Money Box

Low interest rates on savings has made many people consider putting money built up during the pandemic into stocks and shares in the hope of higher returns. But what do you need to know BEFORE you make that first trade? We explore the risks, how to navigate the jargon and - most importantly - whether this type of investment is really for you. Do you have an experience you'd like to share? Email us...

Bitcoin or Britcoin? The Bank of England has published the results of its consultation on creating a new central bank digital currency – and also the prospect of regulating other commercial digital currencies – so-called “safecoin”. We hear from the Bank’s deputy governor, Sir Jon Cunliffe and from cryptocurrency expert Kate Baucherel. Four years after the Grenfell Tower fire in which 72 people di...

Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants in England Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland are now open for indoor business. But there’s growing concern about the numbers of vacancies across the hospitality sector. According to trade body UK Hospitality there is a shortfall of almost 200,000 workers. If you run a hospitality business, how difficult are you finding it to get staff? Are you a worker...

Children’s Commissioner for Wales Professor Sally Holland explains why she, along with the Commissioners for Scotland and Northern Ireland, want the DWP to drop a Universal Credit entitlement rule introduced by the coalition government in 2017. It only provides support for a maximum of two children with a few specific exceptions. Money Box reporter Joice Etutu hears from some of the thousands of p...

What are you rights when making a complaint? How do you make sure you escalate your grievance to the right person? What difference can social media make in getting your grumble seen and sorted? Adam Shaw is joined by Martyn James from Resolver, a free, independent issue resolution service. and Alicia Alinia , Managing Director, Consumer Legal Services at the law firm, Slater & Gordon. Producer...

A Money Box listener has been refused work by two employers because he was unable to provide his National Insurance Number despite the Department for Work and Pensions saying individuals can start work without one. Last year we reported that people coming to the UK with the right to work weren’t able to obtain a National Insurance Number because the government had stopped issuing them. People can...

Apprenticeships allow you to earn money as you study for qualifications and gain practical experience on the job. There's a wide range of careers and industries to choose from but a recent Ofsted report said that 10% of apprenticeships are inadequate, so how do you find a good quality scheme to help you develop the skills you need to succeed? On Wednesday's programme Adam Shaw speaks to apprentice...

One in four of us is considering buying an electric car, according to the energy regulator Ofgem. So, what are the finances of going electric? They often cost more to buy but the claim is that they can be cheaper to run. Adam Shaw and guests discuss the cost of buying, insuring, charging an electric vehicle and the tax breaks you get if you buy or lease an electric car through a business? Adam is...

Financial firms are being told they will be forced to treat their customers better under plans by the regulator for a new “Consumer Duty”. It will set down a higher level of consumer protection that firms will have to follow. The consultation on the plans has just been published and the new rules should be in force by the middle of next year. Paul Lewis talks to Nisha Arora, Director of Consumer a...

Buying a house with a mortgage is one of the biggest commitments we make in life. The pandemic has seen households managing lower, unpredictable incomes with furlough and government grants on offer. What effect has that had on lenders and their decisions to approve or decline applications? If you’re trying to get one or switch to a better deal - how are you finding it? What new mortgage products a...

Many people on Disability Living Allowance are rejected when they are assessed for the newer benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Paul Lewis hears about some of the experiences of claiming PIP and discusses with Daphne Hall, vice chair of the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers and Dr Jim McCormick, chair of the Disability and Carers Benefits Advisory Group. More than 100,000 c...

Last year families spent nearly £7 billion on their furry friends. Pet ownership has soared and so has the number of services on offer for the modern-day pooch. Felicity Hannah and guests discuss the rising costs of buying a pet, keeping it well & safe, whether to insure it and the demand to cater for all their needs from luxury food to care day. Producer Smita Patel Editor Alex Lewis

Mortgage providers are refusing to follow new guidance intended to help hundreds of thousands of people who are unable to sell or re-mortgage their flats because of the cladding crisis. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS, issued the guidance to its members across the UK just two months ago. But Money Box has learned that despite being involved in preparing the guidance, many lender...

The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a huge amount of pressure on banks and customers alike. How have you - and your bank or building society - adapted? Felicity Hannah and guests explore how the Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped the way we manage our money and whether those changes are here to stay. E-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk with your personal banking stories, questions and experiences. Have you changed...

9 in 10 of us use direct debits to pay some or all of our regular bills. 4.5 billion payments were processed in the UK in 2019. It’s a simple way to pay - you sign a mandate with a business or organisation and they take agreed amounts on a specified date. They come with a guarantee which protects you if payments are taken mistakenly. Or at least that’s what a Money Box listener thought when a paym...

Adam Shaw looks at dementia and money. Producer Smita Patel Editor Alex Lewis

The regulator Ofcom tells Money Box people shouldn’t trust Caller ID. It says the spoofing of numbers can be stopped, but to do so will take years. Spoofing has been used by fraudsters to convince thousands of people they are being called by banks or HMRC and trick them into handing over tens of thousands of pounds. It's more than two years since the collapse of London Capital and Finance where in...

Have you been tempted by a quick cash win, a jackpot prize or the challenge of finding a winning betting strategy? There are many forms of gambling available online and in person to engage and entertain us but when does a gambling hobby become a personal and financial problem? On Wednesday's Money Box Live Charmaine Cozier and guests explore the enticements that lure you in, lead to compulsion and...

The Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group has called on the Government to take urgent action to address the exploitation of some contractors, in a new report. MPs are also demanding a government-backed independent review into how the contracting market operates, to ensure contractors are paid and taxed fairly for the work they do. Paul talks to an IT project manager who barely avoided bankrupt...

Working from home is changing the way we think about where we base our life and careers, but how remote can we be from our business or office? Can you live and work hundreds of miles away from your employer and what could that mean for your personal life and finances or for the company you work for? Whether you’re an employee or an employer we’d love to hear from you, e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now...

More than 200 pensioners responded to a request to tell us how much their state pension was. They were nearly all different amounts. Next week the basic pension is rising to £137.60 a week and the new state pension paid to younger pensioners to £179.60. But those are amounts that hardly anyone actually gets. So why are pensions - the old and the new - so complicated? Who better to answer that than...

There’s been a rise in the number of divorces according to the Office for National Statistics along with predictions that even more couples will split as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Many law firms are reporting huge spikes in the number of separations during the pandemic. Plans for new “no fault” divorce rules are due to come in in the next few months and will abolish the need to blame one...

Fancy earning interest on a £10,000 loan? We’ll find out about what negative interest rates mean for consumers in Denmark and what might happen if they were introduced here. Felicity Hannah talks to Niels Arne Dam, Chief Economist at Finance Denmark and Paul Pester, former CEO of TSB and currently the chair of research and ratings agency Fairer Finance. Women’s finances have been hit harder than m...

All too often we hear about fraudsters using the phone to trick victims into handing over thousands or tens of thousands of pounds and destroying lives in the process. But how often to we get to hear an actual recording of these criminals in action? We play a recording of a fraud call in progress because a criminal made the terrible mistake of calling our Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth. Paul Lew...

A recent report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that the coronavirus pandemic has driven more people into financial vulnerability. More adults in the UK have fallen into debt or have little capacity to ride out financial shocks, the FCA said. While furlough, other support grants and the Universal Credit uplift have helped many people avoid money problems, concerns are growing over t...