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Money Box: How to escape carmageddon, wine woes, free tax refunds that cost and no-frill flight fees

01/12/2012

How to escape carmageddon, wine woes, free tax refunds that cost and no-frill flight fees

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, How to escape carmageddon, wine woes, free tax refunds that cost and no-frill flight fees

Paul Lewis on carmageddon, troubles for wine investors, airline costs and tax rebates.

Paul Lewis looks at why some drivers could be hit by carmageddon, protection for wine investors as a company goes bust, how airline costs get clearer and the price of a tax rebate.

Carmageddon: it's not the latest Hollywood blockbuster but the term being used by some commentators to describe what will happen on the 21st December when insurance companies will charge men and women the same premium to comply with European Union legislation. Traditionally women drivers - especially younger - have enjoyed cheaper premiums because they make fewer claims. But that's set to change and if we believe the predictions it could be as much as a 40% increase. So what's going on and how can we prepare ourselves? We talk to Graeme Trudgill from the British Insurance Brokers' Association.

People who invested thousands of pounds in fine wine are facing an anxious wait after the collapse of another major wine investment firm. Vinance PLC managed more than £50 million for thousands of investors in the UK and abroad. We hear from two people who invested in the company, wine investment expert Jim Budd and Peter Shakeshaft, from the Wine Investment Association which launched this week to provide, he says, 'a new, robust framework of self-regulation offering vital safeguards for investors'.

From Dec 1st Ryanair becomes the latest airline to comply with a recent Office of Fair Trading ruling that debit charge fees should be included in the headline price for flight costs. So what does this mean for travellers? Bob Atkinson from Travelsupermarket.com reveals all.

If you find you are on the wrong tax code or think you've paid too much tax what should you do? The cheapest thing to do is contact HMRC yourself but we talk to one company which offers to do it for you on a no win no fee basis. But if they are successful they take a cut of 39% of the rebate. So why are some public bodies and businesses endorsing the business?

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