Money Box

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Cryptocurrency scammers steal a man's house Apr 16, 2022

Show notes

We report on a man who was fed up with poor returns on his savings and tried to invest in cryptocurrency instead. But he ended up losing his savings, his car, and his house as thieves stripped him bare. Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth investigates.

The government is about to announce changes to who is eligible to receive the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales. This £140 payment off one electricity bill will be raised to £150 from next winter. But charities are warning that there will be more than 200,000 disabled people who will no longer get the payment even though, overall, it will go to more people. We hear from Louise Rubin, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the disability equality charity, Scope.

One in four households will not be able to pay their electricity and gas bills in October if prices rise again as they are expected to - that's according to Citizens Advice, as the cost of heating our homes rises much faster than our incomes. Already millions of households are in what is called fuel poverty — unable to afford to heat and light their home. We hear from Caroline Flint, the newly appointed chair of the government’s Committee on Fuel Poverty.

And there are two weeks left to top up your 2021/22 tax free ISA. But would you do better using a regular savings account? We hear from Anna Bowes, co-founder of SavingsChampion.co.uk

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Paul Waters Reporter: Dan Whitworth Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Editor: Richard Vadon

Russia and Pensions Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

How do you make sure your pensions and savings and invested ethically? Do you know where your pension is invested? How much of your money is invested in Russia? How can you put pressure on your pension providers to invest ethically?

Felicity Hannah chats to listeners, guests and our panel of experts about how to make your money ethical.

Panel:

Lucy Coutts, Investment Director at JM Finn wealth management

Becky O’Connor, Head of Pensions and Savings at Interactive Investor

Find out more: https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/

Producer: Drew Hyndman

Editor: Maggie Latham

Boosting your benefits and new online shopping checks Apr 09, 2022

Show notes

Buying things online will be more difficult from Monday. A new law means that every purchase will have to be authenticated by an extra process after you have put in your card number, expiry date, and CVV code on the back. It will mean better protection against fraud, but may exclude some people from online shopping. We hear from Rob Cameron, Chief Executive of Barclaycard Payments, and Helen Saxon, Deputy Editor at Money Saving Expert.

Two not-for-profit lenders have come up with a way to help low income families get the state help they are entitled to. Millions of people miss out of billions of pounds in means-tested benefits every year. Now these lenders have built in a benefits calculator to their loan approval process to help customers claim money they didn’t know they were eligible for. We hear from Theodora Hadjimichael, Chief Executive of Responsible Finance.

Thousands of people try to avoid paying care home fees by putting their house into a trust. They're told it's a way to avoid the local authority counting its value so they get their care free. We hear about one listener's unexpected £900 bill, and about the many pitfalls involved, from Annie Shaw, Saga Magazine’s financial agony aunt.

Why are petrol and diesel prices so high at the pump? Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth investigates.

And a Money Box podcast exclusive - Disability Rights UK has lost almost £43,000 after NatWest mistakenly cleaned out its account without notice and transferred the money to the Crown. We hear from the charity's CEO Kamran Mallick - and whether Money Box is able to get the money back.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Paul Waters Reporter: Dan Whitworth Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham

(Photo Credit: Sturti/Getty images)

Renting lowdown Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

The average UK rent has broken through the £1000 barrier for the first time and inflation is starting to push up landlords costs.

How do you beat the rush for viewings? Could rent controls be a short term solution? And could a good tenant and landlord relationship solve all your woes?

Charmaine Cozier is joined by an expert panel for tenants and landlords to answer questions and offer advice.

Ruth Ehrlich, Policy Manager at Shelter.

Chris Norris, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the National Residential Landlords Association.

Elsie Bradley-Middle, Member of ACORN Renters Union.

For more information on renting and letting: https://www.nrla.org.uk/https://www.shelter.org.uk/

Producer: Drew Hyndman Editor: Emma Rippon

New moves to fight fraudsters faking phone caller IDs Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

The telecoms watchdog Ofcom has drawn up proposals to make it harder for criminals to fake caller ID when they phone people. It’s called number spoofing and happens when crooks use technology to make the number that comes up on your phone appear as though the call is coming from a legitimate organisation like your bank or the police. We hear from Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Group Director for Networks and Communications.

Big changes to the way student loans are repaid in England could change the balance for parents who can afford to pay for their education. The government's plans would extend the repayment period for the loans from 30 to 40 years before any balance is written off and reduce the earnings threshold at which the extra 9% tax kicks in. We hear from Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

A listener who pays for energy via prepayment meters asks if it's worth topping up ahead of prices rises in April. We hear from energy suppliers and the regulator, Ofgem.

Plus a David and Goliath story. Money Box listener David takes on HMRC over self-assessment tax return financial penalties. Listen to find out who wins this time - and how.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Paul Waters Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Ben Henderson Editor: Emma Rippon

(Photo credit Tero Vesalainen/Getty images)

How to stop investing in Russia Apr 02, 2022

Show notes

As Russian military forces continue bombarding Ukrainian cities and civilians, are your investments supporting the Kremlin's regime? International companies have been pulling out of Russian investment, and pension funds and investment firms say they are reducing holdings in Russian companies. But what can ordinary investors do? Are you aware that a tracker fund or an investment bond might help support Russian firms? We hear from Lucy Coutts, Investment Director at JM Finn Wealth Management.

For 1.7 million people across the UK, funeral plans offer peace of mind that when the inevitable happens their loved ones will be spared having to pay for a funeral. But there is big change on the way for the industry and those customers. By this summer all firms in the sector must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, to raise standards in the industry. But an indirect consequence of this is that tens of thousands of customers could lose out. Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth has been investigating. We also hear from Matt Brewis, Director of Insurance at the Financial Conduct Authority, and from James Daley of Fairer Finance.

Many listeners have been getting in touch to ask about rises in the standing charge in their energy bills. We hear from Helen Barnard, Associate Director at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

And Money Box has won back more than £8,000 for a listener who received a huge - and incorrect - fuel bill from Ecotricity. The company founder, Dale Vince, explains what went wrong and what he thinks is going wrong with the wider energy sector - and how to fix it.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Paul Waters Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Ben Henderson Editor: Emma Rippon

(Photo credit: Anghi / Getty Images)

Surviving Debt Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

As the cost of living rises, more people are facing going into debt. Whether it’s your rent, mortgage, utility bills or credit cards, breaking the cycle of debt isn’t easy.

Who can you go to when you’re struggling to pay your debts? How do you prioritise your spending? Can you even negotiate your debts down? And how can you avoid debt altogether?

Felicity Hannah talks to Chloe, Chris, Manga, Christine and James about their debt woes and wins.

And to help advise and guide us through the world of debt they are joined by:

Amy Taylor, Chair of the Greater Manchester Money Advice Group.

Jayashri Lowe, Money Advice Manager at Citizens Advice Stafford North and Stoke On Trent.

Bola Sol, financial coach and the author of How to Save It: Fix your Finances.

For more information on managing debt: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/https://www.bolasol.co.uk/

Producers: Drew Hyndman and Sylvie Carlos Editor: Emma Rippon

Money Box is now first on BBC Sounds Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Looking for the latest episode? New episodes of Money Box will now be available first on BBC Sounds for four weeks before other podcast apps.

If you haven’t already, you can download the BBC Sounds app to listen to the Money Box podcast first.

BBC Sounds is also available in lots of other places. Find us on your voice device or smart speaker, on your connected TV, in your car, or at bbc.co.uk/sounds.

The latest episode is available on BBC Sounds right now. BBC Sounds – you can find exclusive music mixes, live BBC radio and more podcasts like this one.

My job was not ‘as advertised’ Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

A BBC investigation has found that more than 50 people were tricked into working for a design agency that turned out to be fake. They were hired during the lockdown and convinced the company was a successful business. But it had an online universe of fake profiles, stolen work and lies. Workers were all Jobfished. Charmaine Cozier talks to BBC reporter Catrin Nye who investigated this story for the past 12 months and to former employee, Jordan Carter about what happened to him

The programme also discusses what lessons we can learn to keep safe while searching & applying for jobs and what you can do if your job was not “as advertised”?

We are offered guidance by: Keith Rosser , Co-Director and Chair of Jobsaware which provides free and independent advice on how to protect your rights as a non-permanent worker, whether that's through an agency, umbrella company or as part of the gig economy.

John Clinch, an employment lawyer at 3CS Corporate Solicitors Ltd

For further information https://www.jobsaware.co.uk/workers

Producer Smita Patel Editor Emma Rippon

Saving face-to-face debt advice Feb 19, 2022

Show notes

Plans to cut back on face-to-face debt advice in favour of regional call centres have been scrapped - for now. We hear from Craig Simmons, Head of Debt Policy and Strategy at the Money and Pensions Service, and from debt adviser Amy Taylor, who is also Chair of the Greater Manchester Money Advice Group. (Debt Advice links below.)

An estimated £75 million a year is stolen from people in the UK by online subscription frauds. You buy one thing and are secretly subscribed forever. Reporter Athar Ahmad investigates the scams designed to tie customers up into monthly payments without them realising. (And there's more on this story on File on 4 on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 8pm.)

Around four million people have been moved from their energy supplier to one of the remaining big ones as 29 energy firms have gone bust since January last year. And that has left many people not knowing where they are with their bills - how much they might owe and to which firm and of course what will happen to any credit they have built up with the supplier that has gone out of business. So how do you get back £500 taken by your energy supplier who has gone bust? Reporter Dan Whitworth explains.

There are about 1.7 million homes in the UK that are heated by oil from a tank outside. But unlike with mains gas, there is no price cap. We hear from Money Box listeners, and from Ken Cronin, the Chief Executive of the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association, UKIFDA.

Debt Advice links: Money Helper - moneyhelper.org.uk/en/money-troubles/dealing-with-debt# Citizens Advice - citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/ Step Change - stepchange.org National Debtline - nationaldebtline.org Advice NI - adviceni.net

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Paul Waters Reporters: Dan Whitworth & Athar Ahmad Researcher: Marianna Brain Editor: Emma Rippon

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