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 Place have risen sharply amid a major historical review of the ongoing fees it charged its customers. Fifteen thousand clients complained to the company directly in the first half of this year, and complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service quadrupled in that time compared to the year before. St James Place says beginning last year, it saw an increase in the number of complaints received. While these have since reduced, it continues to do everything it can to work through them as quickly as possible. It has put in place processes including training and recruitment to maximise the number it can complete without jeopardising the quality of the investigation, and says that it apologises for any delays clients may experience during that time. Some first-time buyers are finding that Lifetime ISAs, a government scheme that adds a 25% bonus to everything you put in towards your deposit, aren't working for them when they come to buy a home. It is because there's a £450,000 cap on the price of the property you can buy, which some find prices them out of buying where they live. The Treasury says that across the vast majority of the country and in most London boroughs, the average price for a first-time home remains below the cap. Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researcher: Emma Smith
Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm November 23th 2024)
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24:45
Water Bills and Inheritance Tax for Farmers
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, which represents the water industry, says these are average figures with eligible customers able to receive a much higher deduction. Dan Whitworth will have the full details of this story.In a week where changes to Inheritance Tax for farmers have dominated the headlines, we’ll discuss how the changes will work and who will be affected. There's a new inflation measure developed specifically for Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Consumer Prices Index allows statisticians to compare how fast prices are rising against the UK rate. We'll find out more about how it's calculated.Plus, the listener who got a £1,500 refund on his student loan after listening to Money Box.Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth, Emma Smith and Eimear Devlin
Researcher: Catherine Lund
Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 16th November 2024)
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24:47
Lost Pensions and Student Loans
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 track of their pension pots thanks to its plans to consolidate deferred small pots in its forthcoming Pension Schemes Bill. The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association says the industry has funded campaigns to raise awareness. Go to gov.uk and search 'pension tracing' to find contact details for your old pensions.Hundreds of thousands of former university students are being urged to check if they have paid too much towards their student loan and if so to claim a refund. The campaign group Save the Student made the call in response to new figures from the Student Loans Company, published for the first time, which show former students are eligible for refunds worth £184m. And in last week's Budget the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced a reduction in the level of debt repayments that can be taken from a household’s Universal Credit payment each month. The new "Fair Repayment Rate" will reduce Universal Credit deductions from 25% to 15% per month. The government says that means that 1.2 million households will keep more of their award each month and those who benefit will gain an average of £420 a year. Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Emma Smith and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm Saturday November 9th 2024)
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24:47
Inheritance Tax Changes and Car Finance
Wednesday saw the first Budget from a Labour government for nearly 15 years and the first ever delivered by a female Chancellor. Rachel Reeves wasn't the first to stand up in the Commons and announce tax rises, but the scale of them was large by historical standards - about £40bn a year by 2029/30. The bulk of that will come from raising National Insurance contributions paid by employers. There will also be higher rates of Capital Gains Tax, VAT on private school fees, changes to Inheritance Tax and a rise in stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland.As promised, there was no rise in the rates of Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance in what the government called the payslips of working people. There was some welcome news as the freeze on Income Tax thresholds will end in April 2028, minimum wages will rise, and the tax on petrol and diesel will not. Paul Lewis discusses the details with a panel of experts. And, could a landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal pave the way for millions of pounds of compensation for people who bought their cars on finance? Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Sarah Rogers and Neil Morrow
Researchers: Emma Smith and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm Saturday November 2nd 2024)
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24:43
Money Box Live: Budget Breakdown
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced her Budget but what does it mean for yours?Money Box Live is breaking down what the Budget mean for your finances, from pensions and Inheritance Tax to the cost of a pint. We hear from the experts who are on hand to answer your questions and comments.Felicity Hannah is joined by Dr Arun Advani, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick and Kirsty Stone a partner at the independent financial advisers, The Private Office.Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 30th of October 2024)
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