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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....