Money Box

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 payment for his gym membership went wrong.Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have soared in value beyond any other asset. Ten years ago one Bitcoin was worth one US dollar - today one is worth 53,000 US dollars - nearly £42,000 pounds. One big concern with buying, storing, or selling cryptocurrencies is how secure it is. Paul Lewis talks to an investor who discovered £11,000 had gone missing from his account, as well as cryptocurreny expert Kate Boucherel.Last week the High Court ruled that high cost lender Provident could move forward with a scheme to pay redress to customers to whom it had mis-sold loans. Provident has said that it can't afford to pay customers with valid claims the full amount of compensation they should receive - despite other parts of its business being very successful. Paul talks to Sara Williams, founder of the debt advisor website Debt Camel.Presenter: Paul Lewis Researcher: Sowda Ali Reporter: Dan Whitworth Production co-ordinator: Janet Staples Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Alex Lewis

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 investors lost £237m. This week the government announced a new scheme in which almost 9,000 people will get some of their money back. Why do many banks charge 39% interest on overdrafts but pay less than 1% on savings? Listener Edwyn describes the difference as ‘extraordinary’ and ‘scandalous.’ Paul talks to Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. And what happens to your pension if you die before drawing it? Romi Savova from PensionBee explains. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Sowda Ali Producers: Ben Carter and Joe Kent Editor: Alex Lewis

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 where to get help. What are the symptoms of problem gambling and the steps to recovery? Joining Charmaine are:Anna Hemmings, CEO of Gamcare Matt Gaskell, Clinical Lead at The NHS Northern Gambling ServiceIf you’ve a question or an experience you’d like to share e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk nowPresenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Diane Richardson Editor: Alex Lewis

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 bankruptcy after an unexpected six-figure tax bill and Ruth Cadbury, co-chair of the Loan Charge APPG Group.How do banks protect vulnerable customers and protect their money from criminals? We hear one victim’s story about how she had tens of thousands of pounds stolen not once, but twice and how her bank failed to keep her money safe. Paul talks to Tamlyn Edmonds, specialist fraud prosecutor with Edmonds, Marshall, McMahon.A pilot scheme with a new approach to improve support for people with health and financial problems is being launched in Lambeth and Southwark in South London. If it's successful there are hopes it will be rolled out nationally. Paul talks to two of the people involved - Damon Gibbons, Executive Director of the Centre for Responsible Credit and Gay Palmer, a nurse and social prescriber.And in our podcast available from 2pm on Saturday you'll be able to listen to Anna Bowes from Savings Champion talking with Money Box listener Elettra about how to find the right savings account in a market with hundreds of different options.Presenter: Paul Lewis Researcher: Sowda Ali Reporter: Dan Whitworth Production co-ordinator: Sacha Cowlam Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Alex Lewis

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 with your thoughts, questions and experiences.Joining the conversation with presenter Felicity Hannah at 3pm on Wednesday 14 April are Neil Carberry, CEO at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and Jodie Hill, Director at employment law firm Thrive Law.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Diane Richardson Editor: Emma Rippon

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 two former pensions ministers. Sir Steve Webb had that job throughout the years of the coalition government and Baroness Ros Altmann for just over a year under David Cameron. Pockit is not a bank. But it does offer what it calls a current account. In fact that is a pre-paid card which customers load money onto and then can spend it almost as if it was a bank account. But some users have told Moneybox that their accounts have been locked and they they have struggled to get through to Pockit to find out what's going on. Paul talks to Martyn James, consumer rights expert at Resolver.It is now more than 90 days since the UK left the ambit of the EU at the end of the transition period. And more than one million UK people living in EU countries must adapt to the laws that apply to foreign residents. And if you have thought that maybe one day you would like to go to work or retire to an EU country what are the rules you will now have to follow? This week we look at Spain which is home to more people from the UK than any other EU country. Barry Davys is a partner in Spectrum International Financial Adviser group based in Catalunya.Researcher: Sowda Ali Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Richard Vadon

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 of the parties when pursuing a divorce. But what happens to the finances during all of this? What if a couple weren’t married or owned some assets before the marriage?Presenter Louise Cooper will be joined by:Rhona Adams, partner at Morton Fraser and head of the family law team Claire Gordon, family law partner at Farrer & Co Michael Royce, senior policy and propositions manager at the Money and Pensions ServiceE-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @Moneybox now with your thoughts, questions and experiences.Producer: Darin Graham Editor: Richard Vadon

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 men’s by the Covid crisis, so could that risk a widening wealth gap and how do we fix it? Maike Currie, investment director at Fidelity Investments and Professor Annamaria Lusardi, head of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at The George Washington University School of Business have some ideas. And, if you’re eating too much chocolate this weekend then you’re not alone! But can that tell us anything about how you plan your pension, your investments, your savings? Or does it just mean you like chocolate? Felicity talks to Dr Pragya Agarwal, a behavioural data scientist and Claire Walsh, a chartered financial planner.Researcher: Jonelle Awomoyi Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon

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 Lewis talks to Graeme Biggar, Director General of National Economic Crime Centre for the National Crime Agency and MP Steve Baker, who's a member of the Treasury Select Committee.The Government plans to put more regulations in place to address the widespread concerns about the poor practice and behaviour of private car parking operators. A new code of practice will be drawn up, with the system being introduced by the middle of next year. Paul talks to Steve Clark, Director of Operations and Business Development, British Parking Association.The FCA says it has no current plans to take further regulatory action against a compensation scheme set up by the guarantor loans lender Amigo - despite admitting the scheme might not be compatible with its current rules. Sara Williams, founder of the debt advice website Debt Camel, talks us through the latest developments. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Jonelle Awomoyi Production Coordinator: Janet Staples Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Rosamund Jones