Money Box

New tactics to fight mobile phone fraud are being rolled out across England and Wales. It's when mobile phones are stolen not for the value of the physical handset but for criminals to access the banking and financial apps and steal money from victims. Paul Lewis speaks to the national lead on robbery, Commander Richard Smith, about how new intelligence and techniques to pursue suspects have led to arrests and prosecutions going to court.

More and more of us are paying tax on our savings. Recent figures suggest that in April over 6 million savings accounts were set to earn enough interest to have to pay tax. That is more than double the number of accounts the year before, according to analysis by the lender Shawbrook. In November, HMRC told us that for the majority of customers this tax on savings interest is automatically collected using their tax code, but many listeners get in touch concerned they will have to pay tax and wondering how to do it. What should they do?

Listeners and lawyers who are court appointed deputies say banks won't let them act properly for the person they protect. We’ll speak to the Association of Lifetime Lawyers about what they're seeing. UK Finance, which represents banks, says it knows there's more to be done and that it's working with members and government bodies to look at how greater consistency can be achieved across the industry.

And, what's a children’s pension and how do they work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 20th July 2024)

Average rents in the UK rose by well over 8% in the past year, according to the ONS. In today’s King’s Speech, the new government has committed to introducing legislation to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes. That included ending no fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession.

So what will that mean for your money and your home?

Joining us are Jasmine Basran from Crisis - a charity for people experiencing homelessness, Richard Donnell, from the property platform Zoopla and Richard Blanco, a landlord and property expert from the National Residential Landlords Association.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 17th July 2024)

More than 9 out of 10 people did not pay for financial advice in the past two years and that number is growing. The figures come from surveys by the financial services consultancy The LangCat. It found the proportion of people paying for financial advice fell from 11% of adults to 9% between this year's report and one they did a year ago. We'll hear from them about the reasons behind it.

What will the new government do to change employment rights and wages? We’ll discuss the potential new employment bill ahead of the King's Speech.

And the new security measures people can take to protect themselves from mobile phone fraud. This is when people's phones are stolen not for the value of the physical handsets but so criminals can try to access the financial apps stored on them to steal hundreds or, often, thousands of pounds from victims.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 13th July 2024)

A new government has taken office so what might that mean for the financial issues you've told us you care about?

A big topic you got in touch with us about is the cost of care in old age.

Unlike NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use and a place in residential care costs around £60,000 a year according to carehome.co.uk. The bill can go up enormously for anyone who needs extra support. Plus it's a devolved issue with different rules depending on where you live.

A cap limiting the cost of personal care to £86,000 per person over a lifetime is due to come into force in October 2025 in England but will this still be the case?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Nadra Ahmed from the National Care Association, which represents care homes and Simon Bottery, Senior Fellow in Social Care at The King's Fund, which is an independent think tank, specialising in health.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday July 10th 2024)

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has swept to power promising change, but there will be no change in the rates of the three big taxes - income tax, National Insurance, and VAT to protect what their Manifesto called 'working people'. So what will the new Labour government and the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves mean for our money?

The listener being chased for more than £60,000 worth of energy debt she didn't owe. It comes as new, exclusive figures reveal more people are seeking help from Citizens Advice over debt collection.

And there are signs that mortgage rates are beginning to creep downwards – what does that mean for those coming off a fixed rate deal?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 6th July 2024)

Almost 300,000 flights will take off over the summer months and whilst most holidays go without a hitch, others fail to get off the ground.

Last year saw widespread disruption at airports, in August there was an exceptional IT failure at the UK’s main air traffic services provider NATS over a bank holiday Monday which affected around three quarters of a million people. Strikes and staff shortages also caused disruption.

In this programme we'll discuss what your rights are if your trip is delayed or cancelled, as well as a Brexit passport rule which has been catching thousands of passengers out.

Felicity Hannah is joined by consumer rights champion Jane Hawkes and Sean Tipton from ABTA, which is the association of travel agents and tour operators.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on the 3rd of July 2024.)

This time next week the General Election will be over. As the days count down we'll get into the nitty gritty with listener questions on Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and ISAs.

Some lawyers and listeners who are acting as powers of attorney have told Money Box they're having problems dealing with banks on behalf of their clients and relatives. The Association of Lifetime Lawyers, a group of legal professionals who support vulnerable and older people, has also told this programme banks need a more streamlined and consistent approach to dealing with powers of attorney. UK Finance which speaks for the banks acknowledged there is more to be done. It says banks are working with members and government bodies to look at how greater consistency can be achieved across the industry.

And a tribute to former Money Box presenter and founder Vincent Duggleby, who sadly passed away earlier this month.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 29th June 2024)

Around 38,000 children move into care every year in the UK. That's one every 15 minutes and a significant number of looked-after children will remain in the system until they reach adulthood. So what happens then?

In this programme Felicity Hannah talks about what happens when you leave care. Without the bank of Mum and Dad, what financial support are those young people promised?

We're joined by Jess and Callum, two care leavers as well as Kirsty Doull, Care and Transitions Lead at CELCIS, which is the Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection, Carrie Wilson-Harrop from the Care Leavers Association and Clare Bracey, Policy, Campaigns and Communications Director at the care leavers charity, Become.

Presented and Produced by Felicity Hannah.

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 26th June, 2024)

There's less than a fortnight to go before the polls open in the General Election. The deadline's passed to register to vote, but there's still plenty of time to work out where you'll put that cross on the ballot paper. This week Money Box is talking about housing - focusing on your questions and comments.

Imagine being told you owe more than £7,000 for your gas. You spend months trying to explain there's no way you could possibly owe anywhere near that amount, only to be told one day that because you still haven't paid it your details are being passed onto a debt collection agency. We investigate one listener's story.

And new research shared exclusively with Money Box suggests almost a third of people are struggling to afford their car insurance. In a survey of more than 4,000 people the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, a charity who carry out research to help improve living standards across the UK, found almost 1 in 3 people described their car insurance premiums as ‘unaffordable’. What can you do about it?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast at 12pm Saturday 22nd June 2024)

The number of people working into their late 60s, their 70s and beyond is rising. In this programme we'll discuss what that means for their employment rights and what it tells us about their finances.

Back in the 90s, only around 5% of peopled aged 65 or older were in work. In the early 2000s, that rose to around 6%. But recently released data from the Office for National Statistics shows that today almost 12% of people in that age group are in some form of employment. That's almost one and a half million people.

Felicity Hannah is joined by older workers to explore their finances, their struggles and their rights to challenge discrimination. She'll be joined by Dr Emily Andrews, Deputy Director for Work at the Centre for Aging Better, and Sarah Jackman, an employment lawyer at the law firm Dentons.

Presented and Produced by Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 19th June, 2024)