Debt during the pandemic

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2021

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A recent report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that the coronavirus pandemic has driven more people into financial vulnerability. More adults in the UK have fallen into debt or have little capacity to ride out financial shocks, the FCA said.

While furlough, other support grants and the Universal Credit uplift have helped many people avoid money problems, concerns are growing over the financial damage from multiple lockdowns, job losses, lower earnings and redundancies.

How are people coping with debt during the pandemic and what support is available?

Joining presenter Louise Cooper on the panel:

Helen Undy, chief executive, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute Richard Lane, head of external affairs, Stepchange Colin Mathieson, from Advice Direct Scotland

If you have a question about debt, please get in touch. E-mail [email protected] or tweet @MoneyBox.

Producer: Darin Graham Editor: Rosamund Jones

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In Northern Ireland, from the late 70s to the early 90s, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers.
0:08.0	But the man who often found, tortured and sometimes killed these people on behalf of the IRA
0:12.0	was himself an informer, a secret British army agent with the codename Stakeknife.
0:18.0	Who gets to play God? And why me? Why my family?
0:21.4	When lies are still being told to this day, who do you believe?
0:25.1	I wouldn't even know where to start.
0:26.7	And I'm with the IRA.
0:28.5	Steakknife.
0:29.7	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:33.5	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:37.7	Welcome to this episode of Moneybox Live, the programme about your money and today it's all about problem debt.
0:45.1	A year on from the first lockdown, it is no surprise that some people are struggling financially.
0:50.8	Around 700,000 have lost their jobs. Over 4 million have had to claim universal credit and millions have taken a pay cut after being put on furlough. The result, households are getting into problem debt, confirmed recently by the financial regulator, the FCA. So how are people coping with debt during the pandemic and what support is available
1:12.9	to those in trouble? Email Moneybox at BBC.com.uk with your stories and your questions.
1:20.4	Well, let's now speak to Chris. Welcome to Moneybox live, Chris. Good afternoon. How are you?
1:27.2	I'm well. Good afternoon, Chris. Now, like many,
1:31.5	sadly, you've lost your job. So what happened? Take me back to a year ago. So I was working for a
1:39.0	company run by my local council. I was on what was called a succumbent contract with them for six months.
1:46.5	And the contract came to its natural end on the 31st of March of last year.
1:52.7	I, and that was in the start of this whole pandemic. So I was with them a year ago when the
1:59.1	lockdown was announced and I worked up until the 31st of March.
2:04.0	And when the furlough scheme was announced, I asked, could I please be placed on said
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.