Money Box

There's been a sharp rise in the number of people whose identity was stolen last year - up by almost 20% on the year before. It can have a devastating effect on your financial life. One listener tells us how it took months to restore her good name and cost her £10,000. Young people are inevitably hit badly by a major financial crisis like the one we are living through. Figures out this week show that the number of young unemployed people is growing by more than 4000 every single day. One charity has told the BBC Three reporter Harvey Day that the number of people in their twenties applying for emergency help has soared.And can National Savings and Investments keep up with the demands of being at the top of the best buy tables?Email moneybox@bbc.co.ukPresenter Paul Lewis Researcher: Lizzy McNeil Producers: Alex Lewis and Paul Waters Editor: Emma Rippon

What’s the best way to get fast, reliable and affordable broadband during lockdown? With millions of us now working from home due to Covid-19, and children relying on the internet for online schooling, decent broadband is more important than ever. So how to be sure you're getting the right deal? What offers are available? How easy is it to move to a new provider - and what can you do if your current deal is about to end and you can't get through to your provider? We'll also have top tips on how to make the most of your existing broadband. Our panel of experts is ready to answer your questions and offer their advice.Email us with your broadband woes and wins: moneybox@bbc.co.uk Guests: Adam French, Senior Consumer Rights Editor at Which? Selina Chadha, Director of Consumer Policy at OfcomProducer: Sally AbrahamsEditor: Emma Rippon

Money Box listeners tell us that their requests for refunds on their motor insurance are being refused despite using their cars less during lockdown. The regulator has recently called on firms to review the value of their policies in light of the lockdown but critics say they let car insurers 'off the hook'.Google is still allowing crooks to advertise dodgy investments and websites, despite telling this programme earlier in the year it was working with the Financial Conduct Authority to offer consumers better protection. We hear from one woman who had almost £30,000 stolen after clicking on a paid for advert that fraudsters had placed.And this week we learnt that the UK economy had shrunk by a fifth in a month - an unheard of decline - showing the difficulties that many firms are experiencing. More than a million have been kept afloat by the Coronavirus job retention scheme. From August all firms will have to start paying towards the costs of furloughing staff. How will they cope and what rights do furloughed employees have if they are facing redundancy?Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Lizzy McNeil Producers: Alex Lewis and Charmaine Cozier Editor: Emma Rippon

Adam Shaw and guests discuss how you can make a return on your money in turbulent economic times. With saving rates low and stock markets volatile what should your strategy be, even if you only have a small amount to invest?Panel: Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion Felix Milton, financial planner at Philip J MiltonEmail your questions to moneybox@bbc.co.ukProducer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon

Key workers who are returning to the NHS to help it cope during the coronavirus pandemic are being targeted by promoters of tax avoidance schemes, a Money Box investigation has found.Adverts posted on social media are designed to push key workers towards umbrella companies operating on the fringes of the law which, alongside standard ones, act as employers for freelance contractors.Posing as a health care worker, our reporter was told how she could legally hide a large chunk of salary from the taxman saving thousands of pounds. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is warning people not to sign up to what it describes as these "unscrupulous companies", saying some people could end up with large, unexpected tax bills.Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Anna Meisel Editor: Emma Rippon

There are nearly three million single parent families in the UK, which is 15% of all families. Their finances are often tight and they face a particularly high risk of poverty compared with other households.Louise Cooper and guests talk to single parents about the financial challenges brought about by coronavirus and we have experts on hand to offer advice and answer questions.Panel:Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families. Lee Healey, founder of Income Max, an organisation that helps maximise family incomes through a service that guides access to unclaimed benefitsEmail your experiences and questions to moneybox@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Louise Cooper Producers: Ben Carter and Eleanor Layhe Editor: Emma Rippon

Over 2 million people have received a grant from the government’s self-employment income support scheme. This week Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that it will be extended to pay out another lump sum worth 70% of average monthly trading profits, capped at £6,570. Guest: Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy for the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed.It's been more than a month since a ban on using credit cards as a source of funds for gambling came into force. Reporter Dan Whitworth unearths a major loophole in those rules. Guest: Carolyn Harris MP and Chair of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling related harm.University students applying for maintenance loans who have experienced household loss of income of 15 percent or more, due to coronavirus, could be eligible for a higher amount. Guest: Tom Allingham from Save the StudentPresenter Paul Lewis Reporter Dan Whitworth Producer Charmaine Cozier Editor Richard Vadon

A quarter of British employees have been furloughed since the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement in March. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme workers are entitled to receive 80% of their pay up to a maximum of £2500 a month but they’re not allowed to do any work for their employer while on furlough. Earlier this month the scheme was extended until October - but from August the government will expect employers to contribute to the huge ongoing costs - estimated at between £10-£15 billion a month.Furloughing is working well for the majority of people but it is causing a number of different problems for some - both employees and employers. Paul and guests talk to some of them.Panel: Susie Al-Qassab, employment partner at Hodge, Jones and Allen Sarah Chilton, employment partner at CM Murray Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Ravin Sampat

Festival goers are trying to get their money back from the organisers of Afro Nation but are being told that Portuguese law means they’re not entitled to a refund – what can they do? Lenders are cutting credit card limits and that could affect your credit rating... but not in the way you might think. Former pensions minister Steve Webb tells us that tens of thousands of older married women pensioners are being paid up to £80 a week too little - how do you go about seeing if you're missing out and how can you claim if you are? Mortgage repayment holidays have helped ease the finances of millions of struggling home owners during coronavirus but how much will the delay in paying cost in the long run?Check out if you are owed pension money here https://www.lcp.uk.com/is-your-state-pension-being-underpaid/Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Ben Carter Reporters: Felicity Hannah and Kafui Okpattah Editor: Emma Rippon

Your questions on the challenges of getting and holding on to a mortgage or re-mortgage during coronavirus. How does being furloughed affect your prospects? Are some job sectors now less desirable to mortgage providers? What if pandemic-related delays in conveyancing are pushing you close to the expiry of your existing mortgage offer? Should fears of a market dip make you reconsider and sit tight where you are - or is it time to reduce your offer? Why are interest rates rising for some types of mortgages and falling for others? We hear what's happening in the mortgage and re-mortgage market from experts Jane King, independent mortgage advisor with Ash Ridge Private Finance - and from Martin Stewart, director of the independent mortgage broker, London Money. Email Money Box moneybox@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Louise Cooper Producer: Paul Waters