Money Box

A Money Box investigation has resulted in a £150,000 refund for a vulnerable romance fraud victim, after their bank initially refused to reimburse. The victim's family were told that a voluntary code, known as the Contingent Reimbursement Model or CRM, designed to protect victims of fraud would not apply in their case, because the payments had been made to an international bank account. We look at what, if anything, banks can do to prevent payments to criminal accounts overseas.In the Spring Budget the Chancellor promised to end the so-called prepayment meter penalty, where customers currently pay an extra £45 compared to direct debit customers. We look at how the new policy will work, and if it's feasible to level the playing field between pre-payment meter customers and direct debit customers long term. And where does this leave customers who pay by cash or cheque?The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced another extension to the Help to Buy Equity loan scheme. For many buyers t