You and Yours

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You and Yours: Crowdfunded weddings; West Midlands trains; Debt advice

31/01/2020

Crowdfunded weddings; West Midlands trains; Debt advice

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Crowdfunded weddings; West Midlands trains; Debt advice

The couples asking their wedding guests to help fund their upcoming nuptials.

Are some forms of debt advice leaving people worse off?

Debt charities are warning that some people seeking debt advice are ending up worse off because of the aggressive marketing of repayment plans they are later unable to afford. Figures from the UK Insolvency Service show that more and more people are using what's known as  Individual Voluntary Arrangements to manage their money problems. The statistics also show that the proportion of these IVAs that fail within a year is rising. Are they suitable? And what can you do if you find yourself struggling with debt?

Commuters on West Midlands Trains have been facing delays, cancelled trains and overcrowding for months. We speak to West Midlands Trains about whether they can make enough improvements to prevent being nationalised like Northern has this week.

We speak to a couple crowdfunding their wedding, and ask whether it's good etiquette to ask friends and relatives to help you financially with the event.

Do you feel virtuous taking your donations to the charity shop? But do you ever think about what happens to the stuff that can't be sold? Lots of it becomes part of a  billion dollar industry of recycling, reusing, and repairing in countries thousands of miles away. We speak to US journalist Adam Minter who's investigated it for his new book Secondhand.

And, washing machine manufacturers are developing new technology to minimise microfibres getting into rivers and oceans and being eaten by wildlife. But until those machines come on the market, we analyse the best way to wash your clothes.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Lydia Thomas

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