Money Box BBC Radio 4

A senior MP has told Money Box that the government must take urgent action to stop carers working up thousands of pounds of debt after unwittingly receiving overpayments of Carer's Allowance. Unpaid carers, who look after a loved one full time, are entitled to nearly £82 per week in Carer's Allowance. On top of that they can earn up to £151 take home pay. But stray above that earnings limit, even by just a few pence, and they lose the full allowance. The Department for Work and Pensions is alerted on a month by month basis when this happens, but in some cases carers were not told of their mistake for years. Labour MP Stephen Timms, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee says it should never have taken so long for carers to be notified.
The UK's biggest credit card provider, Barclaycard, is cutting minimum payments on its card to 1% from July. It is not the only credit card provider to allow 1% minimum payments, and Barclaycard says it's made the changes to increase flexibility for customers. We look at what it means in practice for customers, in terms of how much more you'll ultimately pay in interest and how long it'll take to pay off the debt.
And we return to the subject of ISAs - Individual Savings Accounts. New changes this month should mean that customers can open multiple ISAs of the same type in the same tax year, and make partial transfers of funds between them. Money Box has learnt that many of the biggest ISA providers in the UK are not yet offering customers these new freedoms, why?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Studio Producer: Craig Henderson
Editor: Beatrice Pickup
(first broadcast on Saturday 27th April 2024)

Around 10 million people across the UK live in a leasehold property. That means they viewed the house or flat, bought it, may be paying off a mortgage to eventually own it outright.
However, they are actually tenants of whoever owns the freehold. What they have bought is the right to live in the property for a given amount of time. Sometimes that's for the best part of a thousand years - sometimes it's for much less.
In this episode we hear from leaseholders on what some of the issues are, including ground rent and service charges and what can be done about them. We'll also hear from a charity which relies on leasehold revenues.
It's a system that even ministers have described as feudal - behind the scenes, work continues on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which is being examined by members of the House of Lords this week. The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities say; “It is not fair that many leaseholders face unregulated ground rents for no guaranteed service in return."
The Residential Freehold Association told us; “The Government’s own report into leaseholder perspectives highlighted that the vast majority of leaseholders are content with the leasehold system."
To answer your comments and questions, Felicity Hannah is joined by Matt Lewis, a Consultant Solicitor at Commonhold and Leasehold Experts Limited and Martin Boyd, chair of the government funded Leasehold Advisory Service and also chair of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, which supports and campaigns on behalf of leaseholders.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers/Amber Mehmood
Editor: Beatrice Pickup
This episode was first broadcast on the 24th of April 2024

New regulations aim to ensure that victims of fraud are treated fairly, no matter who they trust with their money.
The financial watchdog, the Payment Systems Regulator, says many firms are not doing enough to refund victims of authorised push payment fraud. Currently the majority of high street banks are signed up to a voluntary charter that makes banks liable for customer losses. However many people hold accounts with firms known as Electronic Money Institutions, or EMIs. Such firms are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority but do not have a banking licence. The new rules from the Payment Systems Regulator will be mandatory for both banks and EMIs. When they come into force in October they should cover nearly all payments made by individuals in the UK except international ones and those involving cryptocurrency.
We hear from Money Box listener Carol, who had to spend a year fighting to get the money stolen from her refunded.
New changes to the way ISAs, Individual Savings Accounts, simpler come in this month. Officially they should mean that savers now have the option to open more than one cash or stocks & shares ISA in the same year. We look at whether providers will be allowing customers to take advantage.
And how do you pay for your car insurance? A new report from the consumer organisation Which? found that it can cost much more if you opt for monthly payments. A survey of 39 car insurance providers found an average APR of over 23% was charged for monthly payments, and the highest APR found was over 39%.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Editor: Beatrice Pickup
(first broadcast Saturday 20th April 2024)

This week car insurance bosses, appeared in front of MP's as part of an investigation into the cost of premiums.
They're continuing to rise and according to price comparison site Compare the Market are up 46% over the last year, making the typical payment for comprehensive insurance £892 a year.
Consumer group Which? say some insurers are charging 'eye-watering' APR rates on those spreading the cost over the course of 12 months.
So, we put your questions and comments to the Association of British Insurers who tell us it's been a difficult year for the industry.
But it's not just insurance, we're also looking at the cost of fuel, maintenance and of course alternatives to running a car altogether.
To answer your questions and comments Felicity Hannah is joined by Rachel Burgess the editor of magazine Auto car and Stuart Masson from online publication, The Car Expert.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle
This episode was first broadcast on Wed 17th April 2024

Tens of thousands of people who juggle caring for a loved one and having a job may be forced to cut the hours they work, according to the charity Carers UK. In April the National Living Wage was increased to £11.44, but the earnings limit for the Carer's Allowance did not go up by the same amount. The result is that some carers will be limited to working just over 13 hours a week, anything above that and they'll lose the entire benefit. Some carers have also faced demands to repay thousands of pounds that they've mistakenly received in over-payments over multiple years.
You've been contacting Money Box about rising car insurance costs. The Association of British Insurers says increases are largely down to above inflation increases to the cost of repairs, thefts and replacement cars. We look at how much premiums have risen by and what, if anything, you can do about it.
And employers - take note - new changes to employment law in England, Scotland and Wales this month will impact policies on flexible working, redundancy and paternity pay and leave amongst others. We'll speak to an employment lawyer about what these changes will mean in practice for both employees and employers.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researcher: Sandra Hardial
Editor: Dan Whitworth
(first broadcast Saturday 13th April 2024)

Data from the Financial Conduct Authority suggests fewer of us are struggling to pay our bills compared to last year, but the numbers are still high.
The watchdog says more than 7 million people were finding it tough to pay bills and make repayments on borrowing at the start of the year, down from almost 11 million last year. However, despite the drop that's still far higher than before the cost of living pressures really started to bite.
Price rises are slowing and energy bills have come down - so this could be a great moment to finally beat your bills back down and build a brilliant budget.
In this episode we look at how to save money on your current repayments, budgeting, recovering from debt and hear from a super saver.
Felicity Hannah is joined by consumer finance expert Martyn James and Jay Lowe, Head of Money Advice at Citizens Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke On Trent to answer your comments and questions.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Reporter: Neil Morrow
Editor: Jess Quayle
This episode was first broadcast on the 10th April 2023.