You and Yours - 10/01/2011

Consumer news with Julian Worricker. A lone pensioner has taken on the might of an American private equity fund. The 71 year old investor turned up at an FSA hearing to put his case in the presence of the combined board of the Kent Reliance Building Society and US equity firm JC Flower. If you are counting on an inheritance from family based abroad be prepared for a long haul before you can get your hands on your bequest. A small record company has invented a gizmo that some in the record industry believe could save the concept of the 'album' which is suffering as fans cherry pick tracks rather than complete works in ever great numbers. The 'playbutton' is a badge that plays an album and it will be launched by its New York based inventor Nick Dangerfield next month. As power bills and debt to energy companies rise, a local council has blundered by fitting some of its affordable houses with heating systems that cost more to run that those that they replaced. We are not all in it together, says commentator Matthew Parris - and nor should we be. He believes in the clash of political philosophies there are always losers and in the challenging economic climate the poor are bound to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the financial burden. Send us your comments ahead of Tuesday's Call You and Yours. And the Black Cabs that are all the rage in Paris.