Question Time: Can I back-claim Child Benefit? Change broadband before April? Why does my 7% regular saver only pay 4%?

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Podcast Question Times edition. If you've got any questions you Please record the first. What are my consumer rights if there's something wrong with a You're going to need to be a little bit more than a little bit

Hello and welcome to the cunningly named The Martin Lewis podcast. I do wonder what that's gonna be about. And this is our question time edition, where you get to ask me your questions on absolutely anything and everything, open brackets within reason, close brackets. This week it's a geekastic pod. Yes, some of the questions have gone seriously to Nerdville, and I have to tell you, I've enjoyed it.

The questions were, should I wait till April to change my broadband to avoid price hikes? Can I back claim child benefit now I know I'm eligible? Why did my 7% regular savers account? only pay me half that in interest. If I buy credits to get a game and then it's faulty, can I get a refund in cash? I have a disability, so I need others to drive me in my car, how do I get insurance? And Martin, what do you think of the Dead Ringer's impression of you?

Hello everybody and welcome to this week's Question Time Edition and back with us again. It's the curator of questions himself. Doctor Professor Sir Matthew Burnham Esquire. Let's just keep adding titles until uh until you run out. What was that? Doctor Professor? Sir Matthew Burnham Esquire. All of which I should note technically are false titles, but it's an honorific and why not? Uh you weren't with us last week, Matt. I was not. Did you listen to Question Time while you were off?

No I didn't. You're that's uh I mean Simon did a great job and we made a couple of jokes about you and you didn't get them to hear them. So are you gonna tell me what the jokes are? Do I need to do that? No, you need to go back and listen. You can go back and listen on two times speed. You're very capable of doing that. But I I you should have listened.

I should have listened. Um I hope you were doing something that was extremely good fun if you felt you shouldn't listen to the question time podcast. I was actually. So when we record this on the Thursday, uh I was at a wedding. Um my partner's friend was getting married.

Okay. But I mean there's been another six days since then. You could have listened to the it's a podcast, it's not a radio programme. That is true, and I could listen on my walk into work. You could have listened on your walk into work. Well, maybe next week we'll discuss last week's podcast.

Okay. You're gonna quiz me. All right, I hope you're well, buddy. What have you got for me this week? Shall we start with a question on broadband? This one is from Jamie, he's in editing to Martin Lowe's podcast at bbc.co.uk. He starts Dear Martin And then in brackets, care of Matt. Couldn't think of a smart slash amusing way of addressing you both. Sorry. That's fine. You got the dear Martin. That's what Matt.

Maybe a m a funny one does help, but um I'll just take that. Uh he says my broadband deal is coming to an end at the start of next month, early March, and I'm looking to switch I've got the question in front of me here now and you missed a line. I like that line. Why have you missed that line? Where wherever b Sorry, I did. He says that I hope you're both well, love the podcasts, and thank you for the money-saving help over the years. Thank you very much.

My broadband deal is coming to an end at the start of next month, early March, and I'm looking to switch. I am of course utilising a well known comparison site, unnamed, to find the best deals, in my case around twenty pounds a month. However, almost all the cheapest providers are ramping up their prices in April, usually by four pounds or so.

For the prices I've seen, this is around fifteen percent, way above inflation. When my current deal expires, I'll go onto a rubbish rate, around twenty pounds a month. over what I could pay if I switch to a new provider. But am I better to wait until April? I know if I sign up for a new provider now, the price will go up then, but will the price of new deals go up by that much when it gets to April? What an interesting question.

So yes, you're quite right. Uh most companies now have to obey the Ofcom pound and pence rule that says that if they're going to increase prices during the contractual period, then they have to tell you in advance of exactly in pounds of pests how much that hike will be.

And the net effect of that has been we see even bigger mid-contract price rises than we did before. They're now transparent, but they're bigger than before when it was just linked to inflation plus a few percent. And certainly for those people who have relatively cheap deals, the the effect of the price hike, a four pi percent price hike, is way I mean fifteen percent is way above inflation. Inflation's around three percent. So even

Uh if it were to be three percent plus three percent, that'd be six percent, that isn't fifteen percent. So yeah, I mean I have we've discussed ad nauseum on the main pod, my problems with the Ofcom regime on this, and I don't think they've got the right solution, but it is what it is. So this question is really interesting. Effectively, you're saying there are cheap broadband deals now. I know they're gonna go up.

But if I wait until April, will they still be the same price as now? And they'll only be telling me they're gonna go up by four pounds in the following April, and therefore I will have longer on a shorter price pan. And my answer to that, which is a really clever question, Jamie, is I don't know. is a based on short term promotional deals.

Right. You always want to be going via a comparison site or a site that does comparisons in the least. Because what most broadband companies do is on their own sites they have to offer existing customers the same deal. That they're giving new customers. And they do that by tariffs. But then what they do on the comparison sites is they use marketing or incentives. So it could be they're giving you a£50 Amazon voucher or a hundred pound prepaid card.

And that's how they get price competitive on the comparison sites where there's more elasticity of demand where where people are price sensitive are going. Now the uh the way they set those prices is both in relation to their own underlying price, but also to the prevailing market conditions at the time. So if you're lucky enough to spot it when there's a price war.

uh and they're all going for it, then I think it is perfectly possible after April you will be able to get a deal that net over the two year contract, including the price rises, is cheaper than the deals that are available right now. But I can't guarantee it, and I can't guarantee when. Now, one of the interesting things about this that because of the way c compliance works, I have to be careful what I say.

Um let's say there are websites out there that send out emails each week, right? And they have lots of people who read them. When they cover broadband. Then often what the providers will do once they know they're covering broadband is they will all try and give promo prices so that they can be cheapest on that particular week. And that will often move markets when there are sites that do that type of thing who are covering those subjects.

So it it it w really will depend on that type of I hope I managed to make sense of that on that type of coverage, whether that's happening in April or not, whether that's a top story or not in in the various different places that do.

Uh the safest thing to do,£20 a month with it going up by four pounds and so£24 is not bad for broadband. Most people are paying£50,£60 quid and I bet you're getting a faster speed. So the bird in the hand thing would be just to do it now. But if you want to be dicey, live life on the edge. You could wait and hope in April it gets cheaper. It is certainly not implausible that that will happen, but I I just can't give you a firm answer because it's we're not there yet.

Is that a good amount do you think of that answer, Matt? I'm a bit confused. I can't lie. Tell me why. Um so he's asking if he stays for another month. And then gets a new broadband deal. Is that what he's asking about? Mm-hmm. His contract's going to end now and so next month he'll pay forty pounds. Right. Right? He's saying, Should I wait, pay one month of forty pounds, and then in April

Will there be deals now that are cheaper? Because what's happening now is he's signing up for a deal for twenty quid, but he's being told it's going up four quid in April. So in reality For most of his first year of his contract he's paying twenty four quid a month. But he's saying, but if I wait it till April, because they only put next price hypes up in April, will I just be able to get a deal at twenty pounds a month?

And it won't be the h four pound higher. And I'm saying, well it depends. Yes. And I think actually you you've crystallised this for me in a way because I think We what we actually have to factor in is it it has to be over twenty quid cheaper over the next two years. for it to be worth you holding off because you're gonna pay twenty pounds a month for the cost of waiting one month to get the new deal.

I would say on the balance of probabilities, I don't know, but on the balance of probabilities I just if there's a good cheap deal available that's right for you at the moment, I'd go and get the good cheap deal that's available that's right for you at the moment and just accept that you're gonna have those price heights coming.

I quite like that nerdy one to start. I I do like a geeky one, Matt. Uh next one I'm guessing is a caller. Well normally yes. But this question I like so much. And I asked Jennifer, who emailed it in, if she could come on and she's got meetings, she's too busy and I was like, But I really wanna get you on, so why don't you record the question? We'll play it and then you can answer

So it's a voice note. It's a voice note. It's a voice note. It's almost like a caller, because all of this is recorded, but it's not. Hello, this is the Martin Lewis Podcast Question Times Edition. If you've got any questions you'd like to ask, please record them now. Boop! Hi Martin and Mr Burnham Esquire, Jennifer here from Manchester.

I had my child in twenty twenty one and I opted out of child benefits because I had understood I wasn't eligible. I think I earned around sixty thousand pounds at the time.

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I don't recall the child benefit form explaining clearly to a sleep deprived parent what you could be missing out on, or that there are stepped benefits depending on your income.

Rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n rwy'n Oh, thank you, Jennifer, and thank you so much for your voicemail question.

Right, let's go through this. Yes, things have changed since then. Uh when you were first claiming, the rule is always it's based on if you're a couple, it's based on the highest earner's income. So the second earner is irrelevant, it's the highest earner's income that matters. So that's you.

When in twenty twenty one when you started claiming this the rule was you started to lose that so effectively lose it comes back through a charge through the tax system. But let's not worry about that. Let's just work about whether you would net gain from it. You start to lose child benefit at fifty thousand pounds and you lose it totally at sixty thousand pounds of highest earner's income.

That changed and it's something the whole highest earner thing is something I have a real problem about. It's completely unfair on um single parent families and and uh single earner families and but hey, w we won't do do that now. F in April because of campaigning on that, in April twenty twenty four they did change the thresholds. So the thresholds which are now in place and have been in place since April twenty twenty fourth fir from a change from Jeremy Hunt.

was that you start to lose child benefit at highest earner's income of sixty thousand pounds and it's totally gone at highest earners income of eighty thousand pounds. So if you now earn under eighty thousand pounds, you should Claim child benefit. If you're between sixty and eighty thousand pounds, you will then have to pay some of it back through the tax system, but net, factoring both in, you would still be up.

You are quite right to say that you can only backdate three months, I'm afraid. So if you've been eligible longer I I don't have any suggestions for you, um but because I don't think the there's a procedural impropriety in what they've done that you would be able to argue here. But um I mean you could check it with the lawyer, but I doubt it. Uh so you're claiming about three months. So doing this as quickly as possible is important. It is also worth me saying while we're talking child benefit.

that it is the act of claiming child benefit that triggers national insurance credits for those who aren't working. So child benefit is always best claimed by the parent who is least likely to be working by some point over the next sixteen odd years. So that it's going onto their file. D in both you and your husband's cases, you're both working, so you'll be getting national insurance credits from work anyway, so it isn't an issue.

Uh and the backdating if the wrong person has claimed or you didn't claim and you're not getting your your national insurance credits, which of course count towards your total pension entitlement, that can be backdated longer than three months.

But yeah, I um I I totally get the sleep deprived stuff. We've all been that or all of us who have children have been there. We know exactly what it's like. It is a very tough stage of life. You weren't focused on it. There is you know, it's just frustration. But I think

Th if you possibly can, I would be trying to claim your child benefit now if you've got earnings under£80,000 and your husband is also earning under£80,000 still. Above that, you're not entitled. And these single earner, highest earner cutoff,

are a real problem you have another one where your eligibility for um funded childcare and what's called the tax free childcare system cuts off if you've got a single earner earning over a hundred thousand pounds, regardless of what the other person in the family earns. Uh and that is, you know, effectively increases marginal tax rate when it's already increasing. But I'm I'm I'm going off on tangents. I shall stop there. I hope that answers your question, Jennifer.

Just realise you can't say yes it does'cause it was a voice note. Hopefully it does. Can I also say I was secretly very happy with my voicemail recording thing and who who got the timing? The timing was perfect. Who did it? So that was Lindsay pushing the buttons. Oh Lindsa Lindsay, you nailed it. You nailed it. That was cool. Okay, so we've done written question.

Voice note question. Gotta be another written question. Of course. I'll read this one if you'd like. Yep. Okay. One from Raquel. She's emailed it in. Hi Martin. Thank you for your great show. You're helping a lot of people. Ah, thank you. No mention of me. Uh I save regularly into an account that has an interest rate of seven per cent. I thought for a full year deposit of three thousand six hundred pounds I should get five uh two hundred and fifty two pounds of interest.

Why do I receive only a fraction a hundred and thirty six pounds, if I recall it right? Thank you very much. Oh Raquel, this is a very, very common question and I can answer it for you. And it's actually very interesting because in last week's podcast, Matthew Mm-hmm. We discussed regular savings accounts in two of the questions. I see. So you won't know that yet'cause you haven't listened to last week's Question Time podcast yet. No.

Anyway. Uh so Regular savings accounts are accounts offered often linked to a bank account. where you get high rates of interest. I think the highest one at the moment is Zoper at seven point one percent, but you got First Direct at seven percent. And there are also some building societies that offer them, even if you don't have the bank account, with about six percent. The key to them though

is they're for regular saving. They're for putting one, two, three hundred pounds a month in each month. They're not for lump sums. They normally last for a year. Some of them allow you to take money out. And let me be very plain, on the money you have in them, they are the highest interest rate possible. When you're at seven percent, it is a real seven percent.

But here's the confusion, Matt, I'm gonna do this with you. There might be a little bit of math involved. Are you up for it? I am. Math is not my strong point. But we'll go,'cause this is a conceptual explanation. Go on. Okay. So, you have an account. That you're putting three hundred pounds a month in. So at the start of the first month you have nothing. Mm-hmm. After month one, you've got three hundred pounds. Mm-hmm.

After month two you've got six hundred pounds and maybe a bit of interest. After month three, th nine hundred pounds and so on and so on and so on until the end of the year you've got three thousand six hundred pounds in. Which is what Raquel's asking about. What is your average balance over the year, roughly? I don't know. What what would you think? I don't know. You start on nothing, you end up with£3,600.

Is it half? It's half. Ah It's half. Yeah, you got there. Well done. Thank you. Which is eighteen hundred quid. So That is conceptually how you have to think about it. Now, what you're saying to me, what Raquel said to me in the question is I've got a full year deposit of three thousand six hundred pounds, I have should have two hundred and fifty-two pounds interest, which is seven percent of three thousand six hundred. But you haven't had three thousand six hundred pounds in for a year.

You can only get interest on the money paid in your account. In the first month you only had three hundred quid in. In the second month you only had six hundred quid in. It's only after exactly twelve months that you've got the three thousand six hundred the maximum in.

So a better way to conceptually think about this is your average balance over the year was 1800 pounds. What's seven percent of eighteen hundred pounds? He says slightly panicking as he asked the question himself. So was 70% of a thousand pounds.

uh is uh 70 pounds and seven percent of eighty pounds is fifty six quid. So that's a hundred and twenty-six pounds plus you'd probably get a little bit more for compound interest on top. So I would estimate doing off the top of my head it's 130 quid and I think You said in your question it was a hundred and thirty six quid. So that adds up to me.

So it's always basically, I mean another way to do it is you get a little over half what you would calculate it to be if you did it based on your 3,600 and you're maxing it out. And people always come to me and they say it's a sham. They said 7% interest. It wasn't 7% interest.

You know, they gave me way less than 7% of the final balance. It's only on the money that you've got in there. Now, if we think about this conceptually, a good way to think about this is imagine that you had that amount of money and you wanted to put it in a regular savings account.

So you've got£3,600, you want to put it in a regular savings account. Let's remember the£3,600 you have at the start is sitting somewhere. It it's not nowhere. So you might have that in an easy access savings account paying 4%. So after month one You've got£300 earning 7% in the regular saver, and you've got£3,300 earning 4% in the easy access savings. After month two, you've got£600 in the regular saver. You've got three thousand pounds in the AZ Access account earning four percent.

And if you think about it that way, then you would understand, well of course they're not gonna give me interest in the whole three thousand six hundred pounds, because I was earning it elsewhere. I was earning it on the easy access account'cause it was in the easy access account at the time and they should have been giving me interest and that I hope

it is a way of thinking about it and some people do actually do that drip-theme method so that they're moving money from easy access into a regular saver where they get more interest. in a way that that works for you. I got all excited about that. That's a second geek question. This is a great show for me. I mean the listeners might be sitting there thinking, Oh my god, this is nerdy but I'm enjoying myself. Well, at least one person is.

Two Matt. You should have said two. Two. You and Rosie. Okay. You mentioned Rosie. Wonderful Rosie who sits with me, uh who works with me on all of these things. And who was this week Really, she's done a great document, hasn't she, Matt? She has. She's put in links so we can click to the questions. Honestly, it's it's very exciting. It's very exciting. Rosie is now the guru of Google Docs.

That maybe that's a title, Google dot guru. Google dot goog guru Rosie. Google Guru is G R G R. Goog no, it's not. G G R G G D G R. Let's just get on to the next question.

Right, Matt, you must have a caller. We've got to have at least one caller in a show. Yeah, we'll have a caller. We'll actually speak to a a human being. Um so we've got Alex, he's in a Brixworth. Hi Alex. Well what is your question? Uh so my question is, I was um buying a game online the other week and I noticed I had to uh

pay for credits first and then use those credits to purchase the game. Which just got me thinking, what are my consumer rights if there's something wrong with the game and I want to return it or, you know, get my money back. Oh that is a very interesting question. The first thing is the rights would attach themselves to the purchase of a digital item. I presume it's a download game for downloading that you're buying rather than something physical. That's right.

So the right so you would have all your standard SAD FART consumer rights, you know, item must be of satisfactory quality as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time, SAD FART rights on the digital item itself. I think I presume your question is about are you owed cash or are you owed credits back if it were to go wrong? Yeah, exactly. So

It's a grey area, is I think the the first place to honestly say. And ultimately, as in all these things, the frustration with consumer rights, and if I do hark back to when I gave evidence at Parliament to the Consumer Rights Act,

I raised this was my main point then, is ultimately there's no ombudsman, there's no easy way to find out. Your only way to push this would be to have to go to court, which is not what you want to do. Certainly you're not gonna do it for a game, are you? Let's be honest.

No, of course not there. Which No. So if you were to do this, we've got to be we can be practic we can be legal and we can be practical. Now I would think and sort of thinking through this, if They said you want to buy this game, you have to buy credits to buy this game, and you bespoke only purchased an amount of credit. to specifically buy that direct co game

I think you would have a very strong argument that you should have the refund in cash because you weren't buying credits for their own sake, you were only buying the credits as a means uh of them of a mechanism of purchasing the game. Is that is that the situation you're describing?

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Okay, so I think then in that case I think you'd have a strong argument for a cash refund. Unfortunately though, if they refused, you would have to take them to court to do it, which would be a problem. It is worth me contrasting a slight difference.

If they said, Hey, we operate a credit system on our site, why not buy a hundred credits and you can buy lots of different games with it? And you would therefore, at some point in the future, you hadn't bought your credits as a in a sort of hypothecated directly to buying one game. you just book credits to generally be able to use the facility of buying games at that store, then I think you would have far weaker rights to demand a cash refund, you would just be able to demand a credit refund.

So my best guess, and if there are any consumer lawyers listening, I would love your view, because this is a legal question. My best guess is I think you'd have a very strong case for getting your money back if you only bought the credits to buy the game.

Okay. So so in future if buying more games it's probably better to err on the side of caution then I guess and just download enough credits. Yeah, unl well that's the question, isn't it? Because unless they're giving you a big discount for buying more credits.

Ah, true, yeah, true. Yeah, and but then again, that so that's all if it's a one off purchase it's a one off purchase. If it's a store that you're gonna use a lot, well in which case getting credits back wouldn't be that big a problem for you anyway, would it? Because you'd buy it again. So I think I'd probably factor that in there.

That wa that was an interesting question. I just hope I've got the answer right. It is it is a complex piece of law, so it isn't a hundred percent me. So uh please please have a little give me a bit of wriggle room in that one if you don't mind, Alex. Yeah, of course, yeah. Thank you very much. My pleasure. Thank you for getting in touch. Appreciate it. Yeah, cheers. Good to speak to you. Thanks both. Bye bye.

Are you sitting there thinking, oh, I know what I wanted to ask him? Well, this is your opportunity. If you've got a question, then just send them in to martinlewispodcast at bbc.co.uk. And please do start them Dear Martin. No, dear Matt. Dear Martin. Dear Matt. Okay, so Matt, at this point in the podcast

This is where you put me to the test with something that's nothing to do with money normally. What have you got for me? Yeah, something to lighten this up a little bit. Fun question from Andy. He's emailed it in. He says, Dear Matt and Martin. To Martin. But first of all, Andy, write order, please. Yeah, that is the right order. Thanks thanks, Andy. He says, Do you find the impersonations of yourself on Dead Ringers and other comedy shows?

I don't know that the Matt they did impersonations of Matt on comedy shows. Yay. Martin, do you find the impersonations of yourself on Dead Ringers and other comedy shows very funny? He then goes on to say to Matt, do you find the impersonations of Martin on Dead Ringers funny? Love the podcast.

Why didn't you answer first, Matt? Well, I when I first saw this I was like, I don't know what he's talking about. And then when I thought about it, I have seen these. Oh, I have heard these and they are funny. He I don't know the guy who does it, but he has Nailed you. So I know John of old, and uh John and my wife used to be mates. So it it is quite amusing uh in the fact. I I don't I take it as at the moment it's always been relatively flattering.

I have to say, and I I and um there's no slur to John's skills here, I don't think vocally he sounds like me. I think there's some of the cadence of delivery when I go fast that he's got. Yeah. And I c and and I can get I can see the fun in in the way that it's done, you know.

So you get yourself a cash icer and you take your cash icer and you take your three poots on the back of the cash icer and you put the cash Icer back into and then suddenly boom you've got four thousand pounds and you can buy a missile And that's the type of stuff they do. Um, and and I get that, but I don't think it actually sounds like me. I'd just like to say that point. I don't think it sounds like my voice. My voice is a lot deeper than that.

Uh Do what you feel they hinder or beneficial to the important messages that you convey. Well look, I mean, if we go back to the whole spitting image, which you're too young to remember, Matt, but the whole spitting image thing was a a real issue for certainly for

yw'r Social Democratic Party, yw'r Lib Dems, yw'r big David Owen, yw'r little David Steele, ac rwy'n creu'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n rwy'n creu'n creu'n rwy'n creu'. So there's always a risk in that. I don't think Dead Ringers i it I don't think it does that. I take it in good humour that it's taking the Mickey. I don't think of it as a hindrance of the message at all.

to be honest with you. I don't think it I think if they tried to if they got closer in their explanations to something I would actually say, then it might become a problem because I'm always very paranoid of people sort of representing me and giving misinformation out. But it isn't that. I do find it quite funny, but I think the voice needs a little bit of work. Sorry, John. Sorry. Matt, just in case I don't know if you've allowed the rights.

Why don't you pay a little clip of it here so people can hear? Okay. So if you hear the clip next, then I I'm able to play it and if you don't hear the clip, then I'm not allowed to play it. Yeah, but you wouldn't put this bit in anyway. Stop everything, help us arrived. Who are you? How did you get in here? I am Martin Lewis, money-saving expert.

And I got in here because I helped your head of security save sixty-two percent on his broadband. Now, if you want to make your defence spending go further, then you must do exactly as I say! Rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r rwy'r And Matt, w after all that, this is the real me still here.

I've got a question from someone who wants to remain anonymous. John. Um John. John. Well, someone actually did say that we should call people um different things in the podcast. Um Miss M Mini Penny or Mr Iver Shilling. I quite Iva Shilling I quite like. Ivo Shilling, so. Ivor. So what's Iver asking? Ivor is asking about car insurance. So um he's emailed it and he says, Hello Martin, and then in brackets slash Matt. Acceptable.

Will you help me highlight the problem disabled people have with getting car insurance when they themselves are physically unable to drive but need a vehicle to get around? Oh I've I've not heard of this before. So Go for it, yeah. Okay, so the situation is that I own my own vehicle and have done for thirty plus years and have always had an any driver policy. Yeah. Quite a few years ago, any driver policy started requiring a named driver.

Initially that was fine as I could use my parents, but as they became older, they themselves aren't driving. This means I'm now in a difficult position as the people I allow to drive me are agency staff and they change. He says FYI, the motability scheme, isn't appropriate here, as the down payment required roughly every three years is prohibitively high.

Last checked over ten thousand pounds for a wheelchair accessible vehicle on a vehicle costing circa thirty thousand pounds and his current one is sixteen years old. If you do broadcast this on your excellent podcast, I'd like to remain anonymous, please. Well we're gonna carry on calling you Iva, Iva, and but of course your anonymity is absolutely fine.

So I mean this isn't this isn't a subject I have a great deal of expertise on. Uh the any driver policies I am aware of, but I understand that it's a name driver. Now My instinct, you've probably already done quite a lot of hard work on this. My instinct would be that this isn't the type of thing that comparison sites are going to help you with. And this is an area where you're going to need some specialized help. And that would mean a broker.

I'd probably be thinking of someone like Adrian Flux or Howden would be the type of uh brokers who would look at these type of policies. I think you're gonna need to speak to a human being where you can explain the type of cover that you require and they're probably gonna have to build you

uh a policy. Uh th there is a chance it'll be cash c classed as a commercial policy as well, I would think, because effectively you're letting someone While while not an employee of yours, someone who is doing it in a work capacity drive you to to help you through this system?

So I would be thinking that would be the best system. If you only had one or two people who would be driving your vehicle then you might want to put them in as name drivers and then just get have the annoyance of having to pay the fee to change the name drivers a a couple of times each year if they

if they do change. But I sort of I'm getting the indication from your question that isn't the scenario that you're in. Um it's uh it's frustrating that there isn't a simpler policy, isn't it? I don't know if any of the disability charities um have have done any work on this. Uh and maybe if anybody is listening who knows more about this than I do uh and who has experience or anything that they can uh write in, get in touch to help either it

Martin Lewis podcast at bbc dot co dot uk. But maybe I've pointed you in the right direction either. Uh I wish you the best with it. Thank you so much for your question.

That's it for this week's question time. Don't forget to subscribe so you know when we release a new episode. We tend to put out a new question time episode each Monday alongside the podcast with Adrian on Thursdays. Aren't you lucky? Two doses of money saving tips and tricks a week. Do please send in your questions if you'd like to martinlewispodcast at bbc.co.uk and address them, DearMartin. It's dear Matt. DearMartin. Dear Matt. Dear Martin Martin Martin.

Martin Lewis is the founder of MoneysavingExpert.com. But of course, other consumer and price comparison websites are available. You can get in touch with Martin's podcast production team by emailing martinlewispodcast at bbc.co.uk. The offers and rates mentioned in the podcast are correct at the time of recording. However, if you are listening on demand, it's worth double checking as details can date. Remember to subscribe on BBC Sounds and leave us a review however you listen.

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