The Site and Martin

A scam online cryptocurrency trading company which falsely claimed it was endorsed by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, and others, has been wound up – but only after it lost almost £1.5 million of its victims' funds.

MoneySavingExpert is 17 years old this weekend – and to celebrate, we're taking a look back at how the site has evolved since 2003 and some of our users' most eye-catching success stories.

Users searching for the terms 'Martin Lewis PPI' and 'Money Saving Expert PPI' on Google are being met with links to claims firms – which may charge commission on reclaims – at the top of their search.

Two major initiatives to combat online scam adverts have launched as a direct result of a campaigning defamation lawsuit by Martin Lewis.  

The MSE Charity is celebrating 10 years since its first grants were handed out – and nearly £900,000 later, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis says he's proud that it's stuck to its original remit of giving small amounts of money "to where it's most needed".

The charity behind the UK's first-ever financial education textbook has alerted police after a report that an elderly man was tricked into paying £100s to fraudsters claiming to be collecting donations for the book.

Marcus Herbert has joined MoneySavingExpert.com as its new Editor-in-Chief.

It is "crucial" that firms are part of and co-operate with an ombudsman in their sector, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has told a group of MPs today. Martin and MSE senior policy and campaigns officer Will Barnes gave evidence to members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Consumer Protection this morning, and highlighted three key reforms that politicians need to implement to improve the ombudsmen system. They said to the group - which included MPs Yvonne Fovargue, Patricia Gibson and Carolyn Harris - that all companies in a sector should have to co-operate with an ombudsman before it can be called an ombudsman, and that consumers should no longer have to wait eight weeks after raising a complaint to take their issue to the ombudsman. Martin added that ombudsmen should work together to create a portal that consumers can go to with their complaints, to make it easier for consumers to know who to contact. Yvonne Fovargue, Labour MP for Makerfield and chair of the APPG on Consumer Protection responded by admitting that ombudsman reform "does drop to the bottom of the parliamentary agenda" and said the group would produce a further report and would try to "raise awareness among parliamentarians". Last year, MoneySavingExpert.com presented a groundbreaking report called 'Sharper Teeth' on the need for ombudsman reform to MPs - read the full report here.

MSE founder Martin Lewis has asked Facebook to fundamentally change the way it polices adverts, in a meeting with one of the social media giant's senior executives today.