Building Regulations, 60+ House Shares and De-Banking
A new scheme to register and certify building control inspectors is reported as being 'in chaos'. We find out whatβs going on and hear the problems it's causing people already.
The government says its new registration and certification scheme for building control inspectors in England and Wales will "restore confidence in the profession". In May, we heard from a man who bought a new build flat with so many faults that a survey recommended the whole block might have to be demolished. How did it get signed off in the first place? We have a jaw dropping update on that which raises important questions about the implementation of the new rules that take effect in April.
When it comes to choosing what to play, today's gamers have never had it so good. The digital download store, Steam had a record-breaking 14,500 game releases there last year. Has this abundance finally peaked? Sony announced the PS5 it launched in 2020 is now in its "end of life" phase. Meanwhile sales of gaming kit and software have hit their biggest slowdown in 30 years. An industry insider tells us what's going on.
We often associate living in house shares with the likes of the anarchic students in The Young Ones or the ambitious 20 somethings in This Life. But according to both Spareroom and Cohabitas, a growing number over 60s are living this way. We find out why older people are turning to house shares and what the experience is like for them.
Finally, its not just βpolitically exposed personsβ who find themselves suddenly de-banked. Itβs happening to ordinary people for reasons their banks cannot explain. There have been 1500 complaints about this over the last year. We can now reveal that as well as inexplicably losing their accounts, some customers are also being wrongfully barred from using the industryβs flagship switching service too. We hear from one couple on how this has affected them.
Presenter: Shari Vahl
Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz