This week the government's publication of its draft Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was followed by the cabinet resignations of Dominic Raab and Esther McVey. The financial markets responded with a sharp drop in the pound before it stabilised and a fall in the share price of UK focused companies. Guest: Tom Stevenson Investment Director at Fidelity Worldwide Investments. Some of the biggest clothing retailers are being warned they could be encouraging young shoppers to get into problem debt. Major s...
Nov 17, 2018•25 min
What’s your experience of the biggest change ever made to the benefits system? Universal Credit - which is being gradually introduced across the UK - is supposed to make things simpler, by merging six benefits into one single payment. But it's been plagued by controversy, especially over delays in paying claimants, causing severe hardship in some cases. In Budget 2018, the Chancellor introduced new measures designed to improve the system. These include increasing the amount of money people can e...
Nov 14, 2018•30 min
Tens of thousands of free educational books about personal finance are being sent to every secondary school in England. For free. Funded by money saving expert Martin Lewis, written by Young Money and supported by the Government, it 's the UK's first ever financial education textbook. The Government’s announced its second attempt to try to increase probate fees, this time from just a few hundred to thousands of pounds for some. We’ll find out what’s behind the move, if it’s likely to get through...
Nov 10, 2018•25 min
A big change to the UK's tax system starts next April, but are firms ready to comply? In barely five months' time, every business which is above the threshold for VAT must ditch paper-based record-keeping and get new approved software instead. The new rules are part of Making Tax Digital - and make it compulsory for them to keep electronic records of VAT and file returns to the Revenue directly from accounting software. It will apply to small businesses and sole traders if they are VAT-registere...
Oct 24, 2018•29 min
If you're thinking of buying a new greener motor car you might want to hurry up. In less than three weeks' time government subsidies on more environmentally friendly vehicles, worth thousands of pounds, are going to be cut or disappear altogether. Pay.UK have just released plans for banks to introduce confirmation payee in 2019 to help cut bank fraud. What's taken so long? New figures out this week show that hard work in fact pays rather less well than it did four years ago - at least for people...
Oct 20, 2018•25 min
How can you legally reduce the inheritance tax your loved ones have to pay when you die? If you have accumulated substantial wealth during your life, inheritance tax can cost family and friends hundreds of thousands of pounds after your death. But there are legal ways to avoid being hit with a hefty IHT bill. Whether by donating to charity or giving away cash from surplus income, you can reduce the amount of inheritance tax due on your property, savings and other assets. But how does inheritance...
Oct 03, 2018•32 min
If you haven't switched energy suppliers in recent years, what does the energy price cap mean for you? The regulator, Ofgem, has announced plans to prevent gas and electricity companies charging a typical household more than £1,136 a year, saving households £75 a year, on average. But will it mean companies stop offering some of their cheapest deals currently on the market? And will consumers be lulled into thinking they don't need to shop around and look for better deals? But how to switch and ...
Sep 12, 2018•29 min
A study by the Resolution Foundation thinktank has found that the vast majority of people experience significant monthly wage volatility at least twice a year. Almost half see significant changes half of the year. The study used anonymised data from 7 million Lloyds bank accounts. It's the first time that actual data has been used to look at monthly earnings. Official figures which show adequate income over the year may therefore hide serious problems in a number of specific months. We speak to ...
Sep 08, 2018•28 min
The future of motoring looks set to be increasingly electric with the Government committed to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. That commitment was strengthened this month with the unveiling of a new Road to Zero strategy aimed at boosting the country's electric vehicle infrastructure with proposals including fitting chargers in new developments, offices and even lampposts. But how does buying and running an electric car compare to petrol and diesel and what might you have to consi...
Jul 25, 2018•29 min
Three years ago pension freedoms were introduced, allowing millions of people to transfer out of their Defined Benefit schemes and cash in their savings. The appetite for transferring appears to have grown since then - a total of more than £34bn being moved around in the last calendar year, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics. So why would you want to give one up? The high transfer values is one reason - a pension of £10,000 could translate to a cash sum ...
Jul 04, 2018•28 min
Graduates who sign up to training programmes offered by some of Britain's biggest outsourcing companies are being hit with bills running into tens of thousands of pounds if they decide to leave within two years. Some of those affected are now planning legal action. Will the government keep its commitment, written into legislation, to publish the details of how a ban on pensions cold calls will work by the end of the month? If it doesn't the Work and Pensions Secretary will have to explain to Par...
Jun 16, 2018•25 min
A government-backed scheme that allows you to buy part of your home and rent the rest. It's often advertised as a more affordable way for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. But how affordable is it, especially when rent and service charges go up? Paul Lewis and guests explore the pro and cons of this kind of home ownership, which avoids the need for a hefty deposit and allows you to keep buying a bigger share of the home, but which can also limit who you can sell your property to a...
Jun 13, 2018•28 min
How can you avoid SIM swap fraud happening to you? TSB customers have contacted Money Box after their mobile phones were targeted by criminals. The fraud involves an identity thief posing as their victim in order to trick mobile phone providers into issuing a new SIM card. That card is then used, along with other information, to access and steal from online bank accounts. Reporter Tony Bonsignore investigates, and we hear from Keiron Dalton, head of fraud at Aspect Software. There is a call for ...
May 26, 2018•24 min
It's a little known fact that if you or a relative has an ongoing health problem, the NHS will pay, not just for your treatment in hospital but could also pay for all your care needs, be that in a private care home or even in your own home. More than 160,000 people get exactly that support. Many more feel they should get it. The scheme is known as Continuing Healthcare Funding and it can be worth thousands of pounds per month. It's available to people living in England, Wales and Northern Irelan...
May 23, 2018•28 min
Money Box Live listener Anne from Dorset got in touch to tell us she feels "practically paralysed" when it comes to making decisions about spending money. She is 65 years old, retired and has an income of £20,000 a year through a combination of pensions and ad hoc work. She also has savings. But she has no idea if this will be enough to live comfortably in her retirement. She sees friends going on cruises and splashing out on luxuries which she'd love to do, but she is frightened of running out ...
May 16, 2018•29 min
New figures show a rise in contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours. Whether you are a worker or an employer, how does this kind of arrangement work for you?
May 09, 2018•28 min
We speak to people who are worried that they've lost control of their life savings having handed it to a company they can no longer contact. Their situation highlights the huge concerns about the unregulated industry of inheritance planning, even though some businesses handle huge amounts of cash. Anyone can set themselves up as an estate planner or will writer but that lack of regulation can have alarming consequences when things don't go as planned. Also, Adam Shaw speaks to Richard Lloyd, the...
May 05, 2018•25 min
On 25th May, sweeping new data protection rules come into force, changing the way individuals and businesses deal with personal data. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation - or GDPR for short - will give you the right to do things like ask companies and organisation to tell you what data they are holding on you, and how it's being used. It will also restrict the way direct marketing reaches your email inbox, and means you will be told if your data is compromised by hackers. While the new r...
Apr 04, 2018•29 min
The cost of living alone, rather than living as a couple, is more than £1000 a year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. In the UK nearly eight million people now live alone and spend on average £21 a week more than individuals who live as a couple. Money Box reporter Marie Keyworth visits Sussex to investigate the cost of living, shopping, exercising and holidaying alone. Up to 90,000 people on benefits are at risk of losing their home when the Government stops paying ...
Mar 17, 2018•26 min
This week a report from the Work and Pensions Select Committee says British Steel pension scheme members were targeted by "vulture" financial advisers after Tata was allowed to offload its retirement fund. It found that members were "shamelessly bamboozled" into transferring out of their final salary schemes, and criticises the Pensions Regulator and the FCA. The report also urged the FCA to ban contingent charging where financial advisers receive a fee for transfer advice, calling it "a key dri...
Feb 17, 2018•25 min
The FCA is warning about a form of online high-risk trading which some firms are illegally offering in the UK. Binary options trading involves betting on whether anything that can be measured in financial terms, like a currency or share index, will rise or fall below a specified price at a certain time. The FCA began regulating last month which means it's now illegal to sell those trades in the UK without its authorisation. Money Box listener Penny lost nearly £17,000 with an unauthorised firm b...
Feb 03, 2018•26 min
How Britain created £435billion out of nowhere - and where the money went.
Jan 22, 2018•28 min
There's concern that thousands of steelworkers and former steelworkers at Port Talbot may have been badly advised to withdraw funds and put them into unsuitable investments. Money Box has learned that six firms have now voluntarily stopped signing up new clients. Money Box's Tony Bonsignore reports from Port Talbot. The programme hears from steelworker Paul who fears he's made the worst financial decision in his life. Megan Butler, director of supervision at the FCA and Michelle Cracknell, from ...
Dec 16, 2017•25 min
What are the government's plans for tax and spending and how will they affect your personal finances? As the Chancellor delivers his second budget of the year, we're expecting measures to boost house-building and help young voters get on the property ladder. There may be a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers or for pension-age homeowners wanting to downsize. Changes to pensions may be on the cards. What help might there be for savers and investors - and how will it be funded? Paul Lewis and...
Nov 23, 2017•28 min
Parents who use two government childcare schemes tell Money Box about a problem they fear is putting their children at risk of losing their nursery places. It happens when they go online to reconfirm their continued eligibility for either the tax-free childcare top up scheme or for 30 hours free childcare. After receiving a successful confirmation message they then get another one saying their entitlement will be stopped as they no longer meet the criteria - despite there being no significant ch...
Nov 18, 2017•32 min
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
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
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
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
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
