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| DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
| Martin: 'Energy price cap to be frozen? Will it work, what does it mean for you, what about if you're on a fix?' We have a new Prime Minister (congratulations to her), a new administration, and rumours of a radical shift in energy policy, both compared to Boris Johnson's regime, and to what Liz Truss herself had been discussing during the campaign. Last week I talked about the coming horrendous 80% rise in the price cap on 1 Oct, and more rises after that. Now things may be changing fast, I'll try to update you as best I can. Will prices be frozen at the current level? The latest mutterings are the cap, currently at £1,971/yr for someone on typical use, will rise to £2,500/yr (it was due to go to £3,549) yet the pre-planned £400 discount will be applied - if true, all in, it'd only be a small increase. We're likely to hear on Thursday the exact details. My 12-point Energy price freeze rumours - how it'll work, what it means for you, will it succeed? blog takes you through what you need to know so far, and some pros and cons.Fixed in the last 14 days? Check when your cooling-off period ends. With the rumoured big changes coming on Thursday, be prepared to cancel if you still can. If you fixed earlier, see my already fixed thoughts in the blog. New. Exclusive, firm-by-firm, how your energy supplier sets your direct debit. Direct debits are likely (see the ifs and buts above) to rise again - yet how do energy retailers decide how much to increase them? Our new firm-by-firm guide reveals exactly how it works, after energy firms agreed to co-operate with us on this, as part of the energy summit the Ovo boss and I called back in July. New. Energy price cap rise calc, what will you really pay (now incl prepay)? The price cap varies by region and dictates the cost of the daily standing charge and the unit rate you pay for energy use. While there's an average 80% rise currently due (until we know different), depending on your situation it could be between 50% and 90%. Tell our Energy price cap rise calc your usage and region, and it estimates what you'll pay from 1 Oct. We've updated it to include prepay as well as direct debit. What to do if you're struggling now, or will be in October? If you're struggling, it's always worth talking to your energy firm - be polite and straight with it - and make sure you explain if you're vulnerable. Hardship & debt grants may be available. Do read our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills guide, which includes energy and debt help charities that may be able to suggest something. Try to cut your usage if possible. Cutting use cuts bills and helps the environment (and the country's energy security). Start with our Energy saving tips, add in the Energy mythbusting guide for less clear-cut issues, and if you're really struggling, see our Heat the human not the home guide (thankfully the summer warmth helps right now). |
| Got holiday currency left over? Swap with a friend or use our buyback tool. If you have currency left over, the best thing to do is find a friend/colleague who is going away, look up the 'spot rate' (perfect rate) and agree to sell at that price, then you both win. If you're a no-mates (or have no mates going away), use our TravelMoneyMax buyback tool. Free food or cash with McDonald's Monopoly - how to boost your chances. See McMonopoly tricks and please eat responsibly. 'I've saved £400 a year on my mobile after haggling.' Our success of the week comes from Andrea, who used our mobile haggling tips to save on her contract. She said: "My contract came to an end last week and, taking advice from MSE, I told Vodafone there were cheaper Sim-only deals elsewhere [use the Mobile Phone Comparison to check]. It matched what I'd found, and now I only pay £14 a month (down from £47 a month). This will give me an extra £396 to put towards my electricity bills. I want to say a big thank you for all your amazing and helpful advice." Send us your MoneySaving successes, on this or anything else where MSE's helped you save. Back in work uniform after the summer? Can you claim a tax rebate? If you wear a recognisable work uniform (for example, a branded T-shirt) and wash or repair it yourself, you can likely claim (and back-claim) a small uniform tax rebate. Ends midday Fri. Top 25mth 0% borrowing card pays £20 cashback. This Barclaycard* (check acceptance odds first) gives newbies £20 cashback if you spend £250+ on it within 90 days. So you can just use it for spending you'd do anyway, pay it off, and you're quids in at no cost. Yet it also offers up to 25 months at 0% on new spending (so borrowing) too, so it's a good choice if, and only if, you NEED to borrow (for one-off, budgeted, affordable spending) as done right, it's interest-free. Golden rules: 1) Pay at least the min monthly payment. 2) Clear the debt before the 0% ends or it's 22.9% rep APR. Full info in 0% spending cards. Print your summer snaps for free (or cheap). See our round-up of photo printing app deals, including 10 free 6"x4" photo prints and 50 prints for £3.50. Birthday FREEBIES, including Krispy Kreme/Greggs doughnut, Body Shop £5. September is the most common birth month, and some firms give freebies just for getting older. 30+ birthday freebies |
| Easy trick to make a FREE £400 this year by... MSE was born on tricks to play the system. Yet over the years firms have got wiser, so they've got fewer and further between. A few days ago, however, Martin sent an excited edict, asking us to write about this way to help you make a little extra cash, because it's just easy for many to do (and he's the boss, so we're doing it). This is less of a manipulation, more of a combination though. There are two steps, and it's all about bank accounts... STEP 1: Switch to Santander's bank account, get a FREE £175 and cashback on all main bills paid via it. The Santander 123 Lite* bank account costs £2/mth, but currently pays switchers a FREE £175 cash - the highest switch bonus available. Then pay bills by it via direct debit and it pays cashback. There are three tiers, and you can earn a maximum £5 per tier (so £15/mth max) - this is also good for those with joint bills accounts.3% back on water bills | 2% on energy bills (doubled at 4% up to £10/mth for Sept & Oct) | 1% on council tax, paid-for TV, mobile, home phone & broadband, and Santander mortgages. We estimate a home with mid to large bills could earn up to £80/year, even after the fee. To get it, you need to have/switch two direct debits, log in to online/mobile banking, have a one-off £1,000 going in, then fund £500/mth (for example, by paying your salary in). The bonus will be paid within 30 days of meeting the criteria. - Alternatives to Santander: You can get the same FREE £175 switch bonus from top service bank First Direct. There's no cashback, but it has a linked 3.5% saver and many get a £250 0% overdraft. More options in Best bank accounts. STEP 2: Open a Chase account, WITHOUT switching, to get 1% cashback on spending. You can get the app-only Chase current account* without switching, without a hard credit search, and it's usually opened quickly. For the first year it gives an uncapped 1% cashback on all normal daily spending (it generally excludes bills, investments, and major purchases like cars). For a family who'd spend £1,000 a month on the card, that's £120 cashback over the year. So use Santander for your bill payments, and then fund this for normal spending. It also pays 1.5% interest on up to £250,000 savings, not that far behind the top easy-access savings, and its debit card is top for spending abroad. - Alternatives to Chase: Virgin Money can also be opened without switching and gives 2.02% interest on £1,000, plus has a linked 1.71% easy-access account, and a top card for spending abroad. Yet if you do switch to it, you can also get 25% cashback on all UK supermarket and fuel spends for the first two months (max £160). PS: You can also join a top cashback website to see if you can boost the percentage earned when spending online. |
| Warning. Taken time off work to look after kids? You could be owed state pension. Some people - mostly women - who stayed at home to care for family, as far back as 1978, have been hit with errors that could see them missing £1,000s in state pension payments. See how to check & claim. Discounts for NHS & emergency services workers, for example, 10% off at Asda. Emergency Services Day is on Friday, so we've updated our list of NHS & care worker freebies & discounts. Less than a month left to spend old paper £20 and £50 notes. Check sofas and pockets as you've only got until Fri 30 Sep before shops stop accepting them. What to do with old notes 24 craft beers for £27 delivered (normally £46). MSE Blagged. Newbies only - 1,000 boxes available. Flavourly. Please be Drinkaware. Use buy now, pay later schemes to shop? You (and lenders) can now see it on your credit report. Laybuy has become the latest firm to start reporting to credit reference agencies, alongside Klarna and PayPal, meaning late or missed repayments can hurt your credit file. See which firms report to which agencies. Tell us if you're still chasing a refund for Covid-related travel disruption. Did you have a flight, hotel or other booking cancelled during the pandemic? Let us know if you got your money back in our 5-minute travel survey. 18,500 FREE Grand Designs Live Birmingham tickets. For 5-9 October, normally £13-£16 each. Grand Designs |
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| THIS WEEK'S POLL Are you allowed to buy cheap school uniforms? Buying new school uniforms can be a costly exercise - especially if you have to buy specific items with school logos. In England, new rules now mean schools must look at removing branded items and allow parents to buy from the high street and supermarket own-label uniforms. So we want to know, does your child's school let you buy from supermarkets, or are you restricted to a specific shop? Vote in this week's poll. A third of us have cut back on paid-for streaming services - mainly to save money. Last week, we asked how many streaming services you pay for, and whether you've cut back in recent months. More than 6,000 people responded - almost half (46%) currently subscribe to two or more services, and of those who do stream (or did previously), just over a third (34.1%) have cut their number of subscriptions, with the majority doing so to save money. See the full poll results. |
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| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I return the 100+ stamps that Royal Mail sent to me by mistake? I sent 45 non-barcoded stamps to Royal Mail under its swap scheme, and it sent me back four envelopes, each containing 45 barcoded stamps - 180 in total. I called Royal Mail, explained the error, and was sent an envelope to return the 135 extra stamps. I posted them back, only for another 132 stamps to arrive! This has already taken a decent amount of my time and effort to try and solve - do I need to keep sending them back? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I return the 100+ stamps sent in error that I already returned once? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma |
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| MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 7 SEP ONWARDS) Wed 7 Sep - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.55am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Tue 13 Sep - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am |
| CADBURY'S FUSE BAR? BURTON'S PUFFS? WHAT SNACK WOULD YOU BRING BACK? That's all for this week, but before we go... snack giant KP has just brought back its infamous Scampi 'N' Lemon flavour Nik Naks, 14 years after being discontinued. So we asked what snacks you'd love to see return (OK, it's not strictly MoneySaving, but we all need a bit of light relief right now). Those with a sweet tooth yearned for a comeback of the Cadbury's Fuse bar, Nestle Secret and Toffo chews. Savoury fans were hankering after Bovril crisps, curry-flavoured Twiglets and Burton's Puffs. And while there were a few mentions of the Heinz Beanz Pizza - we reckon some things are probably best left in the past. Tell us what snacks you want back by adding to the Twitter conversation. We hope you save some money, stay safe, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe 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 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 LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? What do the links with an * mean?Any links with an * 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 products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. 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 barclaycard.co.uk, santander.co.uk, chase.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, bank.marksandspencer.com Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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