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Episode details

Radio 4,12 Jul 2017,45 mins

Premium numbers, Chillies, Pension equality

You and Yours

Available for over a year

A You and Yours investigation has found companies are still using premium rate numbers for customer service, three years after changes in consumer legislation. Helplines aren't allowed to charge more than the basic rate for telephone calls to existing customers. We look at some of the companies who've been caught advertising expensive numbers for after sales enquiries. We also hear from Jo Swinson MP, who brought in the new rules in June 2014 when she was consumer minister in the coalition government. Sales of chilli peppers are up, according to new sales figures from Kantar. Shoppers spent more than £18 million on different varieties last year. That's almost four million pounds more than they spent five years ago. We ask who's buying them and what's driving the increase in demand. We hear from Ed Loftus, a chef who works with Jamie Oliver to develop new dishes, and Chris Hayward, a grocery expert from Kantar. The Supreme Court gives its ruling on one man's battle for pensions for same-sex couples. John Walker has been fighting to get the same pension rights for his husband as he would get if he was married to a woman. Producer: Tara Holmes Presenter: Winifred Robinson.

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