The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
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 [email protected] Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
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...
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.
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.
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...
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: [email protected] or tweet: @moneybox. Joining Adam: Will Hadwen - rights adviser from Working Families Sonali Parekh - Head of Polic...
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...
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 [email protected]...
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...
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 [email protected] or tweet @moneybox
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...
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...
People who bought leasehold homes from developers were "misled". That is the damning verdict of a report by the Competition and Markets Authority. They say its findings support calls for a change in the law in this area and that they are ready to take this fight to the courts to force developers to change their ways bringing new hope to leaseholders. Young savers in the government-backed pension scheme called NEST see their money grow more slowly than older people because their contributions are...
Landlords and letting agencies who advertise property with a ban on renting benefits claimants - so-called "No DSS" clauses - risk legal action under anti-discrimination laws. So why do such restrictions persist? What can prospective tenants on benefits do about it? And what legal and financial risks are being run by landlords who display "No DSS" restrictions? Money Box Live takes your calls and hears from Polly Neate, the chief executive of the homelessness and housing advice charity, Shelter....
A Money Box investigation has found that two of the biggest broadband providers are charging people up to £90 a year to keep their email address if they switch to another supplier. The regulator Ofcom has told Money Box that it has written to the firms and may take further action. Nearly two million savers will miss out on more than £100 million a year income following the announcement this week of cuts to National Savings and Investments interest rates. Is this the end of savings? From April th...
Unexpected bills from video games and apps? The online world of video games and apps can be financially treacherous, filled with loot boxes and micro-transactions. They can mean large, unexpected bills through the relatively new phenomenon of in-game purchases. Louise Cooper and guests discuss what your consumer rights are if things go wrong. Guests: Dr Jo Twist, CEO at The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) Alex Neill, CEO at Resolver David McClelland, technology journalist Pro...
Should the unwed lose out on a benefit paid to married people? Bereavement Support Payment is available to the widows, widowers or surviving civil partners of people who died on or after 6 April 2017. There's additional money if they have children. A recent High Court judgement held that the Pensions Act, by excluding bereaved unmarried partners from claiming Bereavement Support Payment, contravened the human rights of any children they might have. This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told pa...
This week Louise Cooper asks how you can negotiate the best broadband deal. How do you know if you’re paying too much? What’s the best way of securing a better deal? What are your rights if you’ve been overpaying? What are the best deals available at the moment? Guests: Selina Chadha: Director of Consumer Policy at Ofcom Adam French: Consumer Rights Editor at Which? Guy Anker: Deputy Editor at Money Saving Expert Email questions for the panel or top tips to [email protected] Producer: Ben Carte...
Money Box has found that there has been a big increase in the number of young adults being taken to court for unpaid debts. Court records show that last year around 160,000 people in their twenties were given County Court Judgments in England and Wales - a rise of 30 per cent from the year before. How a £3 month long trial for a dating website ended up costing one user £300. And Jon Douglas visits a bank that’s swimming against the tide by opening branches in rural locations. Presenter: Louise C...
Wedding planning can be stressful and expensive. Venue, catering, flowers...the list goes on. Charmaine Cozier and guests talk through the best ways to budget and negotiate on price. Guests: Lisa Garwood-Cross, Living Thrifty Eve Obasuyi, Money Medics Ruby Norris, Wedding Ideas Magazine Gary Rycroft, Joseph A Jones Solicitors Email questions and experiences to [email protected] Producer: Ben Carter Editor Emma Rippon
One of the most important rights that Europe gave us was the freedom to live and work in EU countries and retire there. About a quarter of a million UK pensioners live in the EU and draw their UK pensions and, in most countries, still get the winter fuel payment. But will that continue post - Brexit? A Money Box investigation by Dan Whitworth has found more than 1000 people making the most serious complaints about maladministration at the Department for Work and Pensions face waiting 18 months b...
What are your rights when that dream holiday you've saved up for gets cancelled or you experience problems during the holiday itself? Paul Lewis and guests answer your calls and emails. Guests: the travel journalist Simon Calder and consumer champion Helen Dewdney. Email: [email protected] Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
Home owners are at risk of losing large amounts of money when selling their properties by using so called quick sale estate agents. That’s a warning from Trading Standards. It’s told Money Box it’s seen dozens of examples of people losing tens of thousands of pounds from the market value of their homes when agents exploit people who are desperate to sell quickly. In the first half of last year private parking firms requested 4.32m driver details from the DVLA so they could issue fines to motoris...
The gig economy is booming in the UK. More than a million people are using online platforms to secure jobs. Some people say that Uber drivers and couriers are the poster boys and girls for an exploited part of the workforce. Others argue the flexibility of working when and where you want works perfectly for those who don't want a 9-5 job. Adam Shaw hears the good, the bad and the ugly tales from those working within the industry and he finds out how people can make the gig economy work for them....
Four students studying at Durham University received a surprise bill for Council Tax. They were billed hundreds of pounds for a period when no-one was living in the property over the summer. After Money Box got in touch, the council looked again at it and concluded that the request for payment was made in error. The charge has now been cancelled. It also reviewed their council tax records for 2019/20 and found no other cases of students being asked to pay. We speak to the editor of the Council T...
For many young people buying a home can seem like an impossible dream. High property prices, no way of saving for a big deposit and worries about paying for a hefty mortgage. But it's not all doom and gloom. Plenty of people are buying their first homes and the programme will hear from some of them. There are some cautionary tales though and we'll hear about those too. Felicity Hannah is joined by - Kate Faulkner, property market analyst and commentator, Ella Cheney, shared ownership programme m...
Council tenants on Universal Credit are much more likely to be in rent arrears than those who don’t get the benefit. That’s according to research carried out by Money Box. We surveyed local authorities for 12 of the largest cities across Britain and found tens of thousands of people having to manage this debt. The numbers also suggest not only are people on the benefit more likely to be in arrears, but they’re likely to owe much more too. We find out why. Proposals about how to reform leasehold ...
The world of the influencer is a lucrative one. Online stars made $8bn in 2019 and it's not just household names that are earning money. Louise Cooper and her guests explain how you can make money from your social media presence. Louise talks to - Beckii Cruel who posted videos of herself dancing to Japanese pop music in the late 2000's and ended up 120,000 subscribers to her Youtube channel. Sara McCorquodale who has written a book (Influence) about the rise of the social media influencer and r...
History is littered with tales of financial error – many instantly familiar even though they may have taken place several centuries apart. Why do we keep on making the same mistakes with our money and what can we do to stop making them? Paul Lewis discusses with Russell Napier, the Keeper of Edinburgh's Library of Mistakes, Prof Nicky Marsh who is writing a book on the history of financial advice and Dr Joe Gladstone from UCL's School of Management who helps people make better behavioural choice...
Money is one of the top three strains on relationships and it’s a common cause of rift between family and friends. You might be cautious and risk averse and hate to see your partner frittering their money away on new clothes and nights out; while they might think you should stop being so miserly with your cash and splash out once in a while. Earlier this year Ruth Alexander introduced ‘The Money Clinic’. In this special Money Box series we eavesdropped on the conversations of three couples and a...
