Episode details

Radio 4,24 Jun 2015,45 mins
Letting Agents, The Truths about Cycle Couriers, Parents and Pensions
You and YoursAvailable for over a year
New research by the pension company Scottish Widows shows that record numbers of us are saving for our retirement. That's good news. But seven out of ten parents with dependent children because they say they can't afford to. Will they ever be able to catch up or will they face difficulties in old age? According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of owner-occupied homes in the UK is falling as more people turn to renting. This has meant in turn that letting agents, who control a lot of private rentals, are increasingly prevalent. The Consumer Rights Act legally obliges them to be upfront about their fees, but are they being entirely transparent? You and Yours investigates. Cycle couriers are a dying breed, no longer needed to deliver documents that are far easier to fax or email around. But a core number remain, peddling up to a hundred miles a day delivering anything from jewellery to blood samples. We take a look at the secret world of London's cycle couriers.
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