Money Box wins back £145,000 for a vulnerable customer after his bank said no

Money Box

A High Street bank has refunded £145,000 to a man in his eighties after Money Box intervened. Alan was persuaded by thieves to transfer tens of thousands of pounds into what he thought were investments. The money was moved through his account at Metrobank which for many years had seen little activity. But the bank failed to notice large sums being transferred in from his savings and investments and out again almost at once. When a different bank finally blocked the scam, Metrobank only recovered a small proportion of the stolen money before closing the case. Then Money Box intervened and won back for Alan the full amount. We hear from Alan's wife Elizabeth. And from Morven Lean of the Alzheimers Society on how to work with banks to protect relatives with dementia from theft. Plus Kate Frankish of PayUK reveals new ways they're developing to try to cut authorised push payment fraud in future.

Also - Dave, who got in touch with Money Box , describes the "black hole" he entered when the Department of Work and Pensions told him part of his salary could be taken to pay off a £1,000 benefits debt. The problem was - he'd never claimed the benefit, didn't owe the money and wasn't told which part of government was poised to take it from him. A year after problems like these were first raised by the programme, Stephen Timms, chair of the Work and Pensions select committee, assesses how well the DWP is fixing them.

Plus - Would you borrow half the deposit you needed to buy a home if it meant losing half the profit when you sell it?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Producer: Paul Waters Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Drew Miller Hyndman Editor: Emma Rippon