 | BBC Radio 4's Money Box Saturday, 17 September 2011 at 1204 BST on Radio 4 and Online |
Money Box has discovered that one of Britain's biggest insurers has been singled out by a judge for apparently inflating the price of car repairs. The judge says the practices by Royal and Sun Alliance are viewed by some of its rivals as falling somewhere between "sharp practice" and "outright fraud." He warned that if other insurers follow suit, the cost of minor motor repair claims would rise by a quarter. Money Box has been at the forefront of investigating why car insurance premiums have risen steeply over the past year or so. Bob Howard reports. Related Links:
Deposit protection scheme Since 2007 landlords in England and Wales have had a legal obligation to place tenants' deposits in one of three named protection schemes. The Government introduced this to provide a fairer system for settling disputes between landlords and tenants. However Money Box has found out that there are significant loopholes in the law which make it difficult for many tenants to get their deposits back at the end of their tenancy. So how can tenants be sure their deposits are protected? Paul Lewis is joined by Shelter's legal advisor John Gallagher and Mark Butterworth, a director of the Residential Landlords Association. Related Links:
UBS trader The case of Kweku Adoboli, the UBS trader, who allegedly lost his bank £1.3bn in unauthorised trading, has highlighted how trading in derivatives is still a risky business. The subject of the lack of risk controls by banks has been in the headlines this week as the Independent Commission on Banking urged that investment and retail banking should be ringfenced from each other. Terry Smith, chief executive officer of investment specialists Tullett Prebon outlines his concerns to the programme. Related Links:
Energy hikes The last of the 'big six' energy companies, EDF, is to raise gas prices by 15.4% and electricity prices by 4.5% for domestic customers from next month. EDF said it had absorbed wholesale price rises for as long as possible before being forced to raise costs for customers. The regulator, Ofgem, is studying whether higher prices are justified. Joe Malinowski runs the comparison website The Energy Shop Related Links:
Flight charges Ryanair passengers trying to avoid paying an administration fee of £6 per journey must sign up for a new branded pre-paid card from the beginning of next month. From 4th October, the airline will only waive the charge for those who sign up to the Ryanair cash passport - a Mastercard prepaid card. Ryanair previously changed the card to avoid the charges from Visa Electron to Mastercard pre-paid cards. So what will be the benefits and pitfalls for future customers? Martin Lewis, Moneysavingexpert.com and Stephen McNamara at Ryanair talk to Paul Lewis. Related Links:
BBC Radio 4's Money Box is broadcast on Saturday at 1204 BST and repeated on Sunday at 2102 BST.
| 
BBC NEWS CHANNEL
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?