The Office for National Statistics has published the first of a new quarterly set of figures designed to reflect how inflation is experienced by households. They are called the Household Costs Indices and include things like mortgage costs, interest and insurance. It showed that overall UK household costs rose by 8.2% in the 12 months to September.  How does it compare to other measures and what impact could it have?
 
Are you thinking of buying a gift card as a present for Christmas?  There's a warning that people looking to use gift cards this Christmas need to be on the look out for scams and fraud.   And from 1st January the cost of heating and lighting your home and cooking your food will rise in England, Scotland, and Wales. The average increase in energy bills will be just over 5% adding £94 a year to the typical bill.  As some suppliers begin offering deals to fix your costs we'll ask what should you do? Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle (First broadcast 12pm Saturday 16th December 2023)

Inflation, Gift Cards and Energy Deals

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Unpaid carers spend at least 35 hours a week looking after someone close to them. That someone may have an illness, a disability, a mental health problem or even an addiction, but what matters is that they cannot cope without that care. There are almost 6 million unpaid carers in the UK with 40% living in poverty according to charity Carers UK.  This week we have a special audio diary from one carer trying to hold down a job around those care commitments, we will also hear from those who have given up work to care full time. The Department for Work and Pensions told us; 'We recognise the importance of carers, who play a vital role in our communities. We have increased Carer’s Allowance by almost £1,500 since 2010, with those on low incomes potentially eligible for an extra £2,400 a year.' So if you're unsure about the rules around carers allowance, assessments and where you can get help and support, Felicity Hannah is joined by Emily Holzhausen, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK and Caroline Abrahams, Head of Charity at Age UK, Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Sara Wadeson This episode was first broadcast on the 1st May 2024.

Money Box Live: The Cost of Caring

A senior MP has told Money Box that the government must take urgent action to stop carers working up thousands of pounds of debt after unwittingly receiving overpayments of Carer's Allowance. Unpaid carers, who look after a loved one full time, are entitled to nearly £82 per week in Carer's Allowance. On top of that they can earn up to £151 take home pay. But stray above that earnings limit, even by just a few pence, and they lose the full allowance. The Department for Work and Pensions is alerted on a month by month basis when this happens, but in some cases carers were not told of their mistake for years. Labour MP Stephen Timms, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee says it should never have taken so long for carers to be notified. 
The UK's biggest credit card provider, Barclaycard, is cutting minimum payments on its card to 1% from July. It is not the only credit card provider to allow 1% minimum payments, and Barclaycard says it's made the changes to increase flexibility for customers. We look at what it means in practice for customers, in terms of how much more you'll ultimately pay in interest and how long it'll take to pay off the debt. 
And we return to the subject of ISAs - Individual Savings Accounts. New changes this month should mean that customers can open multiple ISAs of the same type in the same tax year, and make partial transfers of funds between them. Money Box has learnt that many of the biggest ISA providers in the UK are not yet offering customers these new freedoms, why? Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Studio Producer: Craig Henderson
Editor: Beatrice Pickup (first broadcast on Saturday 27th April 2024)

Carers Allowance and Minimum Payments on Credit Cards

Around 10 million people across the UK live in a leasehold property. That means they viewed the house or flat, bought it, may be paying off a mortgage to eventually own it outright.  However, they are actually tenants of whoever owns the freehold. What they have bought is the right to live in the property for a given amount of time. Sometimes that's for the best part of a thousand years - sometimes it's for much less. In this episode we hear from leaseholders on what some of the issues are, including ground rent and service charges and what can be done about them.  We'll also hear from a charity which relies on leasehold revenues. It's a system that even ministers have described as feudal - behind the scenes, work continues on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which is being examined by members of the House of Lords this week.  The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities say; “It is not fair that many leaseholders face unregulated ground rents for no guaranteed service in return." The Residential Freehold Association told us; “The Government’s own report into leaseholder perspectives highlighted that the vast majority of leaseholders are content with the leasehold system."  To answer your comments and questions, Felicity Hannah is joined by Matt Lewis, a Consultant Solicitor at Commonhold and Leasehold Experts Limited and Martin Boyd, chair of the government funded Leasehold Advisory Service and also chair of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, which supports and campaigns on behalf of leaseholders.  Presenter: Felicity Hannah 
Producer: Sarah Rogers/Amber Mehmood
Editor: Beatrice Pickup This episode was first broadcast on the 24th of April 2024

Money Box Live: What's going on with leasehold?

New regulations aim to ensure that victims of fraud are treated fairly, no matter who they trust with their money. 
The financial watchdog, the Payment Systems Regulator, says many firms are not doing enough to refund victims of authorised push payment fraud. Currently the majority of high street banks are signed up to a voluntary charter that makes banks liable for customer losses. However many people hold accounts with firms known as Electronic Money Institutions, or EMIs. Such firms are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority but do not have a banking licence. The new rules from the Payment Systems Regulator will be mandatory for both banks and EMIs. When they come into force in October they should cover nearly all payments made by individuals in the UK except international ones and those involving cryptocurrency. 
We hear from Money Box listener Carol, who had to spend a year fighting to get the money stolen from her refunded.
New changes to the way ISAs, Individual Savings Accounts, simpler come in this month. Officially they should mean that savers now have the option to open more than one cash or stocks & shares ISA in the same year. We look at whether providers will be allowing customers to take advantage. 
And how do you pay for your car insurance? A new report from the consumer organisation Which? found that it can cost much more if you opt for monthly payments. A survey of 39 car insurance providers found an average APR of over 23% was charged for monthly payments, and the highest APR found was over 39%.  Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Editor: Beatrice Pickup (first broadcast Saturday 20th April 2024)

New Fraud Refund Rules and ISA Changes

This week car insurance bosses, appeared in front of MP's as part of an investigation into the cost of premiums. They're continuing to rise and according to price comparison site Compare the Market are up 46% over the last year, making the typical payment for comprehensive insurance £892 a year.  Consumer group Which? say some insurers are charging 'eye-watering' APR rates on those spreading the cost over the course of 12 months. So, we put your questions and comments to the Association of British Insurers who tell us it's been a difficult year for the industry. But it's not just insurance, we're also looking at the cost of fuel, maintenance and of course alternatives to running a car altogether. To answer your questions and comments Felicity Hannah is joined by Rachel Burgess the editor of magazine Auto car and Stuart Masson from online publication, The Car Expert.   Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle This episode was first broadcast on Wed 17th April 2024

Inflation, Gift Cards and Energy Deals

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