Digital Exclusion and National Insurance credits
Summary
This episode covers an elderly couple's distressing experience with Nationwide freezing their account due to ID issues, highlighting the problem of digital exclusion and how banks treat vulnerable customers. It also discusses a new government online calculator to help people fill gaps in their National Insurance record to boost state pensions, scrutinizes Royal Mail's suspended penalties forEpisode description
Digitally excluded. An elderly couple have their accounts frozen because their documents were out of date - despite having being customers for their bank for nearly two decades. We hear from Tom and Marian Doughty who say they were left with weeks of sleepless nights.
Can you boost your state pension by filling old gaps in your national insurance record? A new online calculator from the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC aims to answer that. The Treasury says the new service will bring “peace of mind” to people planning for their retirement and could help “thousands” of pensioners.
Royal Mail has suspended the £5 penalty it charged people for letters sent with a new barcoded stamp which its machines had identified as fake.
And what happens to your home when you break up with someone? Should you make a financial plan when the relationship is going well, in case it doesn't in the future? Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researcher: Sandra Hardial Studio producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Neil Morrow
(This episode was first broadcast on the 4th of May, 2024).