Ryanair check-in alert, hot No7, beat airline bag fees, railcard deal, couples’ MoneySavers, £123 beauty £25, beat petrol hikes, 2x specs £17, energy debt help

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Hi - here are your latest deals, freebies, tricks and messages to help you save.

16 May 2018

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL

After your feedback, links directly below now go to the online version of this email.

£900 tax break, £100+ cash, 2for1 cinemas... 17 couples' MoneySaving tips Interest rates held... for now. Savers' & borrowers' must-dos Do you owe energy cash? Beat 4yr-high petrol prices POST luggage to beat airline fees £32 of No7 beauty products for £12 Ryanair cuts free check-in window MOT rules are changing 20% off Family & Friends Railcard New. 32mths' 0% debt shift (1.4% fee) Free Mental Health & Debt booklet Warning. Virgin Mobile's raising prices TWO pairs of glasses £17 incl del £123 beauty box for £25 TSB's IT meltdown: 'I got £73 back' Tesco clothing - up to 25% off

BEST BUYS & TOOLS

Credit Club incl free credit report 0% Balance Transfers Compare Broadband deals Cheap Car Insurance Best Bank Accounts Top Savings Accounts Credit Cards for Bad Credit Cheap Energy Club Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Mortgage Comparison Free online complaints tool - Resolver Compare Travel Money Best Sim Only Deals

As everyone's jumping on the royal wedding bandwagon
£900 marriage tax break, ISA & pension rights, £100+ bills cashback & 2for1 cinemas... 17 MoneySaving tips for couples

You might have heard... Harry and Meghan are getting hitched at the weekend. And it's got us thinking about the MoneySaving perks of couple-dom. Apart from a life of bliss together (obvs), it can yield serious savings - even if you've a palace or two to live in. So here are our key tips on saving as a twosome, whether you've tied the knot... or not.

Top tips if you're married or in a civil partnership...

There are big financial advantages to marriage, that you don't get even if you've lived with someone for 30yrs and have six kids. Yes, it's state social engineering to encourage marriage - but don't blame the messenger. The downside is most only come into force when one dies.

Say 'I do' to a FREE £900 tax break. 1.5m married couples and civil partners miss out on an easy but under-publicised break that works if one is a basic-rate taxpayer and the other doesn't pay tax. You can get £238 for this year and £662 for the past three. Our Marriage Tax Allowance guide explains all. Newlywed forumites Tigs and Marleyboy claimed this... at 8pm on their wedding night.

If one partner dies, the other may get a bigger state pension.
What you get depends on a load of factors including whether they reached state pension age before April 2016, the number of years they paid national insurance, when you got married and more. It's complex but there's a link to a nifty checker and lots more help in our State Pensions guide.

A surviving spouse is exempt from inheritance tax. When you die, you can leave unlimited amounts to a spouse or civil partner free from inheritance tax (IHT).
Plus, you can pass on any unused portion of your £325,000 tax-free IHT allowance, and £125,000 property allowance. It gets added to your spouse's IHT allowance, meaning the survivor can currently leave up to £900,000 tax-free when they die. It's more complex if you're unmarried - full help in our Inheritance Tax guide.

You can inherit your spouse's ISA allowance. You get an extra allowance equal to the total amount they had saved in ISAs at time of death, in addition to the annual £20,000 individual limit. In practice most would simply pass on the ISAs, but it does allow the cash to go to someone else, separate to the allowance. See our ISA guide for full info.

Being married gives your partner protection if you die with no will. But it's still safer to have one. Without a will, your spouse will automatically inherit all of your assets if you've no kids. If you've kids, it's shared but the spouse gets the greater share. So while a will isn't crucial in one sense, there are risks as your assets may not go where you want, so it's still best to have one.
We've offers for wills checked by specialists - via Which? you can get a single will for £129 or a couples' will for £199. Co-op offers similar single wills for £99, couples' for £185. Full help in Cheap Wills.

Being married gives dads more rights to the kids if the mum dies. If you're married and one partner dies, the surviving partner automatically gets parental responsibility. If unmarried, the mother gets parental responsibility automatically, but the dad doesn't, and in some cases he may need to go to court to get it. For more see Parental responsibility help.

You can double your capital gains tax allowance. This is only worth it for those with expensive assets. Everyone gets an annual capital gains tax (CGT) allowance, meaning the first £11,700 profit (or 'capital gain') when you sell an asset, eg, additional property or shares, is tax-free. But if you're likely to go over that, you can give some of the assets to your spouse for them to sell instead, taking advantage of their CGT allowance as well. See CGT help.

Further couples' MoneySaving tips, if married or not...

If you're any kind of couple - even if just best friends living together and you have a trusting relationship - here's how to take advantage.

Get 15mths' full-service car breakdown cover for £48 for you and your other half. Our top pick for full service with home start and onward travel, AutoAid is £48.31/yr - and we've currently blagged this to cover 15mths for the price of 12. It covers any car you drive, plus your partner if they live at the same address. A similar policy with the AA or RAC can be £100+. See Cheap Breakdown Cover.
Planning on buying your first home together? You can EACH get a 25% savings boost. This is a no-brainer for anyone who may one day want to buy their first home. With a Lifetime ISA or Help to Buy ISA, the state adds £250 per £1,000 saved. If buying together, get one each to double the boost. If one has owned a home before, the other can still get the boost. @HolmesBeth tweeted: "We both got the bonu s - £1,500 each."

Get a joint bills bank account and earn up to 3% cashback. Many couples have three accounts: one each and one for bills. If that's you, it's possible to earn up to 3% cashback on bills you pay by direct debit, including broadband, mobile, energy, water and council tax. Full info in Best Bank Accounts, but in brief...
- Best for smaller bills. For a £1/mth fee, Santander 123 Lite* pays 1-3% cashback on different bills, incl council tax, water and energy, as long as you pay by direct debit (you need at least two) and pay in £500+/mth. Our calculations show that average bill-payers would get about £70/yr after fees, higher bill-payers £130/yr. If you have a Santander mortgage, you also get up to £10/mth cashback.
- Best for higher bills. For a slightly higher £2/mth fee, NatWest's Reward Account* pays a straight 2% cashback on the same bills, incl council tax, water and energy (but excluding mortgage payments), paid by direct debit. You'll need to pay in £1,500/mth. Our calcs show that average bill-payers would get about £65/yr after fees, higher bill-payers £135/yr, so it could beat Santander above for some.
Add your partner (or mum, dad or aunt Dot) to your car insurance to CUT costs. Strangely two drivers can be cheaper than one, especially if the 2nd has a good record. But NEVER claim they're the primary driver if they're not, as that's fraud. Forumite Bouncybubbles said: "Got quoted £900, up from £500 the previous year. By adding my husband, got it down to £298." Full info in Cheap Car Insurance.
Shift your partner's debt to 0% and save £1,000s. If you've debt on a credit or store card we always tell you to shift it to a 0% balance transfer card. It means you get a new card that pays off your existing ones so you owe it instead, but at 0%. Your repayments clear the debt rather than just interest, so you're debt-free quicker.
Yet getting accepted can be difficult, so if you're in a loving, trusting relationship, there is a way around this. First, use our Balance Transfer Eligibility Calculator to see if they can shift the debt themselves.
If they can't, some top cards will let you transfer your partner's debt to your card. Be aware: their debt then becomes yours. Those that allow it include this Virgin Money card (eligibility calc incl pre-approval / apply*) which offers 36mths 0% for a 2.8% fee, or this Santander (eligibility calc / apply*) card offers 27mths at 0% for NO fee. Both need your partner as an additional cardholder, but they won't require a hard credit check.
Alternatively HSBC (eligibility calc / apply*) offers 32mths 0% with a 1.4% fee (min £5), as long as you're not transferring debt from a card that's part of the HSBC Group. New custs also get £25 cashback if they apply by Mon 16 July and transfer £300+ within 60 days.
Clear the cards before the 0% ends, or they jump to 20.9% rep APR on the Virgin Money card, 18.9% for Santander and 19.9% for HSBC. Full info in Transferring partner's debt.
Cuddle up with 2for1 cinema tickets for A YEAR on Tue or Wed. Try our 2for1 for £1ish movie trick - Pat did: "Bought travel insurance for £1.02 and within 10 mins had the 2for1 code. Going on Wednesday - result."
Fly with your partner in business class for LESS than economy, if you're a big spender. Some credit cards let you earn frequent flyer miles for normal spending, and if you spend certain trigger amounts, you get a 'free' companion ticket to use in any class. Use our Airline Card Eligibility Calc to see which you're most likely to get. Full help and more options in Top Airline Cards.
Get 1/3 off train fares when you travel together. The Two Together Railcard gives two named cardholders 1/3 off most fares... if travelling together. It usually costs £30, but we've blagged a 10% off code until Tue. (If you've kids and travel with them, the Family & Friends Railcard may work better.)
Get £700's worth of FAMILY travel, phone and breakdown insurance for £156. If you've a packaged bank account and use the perks, make sure you add your partner as a joint account holder, so they can benefit as well.

Our top pick's Nationwide's FlexPlus* - for £13/mth you get worldwide family travel insurance, family smartphone insurance and UK and European breakdown cover for all account holders. A family needing them all could pay £700/yr separately. Full eligibility info and more options in Packaged Bank Accounts.
Pass money between you both to reduce tax. Basic-rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000/yr interest tax-free (higher rate £500). If you'll exceed that but your partner won't, consider transferring some savings into their name to minimise tax. It's totally legitimate, but you must trust each other as you're giving your money to someone else. Full info in our Personal Savings Allowance guide.

DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook
Lots of scam ads that litter social media lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

Interest rates HELD... for now. What savers & borrowers need to know

Got savings, a mortgage or need a loan? A rate rise this year is still likely... so check you're on the best deal NOW

The Bank of England kept the base rate - the official interest rate which impacts savers and borrowers - at 0.5% last Thursday. It's been there or lower for almost a decade. Yet while savers heaved another huff of despair, and borrowers a sigh of relief, the Bank's governor, Mark Carney, said it was still likely rates would rise this year (though he's said this before without a rise). So we're in a holding pattern where it's time to get your finances in order...

Got savings? Interest rates aren't likely to rise quickly. Until now, we were worried about telling you to fix in case rates rose rapidly. Now, with only a small rise predicted this year, and 1yr fixed rates paying nearly 0.6 percentage pts more than the best easy-access deals, it's not a bad bet - but don't fix for too long. Martin's best guesstimate is anything more than two years is pushing it.
The top 1yr fix pays 1.9%, the top 2yr fix pays 2.16%, while the top eas y access pays 1.32%. See Top Savings Accounts for full details.

Looking for a loan? Rates can't get much lower. Only borrow if it's planned, budgeted for and affordable. But if you really must (eg, for a new car or kitchen), go quick - right now some rates are the lowest we've ever seen. A future rate rise won't hit those already with a loan, as most are fixed - but it's possible the cheapest deals will disappear.
Use our free Loans Eligibility Calculator to see which you've the best chance of getting before applying without marking your credit file, which can be a problem if you make too many applications. Here are the top deals (unless stated, loans are for 1-5yrs) - see Cheap Loans for more.
- £7.5k-£15k: Sainsbury's Bank* 2.7% rep APR (1-3 yrs, Nectar custs only), M&S Bank* 2.8% rep APR (1-7yrs).
- £5k-£7,499: Admiral* 3.3% rep APR.
- £3k-£4,999: Zopa* 5%-6.9% rep APR.
- Under £3k: Ratesetter* 6.8% rep APR (yet credit card loans are often cheaper for smaller amounts).

Mortgage holder? If rates do rise, many will pay more. If you're on a variable or tracker mortgage, your rate will almost certainly rise with the base rate; if you're on a fix, it won't. But if you're looking to get a fix, the rates available are likely to rise if the base rate does (though banks are already beginning to factor this in). So sort it now, because while rates are historically low, a 0.25 percentage-pt increase on a £150,000 loan over 25yrs adds around £20/mth to repayments. Full details in our Remortgage Guide, here's the key info...
- Check your current deal. Find details incl your mortgage rate, type, end date and loan-to-value ratio.
- Do a comparison to find your top deal in seconds. Our comparison tools also factor in fees to give you a benchmark. Use our Remortgaging Best-Buy Comparison Tool (or our First-Time Buyer or Moving Home tools).
- See how much you can save. If you're idling on your lender's standard variable rate, you could be paying 4-5%, yet cheap 2yr fixes start at 1.29%, saving £250+/mth on a typical £150,000 mortgage.

Can you beat sky-high airline baggage fees by POSTING your luggage? Several firms ship suitcases abroad (or home if you've shopped a lot). Eg, sending a family's bags to Spain could cost £64, vs up to £105 on a budget airline. See how it works and when it wins in Post your baggage.

£32 of No7 beauty products for £12. Incl primer, nail polish, mascara etc. Boots No7

Warning. Ryanair's cutting its free check-in window AGAIN. Hits new AND existing bookings. Get it wrong and you could be charged £55/seat. Ryanair check-in help

New. MOT rules are getting stricter from Sun. Full info and tricks to cut the cost in our updated Cheap MOTs guide.

20% off Family & Friends Railcard - great if you have kids. Normally £30 for 1yr - code gets it for £24. Railcard gives 1/3 off most fares for up to 4 grown-ups when travelling with 1-4 kids, who get 60% off. Family & Friends Railcard

New. Shift credit card debt to 32mths 0% (1.4% fee) & get £25 cashback. A balance transfer card repays existing credit and/or store cards for you, so you owe it instead, but at 0% interest. HSBC (eligibility calc / apply*) now offers new cardholders 32mths 0% for a 1.4% fee (min £5) with £25 cashback. You'll need to transfer £300+ within 60 days, but shift up to £1,785 and the cashback cancels out the fee. Always pay at least the min each month and clear the card before the 0% ends or it's 19.9% rep APR. More options in Balance Transfers.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- TWO pairs of glasses £17 delivered Ends Mon
- £25 beauty box (contents worth £123) 1,000 available
- Karen Millen 25% off code online & in store Ends Sun
- EXTRA 25% off discounted health foods Ends Tue 29 May

DID YOU MISS?

- How to BEAT school hols travel price hikes
- Martin: '3 tips if you want to start your own business'
- 5 tips to flog your junk for CASH
- 10,000s overpay for hay fever tablets via prescriptions
- Facebook overhauls privacy settings

Many in energy credit getting £100s back - but what if you owe cash?

Martin's clarion call last week was 'check if you're in energy credit & reclaim £100s', but some found the opposite

After last week's email, we were swamped with monthly direct debit payers who discovered badly-estimated bills meant they were owed cash - such as Chris, who tweeted: "@MartinSLewis, I got a £350 rebate and my energy bills lowered by £49/mth. Keep up the good work." To see if you're owed, read Martin's 'Now's the time to reclaim energy credit' blog. However, credit is, of course, the yin to debt's yang - and if you find you owe money, focus on it urgently. Here's how...

Find out what you owe/owed - provided your meter readings are up to date. Go online or call your provider to find out whether you're in credit or owe money. If you've not been doing regular meter readings, fix this first - otherwise you don't know your actual usage and exactly how much you owe (if anything). After you give a reading, ensure it's factored into your bill. If you're in credit, read the blog above; if not, read on.
Owe less than one month's direct debit's worth? It's fairly normal. As most direct debits aim to smooth out seasonal usage, you should've been in credit going into winter, and have no deficit or a small one by now. If your debt's no more than the equivalent of a month's direct debit, especially after this cold winter, it's likely fine.
Can you cut costs by switching? Many can save £350+/yr. Over half of the nation's homes are on a big 6 standard tariff, which means with typical use you overpay by £350+/yr. And, of course, if you're in debt, paying less each month is the easiest way to fix that. Use our Cheap Energy Club full market comparison, which takes 5 minutes, to check. Then use our filters to choose by customer service, big names and more.
- Be warned; switching while in debt can mean having to pay it all now. Switching crystallises what you owe, so you may need to pay it all off at once (if very high, your provider can stop you switching). For some, this can be too costly, which is frustrating, as it means you can't save on costs because of past debts. Check out our 'My Current Supplier' comparison - which at least finds the cheapest tariff from your provider.
In substantial debt? Speak to your energy firm now. Suppliers are obliged to help those struggling by arranging a payment plan, which takes into account your usage and what you can afford. If you don't try to arrange this, you may be forced on to a prepayment meter which can, perversely, increase your costs.
Still struggling? There's help available. Many big energy providers run charitable funds that can offer help to cover energy arrears and more - see our free cash to help pay for utility arrears advice. Plus, for more help in Eng, Wales and NI, there's the Energy Saving Trust, and there's Home Energy Scotland.

FREE MSE Mental Health & Debt booklet - updated for 2018. It's Mental Health Awareness Week. Sadly those with mental health issues are 4x more likely to be in debt crisis. If you or someone you know is impacted, download our free 44-page Mental Health & Debt 2018 booklet.

Virgin Mobile's raising prices. 1.6m hit from July - see if you can leave penalty-free. Virgin rights

TWO pairs of glasses £17 delivered. MSE Blagged. Via code at Glasses Direct. Ends Mon. Spec-tacular

£25 beauty box with contents worth £123. MSE Blagged. Incl Murad eye serum, Origins moisturiser etc. 1,000 avail

Hit by TSB's IT meltdown? More customers now getting compensation - eg, 'I got £73 back'. See full help and how to claim in our TSB online banking prob lems guide.

Tesco clothing codes - up to 25% off. Min £50 spend. Valid on everything, incl school uniform, baby clothes and sale items. Online-only, till Sun. F&F codes

Tell your friends about us

They can get this email free every week

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

0% balance transfers

Longest 0%: MBNA* up to 36mths 0%, 1.99% fee (19.9% rep APR)
No-fee 0%: Santander* 27mths 0%, no fee (18.9% rep APR)

Car insurance

Get comparison site quotes in this order:

MoneySupermarket.com* Confused.com* Compare The Market* Gocompare*

Then check insurers they miss:
Direct Line*
Aviva*

Cheap loans

Cheapest for £5,000-£7,499: Admiral* 3.3% rep APR
Cheapest £7.5k-£15k: Sainsbury's Bank* 2.7% rep APR (1-3yrs, needs a Nectar card)

Broadband top picks

Standard b'band & line rent: TalkTalk equiv £13.95/mth
Fibre b'band & line rent: Vodafone £20/mth

Best bank accounts

£125 M&S gift card to switch + £5/mth for a year: M&S Bank
5% interest fixed for a year: Nationwide FlexDirect

Top savings accounts

Top easy-access: Bank of Cyprus UK 1.32%, min £1
Top one-year fix: Investec 1.9%, min £25,000

Petrol prices nearing FOUR-YEAR high - cut costs by 30%+

Surging oil prices are pushing up what you pay at the pump. Here's how to fight back

The cost of petrol and diesel is climbing. The average price of unleaded is up 3p/litre in the last month alone, and the RAC predicts that because oil prices worldwide are rising, it could hit 126.5p/litre next week - the highest average price since Oct 2014. Yet there are easy ways to drive down costs. Full help in our Cheap Petrol & Diesel guide, but in brief...

Speedily find the cheapest forecourt near you. Prices vary widely - eg, in central Manchester we found unleaded 12p/litre cheaper than at other garages nearby. So use a nifty free tool to find the cheapest fuel.
Get up to 5% cashback on fuel. There used to be cards specifically for fuel cashback - not any more, but you can still use a general-purpose cashback card to get something back EVERY time you fill up. The Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday* (eligibility calc) credit card pays a massive 5% introductory cashback for 3mths (max £100), up to 1% after, with no annual fee, though you need to spend £ ;3k/yr to get ANY cashback. Plus, only get it if you'll repay IN FULL each month or you'll pay interest at 22.9% rep APR. Full help in Fuel credit cards.
Drive more efficiently (easy does it). You can cut fuel consumption by up to 30% by changing the way you drive, eg, accelerating gradually and changing up a gear earlier than feels natural. See 7 ways to drive more efficiently.

Take a load off to make your car more fuel-efficient. Reduce weight and drag, and your car will need less fuel to travel. So de-junk your trunk, whip off your roof rack and check your tyre pressure's correct. Canning air-con at low speeds can also make a big difference. See more fuel-efficiency tips. For more ways to cut driving costs, check out our guides on Motoring MoneySaving, Cheap Breakdown Cover and span> Cheap Car Insurance.

Karen Millen 25% off EVERYTHING code. MSE Blagged. Incl sale items. Online & in stores till Sun. Ka ren Millen

£3,100 PPI WIN - SUCCESS OF THE WEEK "Thanks for badgering about PPI reclaims. I eventually followed up on three old credit cards using your free service. Got £1,600 from one, £900 from another, £600 from the third. Great result." (Send us yours on this or any topic.)

EXTRA 25% off code for discounted, out-of-date (yet safe) health foods, eg, 50p dairy-free milk. MSE Blagged. Ltd stock. Full explanation in Love Health Hate Waste.

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Make sure your everyday maths skills add up on National Numeracy Day. Take this quiz and then check out the recommended resources that can help you improve or challenge yourself further.

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Is it time to revalue Britain's council tax bands? In England and Scotland your council tax band depends on your home's value in 1991 (Wales 2005), when the last valuation was done. However, redoing it would likely see widespread changes to valuations and risk some paying substantially more (others less). Should we revalue council tax bands?

The vast majority of you are worth MORE than you owe. In last week's poll, we asked you to calculate your net worth (or net debt) - excluding mortgages and student loans. Over 6,700 of you responded and unsurprisingly, older groups reported a greater net worth than their younger counterparts. The 50-64 age group fared particularly well, with over a quarter claiming a net worth of £500,000+. Encouragingly, fewer than a fifth of all respondents are in debt. See full how much are you worth? poll results.

MONEYSAVING NEWS

- Top story: MSE victory as E.on changes smart meter letters
- Npower to hike prices for a million customers next month
- Co-op to launch festival bottle deposit scheme - but you'll only get vouchers back
- Potholes costing £1 million a month in car repairs
- Direct Line to protect no-claims discounts from pothole and other no-fault damage claims

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should I ask my boss to pay up for carpooling? My boss (who doesn't drive) often asks me for a lift to work. It only adds a few miles to my journey but the cost over a year is a fair bit. He obviously earns a lot more than me and has never offered to contribute to fuel costs. Should I risk asking him? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I ask my boss to pay up for carpooling? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs

THE QUICKIES

- Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: Anyone else in the £50k+ club?
- Competitions thread of the week: 2 tickets to see The Cure at Hyde Park
- Old-Style board thread of the week: Old-Style as an escape from the world?
- Family, marriage, relationships chat: How small is too small to raise a child?
- Discussion of the week: Pay off mortgage and invest instead?

Quick deals

Shoe outlets - reduced 'imperfect' shoes at Office & Schuh
M&S - £5 off £35 when you recycle clothes
Amazon - students get 6 months' free Amazon Prime
Vue - £4-£5 cinema tickets on Mondays
The Works - 10 kids' picture books for £10 mix & match

Restaurant deals

Prezzo - 40% off mains
Domino's - 30% off £20 spend
Zizzi - 30% off mains
KFC - free side via app
Café Rouge - 40% off mains

Freebies

Free make-up rewards - when recycling empty containers
Optical Express - free £20 eye test
Holland & Barrett - free £4ish charcoal toothpaste via O2 app
Free first aid - via St John Ambulance app
Halfords - free summer car check incl screenwash top up

Quick Forum Tips

Lidl weekend deals, incl 40% off cheddar. A Lidl cheesy
Co-op £5 fish and chips meal deal. Hooked
Aldi 'Super Six' veg offers, incl 49p beetroot. Can't beet it

MARTIN'S BLOG

- Why it's the PERFECT time to check if you can reclaim £100s of energy credit

DEALS HUNTER BLOG

- Meerkat Movies trick: £1ish gets 2for1 films for a year
- How to bag FREE make-up and skincare rewards for recycling

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 16 MAY ONWARDS)

Thu 17 May - Good Morning Britain, ITV, 7.40am
Fri 18 May - This Morning, ITV, Martin's Quick Deals, from 10.30am. See previous

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC)

Wed 16 May - BBC Cumbria, Money Talks with Ben Maeder, from 6pm
Fri 18 May - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am
Mon 21 May - TalkRadio, Breakfast with Julia Hartley-Brewer, 9.45am
Tue 22 May - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire with Jeremy Sallis, 2.20pm

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: I'm still with British Gas because I'm nervous about switching to a smaller supplier, even if it's cheaper. How can I check if a smaller firm's customer service is up to scratch? James, via email.

MSE Andrew's A: You're not alone. Many people are worried about unknown firms with little or no customer service feedback . But there are still plenty of smaller suppliers - such as Bulb or Octopus - which receive good feedback and still offer cheap tariffs.

To help find them, use our Cheap Energy Club's 'Superb' or 'Good or Better' customer service filters. These only show tariffs from suppliers with decent feedback in our customer service polls based on at least 50 votes.

If you're still put off switching, at least make sure you're on your supplier's cheapest tariff, by using our 'My Current Supplier' filter.
Remember, in practical terms, switching is no biggie. No one has to come to your home and it's the same gas, same electricity and same safety - only price and service change. What's more, rules from regulator Ofgem mean there's little risk in switching to a smaller supplier should the worst happen. If it were to go bust, your credit is protected and your energy stays on - you'll simply be transferred to another supplier, though you may need to find a new cheap tariff.

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

HOW WILL YOU REPLACE THE WET WIPE?

That's all for this week, but before we go... it seems the trusty wet wipe is set to get the chop in an attempt to limit plastic waste in the UK. We took to Facebook to find out if there are any cheaper or greener alternatives, and you had a few ideas. Biodegradable substitutes were popular and many suggested a reusable flannel - but hats off to the MoneySaver who says she crochets her own. Tell us your favourite wet wipe substitutes in ourFacebook post.

We hope you save some money,
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).

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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 12 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 is chairman of MSE. 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.

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