Dear listener

I spoke to a property tycoon this week. Vincent Tchenguiz, whose real estate empire was estimated at £200 million by Estates Gazette last year, controls several companies which are the biggest operators of retirement homes – flats or occasionally small houses where people live independently. He was explaining to me why he thought it fair to charge the residents a percentage of the sale price when they – or their heirs – sell their home. The Office of Fair Trading has said it does not think it is fair. And it uses the word as a precise legal term meaning it breaches the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. It is asking Britain’s top retirement home operators – including Vincent’s companies – to justify the charge.

Vincent told me that what his companies call ‘transfer fees’ are fair and pointed out that residents had signed the lease with legal advice and knew what they were letting themselves in for. He also said that when he bought the companies which owned the homes the charges were in place and the price he paid assumed they would be honoured. If they are now struck out that would not be fair on him.

The 1999 Regulations are the same rules currently under contention between the banks and the OFT on overdraft charges. The new Supreme Court is expected to give a ruling on that shortly. Whatever the outcome a long and similar argument may well ensue over retirement home exit fees. So when might we hear more about its new enquiry? I asked the OFT. A spokesman helpfully told me it would make a statement ‘at the appropriate time’. So – in due course, at the relevant moment, when the time comes, and so on – we will bring that to you.

AND IN (STILL) THE BEST RADIO PROGRAMME THIS WEEK….

Blink and you’ll miss it. Shares bought and sold, profits made, no ‘position’ left and all in milliseconds. High Frequency Trading is said to account for a huge proportion (sorry to be vague but estimates are hard to come by and vary widely; in the USA they reckon at least half) of all share deals. Could it bring the markets down? Or is it helping them to remain stable? Mathematicians disagree.

Insurers have agreed to give £60 million back to hundreds of thousands of customers who have bought insurance to protect their mortgage payments when they fall ill or lose their job. The money is increased premiums that the insurers should not have charged. They will also have to undo any change in the terms of the cover and keep premiums and cover the same at least for the rest of 2009. The FSA tells us why they have taken this tough action. 

Work longer to get your state pension. That was one message in the tough love package from the Tories this week at their annual conference in Manchester. We will be discussing that and other Conservative plans.

And we go live to West London – well yes our studio is also in West London but this is more West End than West London – to a meeting being held as the programme is broadcast. It has been called by Bradford & Bingley shareholders who believe that when the company was in effect nationalised and split in two they were stuffed. The man who is working out by exactly how much will speak to them. And to us too.

And….not sure yet. We’re trying to get this newsletter out a bit earlier (although it arrived very late last week we did send it in the afternoon, honest). So we are slightly less sure what will be in the programme. And of course we may add something on Saturday as we did last week. Up-to-date-astic or what?

Find out what makes it and what is left in the editor’s pending tray by tuning in to Radio 4 Saturday at noon. The repeat is Sunday at 9pm – and 24/7 on the website. Or subscribe to the podcast on bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also read, watch, follow up, download, and send us things.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS Don’t forget the programme taster on BBC Breakfast between quarter to nine and nine o’clock.

e-mail Paul Lewis