sand in the hire car after we went surfing and we were charged for an ‘enhanced valet’

Ministers lose £80m in revenue after scrapping car tax discs

DVLA decision found to have backfired as figures show government has lost as much as eight times as it hoped to save

Cash payouts for whiplash injuries could be banned

Autumn statement announcement says government will consult on ending right to cash compensation, which could mean lower insurance bills

Surge in car clamping after tax disc change

Removal of paper tax discs has led to nearly 60% jump in clampings by DVLA in past year, with some drivers facing fines of more than £800

I was charged £150 in tolls when I wasn’t even in the country

I paid to cross the Dartford Bridge, but the payments were applied to someone else’s journey in the same hire car

No one told me that my car had been ‘exported’ and I had been driving around with no tax

It wasn’t until I got a DVLA refund that I knew anything about it

When does a bodywork scratch turn into a dent? Green Motion will tell you

Customers complain that staff at the car rental company can find damage which seems have appeared from nowhere

Third-party insurance holders pay more money for less cover

UK drivers with such policies are being charged thousands more than those with fully comprehensive cover, even though they offer less protection

BP makes two-year plan for dust to settle at average of $60 a barrel

After selling $50bn of assets in the fallout of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the company sets out its stall for the future

DVLA has driven us to despair over late father’s car tax conundrum

Rules suggest the car is no longer taxed after my father’s death and is, therefore, illegal – is this right?

Nationwide won’t back me in dispute over failed Hertz car hire

Building society is refusing take my side after the car rental application failed but Hertz billed me anyway

Motorists banned in error after DVLA eyesight test fails

Exclusive Hundreds of drivers have been taken off the road even though the DVLA has admitted that equipment used between 2010 and 2015 was faulty. We talk to one of them