Thursday newspaper round-up: Shein, HMRC, Tesla

(Sharecast News) - Consumer watchdogs from 21 countries have filed a formal complaint to EU authorities about alleged "dark" practices by the Chinese fast fashion firm Shein including the "shaming" of customers into buying more than they can afford. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has submitted a 29-page dossier to the European Commission citing multiple examples of "dark patterns", or deceptive techniques designed to encourage purchases. - Guardian HM Revenue and Customs has lost £47m after a phishing scam breached tens of thousands of tax accounts, a group of MPs has heard. Two senior civil servants at the tax authority told the Treasury committee on Wednesday that 100,000 people had been contacted, or were in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what the officials said was an "organised crime" incident that began last year. - Guardian

Britain risks losing its grip on a rival to Elon Musk's Starlink as part of French government rescue efforts to avert a debt crisis at the company. Eutelsat, which owns UK space business OneWeb, has been locked in talks with key shareholders including the French and British governments, as it seeks to raise funds to create a European alternative to Mr Musk's satellite business. - Telegraph

Britain has spent more than £500m on switching off wind farms this year to avoid overloading the creaking power grid. So-called curtailment, where wind farms are switched off because the network is too congested to accept their power, cost grid operators £6m on Tuesday. At the same time, another £10m was paid to gas-fired plants to provide replacement power elsewhere in the system, according to analysis by the Wasted Wind website. - Telegraph

Sales of new Tesla cars in Britain fell more than 45 per cent in May from a year earlier, underscoring the challenges facing Elon Musk as he renews his focus on the electric vehicle maker. The marque's sales declined for a fifth straight month in the UK, Germany and Italy, according to data from the research firm New Automotive. The sales decline in the UK, Europe's biggest EV market, came as industry-wide electric car sales jumped 28 per cent. - The Times