Money Box

Three quarters of financial firms are already using Artificial Intelligence, according to the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, with more set to follow in future. Last month a new inquiry by the Treasury Committee began looking into the potential impacts of AI in banking, pensions and other financial services. So what does that all mean for your money? We speak to the experts ab...

We'll discuss proposals to reform the bailiff industry, hearing from a man whose small parking fine ballooned into a debt of more than £400 once bailiffs got involved. Paul Lewis interviews the minister responsible for the planned changes: will they be fair on both creditors and debtors and will they bring rogue bailiffs into line? Also, the Chancellor's changes to the Winter Fuel Payment have bee...

New research, seen exclusively by Money Box, suggests a third of households in England and Wales are trying to cut the amount of water they use to help reduce their bills. The research comes from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol which worked with the Financial Fairness Trust to speak to 6,000 households about their money situation. On water bills, 34% said they're...

Hundreds of millions of pounds was stolen from people in 2024 by thieves who tricked them, manipulated them, and then drained their bank accounts. The latest figures from UK Finance show that more than £450m was handed over to criminals in that way. That was slightly less than in 2023 but there were fewer cases - down 20% to just under 186,000. So those who were robbed lost more - an average of mo...

Hundreds and thousands of sole traders and landlords are facing a significant change in how they file their tax returns. In less than a year 800,000 people with a turnover of above £50,000 who fill out self assessment tax returns will have to fill out summaries four times a year, and then do their final self assessment too. It's all part of something called "Making Tax Digital". Paul Lewis intervi...

The fight against what is called push payment fraud - when victims are groomed and manipulated into transferring money to criminals - took a huge step forward in October when new regulations for banks and other finance companies were introduced to make the banks involved liable for the losses. It was the result of years of campaigning which Money Box has reported on from the very beginning. Now th...

Earlier this spring the Financial Conduct Authority warned that some banks and firms lack empathy when dealing with bereaved customers and called for them to do more. Money Box Live received a huge response from our listeners when we covered the story, with emails from listeners about how they coped with their grief while managing finances following the death of a loved one. Felicity Hannah is joi...

Around 1 in 2 people living in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime according to Cancer Research UK. That stark statistic is a reminder how the disease can impact families up and down the country, but it's not just the health of people diagnosed that can forever be changed. The finances of those who survive the disease can also be devastating too. We'll hear from a man recove...

If your home isn't working for you, should you pack up and move or get the builders in and improve? Moving is expensive, aside from the price of the house there's Stamp Duty and solicitors fees to think about. So, is it worth getting the builders in instead if you're desperate for an extra bedroom? Insurance firm Aviva predicts 7 million of us will renovate over the next two years, spending an ave...

People over the age of 60 hold nearly £3 trillion of wealth in the value of their homes, almost all of it mortgage free. That is more than half of all housing wealth in the UK. Under 35s by contrast control only £600 billion and half of that is mortgaged. These startling figures were published recently by the upmarket estate agent Savills which has analysed housing data in Britain for many years....

In an exclusive interview with this programme the Pensions Minister has talked about the government's plans to reform the UK's pension system. Torsten Bell has said that pension schemes should be moving more of members' money out of shares and into infrastructure projects where returns are higher. And he announced a new plan this week to bring millions of small pension pots together into one multi...

Parents typically pay an average of more than £80 per week for a childminder and £66 per week for after-school club, to cover the hours they're working. That's according to the latest data from the charity Coram Family and Childcare. This week a new trial of free breakfast clubs launched at 750 schools across England, and the government says it'll save parents as much as £450 in childcare costs. W...

Money Box investigates fees being charged of teenagers who are struggling to access their child trust funds. We speak to an 18 year old who agreed to pay a claims management firm 25% of his fund plus VAT, not realising he could do it for free. Lord David Blunkett was in government when Child Trust Funds were created in 2002, he tells Money Box that the unclaimed public money sitting in CTFs should...

New analysis shows that some parts of England have waiting lists for social housing that exceed 100 years. Recently the government pledged £2 billion of new investment to build up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes. But will that be enough? Felicity Hannah is joined by Jasmine Basran of the housing charity Crisis, and Alastair Smyth of the National Housing Federation. Presenter: Felicity Ha...

The stock markets have been on somewhat of a roller coaster since US president Trump announced global trade tariffs. Listeners emailed Money Box to tell us about the impact of the fall out in their pensions and investments. The advice from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association which speaks for pension companies is 'if you still have many years until you retire, you have plenty of time to r...

US Trade tariffs, stock market ups and downs, economic uncertainty. What do they all mean for your money? Since last Wednesday, when Donald Trump announced huge increases in tariffs for goods being imported by the USA, global stock markets have been in turmoil. Money Box Live is discussing what these events might mean for your personal finances, over the short, medium, and longer term. Felicity Ha...

Stock markets around the world have plunged in reaction to the import tariffs imposed by President Trump and then the retaliation of China which responded with its own tariffs on American goods. Economists have warned that this trade war could seriously damage the world economy, and make all of us poorer. By the end of Friday shares traded in London had fallen nearly 5% in price. What does that me...

The cost of just about everything we need to run a home will be more expensive for millions of households from Tuesday. Switching on the lights, turning on the heating, turning on the tap, calling your mum or your best friend, logging on to emails, will all cost more with rises usually well above the rate of inflation. We'll have tips on how to tackle those bills if you're struggling to pay them....

As the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, presents her Spring Statement, Money Box Live sifts through the details about what it all means for your personal finances. Changes to the welfare system have already been announced. It will be harder to claim a disability benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under plans which the government says will get more people into work. We'll analysis any new...

We report from Parliament as the Minister for Energy Consumers and the regulator Ofgem face questions from MPs about the banned process of back-billing. That's when energy suppliers wrongly send new bills for energy use longer than 12 months ago. We'll get reaction from Labour MP Bill Esterson who is the Chair of the House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero committee, which sat on Wednesday....

There will be no compensation for more than 46,000 people who lost thousands of pounds each when the funeral plan firm Safe Hands went bust 3 years ago. The regulator - the Financial Conduct Authority - was told this week it should consider compensating them after a report by Rachel Kent, the Complaints Commissioner, set out the FCA's failings over Safe Hands. In response, the FCA has said it does...

Over the past few weeks there's been speculation over the future of ISAs - Individual Savings Accounts. At the moment each saver can deposit up to £20,000 each tax year into an ISA tax-free, but there have been reports that the Treasury is considering making some changes. Things like lowering the limit to £4,000. In a statement to Money Box the Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that while it's importa...

From April water bills for millions of households in England and Wales will go up by record amounts. Exactly how much more you'll pay will depend where you live but, on average, bills will increase by more than £10 per month meaning a total average cost of over £600 a year. What can you do if you're struggling with those bills? There's just a month left for people in the process of buying a home i...

Politicians, banks and builders all talk about the dream of homeownership, but it's not easy to get on the property ladder. New figures given to Money Box Live show that, even though the Bank of England has reduced interest rates, it's now more expensive for a first-time buyer with a 10% deposit than it was two years ago. In this Money Box Live we hear from someone trying to save enough for a depo...

The energy regulator Ofgem says suppliers must take urgent action to find out how widespread a problem back billing is. It's when suppliers send out new bills for electricity and gas from longer than 12 months ago, a practice that was banned in 2018. The development follows Money Box's investigation which discovered thousands of people have wrongly been receiving back bills. Paul Lewis interviews...