Money Box

Nineteen days to go before your cross on a ballot paper will help decide who runs the country. You have been telling Money Box what matters to you. This week we'll discuss how much tax you already pay and whether that will change after 4th July.

The head of the UK payment regulator has rejected calls to delay a new fraud reimbursement plan which is due to begin on 7th October. It will mean that victims of fraud are fully reimbursed for losses up to £415,000. We'll have more on this story.

And more than half a million people are now getting help with their finances, often saving substantial sums of money, thanks to something called the Vulnerability Registration Service. What is it and how does it work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 15th June, 2024)

As we continue our series of listener questions ahead of the election, we focus on the Cost of Care and how care later in life should be paid for. Dan Whitworth has been to Shipley to meet Graham, who’s concerned about the cost of his own care – he wants to know what politicians plan to do about it.

Energy companies are continuing to hang on to billions of pounds of their customers' money, which has built up as credit on their accounts. The energy regulator Ofgem says that during 2023, the average amount of credit in energy accounts for people who pay for their gas and electricity by fixed direct debit was £3.7 billion pounds. What's behind that?

More than half a million people were left without their Child Benefit payment this week, after a technical issue at HMRC. What was done to help them?

And this week, new banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles III came into circulation – how can you get hold of one?

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast at 12pm Saturday 8th June, 2024)

We hear from a pensioner on benefits who tells us she was shocked to find herself having to pay tax on her pension for the first time. With expert help, we explain the so-called ‘triple-lock’ mechanism and why the point at which you can be taxed on your pension has become a big talking point in the election campaign.

Also in the programme, sneaky hidden extras on your online shopping have been banned under new laws passed this month. So called ‘drip pricing’ is when consumers are shown an initial price for an item or service, only to find additional fees are added on later at the checkout. We look what the rules are and how they'll work.

Every time you use Mastercard or Visa debit or credit card to pay for something – the business you’re buying from has to pay fees. Some of these fees are optional, but many of them are mandatory. But now an interim report by the watchdog - the Payments Systems Regulator – found that these fees charged to shops and other businesses by Visa and Mastercard have been rising much faster than inflation, 30 % faster, but that there is no evidence that the service provided has improved

And we look at the scale of fake stamps in the UK. Royal Mail initially responded by charging people a penalty if they received items that were sent with a fake stamp. Although those fines are now ‘paused’, we reveal just how much they amounted to.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(This programme was first broadcast Saturday June 1, 2024)

What are the financial issues that you will be considering when you decide how to cast your vote in the General Election in July?

New figures from UK Finance, which represents banks and other finance firms, revealed that in 2023 a record number of people lost more than £450 million to thieves who tricked them, manipulated them and then drained their bank account. The slightly better news is that more of them got their money back. We'll delve into the details.

And almost three quarters of a million tax credit renewal letters are hitting people's doormats over the next few weeks - and thousands of people will need to act or face losing their payments. What should you do if that’s you?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(This programme was first broadcast Saturday 25th May 2024)

Money Box can reveal that the government is recouping more than £250m pounds from over 100,000 carers who it says broke the earnings rule and should have lost their carer's allowance. The numbers came from a Parliamentary Question this week asked by the chair of the work and pensions select committee, Twice as many women as men are being chased for these overpayments.

We hear from a carer who has around £5000 worth of debt as well as finding out more about rights for carers affected.

The Department for Work and Pensions told us, “The total amount of Carer’s Allowance overpayments includes historical debts which the department is seeking to recover. In comparison, Carer’s Allowance expenditure is forecast to be £4.2 billion this year alone.”

Also on the programme, a report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office has revealed callers to HMRC helplines were on hold for a total of 789 years in 2022/23.

Are we saving enough for our retirement? Pensions and investment mutual Royal London gives Money Box exclusive figures.

And how do you spend a £50 note? We get to the bottom of what shops are allowed to accept.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

Do you get as much as you give when it comes to your job?

We've had some important jobs numbers this week - with official data showing there are more vacancies than there were before covid but, the number is falling, while unemployment is rising. But alongside that, wages are going up too - by around 6%.

In this episode, we ask if you’re getting enough value out of your employer. We hear from listeners on how they asked their bosses for a pay rise, how they dealt with back pay and how they're making use of employee perks.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Amanda Arrowsmith, People and Transformation Director for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and James Reed, Chairman and CEO at Reed Recruitment.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

The Pension Dashboard is intended to provide an online service to millions of people who have paid into a pension at work by showing all their pots and their value in one place. But the National Audit Office this week revealed a 'digital skills' shortage is behind delays, providers now have until October 2026 to connect to it. The costs of the dashboard are also up by almost a quarter to £279 million.

Some people hoping to sell their leasehold homes are being charged large amounts by their freeholder to fill out a simple form which helps the sale to go through smoothly. We hear from 'Harry' who was just days away from exchanging contracts on his two bed flat in London when his sale collapsed because his freeholder wouldn't sign an LPE1 form unless Harry paid more than £20,000. The forms contain information such as ground rent and service charges and rules on pets.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

This episode was first broadcast on Saturday the 11th of May.

This week marks two years since the historic reform in family law, known as the 'no fault divorce', was introduced. It was aimed at reducing conflict during separations and meant that couples could divorce without the need to apportion blame for the breakdown of their marriage. This change led to a surge in new applications at the time.

Divorce itself hits the bank balance with annual incomes falling by an average of £9,700 in the year after separation, according to Legal & General. From living together to sharing bills, sharing debts and sharing accounts, the financial implications can be significant.

In this Money Box episode we're looking at how to separate your finances after a split, and if you are breaking up, at what point should you make up a financial plan?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Gary Rycroft, Senior Partner at Joseph A Jones, and Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on the 8th May 2024).

Digitally excluded. An elderly couple have their accounts frozen because their documents were out of date - despite having being customers for their bank for nearly two decades. We hear from Tom and Marian Doughty who say they were left with weeks of sleepless nights.

Can you boost your state pension by filling old gaps in your national insurance record? A new online calculator from the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC aims to answer that. The Treasury says the new service will bring “peace of mind” to people planning for their retirement and could help “thousands” of pensioners.

Royal Mail has suspended the £5 penalty it charged people for letters sent with a new barcoded stamp which its machines had identified as fake.

And what happens to your home when you break up with someone? Should you make a financial plan when the relationship is going well, in case it doesn't in the future?

(This episode was first broadcast on the 4th of May, 2024).

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

This episode was first broadcast on the 1st May 2024.