Car finance - reclaim £1,000s?, Martin's BILLBUSTER, 4% mortgages, pothole compensation, Paris return £74, 2 specs £25

Plus... 3 x free cash bank switches, free 0% beer, £10 West End theatre tix

                                                           

16 January 2024 | View in browser

Banking & Savings Household Bills Deals Insurance Cards & Loans Mortgages Income Reclaim

 

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin's annual billbuster - big, easy savings for everyone, including... - Slash mobile costs in 5 mins - Halve broadband costs, double speed - Full breakdown cover £60/yr - Switch overdraft to 0% 5yr mortgages under 4% - urgently check if you can save Haggle with AA, BT, Sky, Virgin & more Important. Had car finance pre-2021? You may be due £1,000s Free 0% beer, £4 off Tesco & more January coupons Car crocked by pothole? Can you claim? Martin grills the Chancellor, on... - Lifetime ISA penalty to be scrapped? - 'Unfair' Child Benefit structure - Mid-contract price hikes to be probed  New. THREE banks pay you £150+ to switch £78 Eurostar returns + extra 5% off trick TWO branded specs from £25 £1 TransPennine Express train tix 8pm tonight. The Martin Lewis Money Show Live Martin's pod: Free childcare, slash credit card costs & more Ends Wed. £15 for saving £100 at 3.51% £41 Grüum face, lip & nail bundle £4 Premium Bond prize rate cut to 4.4% Booked a holiday, or about to? Get travel insurance ASAB £10 to £50 London theatre tix Want an MSE Charity grant? Funding round NOW OPEN This week's best buys, including 5.9% loans, 29mth 0% debt shift, 12GB Sim '£3.57/mth' Should I tell my daughter not to invite me for Christmas? BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers Compare broadband deals MSE Car Insurance Compare+ Best bank accounts Top savings accounts Credit cards for bad credit Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Mortgage comparison Compare travel money Cheap Energy Club, with Pick Me A Tariff Best Sim-only deals

MARTIN'S ANNUAL BILLBUSTER The big & easy savings everyone should try, to gain £1,000s in 2024 10 areas: Broadband, Mobiles, Council Tax, Water Bills, Credit Cards, Mortgages, Breakdown, Energy, Overdrafts, Car & Home Insurance It's January - the one time the majority of people have a need, an interest, a yen to save. So while you've got this financial fervour, I want to grab your attention and do my annual billbuster - running through the key topics for big & easy savings. Plus tonight, Tue 8pm ITV1, I'll talk you through how to do a billbuster on my show. Do watch. So if you can, take a few hours to do a financial blitz and tackle it all. If that scares the pants off you, do a slow-burn where every time you get one of these bills, sort it then, gradually giving yourself a money makeover. I won't risk writing more, it may distract you - let's get straight to it... 1. MOBILE BILL: Many overpay four-fold. Scale of Saving: £150/yr. Time Taken: 5 mins. Key Action: Quickly find cheapest Sim. Hottest Deal: 12GB/mth for '£3.57/mth'. Mobile pricing has schismed in recent years. Existing customers saw 14% to 17% hikes last April (last week I asked the Chancellor to intervene & stop above-inflation mobile & broadband hikes this April), yet new deals have seen deflation, with prices plummeting. Two years ago a 100GB Sim was '£12/mth', today it's '£7/mth'. So if like 14m people you're out of contract, follow these steps: - Step 1: Text 'INFO' for free to 85075. It'll then reply telling you if you're in contract OR are free to leave (if it doesn't work, if you've been on same deal 2+ yrs you're likely out of contract). - Step 2: Find the cheapest Sim. Use our cheap sims comparison. A Sim is just the chip in the back of your phone that gives it its identity, so as long as you don't want a new handset, switch this & save. Don't want to switch signal? Tell the tool and it'll include only networks that piggyback on the same signal, or take the best price and haggle. - Step 3: To keep your number, text 'PAC' to 65075. Then you get a code to send to your new provider, which'll transfer it over, usually in one working day.  Here are some top deals as a benchmark - all are unlimited UK calls & texts (use our Data Calc if you're unsure how much you need) and include intro promo vouchers factored into the price over the contract. 6GB/mth equiv £3.45/mth TalkMobile (on Vodafone network) 12GB/mth equiv £3.57/mth Lebara (on Vodafone) 50GB/mth equiv £5.50/mth iD Mobile (on Three) 100GB/mth equiv £7.09/mth iD Mobile 2. MORTGAGES: Fixes finally getting cheaper. Scale of Saving: c. £2,400/yr per £100,000 of mortgage (moving from 8% standard rate to 5% fix). Time Taken: 15 mins. Key Action: Check your rate against the cheapest mortgages to see if you can save. Hot Deal: 5 year fixes now under 4%. We're covering this below, so please jump straight to Can you save on your mortgage? 3. BROADBAND: Halve costs, double speed. Scale of Saving: £240/yr or £500/yr for some with digital TV. Time Taken: 5-10 mins. Key Action: Check broadband (& TV) comparison. Hot Deal: 132Mb Virgin Media broadband '£21/mth'. Most people massively overpay for broadband, and it's got a lot worse this last year. Last April, most firms hiked costs 14% to 17%, and this April it's likely 7%-ish rises will hit. So if you're one of the 7m who are out of contract, check now if you can switch & save (or haggle and stay).  Here are current top-pick SWITCHERS' deals - as normal all are short-lived promos via comparison sites, and all include vouchers (such as £90 Amazon) when you sign up, so the price factors that & all costs in over the contract period. The link goes via our broadband tool which gives you details, and shows whether it's available in your postcode.  Ends 11.59pm Thu. Virgin Media broadband only. 18mth contract. MSE Blagged Cheapest deal: 132Mb equiv £20.95/mth. Customer service score: 5/10 (OK). Available to 60% of homes. Ends Sun. Vodafone fibre broadband & phone line. 24mth contract.  Cheap fast fibre: 67Mb equiv £21.50/mth. Customer service score: 6.1/10 (good). Available to 97% of homes. Ends Sun. Vodafone broadband & digital line. 24mth contract. Cheap 100Mb with good service: 100Mb equiv £22.25/mth. Customer service score: 6.1/10 (good). This full fibre (FTTP) deal's available to 57% of homes. Ends 11.59pm Thu. Sky broadband and digital phone line. 18mth contract. Cheapest 500Mb with 'OK' service: 500Mb equiv £28/mth. Customer service score: 5.8/10 (OK). This full fibre (FTTP) deal's available to 57% of homes. On Universal Credit or similar benefits? Try a social tariff: Many providers offer special discounted social broadband tariffs. Starting from £12/mth, these give long-term cheap prices on standard speeds. Will the prices go up? All these deals are likely to rise in price by 7%-ish in April, but 7% on £20/mth beats 7% on £40/mth, which most pay right now. Why are service ratings low? Broadband does worse than other sectors, so all are lower - see broadband service results. Also looking for digital TV? First do a channel self-audit, what do you actually watch & want, then use our broadband & TV comparison to check prices. If you've some red-lines, then haggling is often the winner. And if you've different providers for broadband & TV, check if you can save by combining them. For streaming, see our Disney+ | Amazon Prime Video | Netflix tips to save and also check Do I need a TV licence?  Quick broadband switching tips...  - Won't switch as you use its email? First check if you can keep it if you leave - some allow it. If not, see top tips to beat email lock-in. - At least 50% must get the advertised speeds at peak times. Providers above also tell you estimated max speed before you sign up. - Switching usually only means c. 2hrs' downtime. You're told switch time & most don't need an engineer to set it up (more common with Virgin). 4. WATER BILLS: More savings than most think. Scale of Saving: £50-£500/yr. Time Taken: 5 mins. Key Action: Use water meter calc to see if it'd save you (Eng & Wales only). Hot Deal: 700,000 water-saving freebies. Perversely, with water, we have privatisation but no competition, arguably the worst of both worlds. That's one reason water is the forgotten utility, but the reality is potential savings are memorable - here are three routes...  i) Can you switch to a FREE water meter (Eng & Wales)? These water bills are still based on the 1989 rateable value (yes, you read that right: 1989), a proxy for property value, and can't be appealed. Yet you can move to a free water meter (not free in Scotland, while in N Ireland water bills are part of local taxation). Here's my rule of thumb: More bedrooms in your home than people, or the same number (eg, 3 bedrooms, 2 people)? Definitely check if a water meter will save you cash This works because water meters are based on usage, so when there's only a couple of people in a big (thus higher-rated) house, it's likely to be cheaper. So use a water meter calculator for an estimate, then get the water firm to give a more formal assessment. As Marie emailed: "My last water bill had risen to £1,600 a year - I took your advice, had a meter installed and now pay just over £250 annually - saving over £1,000 a year without changing the way I use water. Why didn't I get one before? Especially as I am now on my own." - Told you can't have a meter? Ask for an 'assessed charge' where they work out what you'd pay if you were on a meter & see if it's cheaper. - Many firms let you change back within two years. So try the meter and see (see switch-back policies). This doesn't work for compulsory installs. - Got a soakaway, cesspit, pool or big garden? You may be able to claim a drainage rebate.  ii) Cut your water usage. While this is mainly a benefit for those on a meter, even if not, as much of the water we use is heated, it can cut energy bills too. See our 30 water-saving tips and water freebies. iii) 5.7m eligible homes miss out on discounts. If you're on a low income and/or you claim benefits, a social tariff could slash your bill by up to 90%. If you've a water meter AND claim benefits AND have certain medical conditions that cause you to use more water, OR have 3+ children in your household, you could get bills capped under the WaterSure scheme. 5. CREDIT CARD BILLS: Shift debt to 29mths 0%. Scale of Saving: £200/yr per £1,000 of debt. Time Taken: 10 mins. Key Action: Use an eligibility calc to see if you'll be accepted. Top Deal: Barclaycard's 'up to' 29mths 0% (3.45% fee) or if you can repay quicker, NatWest's 13mths 0% NO FEE.  If you can't afford to clear your credit or store card debts in full, you can't afford not to check if you can shift 'em to interest-free. I wrote everything you need to know in my credit card debt cost-cutting masterclass in last week's email (it's still up to date), so jump to that for full help. 6. BREAKDOWN COVER: Full service under £60/yr. Scale of Saving: £150/yr. Time Taken: 5 mins. Key Action: Switch to cheapest cover or haggle. Top Deal: AutoAid's* full service £57/yr. Price-walking has been banned for car & home insurance but not roadside recovery. It's where each year, firms push their customers' prices up a little, so that if you've auto-renewed for a few years, you end up overpaying massively. So don't just auto-renew: there's full help in car breakdown cover, and here are three quick options... Full service cover £57/yr for you & a partner. AutoAid's* been among my top picks for nearly two decades. It covers you & your spouse or live-in partner in any car you/they drive, including roadside recovery, home start and onward travel (it's £15 more if your car's over 16 years old). Eversure Gold* is a similar price and has similar cover too, though less of a track record. Both use local recovery operators. We've great feedback for AutoAid. Want to stick with AA/RAC? Don't just auto-renew - both are in the top 10 UK firms to haggle with. Want a new AA/RAC policy? Use a cashback site. Via the right cashback sites, it can be £57/yr basic or £110/yr full service - not far from half the price of buying direct. 7. GAS & ELECTRICITY: Switch to save 3%. Scale of Saving: £50-£100/yr. Time Taken: 4 mins. Key Action: Switch to E.on Next Pledge and cut usage. If current predictions are right, the Energy Price Cap will drop 14% in April, and so fixing now likely isn't worth it. However, the E.on Pledge tariff is basically a 3% cheaper version of the Price Cap. For help on that and lots more, see our full energy cost-cutting tips from 3 Jan, which all still stand. 8. OVERDRAFTS: A real danger debt. Scale of Saving: £40/yr per £100 of overdraft. Time Taken: 15 mins. Key Action: Can you switch overdraft to 0%? Hottest Deal: First Direct* free switchers' £175 and most get an ongoing £250 0% overdraft.  It's not officially a bill, but you should consider it as one, as almost all overdrafts are now charged at a typical 40% interest - nearly double even high-street credit cards. We've full help in 9 ways to cut overdraft costs but here are three key options in brief... Owe under £500ish or just go overdrawn occasionally? First Direct* offers accepted new switchers £175, and many get a £250 interest-free overdraft. So if your overdraft's, say, £400, the £175 pays some off and the rest is at 0%. Above that you'll pay 40%, like elsewhere. Full info: First Direct. A year's potentially bigger 0% overdraft. Nationwide FlexDirect can offer a bigger (or smaller) 0% overdraft - the limit depends on your credit history. However, it only lasts a year, then it's 40%, like most providers. So plan to clear the debt within that time. Full info: Nationwide FlexDirect. Do a 0% money transfer. These specialist cards pay money into your bank account so you then owe them instead. You can get up to 12mths 0%, though be careful, it's easy to get it wrong. Our Money transfers guide takes you through it & top deals. The rate isn't the only thing to focus on though...  - Aim to repay a fixed monthly amount. Eg, if you're £500 overdrawn, 'paying' £100 means aiming to be £400 overdrawn at month end. A budget helps. - Consider moving Direct Debits to just before payday. The idea is you're overdrawn for less time, so costs are lower. - Got savings? Use 'em to clear it. See Repay debt with savings? - Got other debt? If they're a lower APR than the overdraft, only pay their minimums and prioritise clearing the overdraft first. - Can you reclaim past bank charges? See bank charge reclaiming. - Struggling with all debt? Get free help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline or StepChange. It can make a huge difference. 9. CAR (& Home) INSURANCE: Prices rose 67% in 2023 - beware auto-renewal. Scale of Saving: Can stop your price increasing 60%. Time Taken: 10 mins - 1hr. Key Action: Use MSE Compare+ Car tool or our home insurance guide.  Assessments of how much car insurance rose in 2023 vary from the industry's (ABI's) own 29% up to Consumer Intelligence analysts' 67% - either way it's a shedload! I wrote my full everything you need to slash car & home insurance costs in this email back in September - it's all still valid so jump straight there. 10. COUNCIL TAX BILL: 100,000s in wrong band or missing out on discounts. Scale of Saving: Up to £8,000 reclaim + £100/yr. Time Taken: 10 mins. Key Action: Use my check 'n' challenge system & scan council tax discounts.  It's now 17 years ago that I first launched my council tax cost-cutting system - back then it made front-page news. Over the years huge numbers have cut bills and got backdated cash... Are you in too high a council tax band? 100,000s of homes are in the wrong band, many in too high a band. My 10-min council tax band check 'n' challenge system shows how to check your band is correct and how to challenge it if not. Ensure you read it properly, just speculatively challenging can be costly. David emailed me: "You suggested checking bands against similar properties. We noticed other properties were band F - we were G. We challenged and were told the property had been in the wrong band since 1993. Thanks to you we've now received a £7,000 back-payment and had our monthly payment cut by £70. Thank you for a fabulous site & weekly newsletter." Are you due a council tax discount? If you or someone you know lives alone (or just with u18s or full-time students), has a live-in carer, disability, is a student or receives Pension Credit, check if you're due a council tax discount. Plus if someone has dementia, Alzheimer's, severe Parkinson's or suffered from a stroke, they may be entitled to the 'severe mental impairment' discount, which can be worth £1,000s backdated, and needs shouting about from the rooftops. PS: 'Time Taken' is my guesstimate of how long to look at the info and decide on action. It's to give you a rough idea of how much time to put aside - clearly it can vary massively.

 

 

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

 

 

 

Five-year fixed-rate mortgages now under 4% Check what your rate is - if it's more, or if your fix is soon to end, it's worth looking now to see if you can save  The rates of new fixes don't move with the Bank of England's base rate - they move with the market's view of future interest rates. As inflation has cooled - meaning prices aren't rising as quickly - the outlook for interest rates has shifted to future cuts. This, combined with increased competition, means our mortgage comparison shows the cheapest five-year fixes are now below 4% and two-year fixes are at 4.24% (5.96% in July). Things could shave down further, but it's a good time to start looking at remortgage deals. Our 62-page PDF Remortgage guide takes you through it step by step, but in brief... Important - if you're one of 1.5m whose fix ends in 2024. As part of the mortgage help launched last year after campaigning led by Martin, your lender must now allow you to lock in a new deal up to 6mths before your current deal ends, so that's the key point to start checking. Look at your lender's product transfer options and then our mortgage comparison for other firms' rates. This means you can bag a deal now as a sort of insurance policy against rate rises. And if rates drop, you're usually (check) able to ditch the 'insurance deal' without penalty and grab a new deal. See 'lock in a deal for safety' help. On your lender's standard variable rate (SVR)? You're almost certainly overpaying. This is the bog-standard rate many move to when their current deal ends, usually with massive 7% to 9% rates. Though with the cost of new fixes down, it's worth checking if you'll be accepted for a new deal (though sadly not everyone will). Some on SVRs could cut 5 percentage points off their mortgage rates, which could mean you pay £3,000+ a year less per £100,000 of mortgage debt. Six steps to finding a cheaper mortgage Our free 62-page PDF Remortgage guide has FULL info on what a remortgage is and how it works, but here's a quick summary...   1. Check your existing lender's 'product transfers'. These days providers offer existing customers competitive rates to keep their custom which can involve less paperwork and fewer fees. See your product transfer options. 2. Use our mortgage comparison to speedily compare if it's cheaper elsewhere. Our mortgage comparison tool shows what's available, so now after these first two steps you have a benchmark rate. 3. Check what you'll be paying. We've lots of powerful tools as part of our Ultimate Mortgage Calculator, including Basic mortgage calc | Compare two mortgages calc | Compare fixed-rate mortgages calc. 4. Should you fix, and if so, for how long? As a general rule, the more you value budgeting certainty, the more you should consider fixing, and fixing longer. Usually, you pay more to fix longer, yet currently rates on longer fixes are lower than 2yr fixes. See Mortgage rates are falling - will they get cheaper? 5. Boost your acceptance chances. Lenders carry out checks to see if you can afford mortgage repayments on top of other expenses. Living costs are going up, meaning acceptance can be harder. So it's best to be frugal in the run-up to a mortgage application. See 17 ways to boost mortgage chances. A poor credit history can also torpedo an application. So check your credit file (for free) to ensure there are no errors, then minimise other applications, and pay down debts if you can. See 38 tips to boost your creditworthiness. 6. Use a mortgage broker to find the best deal for you. Even if you've a great credit history and you've minimised outgoings, lenders' acceptance criteria differ, meaning not all will accept you. So find a good broker to help, as they've details of most lenders' criteria which aren't usually available to the public, and they can match you to a top deal. Plus there are sometimes top deals which are only accessible through brokers. Struggling to pay your mortgage? You may be able to get a payment respite WITHOUT hurting your credit file. Using mortgage charter support means you can switch to interest-only for six months or extend your term. You pay less in the short term, giving you time to work your finances out, though you will have to make it up later.

 

News. Did you have car or van finance (eg, PCP) before 2021? You may be due £1,000s. The regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has launched a huge investigation into high commissions in motor finance. Martin believes there's a chance this could be as big as PPI when it's done. Full help in Will you be due a huge car finance payback? PS: We're working on a full step-by-step guide to help you claim. Free £6.50 Beavertown alcohol-free IPA, £4 off at Tesco, free £2.50 jackfruit burgers & more - January's supermarket coupons. See our list of 50+ coupons & cashback. Pothole damage reports highest in five years - can you claim compensation? The AA estimates drivers spent almost £500m fixing pothole damage in 2023. If your car's crocked, check whether you can reclaim (& how to do it). When Martin (Lewis) met Jeremy (Hunt)... Last week, Martin grilled the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on his show (watch full interview on ITVX, the body language is fascinating) & of course, he had some big campaigning points to make to the Chancellor, including... Lifetime ISAs: Chancellor to look at scrapping unfair withdrawal penalty for first-time buyers in the Budget Child Benefit: Hunt admits structure is unfair Mid-contract price hikes: Broadband & mobile price hikes to be probed New. Now THREE banks pay you FREE CASH to switch. Until this week First Direct's 1st Account* was the only 2024 free cash newbies' switch deal. It's still our top pick, offering £175 upfront, a linked 7% regular saver, a 0% overdraft and fee-free overseas spending, all with a 90% 'great' service rating. Yesterday it was joined by TSB Spend & Save* which now pays switchers £125 upfront, plus you can get an extra £10/mth for six months, and Co-op Bank's new £100 upfront, £50 later offer (save £25+ in its linked saver to get the £50). Full info, including crucial eligibility criteria, in Best bank accounts. £78 Eurostar returns & our trick to get an extra 5% off. How to bag £74 returns to Paris, Brussels & Lille. TWO branded prescription specs from £25. MSE Blagged. Includes Aspire, Scout & more. Glasses Direct One million £1 TransPennine Express train tickets - eg, Manchester to Edinburgh. Book by Fri, for travel most days up to 8 Mar. £1 trains It's back and it's at 8pm tonight (Tue): The Martin Lewis Money Show Live ITV1. Over to Martin: "It's my billbuster week, where I'll help you slash £100s or £1,000s off your big annual costs. Got a question? Tweet using #MartinLewis or email the team at martinlewis@itv.com. Plus loads of news you can use. Do watch or set the Betamax (or catch up via ITVX)."

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - 132Mb Virgin Media broadband '£20.95/mth' Ends Thu - Two branded prescription specs from £25 Ends 25 Jan - Free £15 for saving £100 via Plum autosaving app Ends Wed - Grüum face, lip and nailcare trio £4 delivered 25,000 available	DID YOU MISS? - Inheritance tax - will you pay it? Martin's video mythbuster - Diesel emission lawsuit decision time - should you join a claim? - Get PAID to recycle at Boots, H&M, John Lewis, Lush and more - Martin: 'How I averaged 25,142 steps a day in 2023' - 17 FREE ways to learn something new in 2024

 

 

The top 10 UK service providers to haggle with If your broadband, TV, insurance or breakdown firm is hiking prices, HAGGLE... Many think of haggling as just a fun game to try when abroad in some far-flung, exotic market. Actually it's firmly embedded in the UK via call centres when you're out of contract, or nearing the end of it. With mature markets such as breakdown or broadband the priority is retaining existing customers and trying to win them from elsewhere. As Martin says: "If they think they're about to lose you, you're holstering a powerful consumer weapon... the threat of disloyalty." When to haggle (and when not to). The aim of haggling is to get a similar or better price than the market's best deal, but with a provider you're already comfortable with. Sarah emailed us a couple of days ago: "Having read your haggling guide, a two-minute call was all it took to get my AA quote reduced from £296. Its first offer was £200, but I said new customers are quoted £180, so the operator had 'another look' - and came back with... £108! Is that a record, a reduction of 67%? Many thanks." Our latest haggling poll from December again showed four sectors where haggling really pays: The top sectors & firms for haggling (by % success of those who tried) Breakdown cover 79% | Broadband & TV 78% | Car & home insurance 63% | Mobile contracts 63% 1. Virgin Media - broadband & TV - 89% success (63% big success) 6. Sky - broadband & TV - 79% (46%) 2. TalkTalk - broadband & TV - 89% (52%) 7. BT - broadband & TV - 76% (32%) 3. RAC - breakdown - 85% (52%) 8. Admiral - insurance - 75% (26%) 4. AA - breakdown - 84% (53%) 9. AA - insurance - 73% (35%) 5. Plusnet - broadband & TV - 80% (26%) 10. Churchill - insurance - 73% (23%) Some try with credit card and bank account providers too, but heavy regulation there means there's little flexibility (though there are some fixed existing-customer deals). Similar is true with the energy market. The seven top haggling tips (but since you asked so nicely, we'll do it in six). It's more art than science - our full top haggling help is great if you're a beginner and need confidence, but here are a few tips to get you going... 1. Always start by benchmarking the best buys: Forearmed with knowledge is best, so jump to Martin's Billbuster above for breakdown | broadband & TV | mobiles | car & home insurance and the cheapest deals there. Then, that's what you want the firm to match. 2. Have a reason: Think through what you want and why, before calling. A reason is always good, and to help we've the phrases that pay: "I've worked out my budget, and my absolute max is £[insert price here]/month", or "[Insert name of rival company here] can do it for less", or "My partner says we need to stop paying for this". All help. 3. ALWAYS be polite & charming: Don't be aggressive; you've no right to a discount (only to leave). Think of it like financial flirting. Rumours are that some firms have quotas on the discounts they can give. Make 'em want to give you one. 4. If they won't play ball, 'ask to cancel': This is the one that pays, because what firms say to us is the 'disconnections/cancellation department' will internally be called 'customer retentions', and it's their job to keep you - they have more power and discretion to do so. 5. Don't be forced to cancel: If they call your bluff after you say you want to cancel, to buy time to think, just say "I need to check with the wife/boyfriend/budgie first" (though if they won't budge, maybe you should cancel). 6. If you fail, try again: Don't assume one setback means a 'no'. Wait a few days and try again. Sometimes call centre staff can have a limited number of discounts they can give in a day/week. You may've got someone who ran out.

 

Are you one of 800,000 missing out on free childcare money? Plus slash credit cards to 0% & behind the scenes of chats with the Chancellor... This, Money Mastermind and more in the Martin Lewis Podcast via BBC Sounds, Spotify & Apple Podcasts etc. Ends 11.59pm Wed. Free £15 for saving £100 via autosaving app Plum. MSE Blagged. Autosaving apps use tech to figure out what you can afford to save from your current account, then put that amount aside for you. Via this Plum link*, newbies get £15 cashback if they save £100+ in the first 90 days, including via its free 'basic' plan, which pays 3.51% AER interest (and once in you can then sweep it out to higher payers). More in Autosaving apps. Grüum face, lip & nail-care trio £4 delivered (normally £41). MSE Blagged. 25,000 available. Grüum Premium Bond prize rate to fall to 4.4% - are they worth it? Savings pay more, so should you ditch 'em? Booked a holiday, or about to? Get travel insurance ASAB (As Soon As you... Book). Delay and you'll be unprotected. And with policies from just £9 a week, why take the risk? See our full travel insurance briefing from last week.   £10 to £50 London theatre tickets sale, including The Lion King, Matilda & Les Mis. 1,000s of tickets available for 30+ shows up to 29 Feb. West End theatre sale Want an MSE Charity grant? Funding round NOW OPEN. The MSE Charity's offering up to £8,000 each to non-profits that can help people facing long-term challenges by teaching them key financial life skills. Check if your group qualifies and see how to apply. But go quick - the grant round opened yesterday (15 Feb) and only 40 applications can be accepted.

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 29mths 0% + possible £25 cashback, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR interest) No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) - 13mths 0% (24.9% rep APR) Best bank accounts £175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct £125 to switch + up to £60 cashback: TSB Top savings accounts Top easy access: NatWest Group's Ulster Bank 5.2%, min £5,000 Top one-year fix: SmartSave 5.31%, min £10,000 Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Santander (check eligibility / apply*), 7.3% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: TSB (check eligibility / apply*), 5.9% rep APR Broadband top picks Superfast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin Media '£20.95/mth' Fast fibre (55Mb+): Vodafone '£21.50/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: TalkMobile, '£3.45/mth' for 6GB 10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£3.57/mth' for 12GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£7.09/mth' for 100GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL Parcel delivery firms: Which are the best and worst? With more of us shopping online, parcel delivery firms are playing an increasingly important role in many people's lives - and they've been under intense pressure lately in the run-up to Christmas. So it's time for our 11th annual poll to check which have really been delivering. Vote in this week's poll. Half of MoneySavers have already booked a summer holiday abroad. Last week we asked if you'd booked to go away this summer. More than 4,500 of you responded, with 58% already booked to go on holiday abroad or in the UK. More than a quarter (27%) said they hadn't yet, but hoped to. A diligent 57% also told us they had an annual travel insurance policy in place to cover their trip, while a further 13% took out a policy when they booked their holiday. See full poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Co-op to axe major loyalty perk for members - Buy now, pay later regulation has 'not been canned', Chancellor tells Martin - All London primary age children to get free school meals again from this September - Barclays to shut at least 57 bank branches in 2024/25 - here's the full list

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I tell my daughter she needn't have me over next Christmas if it's too expensive? Since my husband died, I've spent Christmases with one of my daughters and her family. This year, she said several times how expensive hosting is now, and I felt she'd rather just have been with her husband and kids. Should I volunteer to stay at home on my own next year to spare her the expense, even though I'd probably feel lonely? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I tell my daughter she needn't have me over next Christmas? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 16 JAN ONWARDS) Tue 16 Jan - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 8pm (watch previous episodes) Wed 17 Jan - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm Tue 23 Jan - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.15am

 

TIME-SHARES AND 10-HOUR COACH TRIPS - HOW FAR HAVE YOU GONE TO BAG A DEAL? That's all for this week, but before we go... what lengths have you gone to for a freebie or deal? One MoneySaver endured a three-hour time-share presentation for two free tickets for a local attraction, while another delayed a haircut in London just to get it cheaper in Hull when visiting a friend (even factoring in the Megabus fare). More cunning tactics even included strapping a phone to a dog to quickly clock up 10,000 steps and qualify for a free drink. Finally, a 'rubbish' way that some earn extra cash is by submitting litter-picking pictures to a litter lotto - one even won a £140 National Trust membership for their efforts! Let us know how far you've gone for a freebie or deal in our Facebook and Twitter conversations. We hope you save some money, The MSE team

 

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