Money Box

People owe more money for gas and electricity bills than ever before. New calculations from the energy consultancy firm Baringa reveal the average typical energy debt is £1,500 - that's up £300 in a year. The total owed to energy companies is 3.8 billion pounds, which is almost double what it was two years ago. Energy prices are also forecast to rise by 5% from April, adding £85 a year to househol...

The energy regulator Ofgem has been given less than two weeks to get answers for Parliament on the banned practice of back billing, which is when people are sent new bills for energy used longer than 12 months ago. In a letter written to the Chief Executive of Ofgem the chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero committee highlights Money Box's recent investigation into back billing, saying he cons...

We all dream about what we will do when we don't have to work anymore. The perfect retirement looks different for everyone, from travelling the world and luxury holidays to spending more time with family and friends, but the cost of stopping work can be bit of a wake-up call. In this Money Box Live we'll look at how to make the most of the savings you have as retirement approaches to how to start...

The Chair of the House of Commons Energy Security Committee has told Money Box that the behaviour of the energy firms is "outrageous" following our investigation into so called back-billing. That's when energy firms send out a new bill for gas or electricity which was used more than 12 months before. Last week we reported that thousands of people have complained that is still going on. Energy UK,...

Paying for care in later life is something many of us will face. Unlike other NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use, the average annual care home cost is £60,000, if additional care is needed that price will go up. After a recent special Money Box Live from Grange Care Residential Home in Sheffield we received so many questions that we simply couldn't get through them all on ai...

Thousands of people have made complaints to the Energy Ombudsman related to so-called back billing, which is when customers are sent new bills for energy use longer than 12 months prior. The practice was banned by the regulator Ofgem in 2018 but is still causing consumers problems. In the cases investigated by Money Box customers had to complain multiple times before their suppliers recognised the...

Research from charity Scope suggests that disabled households have to find an extra £1,000 pounds a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. Extra costs include, heating, equipment and transport. Having a disability can also mean navigating the benefits system - a system that Chancellor Rachel Reeves said today would undergo reform by the spring, as the government stru...

Over 1.4 million pensioners unexpectedly received a tax bill last year, according to exclusive data shared with Money Box. The mutual life, pensions and investment firm Royal London says its research suggests more than two thirds of those who'd retired paid tax on their pension income last year. But, also, that 1 in 7 of those didn't expect to do so. Pensioners can pay tax on anything that counts...

Car, home, travel and life insurance are just some of the policies we might take out to protect ourselves if the worst happens. This year we've already seen floods followed by freezing temperatures and property claim pay outs hit £4.1 billion last year according to industry figures. So this week we look at whether insurance companies step up when we need them, and more widely at the rising costs o...

A senior MP has backed calls to start automatically paying out hundreds of millions of pounds to young adults if they haven’t claimed government-backed child trusts funds by the time they turn 21. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who is also chair of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, says the move would help nearly half a million people born between 2002 and 2011 access one billion pounds of thei...

1 in 5 parents say they're struggling with the cost of sending their children to school according to the National Parent Survey. There're uniform costs, school trips, afterschool clubs and school dinners to consider, but is there a way to keep costs down? Some changes are on the way with government plans to give every parent of a child in a state primary school in England the legal right to a half...

The Government made a start this week on its manifesto promise to provide free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill got through its first big step in the House of Commons on Wednesday and will give every parent of a child in a state primary school in England the legal right to a half hour breakfast club for their children with food and child...

Money Box Live broadcasts from Grange Crescent Residential Care Home in Sheffield for a special programme on the cost of care. Unlike NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use. It costs an average of around £60,000 per year to live in a residential care home and considerably more if you need nursing care. Last week the Department of Health and Social Care announced a new review int...

Temperatures have fallen below zero in much of the UK this week, just as gas and electricity prices rose. From New Year's Day the price cap set by the regulator Ofgem on every unit of power we use will mean the price for heating, washing and cooking for a typical household will rise by just over one per cent. A typical bill will go up £21 a year to £1,738. But, that is in fact 10% or £190 lower th...

There are 36 million pets in the UK, which doesn't include fish and other aquatics, and the cost of owning one can add up. One of the biggest bills a pet owner can face is the price of taking their animal to the vet. The Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation earlier this year into whether people are paying too much and whether they are getting information about treatment opti...

Electricity and gas suppliers say they're offering hundreds of millions of pounds of additional support for customers this winter. Energy prices will rise again on New Year's Day and the latest figures from the regulator Ofgem show customers already owe suppliers a record £3.7bn in unpaid bills. We'll look at what help customers might be able to get if they're struggling to pay their bills. On Thu...

Almost half of us are making money from side hustles according to the comparison site, Finder. But how do they work, what do you need to do if you have one and when do you need to tell the tax office? We will be meeting those using their hobbies to boost their bank balances this Christmas as well as clearing up the rules around selling on online platforms. Joining Felicity Hannah is Helen Thornley...

Some councils in England are offering vouchers or money directly to pensioners who've lost out on the Winter Fuel Payment this year. The money is being offered as part of the Household Support Fund, which is money given by the government to local councils to use to help residents who're struggling with essential bills, like energy and food costs. Winter Fuel Payment can be £200 or £300, but this y...

The British public is expected to donate close to £3bn to good causes over the festive season according to research from the Charities Aid Foundation. If you are giving this year, how can you make sure all of your money gets to your favourite charity or if the charity is even real? We'll be considering the different ways to give and giving advice on how to avoid scams as well as hearing from some...

Around 9 out of 10 charities have told a new report they've had at least one issue with banking in the past two years. The Charity Finance Group and National Council for Voluntary Organisations spoke to almost 2,000 charities in the UK and found more than three quarters had struggled to change the named signatories on their bank account and 4 in 10 said that the checks they were asked to complete...

Almost a million women are trapped in dangerous relationships because of economic abuse, figures from a dedicated charity suggest. Economic abuse is now a legally recognised form of domestic abuse. It could include not allowing access to cash or bank accounts or the things money buys like food and clothing. The charity Surviving Economic Abuse reports that 1 in 7 women in the UK have experienced t...

A new report about the UK’s main financial regulator was published this week, concluding the Financial Conduct Authority is "seen as incompetent at best, dishonest at worst." The report was put together by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, which is made up of cross-party MPs and members of the House of Lords. They spoke to victims of financial sc...

More than 800,000 people have called a dedicated fraud line, which connects them with their bank if they think they’re being scammed, since it started 3 years ago. Stop Scams UK, which set up 159, says 20 banks are now part of the service. We'll hear from a woman who called the number after losing £4,000 in a scam and find out more about how it works. Complaints about the wealth manager St James P...

A record number of people in England and Wales are getting help with the cost of their water bills. The number of people on low incomes who have been given a reduction in their bill grew last year by 250,000 to 1.6 million. They are called 'social tariffs' but newly released data from the Consumer Council for Water shows the amount people get varies widely depending on where they live. Water UK, w...

New research estimates that there are more than 3 million lost pension pots in the UK. These are pensions that have been paid into by an employer but the scheme can no longer find the person who owns it. The Pensions Policy Institute research also found number of lost pots has risen more than 17% since 2022. The Department for Work and Pensions told us millions of people will be saved from losing ...