Money Box

Nearly 10,000 people have needed free debt advice because of accidental overpayments by the Department for Work and Pensions in the past 12 months. That's according to figures from Money Wellness, a debt advice company which is funded by the government's Money and Pension Service. It says because most of its clients are low income households these debts can have significant knock-on impacts on the rest of their finances. The DWP says its staff work hard to support customers, and it's important to explore ways to reduce fraud and error so it can support the most vulnerable in society. What will the new Pensions Bill announced by the Labour government in the King's Speech mean for your finances? We'll discuss plans to bring small pension pots, which people get after short term jobs, together.Campaigners are calling for bereavement support payments to be extended for longer and for the amount given to families to rise with inflation. At the moment parents under pension age whose partner dies are entitled t

Felicity Hannah looks at giving someone Lasting Power of Attorney - that's the authority to manage your financial affairs in the event that you couldn't. What are they, how do they work and how much do they cost? This programme is dedicated to answering your questions. On the panel we have Sam Cox, knowledge officer from the Alzheimer's Society and Melinda Giles, partner and head of court protection at Giles Wilson Law.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Neil Morrow Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 24th July 2024)

New tactics to fight mobile phone fraud are being rolled out across England and Wales. It's when mobile phones are stolen not for the value of the physical handset but for criminals to access the banking and financial apps and steal money from victims. Paul Lewis speaks to the national lead on robbery, Commander Richard Smith, about how new intelligence and techniques to pursue suspects have led to arrests and prosecutions going to court.More and more of us are paying tax on our savings. Recent figures suggest that in April over 6 million savings accounts were set to earn enough interest to have to pay tax. That is more than double the number of accounts the year before, according to analysis by the lender Shawbrook. In November, HMRC told us that for the majority of customers this tax on savings interest is automatically collected using their tax code, but many listeners get in touch concerned they will have to pay tax and wondering how to do it. What should they do?Listeners and lawyers who are court a

Average rents in the UK rose by well over 8% in the past year, according to the ONS. In today’s King’s Speech, the new government has committed to introducing legislation to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes. That included ending no fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession.So what will that mean for your money and your home?Joining us are Jasmine Basran from Crisis - a charity for people experiencing homelessness, Richard Donnell, from the property platform Zoopla and Richard Blanco, a landlord and property expert from the National Residential Landlords Association.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Studio Producer: Neil Morrow Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 17th July 2024)

More than 9 out of 10 people did not pay for financial advice in the past two years and that number is growing. The figures come from surveys by the financial services consultancy The LangCat. It found the proportion of people paying for financial advice fell from 11% of adults to 9% between this year's report and one they did a year ago. We'll hear from them about the reasons behind it.What will the new government do to change employment rights and wages? We’ll discuss the potential new employment bill ahead of the King's Speech.And the new security measures people can take to protect themselves from mobile phone fraud. This is when people's phones are stolen not for the value of the physical handsets but so criminals can try to access the financial apps stored on them to steal hundreds or, often, thousands of pounds from victims. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Catherine Lund Researcher: Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 13th July 2024)

A new government has taken office so what might that mean for the financial issues you've told us you care about?A big topic you got in touch with us about is the cost of care in old age.Unlike NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use and a place in residential care costs around £60,000 a year according to carehome.co.uk. The bill can go up enormously for anyone who needs extra support. Plus it's a devolved issue with different rules depending on where you live.A cap limiting the cost of personal care to £86,000 per person over a lifetime is due to come into force in October 2025 in England but will this still be the case? Felicity Hannah is joined by Nadra Ahmed from the National Care Association, which represents care homes and Simon Bottery, Senior Fellow in Social Care at The King's Fund, which is an independent think tank, specialising in health.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers and Immie Rhodes Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday July 10th 2024)

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has swept to power promising change, but there will be no change in the rates of the three big taxes - income tax, National Insurance, and VAT to protect what their Manifesto called 'working people'. So what will the new Labour government and the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves mean for our money? The listener being chased for more than £60,000 worth of energy debt she didn't owe. It comes as new, exclusive figures reveal more people are seeking help from Citizens Advice over debt collection.And there are signs that mortgage rates are beginning to creep downwards – what does that mean for those coming off a fixed rate deal? Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Catherine Lund and Jo Krasner Studio Production: Craig Henderson Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 6th July 2024)

Almost 300,000 flights will take off over the summer months and whilst most holidays go without a hitch, others fail to get off the ground.Last year saw widespread disruption at airports, in August there was an exceptional IT failure at the UK’s main air traffic services provider NATS over a bank holiday Monday which affected around three quarters of a million people. Strikes and staff shortages also caused disruption.In this programme we'll discuss what your rights are if your trip is delayed or cancelled, as well as a Brexit passport rule which has been catching thousands of passengers out.Felicity Hannah is joined by consumer rights champion Jane Hawkes and Sean Tipton from ABTA, which is the association of travel agents and tour operators.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle(This episode was first broadcast on the 3rd of July 2024.)

This time next week the General Election will be over. As the days count down we'll get into the nitty gritty with listener questions on Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and ISAs. Some lawyers and listeners who are acting as powers of attorney have told Money Box they're having problems dealing with banks on behalf of their clients and relatives. The Association of Lifetime Lawyers, a group of legal professionals who support vulnerable and older people, has also told this programme banks need a more streamlined and consistent approach to dealing with powers of attorney. UK Finance which speaks for the banks acknowledged there is more to be done. It says banks are working with members and government bodies to look at how greater consistency can be achieved across the industry.And a tribute to former Money Box presenter and founder Vincent Duggleby, who sadly passed away earlier this month.Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Felicity Hannah Researchers: Neil Morrow, Catherine Lund and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess

Around 38,000 children move into care every year in the UK. That's one every 15 minutes and a significant number of looked-after children will remain in the system until they reach adulthood. So what happens then? In this programme Felicity Hannah talks about what happens when you leave care. Without the bank of Mum and Dad, what financial support are those young people promised? We're joined by Jess and Callum, two care leavers as well as Kirsty Doull, Care and Transitions Lead at CELCIS, which is the Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection, Carrie Wilson-Harrop from the Care Leavers Association and Clare Bracey, Policy, Campaigns and Communications Director at the care leavers charity, Become.Presented and Produced by Felicity Hannah. Producer: Neil Morrow Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 26th June, 2024)

There's less than a fortnight to go before the polls open in the General Election. The deadline's passed to register to vote, but there's still plenty of time to work out where you'll put that cross on the ballot paper. This week Money Box is talking about housing - focusing on your questions and comments.Imagine being told you owe more than £7,000 for your gas. You spend months trying to explain there's no way you could possibly owe anywhere near that amount, only to be told one day that because you still haven't paid it your details are being passed onto a debt collection agency. We investigate one listener's story.And new research shared exclusively with Money Box suggests almost a third of people are struggling to afford their car insurance. In a survey of more than 4,000 people the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, a charity who carry out research to help improve living standards across the UK, found almost 1 in 3 people described their car insurance premiums as ‘unaffordable’. What can you do about i

The number of people working into their late 60s, their 70s and beyond is rising. In this programme we'll discuss what that means for their employment rights and what it tells us about their finances.Back in the 90s, only around 5% of peopled aged 65 or older were in work. In the early 2000s, that rose to around 6%. But recently released data from the Office for National Statistics shows that today almost 12% of people in that age group are in some form of employment. That's almost one and a half million people.Felicity Hannah is joined by older workers to explore their finances, their struggles and their rights to challenge discrimination. She'll be joined by Dr Emily Andrews, Deputy Director for Work at the Centre for Aging Better, and Sarah Jackman, an employment lawyer at the law firm Dentons.Presented and Produced by Felicity Hannah Studio production: Amber Mehmood Editor: Sara Wadeson(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 19th June, 2024)

Nineteen days to go before your cross on a ballot paper will help decide who runs the country. You have been telling Money Box what matters to you. This week we'll discuss how much tax you already pay and whether that will change after 4th July. The head of the UK payment regulator has rejected calls to delay a new fraud reimbursement plan which is due to begin on 7th October. It will mean that victims of fraud are fully reimbursed for losses up to £415,000. We'll have more on this story.And more than half a million people are now getting help with their finances, often saving substantial sums of money, thanks to something called the Vulnerability Registration Service. What is it and how does it work?Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Immie Rhodes and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 15th June, 2024)

As we continue our series of listener questions ahead of the election, we focus on the Cost of Care and how care later in life should be paid for. Dan Whitworth has been to Shipley to meet Graham, who’s concerned about the cost of his own care – he wants to know what politicians plan to do about it.Energy companies are continuing to hang on to billions of pounds of their customers' money, which has built up as credit on their accounts. The energy regulator Ofgem says that during 2023, the average amount of credit in energy accounts for people who pay for their gas and electricity by fixed direct debit was £3.7 billion pounds. What's behind that?More than half a million people were left without their Child Benefit payment this week, after a technical issue at HMRC. What was done to help them?And this week, new banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles III came into circulation – how can you get hold of one?Presenter: Felicity Hannah Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Jo Krasner and Catherine Lund Editor

We hear from a pensioner on benefits who tells us she was shocked to find herself having to pay tax on her pension for the first time. With expert help, we explain the so-called ‘triple-lock’ mechanism and why the point at which you can be taxed on your pension has become a big talking point in the election campaign. Also in the programme, sneaky hidden extras on your online shopping have been banned under new laws passed this month. So called ‘drip pricing’ is when consumers are shown an initial price for an item or service, only to find additional fees are added on later at the checkout. We look what the rules are and how they'll work.Every time you use Mastercard or Visa debit or credit card to pay for something – the business you’re buying from has to pay fees. Some of these fees are optional, but many of them are mandatory. But now an interim report by the watchdog - the Payments Systems Regulator – found that these fees charged to shops and other businesses by Visa and Mastercard have been rising much

What are the financial issues that you will be considering when you decide how to cast your vote in the General Election in July? Research shows that the economy and inflation are two big issues on our minds - we'll hear from some potential voters on what they'd like to see.New figures from UK Finance, which represents banks and other finance firms, revealed that in 2023 a record number of people lost more than £450 million to thieves who tricked them, manipulated them and then drained their bank account. The slightly better news is that more of them got their money back. We'll delve into the details.And almost three quarters of a million tax credit renewal letters are hitting people's doormats over the next few weeks - and thousands of people will need to act or face losing their payments. What should you do if that’s you? Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth, Sandra Hardial and Neil Morrow Studio Producer: Craig Henderson Editor: Jess Quayle(This programme was first broadcast Saturday 25th May 20

Money Box can reveal that the government is recouping more than £250m pounds from over 100,000 carers who it says broke the earnings rule and should have lost their carer's allowance. The numbers came from a Parliamentary Question this week asked by the chair of the work and pensions select committee, Twice as many women as men are being chased for these overpayments.We hear from a carer who has around £5000 worth of debt as well as finding out more about rights for carers affected.The Department for Work and Pensions told us, “The total amount of Carer’s Allowance overpayments includes historical debts which the department is seeking to recover. In comparison, Carer’s Allowance expenditure is forecast to be £4.2 billion this year alone.” “Carers across the UK are unsung heroes who make a huge difference to someone else’s life, and we have increased Carer's Allowance by almost £1,500 since 2010.” Also on the programme, a report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office has revealed callers to HMRC hel

Do you get as much as you give when it comes to your job? We've had some important jobs numbers this week - with official data showing there are more vacancies than there were before covid but, the number is falling, while unemployment is rising. But alongside that, wages are going up too - by around 6%.In this episode, we ask if you’re getting enough value out of your employer. We hear from listeners on how they asked their bosses for a pay rise, how they dealt with back pay and how they're making use of employee perks.Felicity Hannah is joined by Amanda Arrowsmith, People and Transformation Director for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and James Reed, Chairman and CEO at Reed Recruitment. Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Amber Mehmood Editor: Sarah Rogers

The Pension Dashboard is intended to provide an online service to millions of people who have paid into a pension at work by showing all their pots and their value in one place. But the National Audit Office this week revealed a 'digital skills' shortage is behind delays, providers now have until October 2026 to connect to it. The costs of the dashboard are also up by almost a quarter to £279 million. Some people hoping to sell their leasehold homes are being charged large amounts by their freeholder to fill out a simple form which helps the sale to go through smoothly. We hear from 'Harry' who was just days away from exchanging contracts on his two bed flat in London when his sale collapsed because his freeholder wouldn't sign an LPE1 form unless Harry paid more than £20,000. The forms contain information such as ground rent and service charges and rules on pets. Also in the programme we answer listener questions about how to protect your money when banks merge, and applications open on the 12th of May

This week marks two years since the historic reform in family law, known as the 'no fault divorce', was introduced. It was aimed at reducing conflict during separations and meant that couples could divorce without the need to apportion blame for the breakdown of their marriage. This change led to a surge in new applications at the time. Divorce itself hits the bank balance with annual incomes falling by an average of £9,700 in the year after separation, according to Legal & General. From living together to sharing bills, sharing debts and sharing accounts, the financial implications can be significant. In this Money Box episode we're looking at how to separate your finances after a split, and if you are breaking up, at what point should you make up a financial plan?Felicity Hannah is joined by Gary Rycroft, Senior Partner at Joseph A Jones, and Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown. Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Amber Mehmood Editor: Sarah Rogers(This episode was first broadc