Ukrainian refugees struggling to open UK bank accounts
Money Box
BBC
4.2 • 825 Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2022
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ukrainian refugees are now beginning to arrive in Britain under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. Money Box has been contacted by two host families having difficulty helping their guests open UK bank accounts. Karina, a doctor, escaped from Kyiv and with her mother and her 5 year old daughter. They then travelled 1,700 miles to London. They are being hosted by Roger Corke and his family. They need a bank account to get benefits and give them some financial independence. We'll hear about their experiences and get a response from the banks and the government.
Energy company bosses have been grilled in Parliament this week by MPs unhappy about price rises that critics are warning could push millions of people into fuel poverty by the end of this year. Also discussed at the same meeting was the issue of credit balances - when suppliers hold onto customers' money above and beyond what they actually owe. We'll hear from a listener about that and discuss plans by the energy regulator Ofgem to put in place more regulation to protect credit balances.
Also, one listener's experience of opening a new bank account and his shock at realising he also had access to three accounts from another couple. We'll investigate that.
Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Sandra Hardial Editor: Jess Quayle
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one. |
| 0:06.5 | I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:11.2 | I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects, |
| 0:16.0 | relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life. |
| 0:22.4 | So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature, |
| 0:28.3 | and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you. |
| 0:33.6 | So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.5 | BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. |
| 0:43.2 | Hello and welcome to the Moneybox podcast from our new home in Salford. |
| 0:48.4 | The UK's biggest energy firms warn the government that four out of ten households |
| 0:53.4 | could be in fuel poverty |
| 0:54.7 | next winter if it doesn't give more help, but are energy suppliers making the problems worse? |
| 1:01.0 | How do self-employed people qualify for a state pension? A man who logged onto his new bank |
| 1:07.1 | account and found himself looking at someone else's bank accounts, and a supermarket car park |
| 1:13.5 | fraud, which for once had a happy ending, eventually. But first, Ukrainian refugees are now beginning |
| 1:20.4 | to arrive in Britain under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. They're being welcomed, of course, |
| 1:25.2 | by their hosts and the local schools, but in many cases not the local banks. |
| 1:30.4 | Karina, a doctor, escaped from Kiev with her mother and her five-year-old daughter and travelled 1,700 miles to London. |
| 1:38.8 | They're being hosted by Roger Cork and his family. |
| 1:42.0 | They need a bank account to get benefits and give them some financial |
| 1:45.8 | independence. I spoke to Roger on Friday about their experience. They arrived at the beginning |
| 1:51.8 | of last week. We've got Carina and her mum, Irina, has come with them, with her and also her |
... |
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