Money Box has learnt that thousands of people with the right to work in the UK have not been able to access a National Insurance number. Without one they may not be able to work, open a high street bank account or claim benefits. The Bank of England has written to lenders to find out whether they are ready for a zero or even a negative Bank Rate. How likely is it and what will that mean for our savings, mortgages, and other debts? And the life insurance policy that wouldn’t pay out when a termin...
Oct 17, 2020•37 min
Buying your first home has always been a challenge, but amid the madness of 2020 it could be harder than ever. Adam Shaw and a panel of guests answer calls from would-be first-time buyers, from the actor just starting to think about getting on the property ladder, to the social worker wondering whether shared ownership is the answer, and the dad who's seen his dream home slip away as lenders demand larger deposits. If you've a question or a story to share, do email us on moneybox@bbc.co.uk or yo...
Oct 14, 2020•39 min
People who let out property using Airbnb have been warned this week that the firm will send HMRC the details of their earnings going back to 2017. It may mean that some hosts will receive surprise tax bills. Thousands of people who invested in a mini-bond sold by a firm called Wellesley face an impossible choice next week. They must decide if they want the company to go into administration and lose everything, or vote for what is called a Company Voluntary Arrangement and lose nearly everything....
Oct 10, 2020•29 min
Renters could be at risk of losing their homes because of changes to the eviction ban that was brought in to protect tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. It's estimated that landlords have lost millions in rent since lockdown hit in March. What financial support and help is available and what are the different rules for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? Louise Cooper is joined by Anny Cullum from Acorn Communities, Meera Chindooroy from the National Residential Landlords Associa...
Oct 07, 2020•34 min
The costly experience of being unknowingly signed up to a phone competition service. We hear how one subscription cost a Money Box listener over £1,000 across 5 years. A new Sharia compliant investment fund has been launched on the London Stock Exchange. How does it work? Edinburgh - Scotland's wealthiest city - launches a plan to get rid of poverty by 2030. And hints and tips for making difficult financial decisions. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Darin Graham Produce...
Oct 03, 2020•31 min
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) say that 6 million policy holders are paying too much for their insurance premiums and that radical reforms could save consumers £3.7bn over 10 years. So how do you get the right policy at a fair price? Joining Paul Lewis to answer your questions and offer advice are: Louise O'Shea, Confused.com Graeme Trudgill, British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) We'd love to hear your questions and ideas about personal insurance, e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now and...
Sep 30, 2020•31 min
This week the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, revealed new measures to help stop mass job cuts in these economically uncertain times. This latest plan - the Job Support Scheme - was spurred on by the ending of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (or furlough). From November, if bosses bring back workers part time, the government will help top up their wages. But there are concerns that it does nothing to assist the millions who have already missed out on government help. We also discuss whether it's w...
Sep 26, 2020•33 min
What financial support and guidance is available for serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their families? Joining presenter Charmaine Cozier to talk through some of the information, help and advice on offer are: Forces MoneyPlan The Royal British Legion The Forces Pension Society SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity If you’re a serving or former member of the Armed Forces we’d love to hear your money questions and experiences e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox. Presenter: Cha...
Sep 23, 2020•29 min
Thousands of British people living in European countries have been told their UK bank accounts will be closed by the end of the year because of Brexit. Money Box has learnt that Lloyds Bank and Barclaycard have been writing to customers telling them to cut up their cards and pay off any outstanding overdrafts or debts in two months unless they can provide a UK address where they are resident. Buy now, pay later - the slogan of easy credit for generations but now it's being offered routinely in s...
Sep 19, 2020•29 min
Tuition fees, loans, student jobs and financial help, whatever’s on your mind we’d love to hear your questions, dilemmas and advice so e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Ready to guide you through university costs, student money and work will be: Tom Allingham, Save the Student. Eden Cairnie, StudentJob. Judith McMeekin, Student Money Adviser, Ulster University. Kellie McAlonan, Student Money Adviser, University of the West of Scotland. Presenter: Louise Cooper Producer: Diane Richardson Editor: Ric...
Sep 17, 2020•31 min
With fewer jobs and rising unemployment among young people Money Box has seen worrying evidence that the illegal practice of not paying interns is growing. Thousands of young people are locked out of their Government child trust funds even though they have reached 18. And would you invest in a bond backed by your local council? Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Darin Graham Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon
Sep 12, 2020•30 min
If you’ve replaced the buzz of the office with working at the kitchen table we’d love to hear how it's going. Have your work-life balance, your finances, career and productivity been affected? Does it make a difference to team working if you don't meet your colleagues face to face? What responsibilities do employers and employees need to consider and is working from home the future, or are you desperate to get back to the office? What happens if you’re asked to return to your place of work but y...
Sep 09, 2020•30 min
From this month, young people turning 18 can access money given them by the Government in a Child Trust Fund. All children born from September 2002 were given vouchers to invest, the idea being to provide children with some savings at the age of 18, to help with the costs of university or living alone for the first time. Initially £250 was put into the account and another £250 was added when he or she reached the age of seven. For lower-income families, the payment was £500. But it's estimated a...
Sep 05, 2020•31 min
If your holiday plans are affected by coronavirus, what are your rights? Chaos caused by the pandemic has left travellers with many questions - about insurance, refunds and whether they can get away at all. Holidaying in a pandemic isn’t easy but sometimes cancelling isn't either. Our panel of travel experts is ready to answer your Covid-related questions. Email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox Guests: Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel Jill Starley-Grainger, Travel blogger from JetSet Jo...
Aug 05, 2020•41 min
From now, the over 75s will have to start paying for their TV licences. We speak to the BBC’s Director, Policy Clare Sumner about what the BBC is doing about the 1m pensioners who will receive demands for payment but should be exempt. In his summer statement, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised a bonus for employers who hire apprentices over the next six months because “We know apprenticeships work”. But the latest Ofsted figures show that 42% of apprenticeships inspected in England are either i...
Aug 01, 2020•34 min
Fake emails, bogus calls, spoof texts: Fraudsters are exploiting the pandemic to fleece as many unwitting victims as they can. So how to spot a scam and keep your money safe? Join Felicity Hannah and a panel of experts offering top tips to avoid being scammed. Share your experiences by emailing moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox Guests: Katy Worobec, Managing Director, Economic Crime, UK Finance Detective Sergeant Marc Cananur, Kent Police Richard Emery, bank fraud consultant, 4Keys Internati...
Jul 29, 2020•37 min
During the health pandemic a fraud epidemic has been growing. The latest official crime survey found fraud accounts for a third of all crime in England and Wales. It costs the UK economy tens of billions of pounds and very often individuals many thousands of pounds. But the cost is much more than just financial. It can be emotionally and mentally devastating. Money Box has been given access to a rare recording of fraud in progress. An expert assesses what made it so believable and one of the mos...
Jul 25, 2020•35 min
If you're claiming benefits for the first time because of coronavirus, what’s your experience? Millions of people who have lost their jobs or their income since lockdown, are having to apply for Universal Credit for the first time to help meet basic living costs. But how much do you get and how long before the money comes through? Join Paul Lewis and a panel of benefits experts offering advice on how to claim, what you might get and how to avoid pitfalls. Email your questions and stories to mone...
Jul 22, 2020•37 min
The organisation charged by the government to provide debt advice says it expects the number of people in financial difficulties to soar by 60% as the economic crisis begins to hit home. By late 2021 it expects that eight million people will have not been able to pay at least three bills in a six month period. And there are growing concerns that people with severe debt are being exploited by firms selling Individual Voluntary Agreements - a formal debt solution to pay back debts - which the firm...
Jul 18, 2020•33 min
Schools partially closed, nurseries struggling to reopen, grandparents shielding, childminders grappling with social distancing and a lack of au pairs because of travel restrictions. Arguably the UK faces a childcare crisis. At the same time, lockdown is being lifted, the Job Retention Scheme is being wound down, and the government is urging us all back to work to rebuild our shattered economy. But how can parents work without affordable, quality childcare? And how can childcare providers delive...
Jul 15, 2020•38 min
As quarantine is lifted and airports get ready for summer flights, are some airlines taking advantage of people who are being offered the opportunity to rebook their flights? Earlier this week Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined how he planned to get the economy up and running again following the harm done by coronavirus. Front and centre was a £2bn "kick-start' scheme to create more jobs for young people. But does it go far enough? Poppy and Ataysha - two young people who could be helped - tell us ...
Jul 11, 2020•30 min
Online lectures yet full tuition fees; socialising at a distance and virtual fresher's events - all because of the pandemic. So is it financially worthwhile going to uni this year, if you won't be getting the university experience you’d hoped for or dreamed of? How valuable is a degree for your future earnings? Is it better to do an apprenticeship, to earn as you learn? Or ditch higher education altogether and dive into the uncertain jobs market? We'll be taking questions and hearing the dilemma...
Jul 08, 2020•40 min
Just days after a damning House of Lords report, Money Box can reveal that loot boxes in some games aimed at children have win rates of as little as 0.01%. Experts are worried this could get children hooked on gambling. The courts have ordered changes in the way income is calculated which will mean more money for thousands of people on Universal Credit. And we hear from one listener who got his money back for a cancelled holiday through his debit card but now the company is trying to take it bac...
Jul 04, 2020•35 min
The government-backed loans designed to give small firms quick and easy access to cash during the coronavirus crisis. If you've applied for one, what's your experience? Has it saved your business from collapse? Many listeners have contacted us, angry and frustrated at the time it's taking to get the loans approved. For some, time is running out. Without income, how can they pay the bills, never mind adapt to the new phase of lockdown? Unless they get this emergency cash, they're worried they won...
Jul 01, 2020•34 min
Listeners whose holidays have been cancelled are telling us that they are having to pay to get their money back off their credit card. With Helen Saxon, Banking Editor at MoneySavingExpert. Thousands of parents are using lockdown as an excuse not to pay maintenance for their children. Single parent charity Gingerbread say that Covid-19 is making things worse and that the official service that should make them pay is not checking what they say. The face masks that cost $10 to buy but $109 to deli...
Jun 27, 2020•30 min
Are you worried you’re about to lose your job because of the coronavirus crisis? Has the job retention scheme kept you afloat since lockdown – but now your boss wants to let you go? If you’re facing redundancy, it's important to know your rights. How many days’ notice should you get and how much pay? If you're an employer, do you understand your obligations if you have to reduce your workforce? Millions of workers are at risk of redundancy in the coming months as the government furlough scheme s...
Jun 24, 2020•37 min
There's been a sharp rise in the number of people whose identity was stolen last year - up by almost 20% on the year before. It can have a devastating effect on your financial life. One listener tells us how it took months to restore her good name and cost her £10,000. Young people are inevitably hit badly by a major financial crisis like the one we are living through. Figures out this week show that the number of young unemployed people is growing by more than 4000 every single day. One charity...
Jun 20, 2020•29 min
What’s the best way to get fast, reliable and affordable broadband during lockdown? With millions of us now working from home due to Covid-19, and children relying on the internet for online schooling, decent broadband is more important than ever. So how to be sure you're getting the right deal? What offers are available? How easy is it to move to a new provider - and what can you do if your current deal is about to end and you can't get through to your provider? We'll also have top tips on how ...
Jun 17, 2020•40 min
Money Box listeners tell us that their requests for refunds on their motor insurance are being refused despite using their cars less during lockdown. The regulator has recently called on firms to review the value of their policies in light of the lockdown but critics say they let car insurers 'off the hook'. Google is still allowing crooks to advertise dodgy investments and websites, despite telling this programme earlier in the year it was working with the Financial Conduct Authority to offer c...
Jun 13, 2020•29 min
Adam Shaw and guests discuss how you can make a return on your money in turbulent economic times. With saving rates low and stock markets volatile what should your strategy be, even if you only have a small amount to invest? Panel: Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion Felix Milton, financial planner at Philip J Milton Email your questions to moneybox@bbc.co.uk Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon
Jun 10, 2020•36 min
