Dear Listener

Welcome back! Money Box returns tomorrow and, if you care, we are all in our new offices in New Broadcasting House in central London, though the actual transmission will still be from the old studio until early December. But it shouldn’t affect the listener in any way.

But you will have noticed that the newsletter is now in a smart new format. We hope you like it. Do let us know moneybox@bbc.co.uk with the subject Newsletter.

Gone are the days when the summer was a quiet time financially and Money Box could go off air for five or six weeks confident that nothing much would be missed. But I am not going to fill you in on the many financial stories that have broken since we ended the last series in July. I just haven’t got the time or space. And there is plenty coming up over the next weeks to keep us all very busy indeed. So this week I want to remind you about one thing and tell you about another.

First, let me remind you that if you agree to sign up for a regular payment from a credit or debit card it is now easy to stop that payment. You do not have to get an agreement from the firm taking the money. You just have to tell your bank or card provider to stop taking out any more payments and it has to obey your instruction. If further payments are taken out then the bank or card provider has to refund you.

Of course, it is polite and helpful to tell the firm at the same that you are cancelling the payments. But some firms seem to make their living by ignoring or delaying such requests. So protect yourself by telling the card provider first.

I mention this because of the talk this week in the press about a payday loan company where people have been defrauded by criminals taking out a loan in their name using their card details and the difficulties of stopping the repayments of the fraudulent loan being taken from your account. If it happens to you, just tell the bank and card provider.

You can read the full details of the law on cancelling continuous payment authorities in my blog The Coni8nuous Payments Racket http://paullewismoney.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/continuous-payments-racket.html

And talking of blogs you may have heard me on Breakfast talking about the ruling by the European Court of Justice which means some people living in the tropics can claim a UK winter fuel payment of £200. It sounds daft. But the ruling has a very serious side. More than 400,000 UK expats who live in 31 countries (the EU including Gibraltar, the EEA, and Switzerland) can now claim the winter fuel payment if they were born on 5 July 1951 or earlier.

Previously the law allowed people to take entitlement to the payment with them if they claimed while living in the UK and then moved to one of those countries. And around 73,000 did that. But now they can claim it for the first time abroad. That brings in hundreds of thousands more who moved before they reached 60.

Full details – including how to claim in those tropical isles – in my blog Claiming Winter Fuel Payment Abroad http://paullewismoney.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/claiming-winter-fuel-payment-abroad.html

***IN MONEY BOX THIS WEEK***

The Government is taking action against so-called ‘claims management companies’. They are the outfits that claim to help people get redress and compensation for mis-sold products. Their top target is, of course, the millions of people mis-sold  payment protection insurance. The banks have set aside £10 billion to compensate customers and the claims management companies would love to get their share of that – around get £4 billion at their normally rates. Two things are planned. First the claims management companies are going to have to follow strict new rules about such things as explaining their charges clearly. Second, they are going to be covered by the Legal Ombudsman which can investigate claims against them and award compensation.

A deadline to get care fees paid by the NHS is approaching in England. The NHS should pay if the patient’s need is mainly medical rather than social. Which of course includes a great many people in end of life care, including many of those with dementia. We find out how to apply to get the costs refunded and backdated before the 30 September deadline. And how others can get the NHS to pay for current care without a means-test.

On the back of your credit or debit card is a three digit number the CVV or Card Verification Value. You should only give it over the phone or online. But some retailers are asking for it in face to face transactions. Can they do that? Should they do that? And can you refuse? PS it is four digits on American Express cards.

And the great points purge. If you are using your MBNA credit card to save up points to buy something special beware! They run out after three years. We talk to a man who lost 30,000 points which he had been saving up to buy an iPad (other tablet brands are available). So when – and why – do points expire?

That will probably do for our 24 minutes. Listen live at midday on Saturday, tune in to the repeat on Sunday 9pm, or catch up anytime by downloading the programme at www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/moneybox. Remember you can put in a regular order and get the download sent to you each week. More than 200,000 listen that way each week. It is free.

There is more information on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also download transcripts of past programmes and send us ideas or problems you want us to look into.

This newsletter is available at bbc.co.uk/moneybox/newsletter around the time it hits your inbox - tell your friends who do not subscribe. And you could join the more than 38,900 people who now follow me on Twitter to enjoy, or rant about, my random but timely thoughts on money and a few other things whenever I am awake at twitter.com/paullewismoney.

Vincent Duggleby is back with Money Box Live on Wednesday at 3pm to take your questions on saving and investing. You can email questions through our website or call on the day.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS I am on Breakfast on BBC One on Saturday probably around 0845 trailing one of the items from Money Box. And on Breakfast again on Thursday morning usually at 0640 and 0820 but times, and even the day, can change.

e-mail Paul Lewis