
Don’t blame the campaigners for the end of free banking
I’m rather amused to read today the “bank charges reclaiming may be the end of free banking” story flooding the press. It does feel a bit like the “we’ve been pushing this positively for some time, so now let’s have a negative version” reaction. Obviously as 2.8 million template letters have been downloaded from the bank charges...

The kindness of strangers in the forum just made me cry
I’ve just read about an act of kindness, gentleness and caring to from one person to a complete stranger who was in distress, who I just met in the Chat Forum. As it’s a new and raw situation, it’s not appropriate to write about it now; but it’s prompted me to tell about a prior occasion that...

The case of Tom Brennan and bank charges leaves me in two minds
Next week tom Brennan is due in court against Natwest about bank charges. He’s a junior barrister who ran up charges and, while NatWest has offered a settlement and put money in his bank account, he’s trying to force the bank to pay exemplary damages (in other words big compensation on top) of the fees. I must...

For the first time in three-and-a-half years on Vine I blanked!
How annoying. I was doing my regular phone-in on Vine today, presented by Julian Worricker as Jeremy is away. It was an ‘open MoneySaving’ phone in. Now these are always a little scary, as there’s no way to prepare, I just have to hope. Yet normally I manage to cope. Today all went well: best cash ISAs,...

Bank charges reclaiming now so popular the templates are sold on eBay.
Should we cheer or growl? I’m happy reclaiming bank charges has become so widespread that money hungry profiteers on eBay are actually selling the templates on eBay. Yet I’m saddened those people consider this ethical. While I’ve no proof, the strong suspicion is the sellers didn’t draft the templates themselves or do the research involved, but simply...

Who is Uncle Tom Cobbley?
Just got a great e-mail from a pensioner who’s got a big rebate on his council tax after following the Council Tax Reclaiming article. In it he stated that in previous years he’s written to everyone: ‘Gordon Brown, head of the council, ministers, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all” to try and get his council tax reduced, but...

So what happened to the new site Martin?
A few weeks ago I said we were about to launch the new look MoneySavingExpert.com and I wanted every to have a final look before it went live (see the note about it– although you can’t now see that version of the site, as it’s been taken down). Well I read the feedback very carefully and most...

Should I buy three Magnums and throw one away?
An ice-cream conundrum. This weekend the MSG and I were in Oxford and wanted an ice-cream, so we popped into Sainsbury. Sadly it was only selling ice-creams in the freezer section, not individually. So here’s the dilemma: we wanted a Magnum each and buying a supermarket box of three would be cheaper than finding an ice-cream seller...

Parents do die.
One in 20 children in the UK lose a parent before they reach adulthood (those are the best stats I’ve got, but if any actuaries know better pls let me know). Tragically, my sister and I were part of that unfortunate five percent, suddenly losing our mother just before I was 12. The grief, pain and sorrow...

Now even the credit card ads say ‘cut up your credit cards’
I’ve just caught the end of a TV ad for a Capital One credit card; it includes one man advising his mate to “then cut it up into little pieces and get a capital one card instead”. I really wish people would move away from the idea that cutting up a credit card is the be-all-and-end-all solution....
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Martin's HSBC warning'Look out for it in the post'
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108Mb Virgin fibre b'band & line '£18.40/mth'Ends Thu
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Ted Baker EXTRA 20% off 'up to 50% off' saleEnds today (Wed)
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Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis VIDEO: Should you pay off your Plan 1 student loan?
11 January 2021If you started university between 1998 and 2012, or since then in Scotland and Northern Ireland, you'll have a Plan 1 student loan. While much is written about whether those with savings should overpay the current English Plan 2 student loans, there's little out there about Plan 1. I wanted to change that, so here's a video explaining how to decide... -
Martin Lewis: Payment holidays coming to an end – but should you take one? Mortgages, credit cards, loans, payday loans, car finance and more
5 January 2021Within the last week, we've seen the extension of coronavirus credit card, personal loan and overdraft help to 31 October 2020, with mortgage payment holidays already extended. The regulator's other help schemes are also likely to be extended too, including car finance and payday loans, yet should you do it?