Money Box

How are student finances being affected by coronavirus? Louise Cooper is joined by Tom Allingham from Save The Student and Hayley Borrett from The National Association of Student Money Advisers. They'll hear from students with concerns about paying fees, meeting rent obligations, making student loan payments and much more.Email moneybox@bbc.co.uk with questions and experiences or tweet @MoneyboxProducer: Ben Carter Researcher: Kafui Okpattah Editor: Emma Rippon

Millions of people are still facing huge financial pressure despite government measures to help them deal with the fallout from coronavirus.Some estimates show that up to half of the 5m people who are self employed won’t be helped by the support package that the government has announced. Many thousands more, who are employees, are not eligible for the job retention furlough arrangements.Unsurprisingly the benefits system has seen an unprecedented number of new applications for Universal credit. We’re hearing of a back log of many weeks as the Department for Work and Pensions tries to work through more than a million new cases.So if you are one of the millions of people affected by a huge and sudden loss in income, what can you do to survive?Paul Lewis and guests discuss their top tips for surviving financial shock. Joining Paul are:- Nick Hill - money expert, Money And Pensions Service - Laura Peters - from Mental Health and Money Advice - Anna Stevenson - welfare benefit expert at charity Turn2usProducer:

Louise Cooper and guests discuss how government rules help tenants and landlords affected by coronavirus.Guests: Henry Pryor - Buying agent and property expert Anny Cullum - National organiser for Acorn, a community and tenants union John Stewart - Policy manager at the National Residential Landlords AssociationEmail questions to moneybox@bbc.co.ukProducer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon

People who have recently begun new jobs say that the government’s plan to help businesses hit by coronavirus may treat them unfairly. Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, a business can choose to furlough workers – that is, keep them on the books but not working and at home. The government will pay 80 per cent of their wages up to £2,500 per month. Companies may choose to top up furloughed employee wages to 100 per cent. However, to be eligible for furloughing, workers have to have been in employment with the company on February 28th, 2020. New starters say that unfairly leaves out people who happened to be between jobs on that date. It also means that people who have changed jobs since then cannot ask to be furloughed by their new employer. We hear the experiences and concerns of new starters and employers, alongside Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, and employment lawyer Amy Wren of Farrer and Co. Then we put your points to Harriet Baldwin, MP - a Conservative member

In recent weeks the Money Box inbox has been inundated with your queries and questions about travel and holiday issues. So we invited Simon Calder, travel editor at The Independent, to shed some light on some of the most common problems people are facing.

Wedding plans in ruins, holidays cancelled, business on hold and landlords unable to rent out their properties.This is exactly the kind of unexpected scenario we buy insurance policies for, but are they written to cover once in a century events like the coronavirus outbreak?Our panel of experts answer your questions on insurance policies and claims.

This week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Government’s much anticipated help package for the self employed. Only about two thirds of an estimated 6m workforce will gain anything, leaving over a million people without help. We look at the package in more detail, including the changes to benefits and hear top tips for getting paid in a timely manner.And the banks were quick to promise support for customers in need but are they actually delivering? Money Box listeners tell us their experiences.Presenter Felicity Hannah Reporter: Ben Carter Researcher: Darin Graham Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

Announcements from the Government are coming thick and fast about the help available for small business in these difficult times.An expert panel joins Adam Shaw to discuss and answer your questions on what assistance might be on offer.We also look at issues facing the self-employed and discuss what support is currently out there for them. Get in touch by email: moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet: @moneybox.Joining Adam: Will Hadwen - rights adviser from Working Families Sonali Parekh - Head of Policy at the Federation for Small Businesses Alasdair Hutchison - Policy Development Manager from the Association of Independent Professionals and Self EmployedProducer: Darin Graham Editor: Emma Rippon

Money Box unpicks the Chancellor's announcement on support for wages and rents.Investments have taken a massive hit over the last few weeks as the stock market has dived. We speak to one Money Box listener who thought his fund, which was nearing maturity, had been moved to a 'safer' account - only to discover it hadn't.And the latest fraud statistics show that in 2019 fraud increased by 45%. We speak to Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, the collective voice of the banking industry.Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Darin Graham Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

The UK government has urged Britons to avoid non-essential travel to anywhere in the world for 30 days to tackle the spread of coronavirus. Where does that leave people and their holiday plans? And what about future holidays?Joining presenter Louise Cooper to share their views:Simon Calder, Travel Editor at The Independent. Charlie Campbell, Senior Policy Adviser at the Association of British Insurers. Gary Rycroft, solicitor at Joseph A Jones & Co LLP.Email questions to moneybox@bbc.co.ukProducer: Darin Graham Editor: Richard Vadon

The financial fallout from the Corona Virus pandemic. Making sense of the help available.And the Chief Financial Ombudsman, Caroline Wayman, tells us that the banks warnings are not good enough and that they need to do much to stop people becoming victims of so-called "push payment fraud". We report on a "never seen before" fraud that lead to a ninety-one year old losing his life's savings. The criminals used the victim's driving licence to set up an account in his name, but under their control. They stole £90,000 over five months. When he became suspicious he contacted his bank but they refused to refund him. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Darin Graham Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

Whether you're young or old, rich or poor, how will the Budget affect your personal finances?Paul Lewis and a panel of experts give their opinions on how it will affect your wallet and take your calls.Our panel this week; Anita Monteith – Institute of Chartered Accountants Heather Self- Blick Rothenberg Accountants Tina Riches – Tax AidCall 03700 100 444. Lines are open from 1pm on Wednesday 11 March. You can also email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox

TikTok has been downloaded over 1.6 billion times and most of its users are young. They share videos and stream their activities live. The site allows people who have over 1000 followers to be given presents by other users in exchange for giving their account a 'shout out'. To give money you should be over eighteen. So how did a 9 year old girl gift thousands of pounds from her dad's bank account?It will be at least another two years before estate agents and the property business will be regulated - that estimate from the man the government asked to propose reforms.And why do student loan repayments take more from people who work and earn irregularly than if they had a steady salaried job?Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Daniel Whitworth Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

The traditional model of giving is in decline, no longer do people have a charity for life. Now the sector is coping with huge changes in the way people give from card payments, crowdfunding to adventure fundraising. Is sponsored skydiving becoming the raffle of the 21st Century?Technology offers huge opportunities as well as challenges, with new software making fundraising easier as well as connecting charities to donors across the world. But how can smaller charities tap into this potential?Louise Cooper and her panel of guests ask whether charities are ready for these changes and what they mean for donors.Joining Louise are- Kelly Southcott from charity consultancy Kivo Joe Saxton from charity research firm NPF SynergyEmail: moneybox:bbc.co.uk with questions and experiences for the panel.

People who bought leasehold homes from developers were "misled". That is the damning verdict of a report by the Competition and Markets Authority. They say its findings support calls for a change in the law in this area and that they are ready to take this fight to the courts to force developers to change their ways bringing new hope to leaseholders. Young savers in the government-backed pension scheme called NEST see their money grow more slowly than older people because their contributions are automatically put into a low risk, lower return fund.And after years where hundreds of thousands of students have overpaid their student loans by hundreds of millions of pounds, the Student Loans Company is starting to trial a system to automatically refund customers who have over-paid on their student loan repayments.Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

Landlords and letting agencies who advertise property with a ban on renting benefits claimants - so-called "No DSS" clauses - risk legal action under anti-discrimination laws. So why do such restrictions persist? What can prospective tenants on benefits do about it? And what legal and financial risks are being run by landlords who display "No DSS" restrictions?Money Box Live takes your calls and hears from Polly Neate, the chief executive of the homelessness and housing advice charity, Shelter. And from John Stewart, policy manager of the Residential Landlords Association.Presenter: Paul Lewis Producers Paul Waters & Jordan DunbarEmail- moneybox@bbc.co.uk Twitter - @moneybox

A Money Box investigation has found that two of the biggest broadband providers are charging people up to £90 a year to keep their email address if they switch to another supplier. The regulator Ofcom has told Money Box that it has written to the firms and may take further action. Nearly two million savers will miss out on more than £100 million a year income following the announcement this week of cuts to National Savings and Investments interest rates. Is this the end of savings? From April the liability for any underpaid tax shifts from the contractor - IT expert, business consultant or indeed a care worker - to the firm that wants the work done. The result is that many big firms including banks are refusing to take on contractors unless they become employees for the short period they work there. The contractors say that cuts the fees they are paid, increases their costs, and removes their flexibility. Campaigners say contractors are leaving the UK and want the changes to be delayed.Presenter: Paul Lewis P

Unexpected bills from video games and apps? The online world of video games and apps can be financially treacherous, filled with loot boxes and micro-transactions. They can mean large, unexpected bills through the relatively new phenomenon of in-game purchases. Louise Cooper and guests discuss what your consumer rights are if things go wrong. Guests:Dr Jo Twist, CEO at The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) Alex Neill, CEO at Resolver David McClelland, technology journalistProducer: Ben Carter Editor: Hugh Levinson

Should the unwed lose out on a benefit paid to married people? Bereavement Support Payment is available to the widows, widowers or surviving civil partners of people who died on or after 6 April 2017. There's additional money if they have children. A recent High Court judgement held that the Pensions Act, by excluding bereaved unmarried partners from claiming Bereavement Support Payment, contravened the human rights of any children they might have. This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament that he would look into what he described as an "injustice". Guest: Alison Penny, director of the Childhood Bereavement Network.Richard is 20 and earns £18,000 a year. He applied online for a credit card. When this was approved he was shocked to find he had an £8,000 credit limit. Guest: Peter Tutton, head of policy, StepChange debt charity. If you missed the January self-assessment tax deadline, picked up a £100 penalty and still haven't filed, there's another deadline. It's March 1st and if you have tax to p

This week Louise Cooper asks how you can negotiate the best broadband deal. How do you know if you’re paying too much? What’s the best way of securing a better deal? What are your rights if you’ve been overpaying? What are the best deals available at the moment?Guests:Selina Chadha: Director of Consumer Policy at Ofcom Adam French: Consumer Rights Editor at Which? Guy Anker: Deputy Editor at Money Saving ExpertEmail questions for the panel or top tips to moneybox@bbc.co.ukProducer: Ben Carter Editor: Emma Rippon