Money Box

BBC Radio 4•www.bbc.co.uk

Business

The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.

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Episodes

Money Box Live: New technology and banking

New technology is transforming the way we handle our finances. Are you someone who uses mobile apps to keep track of how you spend your money or does the thought of it fill you with dread? Have you signed up to text alerts informing you of when you're about to go overdrawn? Do you use Twitter and other forms of social media to communicate with your bank or would you rather visit your branch and have a chat with a real person? Open banking, an industry wide initiative being introduced by the Comp...

Nov 15, 2017•28 min

Money Box Live: Rent Controls

Rent controls are common across Europe - but do they work? And could they work in the UK? It's a popular idea with voters but detractors say it could destroy the private rental sector. Nearly a third of private tenants had problems paying their rent, according to a recent report published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Amid rising concerns about the cost of renting, there are renewed calls for some sort of price cap to limit cost increases - a policy already in progress ...

Oct 25, 2017•30 min

Young driver foxed by the box

Black Box technology is regularly touted as a way of reducing car insurance premiums. If the box shows your driving is safe then you qualify for refunds on your premiums. But how does the box determine that your driving is safe? Money Box reporter Tony Bonsignore has discovered that every company has a different way of assessing safe driving and that the digital readings are not always as accurate as they could be. The Government has published a draft bill to cap energy prices. What will that me...

Oct 14, 2017•25 min

Money Box Live: Tax then and now

What was troubling the tax man back in 1977 when Money Box first broadcast? Chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue, Sir William Pile took the hot seat in our first ever programme, quizzed by presenters Louise Botting and Peter Hobday. Simplifying tax, competence and the sensitivity of tax inspectors were all on the agenda. So what's changed in the last 40 years and have HMRC got to grips with these early challenges? Adam Shaw and guests listen back to Sir William's Pile's interview and talk...

Oct 04, 2017•29 min

Forty years of Money Box

In October 1977 Money Box made its first appearance on Radio 4. Hear presenters Louise Botting and Peter Hobday cover the big personal finance issues of the day including where to invest your money, the lack of opportunities for children to learn how to manage cash and a new breed of interest free loan. They also interview the then Chairman of the Board of the Inland Revenue Sir William Pyle.

Sep 29, 2017•31 min

Beware student loan overpayments

More than 90,000 graduates were refunded hundreds of pounds last year after HMRC took payments for their student loan even though they had paid it off. Money Box has discovered these overpayments are routinely taken for many months because HMRC fails to communicate properly with the Student Loans Company. The programme hears from graduates who've experienced this and from tax expert Graham Farquhar at RSM. The UK's biggest doorstep lender is in trouble. Shares in Provident Financial plummeted 65...

Sep 02, 2017•24 min

The Retreat of Employers

For many people, the workplace pension has been the crux of a decent income in retirement - a guaranteed sum paid for the whole of your non-working life. Stockmarket fluctuations, our increasing longevity and well-meaning changes to pensions policy by successive governments have helped make these sorts of schemes unaffordable. At the same time, something equally fundamental has been happening to the structure of the workplace as well as the nature of the relationship and expectations between emp...

Aug 12, 2017•28 min

Will the State Pay for Our Retirement?

The current State Pension system - guarantees anyone with requisite NI contributions a pension of £150ish a week (in real terms. It is protected by the "triple lock" and guarantees a minimum income on reaching State retirement age. But....it's not enough to live on - it's only it's only remotely enough for those with no housing costs and no-one believes the triple lock is affordable for much longer. How much can we rely on the State to fund a retirement. Presenter:Paul Lewis Producer: Ben Carter...

Aug 05, 2017•29 min

Money Box Live: Buy to Let

Louise Cooper would like to hear your views, experiences and questions about being a buy to let landlord. Call 03700 100 444 between 1pm and 3.30pm on Wednesday 28 June or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply. The end of mortgage interest relief, the loss of the so called wear and tear allowance and additional stamp duty charges on new property purchases may mean that landlords have to rethink their financial plans. Some landlords are b...

Jun 28, 2017•28 min

Flight compensation - where do the stranded stand?

Around 75,000 travellers were left facing long delays and cancellations after a British Airways computer system failed over the Bank Holiday weekend. Helen Dewdney, founder of the Complaining Cow consumer advice blog outlines how affected passengers should approach the compensation process. Ahead of next week's general election Chris Philp from the Conservative Party and SNP spokesperson for work and pensions Ian Blackford set out their personal finance manifestos. What might the policies mean f...

Jun 03, 2017•25 min

Energy savings that disappear

The savings that energy companies promise customers are in many cases fictional and never will materialise. Those are the findings of a Money Box investigation. We found that the savings energy companies have been quoting to urge large numbers of customers to switch tariffs are phantom and can never be achieved. We have discovered that this is down to the way that Ofgem makes suppliers and comparison websites work out potential savings using the standard variable tariff as a basis for comparison...

Nov 19, 2016•24 min

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