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BBC Radio 4's Money Box
Saturday 9 September 1204 BST
Sunday 10 September 2102 BST
On Radio 4 and online
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Charges that banks impose when customers go overdrawn without permission are to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
This follows the OFT work earlier this year on credit card charges which resulted in the majority of lenders roughly halving their fees.
Consumer groups welcomed the decision to look into the charges they say are excessive, while the BBA maintained that its system was fair and legal.
On Money Box on Saturday we spoke to the OFT head of investigation into current accounts Lynn Parker.
And the issues were discussed by Emma Bandey, personal finance campaigner with consumer organisation Which? and Ian Mullen, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association.
Further information:
National Insurance contributions
Voluntary contributions could end up being a waste of money
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Three million people will shortly receive letters asking them if they would like to make voluntary National Insurance contributions.
But the letters are likely to cause confusion as they also say people should think very carefully before doing so.
That is because the government plans to change the rules about qualifying for a state pension.
And if at a future date it turns out people have paid too much they will not be able to get a refund.
We spoke to Malcolm McLean of the Pensions Advisory Service.
Further information:
Debt recovery letters
The mistakes are caused by the system of identifying missing debtors
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Some listeners have been receiving letters from debt recovery companies even though they have no financial problems.
The mailings are trying to track down problem debtors but in this case the recipients merely share similar names to them.
Should a credit reference agency have released their information? Money Box's Bob Howard investigated.
Further information:
Life insurance
Should taxpayers subsidise life assurance?
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It has been proving one of the most popular tax avoidance games - taking out life insurance through what is known as pension term assurance (PTA).
People are not buying a pension but taking advantage of pension tax breaks, which effectively means they can cut the cost of their life assurance.
The opportunity has only been around since April, and some advisers say they have been inundated by requests from clients for PTAs.
Money Box heard the pros and cons from Tom Baigrie of life insurance specialist Lifesearch.
Further information
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Paul O'Keeffe
Reporter: Bob Howard
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