Key workers who are returning to the NHS to help it cope during the coronavirus pandemic are being targeted by promoters of tax avoidance schemes, a Money Box investigation has found. Adverts posted on social media are designed to push key workers towards umbrella companies operating on the fringes of the law which, alongside standard ones, act as employers for freelance contractors. Posing as a health care worker, our reporter was told how she could legally hide a large chunk of salary from the...
Jun 06, 2020•28 min
There are nearly three million single parent families in the UK, which is 15% of all families. Their finances are often tight and they face a particularly high risk of poverty compared with other households. Louise Cooper and guests talk to single parents about the financial challenges brought about by coronavirus and we have experts on hand to offer advice and answer questions. Panel: Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families. Lee Healey, founder of Income Max,...
Jun 03, 2020•33 min
Over 2 million people have received a grant from the government’s self-employment income support scheme. This week Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that it will be extended to pay out another lump sum worth 70% of average monthly trading profits, capped at £6,570. Guest: Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy for the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. It's been more than a month since a ban on using credit cards as a source of funds for gambling came into force. Report...
May 30, 2020•26 min
A quarter of British employees have been furloughed since the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement in March. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme workers are entitled to receive 80% of their pay up to a maximum of £2500 a month but they’re not allowed to do any work for their employer while on furlough. Earlier this month the scheme was extended until October - but from August the government will expect employers to contribute to the huge ongoing costs - estimated at between £10-£15 billi...
May 27, 2020•42 min
Festival goers are trying to get their money back from the organisers of Afro Nation but are being told that Portuguese law means they’re not entitled to a refund – what can they do? Lenders are cutting credit card limits and that could affect your credit rating... but not in the way you might think. Former pensions minister Steve Webb tells us that tens of thousands of older married women pensioners are being paid up to £80 a week too little - how do you go about seeing if you're missing out an...
May 23, 2020•33 min
Your questions on the challenges of getting and holding on to a mortgage or re-mortgage during coronavirus. How does being furloughed affect your prospects? Are some job sectors now less desirable to mortgage providers? What if pandemic-related delays in conveyancing are pushing you close to the expiry of your existing mortgage offer? Should fears of a market dip make you reconsider and sit tight where you are - or is it time to reduce your offer? Why are interest rates rising for some types of ...
May 20, 2020•31 min
Money Box has been hearing from furloughed workers who say their employers are abusing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It allows staff to be put on leave while the government pays 80 per cent of their wages up to £2500 a month. One worker says he’s being forced to keep working and another says she’s been furloughed but isn’t being paid. Guest Sarah Chilton, partner with employment law specialists CM Murray We hear from Endija who bought her two-bedroom home after viewing it through a virtu...
May 16, 2020•38 min
Felicity Hannah and guests talk to young entrepreneurs who've started businesses during the lockdown. She'll hear about the successes and challenges they encountered along the way. Guests: Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation Zara Khalique, creator of Keep It Bright Email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @Moneybox with stories, experiences or questions for the panel. Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
May 13, 2020•34 min
Pandemic-related salary cuts and being furloughed could affect your ability to get a mortgage. What will mortgage providers take into account - your previous normal salary or your 80% rate? And will job types in sectors hit badly by the coronavirus now be deemed less desirable by lenders? We hear your stories and get advice from Martin Stewart, Director of the independent mortgage broker, London Money. Millions of self-employed workers are being offered help through the government's new Self-Emp...
May 09, 2020•31 min
Graduates and young workers face huge challenges getting and staying in a job as coronavirus changes the employment picture. Louise Cooper discusses the consequences and solutions. Guests: Laura Gardiner, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation Michele Farmer, Regional Director at the Prince's Trust Email questions and experiences to moneybox@bbc.co.uk Reporter: Kafui Okpattah Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
May 06, 2020•31 min
On this week’s Money Box we hear from people who’ve been furloughed by their employer but are being pressured into working anyway - something very much against the rules of the Job Retention Scheme. And can an employer force those people still working to take a pay cut? Paul talks through the legal implications with Susie Al-Qassab, partner at Hodge, Jones and Allen Solicitors. As the consumer watchdog threatens legal action against companies refusing to refund customers during the coronavirus p...
May 02, 2020•34 min
Many people are having to claim benefits for the first time due to coronavirus. Paul Lewis and guests find out how some people have found this experience. Was it clear how to claim? Did you find the rules easy to understand? Have you got your money yet? Is it enough? What other help is out there? Guests: Victoria Todd from Low Income Tax Reform Group and Will Hadwen, a welfare rights advisor with Working Families. Email: moneybox@bbc.co.uk Producer: Alex Lewis and Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon...
Apr 29, 2020•35 min
650,000 people work as contractors in a wide range of jobs across the UK – supply teachers, IT engineers, health care workers. But some of them have told Money Box they’ve been left in limbo by umbrella companies who say they need more clarity from the government before they can decide to furlough them or not. Issues about how much the contractors would get, how much holiday pay they’d be owed and what the industry will do if they don’t get any more guidance from the government means huge financ...
Apr 25, 2020•33 min
On our programme last Saturday we looked at the new Financial Conduct Authority guidance for people with car finance who are struggling to pay it due to coronavirus. 80% of all private new car buyers take out finance at the dealership and there’s £110bn worth of debt outstanding. We get lots of questions from listeners about how car finance actually works so for this special podcast extra we’ve got Stuart Masson, editor of thecarexpert.co.uk to explain. He’ll also talk about the FCA guidance in ...
Apr 24, 2020•26 min
Adam Shaw and guests talk to people struggling with bills and finding it hard to access credit. They offer practical advice about how to stay on top of your finances. Guests: Richard Lane from StepChange and Sara Williams from Debt Camel. Email: moneybox@bbc.co.uk Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
Apr 22, 2020•32 min
Action to protect workers who would otherwise face redundancy due to the coronavirus outbreak was brought in by the government last month. Known as the Job Retention Scheme it pays 80 per cent of wages for people kept on by their employer up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. At the time there was disappointment from those who missed out because they didn’t start their job before the scheme’s cut-off date of February 28th. This week that date was extended to the 19th of March. The Treasury says the...
Apr 18, 2020•25 min
How are student finances being affected by coronavirus? Louise Cooper is joined by Tom Allingham from Save The Student and Hayley Borrett from The National Association of Student Money Advisers. They'll hear from students with concerns about paying fees, meeting rent obligations, making student loan payments and much more. Email moneybox@bbc.co.uk with questions and experiences or tweet @Moneybox Producer: Ben Carter Researcher: Kafui Okpattah Editor: Emma Rippon
Apr 15, 2020•31 min
Millions of people are still facing huge financial pressure despite government measures to help them deal with the fallout from coronavirus. Some estimates show that up to half of the 5m people who are self employed won’t be helped by the support package that the government has announced. Many thousands more, who are employees, are not eligible for the job retention furlough arrangements. Unsurprisingly the benefits system has seen an unprecedented number of new applications for Universal credit...
Apr 11, 2020•29 min
Louise Cooper and guests discuss how government rules help tenants and landlords affected by coronavirus. Guests: Henry Pryor - Buying agent and property expert Anny Cullum - National organiser for Acorn, a community and tenants union John Stewart - Policy manager at the National Residential Landlords Association Email questions to moneybox@bbc.co.uk Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
Apr 08, 2020•36 min
People who have recently begun new jobs say that the government’s plan to help businesses hit by coronavirus may treat them unfairly. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, a business can choose to furlough workers – that is, keep them on the books but not working and at home. The government will pay 80 per cent of their wages up to £2,500 per month. Companies may choose to top up furloughed employee wages to 100 per cent. However, to be eligible for furloughing, workers have to have been i...
Apr 04, 2020•30 min
In recent weeks the Money Box inbox has been inundated with your queries and questions about travel and holiday issues. So we invited Simon Calder, travel editor at The Independent, to shed some light on some of the most common problems people are facing.
Apr 02, 2020•26 min
Wedding plans in ruins, holidays cancelled, business on hold and landlords unable to rent out their properties. This is exactly the kind of unexpected scenario we buy insurance policies for, but are they written to cover once in a century events like the coronavirus outbreak? Our panel of experts answer your questions on insurance policies and claims.
Apr 01, 2020•36 min
This week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Government’s much anticipated help package for the self employed. Only about two thirds of an estimated 6m workforce will gain anything, leaving over a million people without help. We look at the package in more detail, including the changes to benefits and hear top tips for getting paid in a timely manner. And the banks were quick to promise support for customers in need but are they actually delivering? Money Box listeners tell us their experi...
Mar 28, 2020•32 min
Announcements from the Government are coming thick and fast about the help available for small business in these difficult times. An expert panel joins Adam Shaw to discuss and answer your questions on what assistance might be on offer. We also look at issues facing the self-employed and discuss what support is currently out there for them. Get in touch by email: moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet: @moneybox. Joining Adam: Will Hadwen - rights adviser from Working Families Sonali Parekh - Head of Polic...
Mar 25, 2020•42 min
Money Box unpicks the Chancellor's announcement on support for wages and rents. Investments have taken a massive hit over the last few weeks as the stock market has dived. We speak to one Money Box listener who thought his fund, which was nearing maturity, had been moved to a 'safer' account - only to discover it hadn't. And the latest fraud statistics show that in 2019 fraud increased by 45%. We speak to Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, the collective voice of th...
Mar 21, 2020•25 min
The UK government has urged Britons to avoid non-essential travel to anywhere in the world for 30 days to tackle the spread of coronavirus. Where does that leave people and their holiday plans? And what about future holidays? Joining presenter Louise Cooper to share their views: Simon Calder, Travel Editor at The Independent. Charlie Campbell, Senior Policy Adviser at the Association of British Insurers. Gary Rycroft, solicitor at Joseph A Jones & Co LLP. Email questions to moneybox@bbc.co.u...
Mar 18, 2020•29 min
The financial fallout from the Corona Virus pandemic. Making sense of the help available. And the Chief Financial Ombudsman, Caroline Wayman, tells us that the banks warnings are not good enough and that they need to do much to stop people becoming victims of so-called "push payment fraud". We report on a "never seen before" fraud that lead to a ninety-one year old losing his life's savings. The criminals used the victim's driving licence to set up an account in his name, but under their control...
Mar 14, 2020•31 min
Whether you're young or old, rich or poor, how will the Budget affect your personal finances? Paul Lewis and a panel of experts give their opinions on how it will affect your wallet and take your calls. Our panel this week; Anita Monteith – Institute of Chartered Accountants Heather Self- Blick Rothenberg Accountants Tina Riches – Tax Aid Call 03700 100 444. Lines are open from 1pm on Wednesday 11 March. You can also email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox
Mar 11, 2020•38 min
TikTok has been downloaded over 1.6 billion times and most of its users are young. They share videos and stream their activities live. The site allows people who have over 1000 followers to be given presents by other users in exchange for giving their account a 'shout out'. To give money you should be over eighteen. So how did a 9 year old girl gift thousands of pounds from her dad's bank account? It will be at least another two years before estate agents and the property business will be regula...
Mar 07, 2020•31 min
The traditional model of giving is in decline, no longer do people have a charity for life. Now the sector is coping with huge changes in the way people give from card payments, crowdfunding to adventure fundraising. Is sponsored skydiving becoming the raffle of the 21st Century? Technology offers huge opportunities as well as challenges, with new software making fundraising easier as well as connecting charities to donors across the world. But how can smaller charities tap into this potential?L...
Mar 04, 2020•35 min
