Hi

Those nice folk who provide us with credit cards have given in ungracefully to demands by the Office of Fair Trading and will cut their penalty charges later this year. The OFT had warned them that they risked court action if they did not reduce the fines to at least £12 – from £20 or £25 – each time we miss a payment or exceed our credit limit. Funnily enough they have all chosen to cut them to … £12 though to a bank they say they do not agree with the OFT’s argument. I would like to tell you that I will be questioning a credit card provider about this change of heart. But every single one refused to come on Money Box. So we’ll be talking live to the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee John McFall MP, who started the whole thing off in 2003, and to Mike Naylor from the consumer organisation Which?.

Standard Life got the result it wanted this week when 98% of its members who voted said ‘yes’ to changing the company from a mutual owned by its members to a stock market company owned by shareholders. It needed 75%. But with share prices falling will its hopes of average windfalls of shares worth around £1700 come true for its 2.4 million members? A question for Chief Executive Sandy Crombie. And whatever they are worth, should members sell the shares – or perhaps buy more? Investment specialist Brian Tora gives his views live.

Once you reach what used to be called ‘a certain age’ it can be difficult to get travel insurance, loans or other financial services. But companies may be prohibited from discriminating against older people when providing such services if plans for a new Single Equality Act come about. We investigate what these changes will mean and when they might happen. And before you all write in, these plans are different from the Age Discrimination rules that begin on October 1^st. They only apply to jobs and employment and do not cover services.

Should a cohabiting couple have the same financial rights as a married couple – or same sex civil partners? In Scotland they already do have some rights under a new law which began on May 4^th. But in the rest of the UK they get no rights at all. This week the Law Commission proposed that cohabiting couples should have some rights to each other’s money on death or separation. Two lawyers – one from each side of the border – discuss the changes live.

It’s good to be back!

e-mail Paul Lewis