Car Finance Mis-selling landmark ruling, 18mth energy fix, 264Mb broadband £17/mth, free crisps & energy drink, 4x free £175+

Plus... financial pros of marriage, cheap divorces, 5.15% savings, Martin Lewis Money Show is back

                                                           

29 October 2024 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin: Are you owed £1,000s? Car finance mis-selling update - Free tool to reclaim - News. Landmark court ruling - Already complained? Next steps New. Fix energy for 18mths and save 6% Ends Thu. 264Mb broadband '£17/mth' It's back, 8pm tonight. The Martin Lewis Money Show Live Coupons: Free Harry Kane crisps, energy drink & more New. Top 5.15% easy-access savings Black Friday deals, incl Amazon, Apple, John Lewis New. Marriage & divorce - financial pros of marriage, cheap divorces, are pre-nups worth it? & more Watch the Budget with Martin and MSE Four banks pay switchers a FREE £175+ 500,000 Travelodge rooms £35 or less 'Complete Savings' ads banned after MSE complaint Free TV audience tix: Martin's show, Wheel of Fortune, Graham Norton etc New. Cheapest-ever iPhone 15 '£30/mth' £50 Grüum home fragrance set £17 'I'm saving on interest after using your Loans Eligibility Calc - thank you' 60% off posh fruit and veg box Ending. £26 cashback on £5+ spend This week's best buys, including 29mth 0% balance transfer, 6.1% loan, 15GB Sim '£3.60/mth' Should I give my single child money for a property as I contributed to my married children's weddings? BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers Compare broadband deals MSE Compare+ Car Insurance 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 Best Sim-only deals

News! Landmark court ruling Martin: Car Finance Mis-selling... are you owed £1,000s? - Use free tool to get your complaint in - Court ruling makes payouts more likely - Already complained? Next steps Back in January, the financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), launched its huge investigation into car finance mis-selling. These are final stage investigations, where it has power to go into firms, done after it already believes there's likelihood of a systemic problem. Since then, 2.4m complaints have been made via our free tool alone. Originally due to report on 25 Sept, the investigation's result's since been pushed back to May 2025. Yet a new landmark court ruling has sent shockwaves through the car finance world, and certainly makes payouts more likely. Before I get to that though, let's go through the basics of who this applies to - and if you've already complained, I've next steps for you too. 1. Did you buy a car, van, camper van or motorbike on finance? Get a complaint in ASAP. Our Car finance reclaiming guide takes you through it step by step, but in a nutshell, you may be able to claim £1,000s back due to HIDDEN Discretionary Commission Arrangements (DCAs) on your policy. These DCAs are where finance firms let car dealers pump up interest rates, without customers being told, and then bunged 'em extra commission if they did. This meant many likely OVERPAID WITHOUT KNOWING and may be due an average £1,100 back. It's for motor vehicles: Cars, vans, motorbikes & camper vans. Eligible dates: Finance taken out from Apr 2007 to 28 Jan 2021. Finance type: Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) & Hire Purchase (HP), but NOT Personal Contract Hires (ie, leasing). It's about vehicles for personal use: That includes commuting. It applies even if the person has passed away: The relevant executor or beneficiary can claim on their behalf. It applies even if the vehicle's paid off: Or you no longer own it. If that all stacks up for you... it's important to understand there's no way for you to know if you had a DCA without complaining. That's why our easy free complaint tool does two things... a) It formally asks the finance company if your policy had a DCA. b) If you did, it asks the firm to log it as a mis-selling complaint. Yet get a complaint in ASAP, as it's possible when the ruling comes there may be a time bar introduced, and the sooner you log a DCA complaint may mean the less chance you'll be excluded due to that. Once your complaint is logged, it's a waiting game until the FCA rules in May 2025. Key resources: check if you're eligible, then complain Car finance mis-selling FREE TOOL & guide Audio & video resources, if it's easier to watch Video explainer | Car finance mis-selling pod (from 10m 30s), also via Apple / Spotify etc (both were recorded before the deadline shift & court case, but they're still a good overall briefing) 2. Update. Landmark Court of Appeal ruling has the potential to shake up more than just car finance. A shock exploded through the car finance world on Friday, as the Court of Appeal issued a precedent-setting ruling favouring consumers over finance firms. That means this is now the law, though if it goes to a Supreme Court appeal, that could take a different view and overrule it. Simplifying somewhat... The verdict was unambiguous and said a car sales firm couldn't lawfully receive commission from a finance firm unless it had the customer's 'fully informed consent'. And to have this 'fully informed consent' the consumer would need to be told all material facts, including the calculations and amount of commission. Wow... This increases the likelihood of car finance compensation. One reason the FCA extended its reporting deadline from Sept 24 to May 25 was to watch if the courts ruled in consumers' favour, as if so, its own rulings would be less likely to be overturned if firms challenge it in court. So this ruling strengthens the FCA's hand. It wouldn't surprise me if the FCA is looking at whether it should broaden its look to all car finance commissions! Though in its dry way, all it officially notes is: 'We extended the pause, in part, so we could account for the outcome of legal cases... we note the judgment on 25 Oct, in Johnson v Firstrand Bank Ltd, Wrench v Firstrand Bank Ltd and Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd, and are carefully considering its decision.' Though at its extreme, there's a risk of lending turbulence. It's important to understand this wasn't a ruling on the FCA rules, but on common law. So, unless overturned by the Supreme Court, it means ALL relevant commissions needed declaring this way, not just DCAs - a seismic change. It's already had immediate impact, eg, Honda Finance and Close Brothers have stopped some new car finance, and some even with already-ordered cars have been affected, plus some car finance firms' share prices plummeted upon the ruling. Yet while it's still early days and everyone's still digesting it, there are mutterings that if this sticks, at its extreme there's a risk some lenders may withdraw parts of their operations from the wider consumer lending market. So what we need is clarity, and we need it with urgency. If there's a Supreme Court appeal, it needs to happen ASAP and to report before the FCA does. Plus the FCA and the Government need to urgently work to ensure a functioning competitive market. 3. Already complained? What to do next... Millions have used the tool since we launched it, so unsurprisingly we've had huge numbers of 'What next?' questions. Yet please bear in mind these are uncharted waters, so I'm making best guesses based on experience from the past mass-reclaim campaigns we've run. In most cases, the court ruling doesn't change anything practical... yet. Here are the main scenarios in brief - there's far more detail in our full what next? help section in the guide... - It says 'you DID have a DCA'. Great, your complaint is logged, you've done all you need to until May 2025. - It has only 'acknowledged your complaint'. This is frustrating, yet crucially, it means your complaint is logged. Find out how car finance firms are responding according to our survey to get a feel for whether your delay is normal for the firm (if so, 'it's them, not you') or whether you're an outlier - if the latter, you may want to chase it up. - It hasn't replied at all. If you complained over a month ago, i) check your email sent box that it did send, ii) check your junk mail for replies, iii) check the email address you sent it to. If all of those are good, see if yours is an isolated incident for the firm - in which case, resend. - It says 'we need more info' or 'we can't find your info'. If it wants more info, often as you've moved home since you took out the agreement, this is legit - see our it wants more info help for the various different scenarios on this. - It says 'your car finance DIDN'T have a DCA'. You have clarity that no payout is coming under the current investigation. Yet the court ruling could change that - there's an outside chance all commissions may be looked at. I've already asked the FCA to ensure that if that's the case, you wouldn't be prevented from complaining again.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Still on the Energy Price Pants Cap? (80% of you are) New. Now you can lock in a fixed rate for 18mths and still save 6% compared to the rate you're currently paying! Competition in the energy fixed deals market is slowly firing up, and crucially with the cheapest fixes, you get peace of mind knowing exactly what you'll pay. And this week we've seen the launch of a longer fix that still substantially undercuts the Price Cap (until now, all the cheaper prices were for 1ish-year deals). As exact prices depend on where you live and what you use, our free Cheap Energy Club comparison will work out what your bespoke cheapest is. Still confused about energy? Watch tonight's (Tue) ITV1 Martin Lewis Money Show Live at 8pm, as it's Martin's focus. Are you on an Energy Price Capped tariff? Not sure... you probably are. The Price Cap only applies to firms' standard variable home tariffs in Eng, Scot & Wales - the bog-standard default deals you're put on if you've never switched, or your fix ended and you did nowt. Those already on fixes or specialist tariffs AREN'T on the Price Cap. To help, when you put your tariff in our comparison, it'll show if it's capped or not. The Cap itself is regional (see full Cap rates) and sets a maximum cost for each unit of gas & elec used, and a max standing charge you pay each day. It is not a total cap on what you pay. Most firms charge at or very close to the max. The easiest & safest route is to fix... A fix gives you peace of mind that the rate won't change for a set time - though what you pay still depends on how much you use. The rate you can fix at changes all the time - it was a little cheaper a few weeks ago, then prices went up, now they've dropped a smidge... The cheapest standalone fixes (Eng, Scot, Wales) (1) Links go via Cheap Energy Club for a personal comparison & as it'll be updated, with things changing rapidly E.on Next Fixed 12m v32. No smart meter needed. Dual fuel or elec-only | Monthly Direct Debit  / cash / cheque (2) Switchers save avg 6.6% (5.4% for existing customers) compared with today's Price Cap, including £20 MSE cashback for new customers ONLY. £50/fuel early exit fees Longer fix. E.on Next Fixed 18m v2. No smart meter needed. Dual fuel or elec-only | Monthly Direct Debit / cash / cheque (2). See Is a longer fix a good idea? below. Switchers save avg 6.4% (5.6% for existing customers) compared with today's Price Cap, including £20 MSE cashback for new customers ONLY (3). £50/fuel early exit fees British Gas Fixed Tariff v5. No smart meter needed. Dual fuel, elec-only or gas-only | Monthly Direct Debit / cash / cheque Save avg 6.4% for new & existing British Gas customers compared with today's Price Cap, including £20 MSE cashback. £50/fuel early exit fees Outfox the Market Fix'd Dual Oct24 v7.0. No smart meter needed. Dual fuel | Monthly Direct Debit only | Online account Save avg 6.1% for new & existing customers compared with today's Price Cap. £50 dual-fuel early exit fee There are also 1yr fixed tariffs more than 5% cheaper than the Price Cap with Ovo Energy and Octopus Energy.  Also allows those on smart prepay to switch EDF Essentials 1yr Nov25. Dual fuel or elec-only | Need have / apply for a smart meter | Monthly Direct Debit / cash / cheque or smart prepay Save avg 5% compared with today's Price Cap. £25/fuel early exit fees (1) Full details in our energy comparison, which also includes non-standalone tariffs - ie, those that require you to get other products, eg, broadband or boiler cover, to get the price. (2) You can switch to E.on Next's fixes via Cheap Energy Club if you pay by monthly Direct Debit. For other payment methods, you'll need to go direct to E.on. (3) The E.on 18mth fix raw price is on average slightly cheaper than its 12mth fix. Yet as we discount the MSE cashback over 18mths, its impact is less than on the 12mth fix, so overall makes it a fraction more expensive. The cashback impact will be less for higher users, more for lower users (it's factored into the comparison). Q. The savings are compared to the current Price Cap... what about once it ends? Each Cap lasts three months. Most analysts' latest predictions are the January Cap will be a touch higher, it's then predicted to drop slightly in April and July - though the further out you go, the more crystal-ball gazing it is. Overall, that means over the next 12mths you'll pay on average roughly the same or slightly more than you do now. Q. Is it worth fixing for 18mths, not 12? Until now longer fixes were relatively costly, so the new E.on 18mth tariff is an outlier. Yet analysts don't predict the Price Cap rate much more than a year out, as the market is too volatile. So there's an element of uncertainty in the decision. Yet the deal's the same rate as a 1year fix, so if you want longer-term peace of mind that your rate can't go up and you won't need to switch as frequently, it looks a strong one. Plus for higher users, the £50/fuel exit penalties will only be a small percentage of your bill, so you could get it for safety, then if after a year or so things have got much cheaper (chance'd be a fine thing), ditch it and pay the penalty. Fixing isn't your only choice to save - for some, other tariff types will win. For most, it's the simplest and safest way to guarantee a saving, but there are alternatives, including discounted Price Cap tariffs (one which lowers standing charges), specialist electric vehicle tariffs, and Octopus's rapid price-change tariffs Tracker and Agile (potentially big savings for sophisticated users, but not without risk). Even with cheaper tariffs I'm struggling to pay bills - what do I do? It's always worth talking to your energy firm. Be polite and straight with it, and make sure you explain if you're vulnerable. There can be hardship & debt grants from energy suppliers. For far more guidance, see our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills, Energy saving tips and Energy mythbusting guides.

 

It's back. The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE's on ITV1 tonight (Tue) 8pm & also Thu 8pm! Martin: "Unbelievably, it's now series 14. We're off to a flyer tonight with how to beat energy bill hikes & winter fuel cuts, then on Thu, it's a 'how the Budget'll really affect you' special - I'm hoping (unconfirmed) the Chancellor will join to answer your Qs too. Do watch or set the VHS." 'Free' £2 Harry Kane crisps, 'free' £2 energy drink, £2 off Ristorante pizza & more. It's coupon-tastic, our latest update of virtual discounts to get you freebies and money off. See 60+ supermarket coupons. New. Top 5.15% easy-access savings price war (on up to £20,000). A cash ISA's just a savings account you never pay tax on. And current top rates clearly beat the top normal easy-access savings, especially as today we've seen a price battle with rates upped twice by these two.... Top unlimited withdrawals (likely safer for most): Trading 212's 5.15% AER* variable (min £1), which allows unlimited withdrawals, has upped its rate twice today for all customers, to respond to... New, but withdrawal limits: Moneybox's 5.15% AER variable (min £500), though that only lets you withdraw penalty-free three times a year. Both let you put in up to £20,000, and allow you to transfer (without limit) existing cash ISAs in too. It's worth noting that Trading 212 has a slightly complex structure. More options in Top cash ISAs and Top savings. What Black Friday deals can you expect this year? Amazon, Apple, John Lewis and more. Black Friday's four weeks away (29 Nov), but some sales are likely to launch this week. See our regularly updated Black Friday deals page. New. Marriage & divorce: What are the financial benefits of marriage? | Are pre-nups worth it? | How to divorce cheaply | Splitting pensions, mortgages & more. A new Not The Martin Lewis Podcast - where Martin asks specialists key questions on subjects he doesn't cover - delves into marriage & divorce this week. Listen via BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify or elsewhere podcasts are listed. And as it's such an important topic, we've put a transcript right here on MSE. Watch the Budget with Martin and MSE (12.30pm Wed). Follow Martin's live analysis on X (Twitter) & translations (ie, plain English), and then hit MSE News as we explain in detail what it means for you. Four banks now pay you a FREE £175+ to switch. Last week, NatWest* became the fourth bank to offer switchers cash - it pays £180, plus if you use mobile banking, a net £3/mth (it pays £5 and charges you £2) on top if you pay in £1,250/mth (so a salary of £16,000/yr) - combined, that's £216 over a year. Lloyds gives a free £200 + perks (eg, free Disney+). Top service bank First Direct* gives a free £175 and has 7% linked savings and a £250 0% overdraft, and Nationwide offers a free £175 plus 6.5% linked savings. Full help and eligibility info in Best bank accounts. 500,000 Travelodge rooms £35 or less - can you find 'em? The hotel chain has released more £35 rooms for stays from now until 23 Dec (excluding London), but it can be trial and error to find one. Travelodge 'Complete Savings' ads banned after MSE complaint. It's the 'cashback with a catch' site you see after checking out online at Argos, Trainline etc. Check your statements NOW to ensure you're not unknowingly paying out.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - £50 Grüum home fragrance set £17 10,000 available - 60% off first Abel & Cole fruit & veg box Ends 15 Dec - Extra £26 cashback on a £5+ spend 12,000 available - 264Mb Virgin broadband '£17/mth' Ends Thu 31 Oct - Cheapest iPhone 15 '£30/mth' Ends Sun 3 Nov	DID YOU MISS? - M&S beauty Advent calendar for £50 (worth £311) - Are you missing out on a share of £23bn in unclaimed benefits? - Aged 40 to 73? A must-listen! Beat State Pension boost deadline - Boost Christmas supermarket spend coffers by up to 5% - 'Carer's Allowance cliff-edge made me feel like a criminal'

 

 

Can you double your broadband speed for half the price? Ends Thu. Get zippy 264Mb broadband for £17/mth. Or get blisteringly fast 500Mb for £25/mth Check your speed and cost now & prepare to ditch, switch and save possibly £600/yr Don't think of your broadband bill by the month, look at it by the year to see what you really pay. The typical out-of-contract cost with BT is £840/yr for 67Mb, Sky is £520/yr for 30Mb, Virgin is £650/yr for 132Mb. Yet if you're one of the seven million customers that are out of contract and are paying these often-hideous rates, grab short-lived promo deals from comparison sites available today and you could be paying the equivalent of just £204/yr for 264Mb. Our broadband comparison amalgamates the top deals, and shows what's available for you, as many are postcode dependent. It covers 26 providers, all the biggies, and a growing number of small good-value local players too (we're working on adding more). Uniquely, it also includes special social tariffs for those on Universal Credit. Find the cheapest broadband deal for YOUR postcode... All go via our revamped Broadband Comparison, so you can see what's available at your address Cheapest deals between 100Mb and 499Mb (1) Ends 11.59pm Thu. Virgin 264Mb broadband-only '£17.06/mth' (18mth contract) MSE Blagged National Cheapest Virgin deal we've ever seen. You pay £24/mth, but you get an AUTOMATIC £125 bill credit added to your first bill. So there's nothing to pay for the first five months. You pay £307 over the 18mth contract with that factored in, equivalent to £17.06/mth. Service rating: 4.9/10 (OK) (2) New. Vodafone 150Mb broadband & digital line '£21.25/mth' (2yr contract) National Cheapest 100Mb+ fibre with decent service. You pay £25/mth (rises by £3/mth every Apr) and can CLAIM a £90 Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's or M&S voucher within four months. You pay £510 over the 2yr contract with that factored in, equivalent to £21.25/mth. Service rating: 6.1/10 (OK) (2) New. Hyperoptic 158Mb broadband-only '£13.74/mth' (1yr contract) Local Mainly larger towns/cities, incl Lon, Birm, Manc. You pay £19.99/mth and can CLAIM a £75 shopping voucher within four months of your first bill. You pay £165 over the 1yr contract with that factored in, equivalent to £13.74/mth. Service rating: N/A Cheapest 500Mb+ deals (1) New. Vodafone 500Mb broadband & digital line '£25.46/mth' (2yr contract) National Cheapest 500Mb+ fibre in 3mths. Just launched, but ends 11.59pm Thu, you pay £29/mth (rises by £3/mth every Apr) and can CLAIM an £85 Amazon voucher within four months. You pay £611 over the 2yr contract with that factored in, equivalent to £25.46/mth. Service rating: 6.1/10 (OK) (2) New. Sky 500Mb broadband & digital line '£27.05/mth' (2yr contract) National Cheap 500Mb+ fibre. You pay £31/mth, but you can CLAIM a £95 shopping voucher within four months of your first bill. It's £649 over the 2yr contract with that factored in, equivalent to £27.05/mth. Service rating: 5.6/10 (OK) (2) Community Fibre 550Mb broadband-only '£17.09/mth' (2yr contract) Local In London and south-east England. This Community Fibre deal is £20/mth, but you can CLAIM a £70 shopping voucher within four months of your first bill. Factored in, it's £410 over the 2yr contract, equivalent to £17.09/mth. Service rating: 8.4/10 (Good) (2) On Universal Credit or similar benefits? Try a social tariff. Many providers offer special discounted social broadband tariffs, which give long-term cheap prices of usually £13/mth to £20/mth for 30Mb+. Add your postcode via the link above and, within your search results, you'll see the social tariffs local to you. (1) Our 'equivalent costs' - adding all costs, deducting promo credits and averaging over the contract so you can compare easily. Contractual annual price hikes aren't factored in, as not all providers specify exactly how much they'll increase in pounds and pence yet. (2) Broadband service ratings tend to be worse than other sectors, so all scores are lower. See our full broadband service poll results. Slow broadband? Before switching, test your speed - is it the Wi-Fi or the connection? Do a speed check - first via Wi-Fi, then by plugging your device into the router (if you can). If Wi-Fi's a lot slower, try our speed-boosters. New rules mean you no longer need to contact your current provider to switch. Until recently, switch broadband and with some providers (including Virgin), you've had to contact both your old and new provider to do it (sometimes leaving you paying for both during the overlap). Now, regulator Ofcom has changed the rules, rolling out a 'One Touch Switch' service that means the new firm should seamlessly sort it for you. Don't want to switch? Haggle. In our December poll, the vast majority of those who'd haggled with the big broadband firms were successful. Use the deals above as a benchmark to help get costs down. Read full Broadband haggling tips. Switching usually only means about two hours' downtime - whether an engineer comes depends on what you're getting. You're told the switch time, and most don't need an engineer to set it up. There are exceptions to this - if you're moving to or from Virgin you may need one (you're told before applying). Plus, if you're getting fibre to the premises (FTTP), which is where you have a fibre cable fitted to bring the connection into your home too, allowing speeds of up to 1,800Mbps, it may need someone to look at the externals of your home. At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. Plus, all bigger providers must also indicate your estimated minimum speed pre-application. Members of cashback sites can sometimes undercut deals. In some cases, the cashback can mean these sites undercut promos elsewhere, though sometimes the deal differs - so check carefully. More in Top cashback sites.

 

Free TV audience tickets, eg, Martin's show, Wheel of Fortune and The Graham Norton Show. If you fancy being part of the experience for these and more (though there's a clear highlight 😉), see free audience tickets. Ends Sun. Cheapest iPhone 15 we've seen '£30/mth'. MSE Blagged. The iPhone 16 went on sale in Sept, and we're starting to see its predecessor's price fall. A new handset isn't MoneySaving, but if you need one, newbies to Three can get an iPhone 15 (128GB) on a 24mth contract with 300GB data via Affordable Mobiles. It's £29 upfront, then £29/mth, making it £725 in total, equivalent to £30.21/mth. Buying just the handset from Apple is £699, so this is a decent deal. The retailer is responsible for the handset, Three for the contract. Want more options? Use our Cheap Mobile Finder. £50 Grüum home fragrance set £17 delivered. MSE Blagged. Includes a candle, a diffuser, two room sprays and six wax melts. 10,000 available. Grüum 'I'm saving on interest after using your Loans Eligibility Calc - thank you.' Our great success of the week comes from Jane: "During lockdown, my dog became very sick and I ran up credit card debt with my vet - I had no option. I've worked so hard to pay it back, but even paying £500 a month, I was charged almost £200 interest. I used your Loans Eligibility Calculator to see if I could swap to a much lower interest rate. I was accepted. I've already paid off that draining credit card, and chosen to pay it back over two years. Thank you." PS: With credit card debt, do check our 0% Balance Transfer Eligibility Calc first, as it can be cheaper than getting a loan. If we've helped you save (on this, or owt else), send us your successes. 60% off first Abel & Cole organic fruit and veg box, from £8.64 including delivery. MSE Blagged. Then 50% off your next two. Veg out Ends Tue (5 Nov). Grab an extra £26 when spending £5+ online. 12,000 available. If you're new to cashback site Topcashback, we've blagged this special offer. Full info on how to get it in Topcashback boost.

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Virgin Money (check eligibility) 29mths 0%, 3.45% fee, 24.9% rep APR No-fee 0%: NatWest (link to full review) 13mths 0%, 24.9% rep APR Virgin has asked us to link only to our eligibility calc Best bank accounts Free £200 + perks: Club Lloyds Free £180 + cashback: NatWest Reward Broadband top picks Fast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin '£17.06/mth' Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Vodafone '£25.46/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Santander (check eligibility / apply*), 7.2% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 6.1% rep APR (for Clubcard holders) Top savings accounts Top cash ISA: Trading 212 5.15%, min £1 Top easy access: Chip 5%, no min Top one-year fix: Union Bank of India UK 5%, min £5,000 Top energy deals Try our relaunched Cheap Energy Club Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.93/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.20/mth' for 5GB 10GB to 30GB data: iD Mobile, '£3.63/mth' for 15GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile '£5.84/mth' for 100GB

 

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK Support people this winter by collecting food for FareShare. You can help charity FareShare by volunteering at the Tesco Winter Food Collection and encouraging Tesco shoppers to donate vital long-life food between Thursday 28 and Saturday 30 November. FareShare will then provide those crucial donations to over 8,000 charities supporting people across the UK this winter. If you can't volunteer, but want to (and can afford to), you can also donate food in store. Sign up here: Volunteer with FareShare.

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL Do you have life insurance? Life insurance is designed to provide financial support for your loved ones when you die. This week we'd like to know if you it, and if not, what's your reason? Vote in this week's poll. Most MoneySavers gave their children their first phone at 11 years old. Last week, we asked you at what age you think children should have a mobile phone - nearly 5,000 of you responded. The majority of MoneySavers who have given their children phones did so when they were 11 (23%) or 12 (20%). It was the same pattern with parents of younger children, with 11 being the age most were planning to give them their first mobile. When buying their child a phone, 48% of parents opted to buy it new on contract or outright, followed by 28% who went with a hand-me-down. See the full poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: HSBC credit card-holder? Check NOW if you can get up to £100 cashback on your everyday spending - Ordering your Christmas food shop online? Here's when you can bag your supermarket delivery slots

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I give my single child money for a property as I contributed to my married children's weddings? I have three children in their 30s. Two are married, and I contributed towards the cost of both weddings. My other child, who is single, purchased a property on their own and I lent them money towards the deposit. The amount they borrowed is similar to what I gifted towards each wedding - is it fair to expect them to repay it, or should I say it's a gift in lieu of contributing towards a wedding? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I give my single child money towards a property as I contributed to my married children's weddings? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

 

Half-term help and MoneySaving deals... - Free Halloween craft, decoration and costume ideas. Have a ghoulishly fun time without spending. - Kids eat 'free' (or cheaply). When eating with a paying adult. See our full round-up of 20+ restaurants. - Free kids' workshops. At Pets at Home and Dobbies Garden Centres.

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - MSE Forum highlights: Cables, cars & cranberries

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 29 OCT ONWARDS) Tue 29 Oct - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 8pm Wed 30 Oct - Budget reaction and podcast, BBC Radio 5 Live, 3pm Thu 31 Oct - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, Budget special, ITV1, 8pm Tue 5 Nov - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.20am Tue 5 Nov - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 8pm

 

 

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