Tuesday, August 4, 2015

MEGA Sky TV code, Amzn free del trick, free Windows, 32mth 0%, B&Q clearance, £47k PPI, 8 train tricks, beat BT Sport hike, 9p Walkers

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Martin Lewis

MoneySavingExpert.com weekly email

Cutting your costs, fighting your corner Martin's Money Tips wed 05 AUG 2015
Cards Reclaim Shopping Deals Utilities Banking Travel Insurance Mortgages Income

This week

New 32mth 0% LOW-fee debt shift
8 cheap train tricks - all aboard
'I got £47k PPI back' - can you?
Free 'Amazon delivery trick' tool
Huge B&Q summer clearance
Beat BT Sport hike - been opted in?
Free Windows 10
FeelUnique £10 off £30 beauty code
10 travel must-knows before you go
Naked Wines 9 bottles & more £35
80 bags of Walkers crisps £7
FREE New Covent Garden Soup
Twitter warning: Users face big bills
£85 beauty bundle £25
'I'm saving £6.5k in loan interest'
iPad price war: £40 off
Theme park 2for1 vouchers
Asos 20% off code, Urban Outfitters extra 30% off 'up to 75% sale code
£54 photo canvas £16 delivered
Vouchers Index: Restaurants / Shopping
Best Buys: 0% cards | Car insurance
Best Buys: Gas & elec | Bank accs
Need advice on pension transfers?

MSE Big Broadband Switch Event. ENDS 17 days or less
Line, b'band, Sky TV incl sport & movies £35/mth
- Our first b'band collective switch aims to smash the market's best buys
- Also £11/mth line & b'band deal, plus superfast fibre broadband options

This is a radical experiment. You may've heard of collective switches for energy, where a 'trusted intermediary' (such as us or a council) lets firms bid to provide special, market-beating tariffs. Well, we decided to try it for broadband, using the huge reach of this email (10m recipients) to see what they'd come up with.

We've had a stonking success in one category (TV), decent in two (line & b'band, & superfast) and mostly flopped in one (b'band, no line rent). I've put key info below, yet use our postcode checker which shows which of our deals you can get, and how they stack up against an independent comparison. Here are our winners:

WINNER: Cheapest line rent & unlimited standard broadband
- TalkTalk equiv £11.13/mth on 18mth contract (no calls included)
- Cheap best-buy (eg, BT line rent alone's £17/mth) and unlike other cheap deals you pay monthly, not a year upfront + free line installation


This TalkTalk special deal won. It's available to 95% of the UK (check if you can get it) provided you are a new TalkTalk customer (ie, you don't currently have its line, b'band or TV). Also, if you need a new line, installation is free.

Both its broadband (up to 17Mb) & a router are 'free' with line rental and that's reduced to £8.35/mth for 12mths, then it's a standard £16.70/mth for the remaining 6mths - so an average £11.13/mth over the contract.

How does it compare?
It's the market's cheapest, though we've previously seen cheaper. Next cheapest pay monthly is SSE equiv £12/mth, or if you pay the line upfront TalkTalk has a £287 deal over 18mths, and gives a £100 Love2Shop vch - factor that as a discount and it's equiv £10.41/mth.

Customer service? TalkTalk's ranked poorly in the past - now it's the low end of middle. Sadly, it hasn't agreed to boost customer service for this, so being an 'MSE collective' doesn't, in this case, mean you can expect better. Millions use it without problem, but not everyone, so it's your call.
WINNER: Cheapest line, broadband & 'all-in' TV (incl sports & movies)
- Full Sky TV incl sports & movies, SAVE £60+/mth over standard price
- Deal 1: Line, TV
& unlimited b'band (12mth contract) - equiv £35/mth
- Deal 2: Line, TV & fibre b'band (25GB/mth limit). ADD £30 one-off fee
- Deal 3: Line, TV & unlimited fibre b'band. ADD £30 fee +
£10/mth

These stonking 12mth contract Sky special deals are avail to 93% of the UK, 80% for fibre, (check if you can get 'em). Sadly, you need to be a new Sky customer, ie, haven't had its services for 12mths. There are ONLY 15,000+ codes so go quick. Existing Sky customer? Cut costs with Sky haggle tricks.

- Deal 1: Pay its £16.40/mth line rent & get 'free' unlimited up-to-17Mb b'band. No calls incl, there's a £10 set-up fee and the 'free' router has £6.95 p&p.
- Deals 2 & 3:
For info on the broadband & price see superfast below.

- All deals have 'all-in' Sky TV for £17.25/mth.
With a free Sky+ HD box, free Family bundle & Sky Go Extra, and half-price Sky Sports & Movies. For HD sports & movies, add £5.25/mth. Premium non-Sky channels, eg, BT Sport or MUTV (why'd anyone want it? #MCFC) & pay-per-view aren't included.

Add all that in (except HD) and it's £420.75/yr, equiv of £35.06/mth over the contract. For a new line (incl switching from cable) there's a £20 fee.

How does it compare? On the 12mth Deal 1 contract you'd pay equiv £35/mth with this compared to £102 at Sky's standard price - that's a saving of £800/year. Even the next best Sky deal we can find is equiv £69/mth for the same channels - though you can get cheaper if you just want basic TV.

While it's difficult to compare, the cheapest near equivalent we can find via Virgin/BT/TalkTalk is £70+/mth (plus you get a £100 Love2Shop voucher). See Digital TV deals.

Customer service? It's providing boosted customer service for this deal, and 77% of its existing b'band & phone customers rate it 'OK' or 'great'.
WINNER: Cheapest superfast fibre-optic broaband
- We failed to get a best buy-beating bid for line rent & fibre b'band only, so the above 'all-in' Sky TV deals are our only superfast winners
- Sky Deal 2: Line, TV & fibre b'band (25GB/mth limit) - equiv £38/mth
- Sky Deal 3: Line, TV & unlimited fibre b'band - equiv to £48/mth


These two 12mth contract Sky special deals are available to 80% of the UK (check if you can get 'em). You need to be a new Sky customer - ie, haven't had any of its services for 12mths - and there are ONLY 15,000+ codes (for all 3 deals combined) so it could end v. soon.

The broadband speed is 'up to 38Mb' (not its faster 76Mb option) though with fibre, you're more likely to get closer to the rate advertised.

Both these superfast deals have the same line rental and TV package as Deal 1 explained in TV deals above, but here's the extra fibre b'band info:

- Deal 2: 'Free' Sky fibre 25GB/mth download limit: This is easy to use (go over and it can add charges, but usually just bumps you up, in this case by £10/mth, onto its unlimited deal for the rest of the contract.) It's the same price as Deal 1 plus £30 activation, so £450.75/yr, equiv to £37.56/mth.

- Deal 3: Unlimited download:
This adds a £30 activation fee and £10/mth (half the standard price) to the Deal 1 prices, which means it's £570.75/yr, equiv to £47.56/mth.

How do they compare? Compared with other line, broadband & all-in TV deals these are v. good value. Yet if you just want superfast with basic TV there's a different Sky deal (not in our collective) that can undercut it.

If you don't want TV, just line & superfast broadband, then these Plusnet & Virgin deals are the market cheapest and substantially undercut it.
WINNER: Cheapest broadband ONLY (no line rent) option
- We failed to get any bids at all, barring...

- Relish £15/mth avail some bits of central London (12mth contract)

I get asked about this constantly, so we tried, to little avail. Plaudits to our only bidder, but it's only for central London & more costly than the winning line & b'band bundle (so you could get that & not plug in a phone).

The Relish special deal is for selected London areas (check if you can get it) and runs off the 4G network, like smartphones. And like smartphones, the signal can vary and may not be as consistent as home broadband. Speeds are 'up to 50Mb' - get a more precise estimate when checking availability.

Its standard deal is £20/mth - ours is £15/mth but with a refurbished not new router, with a 12mth warranty, and the trivial fact it'll offer a £20 Amazon vch for each friend you refer who gets it.

How it compares: Virgin's next cheapest no line rent deal's £28.50/mth.

Customer service? Too small for us to have significant feedback.

The MSE Big Broadband Switch Event FAQs
Everything you need to know about the collective switch and how it works

Q. Does MSE make money if I switch via this? A. Yes. Typically comparison / editorial sites earn £50 for switching broadband-type deals (it can be much more) - though you still get at least as good a deal as going direct. For this we mostly earn substantially less to help make the discount stronger.

The money is used to pay the team who've worked long & hard on this, our overheads and hopefully some profit too.

As always, we only ever write based on editorial independence in the consumer interest as enshrined by our legally binding Editorial Code.
Q. Are these the full details of the deals? A. No - we’ve summarised each deal’s key points above, but if you go to our site you’ll find a full write-up.
Q. What's the switch process? A. New rules since June mean it's your new provider's job to contact your old provider to cancel the contract - unless you're switching to/from Virgin when you need to call to get a Migration Authority Code (MAC). For more on switching, see Cheap Broadband.
Q. How long does switching take and will I lose service? A. Sky and TalkTalk say the switch date'll normally be about two weeks after ordering, though it depends, eg, if you need a new line. You should only lose service for a few minutes (unless switching from cable - then it can be a day).
Q. Can costs increase during the contract? A. Yes, if firms increase their standard prices, any related prices can rise (eg, if you're on half-price Sky Sports and Sky Sports' price rises, you'll pay half the new amount). The free elements will stay free. If they do increase prices, rules state they'd need to give you 30 days' notice and you could leave penalty-free within that.
Q. Do I have a cooling-off period? A. Yes, 14 days. After that, changing your mind generally won't stop you being locked into a contract.
Q. Will I get the speed it advertises? A. Unlikely. Sadly, we have to use 'up to' as that's the way Ofcom says providers can communicate it. It means only 10% of customers need get the max speed. Your exact speed depends on many factors - use this broadband speed test* to see what you get now and StreetStats* to see what others in your area get with different providers.
Q. What can I do if I don't get decent speeds? A. Ofcom rules say you can leave penalty-free within 3mths if speeds fall below the guaranteed minimum (which you'll be told before you sign up). Though from next Jan you can leave at any point (ie, beyond 3mths) if it doesn't meet the min.
Q. I'm still in contract - can I switch? A. You can, but it's likely you'll have to pay a cancellation fee, and the cost of the remainder of the contract.
Q. What happens to the prices after the contract ends? A. They'll usually shoot right up, but then you're free to ditch & switch or haggle.
Q. Who's responsible for these tariffs, MSE or the firm? A. They are. Yet we don't use our name lightly so ask all providers to set up special customer help teams with max 48hr response times. They all agreed except TalkTalk as noted above (but we decided to give you the choice).

If something goes wrong with Sky or Relish then contact them via these special emails, msecollectiveswitch@sky.co.uk & msebroadbandcollectiveswitch@relish.net. If, after that and there's still an issue, use our broadbandswitch email, giving your name, address & what you signed up to and we'll try to help (emails from those who haven't collective-switched can't be answered I'm afraid).
Q. Why are these deals only available in some areas? A. Firms tend to be only able to give the really cheap prices if they have their own kit in exchanges (I'm oversimplifying - it's called 'unbundled exchanges'). Otherwise it's usually either not available, or at a much higher price.

PS: If you're in Hull, sorry, you've a legalised monopoly provider called Kingston, and outrageously no one else is allowed to compete.
Q. Is superfast fibre broadband worth it? A. If you're only online for web, emails, social media & occasional streaming, probably not - just boost your broadband speed. However if you're a heavy downloader, watch lots of telly or several people in your home use it at once, fibre can be a boon.
Q. Could cheaper deals launch? A. That's always possible - if so, we'll feature them in our Cheap Broadband and Digital TV guides. Plus, we have imported an independent comparison site into our collective switch results page so you can check how our collective deals stand up against it.
Q. Is there any way to boost my broadband speed? A. Lots - follow our 14 Broadband Speed Boosting Tips.

Blagged for MoneySavers

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Use the Money Mantras If you're skint If you're not skint
The Ones Not To Miss Wed 5 Aug 2015
New. 32mth 0% balance transfer with VERY LOW fee
Slash the cost of existing credit card debt by £100s or £1,000s as new price war sees one-off fees cut

A balance transfer card is the key tool to cut the cost of existing credit and store card debts. It's a special deal on a new card to repay debt on old card(s) for you, so you owe it instead at 0%. This means your cash clears the amount you owe rather than just servicing the interest. Thankfully the deals available now are by far the best we've ever seen...

  • New. Balance transfer fees slashed. The past battleground was for ever longer 0%s, but as they lengthened, the one-off fee rose as high as 3.5% of the amount transferred (ie, £35 per £1,000). Now the fight's slashing fees - in recent weeks we've seen a new longest no-fee 0% card, the longest 0%'s cut its fee & there are now rock-bottom fees on three 32mth 0% cards. The key rule is: GET THE LOWEST FEE CARD WITHIN THE TIME YOU'RE SURE YOU CAN CLEAR IT.
TOP PICK BALANCE TRANSFER CREDIT CARDS (for new cardholders - so apply for a card you haven't got)
To find which card you'll most likely be accepted for, first use the balance transfer eligibility calculator.
Card Intro offer One-off fee (1) Rep APR after
Tesco* Longest NO-FEE deal 19mths 0% None 20.6%
Virgin Money* Decent longer lower-fee card 24mths 0% 1% (min £3) 20.9%
New. Lloyds* Joint lowest-fee 32mth card Up to 32mths 0% (2) 1.54% 18.9%
New. Barclaycard* Joint lowest-fee 32mth card Up to 32mths 0% (2) 1.54% 18.9%
New. MBNA* Slightly higher fee for 32mths 0% Up to 32mths 0% (2) 1.55% (min £3) 20.9%
Barclaycard Longest 0% card Up to 36mths 0% (2) 1.99% 18.9%
Virgin Money* Longest 0% that's not 'up to' 36mths 0% 2.5% (min £3) 20.9%
1) % of the amount transferred. 2) Some get shorter 0%. FULL INFO: Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples)
  • How much can you save? You can save £100s in interest costs - some even save £1,000s, as Shar emailed us: "Whoop and get in. I managed to shift store cards and credit cards to 0% saving £4,710 on interest. Cheers."
  • The Balance Transfer Golden Rules. It's not just about picking the right card, it's about using it the right way...

    a) Don't just apply willy-nilly, that marks your credit file. First use the Eligibility Calc to find your best chance.
    b) Never miss the min monthly repayment or you can lose the 0% deal and it'll cost far more.
    c) Clear the card or balance transfer again before the 0% ends, or the rate rockets to the rep APR.
    d) Don't spend/withdraw cash on these. It usually isn't at the cheap rate & cash withdrawals hit your credit file.
    e) Unsure what to pick? Use our Which Card Is Cheapest? tool. Full help in Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples).

Free 'Amazon delivery trick' tool beats its new 'you must spend £20' rule. The e-retailer used to give free delivery if you spent £10, now it's a min £20, but a new tool provides a way around this. See Free Amazon Delivery Tool.

Huge B&Q clearance - can you find £35 outdoor deck lighting at £12, £6 spanner 85p? B&Q's flogging 20,000 items in its summer clearout (started Mon online & in stores). Full info in our Deals Hunters' B&Q clearance blog.

Beat BT Sport's hike - has it opted you in to £140/yr jump this week? BT b'band users check now. BT

Free upgrade to Windows 10. Upgrade now if you've Windows 7 or 8.1. Free Windows Upgrade

FeelUnique £10 off £30 beauty code for YSL, Benefit etc. MSE Blagged. Discounted top brands. Ends Fri

8 cheap train tricks - woooowoooo
The real trick to slashing the cost of rail tickets (sometimes by £100s) is chuck the logic book out of the window...

Our techie bods surprised us by revealing Google trends show 'train tickets' searches peak in August - so we want to help. In the farcical world of train tickets, it's about trying illogical tricks. Full info in Cheap Train Tickets, but here's a taster:

  1. Train tricksBook 12 weeks ahead. There are only limited numbers of super-cheap advance tickets and usually they're launched 10-12wks ahead so book then. See when to book.
  2. You can book advance tickets late. Never assume it's too late. If not sold out, some firms let you buy 15mins before the train. See firm-by-firm last deadlines.
  3. Free split ticket tool saves £££s. Same train, same time, buy 2 tickets and you may save large. On one B'ham-Basingstoke single it is £57, yet the train stops in Banbury (you needn't change) so buy B'ham-Banbury and Banbury-Basingstoke and in total it's £28, saving £29. Our free Tickety Split tool shows if you can split & the savings. Chris tweeted: "Used it on Cov to Manch, split at Stafford 1st class for 2, saved £207."
  4. Are you a family, couple, under 26, student, over 60 or disabled? There's a railcard for you (yes even couples now) and if you'd spend over £90/yr (even on one journey), as it gets 1/3 off, you save. Is there a railcard for you?
  5. 3% cashback every ticket. Via Santander 123's credit card (max £9/mth) - repay IN FULL to avoid interest.
  6. Train delayed? Now you're due CASH back. The rules have changed. See how to get train delay cash.
  7. Hidden promos not on booking sites. We compile these on our Cheap Train Deals page, eg, £2.50 Ldn-York rtn Megatrain/bus combo, Southeastern £1 kids' tickets, Gatwick Express 35% off, Virgin East Coast 25% off groups.
  8. Turn a £5 Tesco vch into £10 on trains. You can up to double Clubcard vchs' value with Red Spotted Hanky (£1 booking fee) or get 50% off Family, 16-25 and Senior annual railcards by using £15 of Clubcard vchs.

10 travel must-know savers before you go. Going abroad? Don't miss our last-minute 10 travel musts.

Naked Wines £35 for 9 bottles (norm £103) + 2 crystal wine glasses (norm £10). MSE Blagged. Via £50 off £80 newbies' code. 4 white, 4 red, 1 rosé plus 2 Schott Zwiesel crystal glasses. 750 avail. Naked Wines. Be drinkaware.

80 bags of Walkers crisps £7 (9p each). And don't worry, they have salt & vinegar. Can you find 'em?

Totally FREE posh New Covent Garden Soup (norm £2ish). Deals stacking trick. See our Deals Hunters blog.

Twitter warning: Users could face big bills after app update. Check your app settings to avoid big data bills.

Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Balance Transfers Car Insurance Cheap Loans Top Cash ISAs
Longest 0%: Barclaycard
Up to 36mths 0%, 1.99% fee

(18.9% rep APR)

No fee 0%: Tesco Bank*
19mths 0%, no fee

(18.9% rep APR)
Get comparison site quotes in this order...
Google*
Confused.com*
MoneySuperMarket*

Then check insurers they miss:
Direct Line*, Aviva*
Admiral MultiCar*

Zopa* (£5k - £7.5k)
4.3% rep APR



Sainsbury's* (£7.5k - £15k)
3.5% rep APR


Virgin Money 1.51% AER
Min £1, no bonus
Limited access. Transfers allowed.


Coventry BS 2.4% AER
Min £1. Transfers allowed
Fixed till 2020 but with access


See Card APR Examples & Loan APR Examples

£85 All Boxed Up beauty bundle for £25. Incl Fake Bake self-tan (norm £19), Cowshed body lotion (£18), Elemis lotion (£16), Eyeko mascara (£15), Ciaté nail polish (£9) and Bellapierre lipstick (£8). Items £85ish individually. All Boxed Up

SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: (Send us yours on this or any topic)
"I took out a loan a few months ago and realised it was a terrible rate, paying £7.5k in interest on £15k. I applied for a new loan thanks to your email on cheap personal loans and it was approved. The total interest is around £1k so I used it to pay off the previous one, saving £6.5k in interest."

iPad PRICE WAR: £40 discounts get Air for £279 & Air 2 £359. Big retailers slash costs. Cheap iPads

'I just received over £47,000 PPI back, thank you'
Lloyds has just added another £1.4bn to fund future PPI payouts (making its total £13bn+). ARE YOU OWED?

Don't assume you never had payment protection insurance on loans, cards or catalogues. Even if you always said no, sometimes it was added anyway. As Chick emailed: "Never thought I'd be entitled, but on the off chance I wrote to MBNA about an old credit card. Today I banked £1,467.05. Result." Full help & templates in Reclaim PPI for Free. In short...

  • reclaim ppiHuge £47,000 back. While we're talking successes (and we estimate we've had billions of £s-worth) one of our biggest came in yesterday. "I went for a PPI claim thanks to Martin's tips and encouragement on MSE. I received just over £47k. After years of being a single mum in debt I can live my life and move on." (anonymity requested)
  • What counts as mis-selling? PPI isn't a bad product, it was just systemically mis-sold on loans & credit cards, and sometimes overdrafts, catalogues & mortgages. It was the lender's job to ensure it was right for you when it sold it. Common mis-selling incl: 1) It lied that it was compulsory or would get you lower interest; 2) It sold unemployment cover to the self-employed/students/retirees; 3) It didn't warn your pre-existing conditions were excluded. See the Mis-selling Checklist.
  • Reclaim for FREE. For most it's as easy & successful to do it yourself as it is to use a claims firm that'll take 30% of your cash (would've been £14,000 on the £47k payout). We've had 5,952,361 free template letters downloaded and huge successes. And remember if you're rejected you can go to the FREE Financial Ombudsman Service, which upholds 60% of PPI claims (ie, ones banks have turned down). See How To Reclaim.
  • Got questions? Don't worry, we've got it covered. We've been doing this a long time so have built up a bank of FAQs answering 60+ PPI questions incl: 1) I've no paperwork? 2) Can I claim if the debt's repaid? 3) Can I claim for a deceased relative? 4) Can the bank use my payout to clear my IVA? 5) Do I pay tax? And more. Give it a try.

Merlin 2for1 attractions eg, Legoland, Sea Life, Chessington. Via cereal, frozen food & more. Theme Parks

Asos 20% off code | Urban Outfitters extra 30% off 75% sale code. See Asos code & Urban Outfitters code.

£54 photo canvas £16 del code. MSE Blagged. 40cm x 40cm (A3ish square) personalised canvas print. Picanova


Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Gas & Electricity Bank Accounts Home Insurance Landlines

Compare, get £30 dual fuel cashback & alerts if your deal's no longer cheap. Go via the free MSE Cheap Energy Club Top Pick Fixes Comparison.

The savings can be huge. Someone with typical dual fuel usage on a big 6 standard tariff pays £1,155 a year, the cheapest deal's £870.


First Direct*
£100 bonus and top cust service


Santander 123*
Up to 3% cashback on bills

(£2 per month fee)
Get comparison site quotes in this order...

CompareTheMarket
Confused.com*
MoneySuperMarket*

Then check insurers they miss:
Direct Line*, Aviva*

Direct Save Telecom*
with weekend calls
£11/mth (pay a yr upfront)



Post Office*
with weekend calls
£12/mth (pay a yr upfront)


Do a Money Makeover Budget Planner MSE car sticker £13 Travel Insurance

Restaurant vouchers

Discount vouchers & sales

Top deals

The Moneysaving community
The MoneySaving Community

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK
Do pension transfers need to be quicker, smoother and cheaper? The Government’s reviewing whether people need further financial advice when transferring a pension. Have you found charges excessive and transfers slow? Did you take advice? Did it help or hinder? Take the Govt pension transfer survey or have your say in the MSE Forum.

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Is it right to sell our child's unwanted gifts?

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... My daughter was given toys by family friends whose kids outgrew them. She doesn't play with them and we're trying to declutter the house. Some could fetch £10 but we don't feel we should make money from them. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we sell our child's unwanted gifts? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs

Quick forum tips

Freebie of the week

Martin's blogs

Martin's appearances (from 5 August onward)

Thu 6 Aug - GMB, ITV, Deals of the Week, 7.40am. Watch previous
Fri 7 Aug - This Morning, ITV, 90-Sec Savers, 10.30am-12.30pm. Previous
Mon 10 Aug - This Morning, ITV, Money Monday, 10.30am-12.30pm. Previous
Mon 3 Aug - Consumer Panel, BBC Radio 5, 12pm-1pm. Subscribe to podcast

MSE team corner

Regular team appearances:

Fri 7 August
BBC Radio Manchester, 4.50pm

Discussion of the week

It's a small world

This week, our forumites discuss the unlikely coincidences that have happened in their day-to-day lives. From delivering the baby of an unknown family member to school friends with the same name, share your uncanny stories in the It's a small world discussion.

Cheap travel money

UK's Best Currency Rates
£100 will buy you:
Best Worst
Euro Flag 140.40 126.32
US Flag $ 154.41 138.96
Turkish Flag TL 417.97 366.47
Rates correct at 2pm Tue
Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash

This week's poll: The MoneySavingExpert.com annual census

It's time for the MoneySavingExpert.com annual census. Find out who uses the UK's biggest consumer site - and what condiments they like.

Fill in your details (incl age, gender, location, favourite sauce, ethnicity and income) and find out who others are.

Poll results

Which gadgets do you have & which do you use?
With consumer tech so prevalent we wanted to know what you've got.

- 76% polled have a smartphone they regularly use, 58% a printer/scanner, 57% an electric toothbrush.

- But we found plenty who have many items but hardly use them, throwing money down the drain. 40% have a digital camera they rarely use, 36% a DVD player, 26% a camcorder.

10,721 voted. See the full results.

Question of the week

Q: I'm looking for car insurance for my 18-yr-old son but I've been quoted £2,000 a year. I was told if he adds a second driver it might be cheaper. Correct? Anne, via email.

MSE Tony's A: If he adds a responsible second driver, eg, you, as long as you or that person has a good driving record, it may make it cheaper so is definitely worth a go.

Not every process in trying to make car insurance savings makes sense at first glance and adding a second driver is definitely one of them.

The premium is based on how much of a risk insurers perceive drivers to be - so if you add someone deemed lower risk the average risk will fall. It is a trial and error process but we have heard of great successes. We added a 40-year-old family member as an 'occasional' user (not main driver - that's fraudulent unless they really are) to an 18-year-old's policy which cut the cost by approx £1,000. It won't always work, but it's worth checking.

There are many other tricks to try to cut the cost of insurance for young drivers. These include combining multiple comparison sites, not assuming third party is cheapest and checking 'pay-how-you-drive' policies. Full info in our Young Drivers' Car Insurance guide.

Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails).

 Nick's free game of the week: Boomstick

What not to do when you meet someone with a disability..."Wow, you're so brave, are you on a special scheme?"

That's it for this week, but before we go, check out charity Scope's new campaign to end the awkwardness around disability in this End the Awkward short film. PS: Be prepared to cringe.

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team

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We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

What you need to know

  • This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service.

  • We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the section 75 guide for protection tips).

  • We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.

  • Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, how this site is financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis.

More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis

What is MoneySavingExpert.com?

Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with more than 10 million people getting this email and about 13 million using the site every month. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial – researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE

Who is Martin Lewis?

Martin set up and runs MSE, and still writes this email each week (unless it says so). He's an ultra-focused money-saving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own ITV prime-time show The Martin Lewis Money Show and weekly slots on Radio 5 Live, This Morning and Good Morning Britain, among others. He’s a columnist for publications including the Telegraph, Sunday Mirror and Woman magazine. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography

What do the links with a * mean?

Any links with a * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See how this site is financed.

As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:

Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email

tescobank.com, virginmoney.com, lloydsbank.com, barclaycard.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, google.co.uk, confused.com, moneysupermarket.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, zopa.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk, firstdirect.com, santander.co.uk, directsavetelecom.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note

Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances constitute an FCA regulated activity. For this reason, pages with links which take you to the sites of insurers or insurance intermediaries are hosted by MoneySavingExpert.com Limited on behalf of MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC. MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is MoneySupermarket House, St. David’s Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ.

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