Breakthrough in leasehold scandal, plus cash grabs by Student Loans Company

Graduates say no other UK financial institution would get away with the treatment they face from the Student Loans Company. Photograph: Alamy

Hello and welcome to this week’s Money Talks – a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some things you may have missed.

Money news

Breakthrough in leasehold scandal as Countryside buys back freeholds

Pensioners living in golden era as income rise outstrips workers’

Average UK broadband speed slower than most of Europe, report finds

Minority ethnic families earning up to £8,900 less than white Britons

‘Political uncertainty’ blamed for slowdown in UK property market

Feature

Goodbye to buy-to-let: why I’m moving on after 13 years as a landlady

Vanessa Lafaye outside her Oxford flat: ‘It feels like the right time to get out.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

In pictures

Medieval homes for sale

The core of Longley Old Hall in Huddersfield, once owned by the lords of the manor of Almondsbury, is late 14th century. Photograph: Fine & Country

In the spotlight

Complaints continue to grow about the Student Loans Company from those who have paid off their debt. Miles Brignall reports

Graduates who have paid off their student loans say they are continuing to have as much as £300 a month taken from their pay packets by the Student Loans Company. Photograph: Russell Boyce/Reuters

Consumer champions

Virgin refuses to refund credit on dead friend’s mobile phone

Rentalcars.com drives me to the brink with US car hire surcharge

Henry vacuum is under warranty but the pipes are no longer covered

Fitbit is giving me the runaround after their device burned my wrist

Money deals

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The Guardian money transfer service, provided by Moneycorp, could help you save on sending money overseas with expert guidance, great exchange rates and free online transfers.

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