I received a letter from a reader this week who is caring for his 94-year-old aunt, who is almost blind. His aunt has a homecare policy for repairing her boiler, plumbing and electrics which she already can barely afford. So when she received her annual renewal quote she was stunned: £591, up 18 per cent on the previous year and way above any justifiable inflationary rises.

The reader tells me: “I checked on the internet — which my aunt doesn’t have — and for new customers the rate for exactly the same product is £391. I have the power of attorney for her so I called the provider and tried to negotiate, but it refused to match its internet price.”

The older you are, the worse the deal you get, it seems. The belief that you should remain loyal is one of the reasons for this. But just as hardly anyone does the same job for the same company for their whole career now, remaining with the same bank, insurer or internet provider is no longer the right thing to do. Most of the competitive deals are for new customers. This is often called the loyalty penalty, and a large proportion of those affected are elderly — the reader’s aunt being one of them. The practice is even banned in the home and car insurance markets.

Another reason older people often pay over the odds is new technology. Across almost every sector, they are financially penalised by companies that offer better deals to those who use the internet.

• Downsizing is not just about the money

It’s the same with smartphones. Parking, for example, has become almost impossible if you haven’t got access to an app. One reader, who has multiple sclerosis and so can’t walk quickly, got a £170 fine after taking 15 minutes to leave a car park when he realised he could only pay using a smartphone, which he didn’t have.

And this is just one story out of many: endless discounts and top deals including the best savings accounts are only available either online or if you download an app or are a new customer.

And then we have the unavoidable — getting charged more simply because of your age. For example, getting travel insurance after you have retired can cost as much as your holiday. Our former columnist Hunter Davies, who is in his late eighties, got so fed up with the price of travel insurance that he no longer bothers with it. “I got quoted £4,000 two years ago for a two-week holiday in the Caribbean and I turned it down. Bloody ageist cheek,” he told me. Same goes for life, health and car insurance.

So what’s the solution? You can tell older people to get up to speed with changing technology, but it may not be an option for those who are struggling with their health. And avoiding travelling abroad or giving up your car to avoid excessive premiums can be life limiting.

• DWP not picking up? It’s worse when you get through

We need to have more safeguards in place. There should be regulation to prohibit preferential prices for internet customers. And while insurance is based on risk, policies need to remain affordable — older people shouldn’t have to risk going abroad without cover because it’s too costly. Consider all the insurance policies they’ve already paid for during their lives, many they may never have claimed on.

Fair pricing should be available to all. The pensioner premium is the final insult.