Fake Car Hire Companies, M&S and First-time Buyers

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Criminals are using fake car hire firms to register vehicles at unsuspecting victims' addresses to foot the bills for parking penalties, driving in bus lanes and flouting Birmingham's Clean Air Zone. Nobody it seems, is immune to falling prey to this fraud. We meet a listener who's never had a driving licence, or a car, but hundreds of letters from debt collectors chasing these charges. One of the appeals of streaming subscriptions was the lack of irritating ad breaks during must watch shows. That's starting to change, and very soon. Amazon will introduce adverts to its Prime Video service next month. If you don't want to see them, you'll have to pay more. We find out why it’s doing this and what viewers think. Is M&S cool now? For decades, it’s been dogged by negative stereotypes amongst women old and young of selling frumpy and basic clothes. The struggle to change that has preoccupied the firm for a quarter of a century. Now, the retailer is once again the UK's biggest single seller of womenswear by value. We get the inside story of this remarkable turnaround from the woman who masterminded it. Finally, from 2021's frenzied race for space to last year having the lowest number of first time buyers in over a decade, the housing market has been on something resembling a rollercoaster. Could stability now be back on the cards? Estate agents and Rightmove think so. Mortgage lenders are offering more and cheaper deals with further reductions to come. We hear how those trying to get on the first rung of the property ladder are finding it now. Presenter: Winifred Robinson Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz