Helen Knapman

News & Investigations Editor

Helen has over a decade's experience championing consumer causes and has worked as a personal finance journalist and editor on national titles since January 2011.

She has held her current role, MSE's News and Investigations Editor, since April 2023. Previously, Helen held senior positions at financial magazine Moneywise and at The Sun.

Helen covers all issues that impact consumers, and has played a pivotal role in MSE's Lifetime ISA and unusually high call volumes campaigns. Standing up for consumers, fighting for their rights, investigating injustices, and holding big firms and the powers that be to account is what drives Helen. She regularly appears as an expert for MSE on TV, radio and in print.

Helen was named as the Wincott Foundation's Personal Finance Journalist of the Year in 2019, having won the Online Financial Journalist of the Year at the 2013 Santander Media Awards.

In her spare time, Helen tries to practise what she preaches by bagging a bargain on everything from gym classes to globetrotting and dining out.

Latest from Helen Knapman

Ryanair has barred some passengers who received 'chargeback' refunds for Covid-disrupted flights from travelling with the low-cost airline, unless they return the money. MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal some holidaymakers who booked trips for this year were later told they could only fly if they gave back the refunds, in one case just days before travel.

10 October 2021

Shell Energy is to scrap a controversial £15 'cease fee' it charges customers who switch away from the firm or cancel their contract, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal. It comes after we queried the fee with regulator Ofcom and it asked Shell Energy to explain the charge - though Shell insists it was already reviewing the fee as it prepares to take on 450,000 Post Office customers later this year.

3 October 2021

M&S Bank will close all of its current accounts on 31 August 2021, in a shock move that also resulted in it shutting all 29 of its in-store bank branches on 2 July. But credit card, loans and insurance customers aren't affected – we've full info on what's changing and what you need to do below.

23 August 2021

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MoneySavingExpert.com is the UK brand most recommended by consumers, according to the findings of a new YouGov poll.

14 July 2021

Sunbeds and parasols on a beach in Ibiza, Spain.

Spain's Balearic Islands – including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca – are to be moved from the Government's 'green' travel list to the amber list from Monday for travellers returning to England, Scotland and Wales. The change means holidaymakers who are not fully vaccinated or under 18 will have to self-isolate for up to 10 days on their return.

13 July 2021

Former and existing HSBC, First Direct, John Lewis Finance and M&S Bank customers have been receiving payments from HSBC Banking Group – which the lenders come under – out of the blue over the past 10 months, and we still haven't really been told why. We've been pushing HSBC for answers and have put questions to the bank from ourselves and a former whistleblower to find out what's going on.

12 July 2021

Atom Bank has mistakenly sent notifications to many of its customers, one of which warned an "external account" had been connected to savers' accounts and prompted widespread alarm. The bank temporarily restricted access to its app to stop more notifications going out, but says it's NOT been hacked and customers' money is safe. It adds that the issue is now fixed – we've full details below.

24 May 2021

Flexible train season tickets will be available to buy across England from next month, as part of a wide-reaching Government shake-up of rail fares. A new refund system for delayed and cancelled trains has also been announced.

19 May 2021

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Plusnet is to hit 100,000s of broadband, home phone and mobile customers with a 4.6% price hike from 30 June. The rise means some broadband customers could pay up to £18/yr more - but as the increase is written into its T&Cs, you can't cancel penalty-free unless you're outside your contract's minimum term.

19 May 2021

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MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has criticised the Government for failing to properly explain its own Covid travel rules, amid mounting confusion over where Brits can holiday overseas.

18 May 2021

HSBC, First Direct, M&S Bank and John Lewis Finance are making a second set of payments to some customers who have been in arrears in recent years. Having previously paid some customers compensation for substandard service, they're now issuing refunds – in one case paying out over £7,000 – for interest and charges that shouldn't have been due. So if you get a cheque out of the blue, DON'T bin it thinking it's a scam or spam.

17 May 2021

An eBay seller has told how she's made over £2,500 selling empty crisp bags from the Eighties on the online auction site. But vintage packaging isn't the only rubbish you can make a packet from - hard though it is to believe, buyers snap up all sorts of nick-nacks, from old toilet roll tubes to empty jam jars.

17 May 2021

The current ban in England on bailiff-enforced rental evictions, which was introduced at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, won't be extended further and will end on 31 May, the Government has announced.

12 May 2021

A new Online Safety Bill has been announced by the Government in the Queen’s speech today for the opening of Parliament. It promises to ‘lead the way in ensuring internet safety for all’ – but according to MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis, it has stumbled at the first hurdle as it does not plan to protect people from scam and fraudulent ads.

10 May 2021

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From 17 May, holidaymakers in England will be able to visit countries including Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel without needing to quarantine on their return, as international travel restrictions are relaxed. But if you're considering booking, remember each destination may also have its own entry restrictions - and right now, nearly all of the 'green list' countries are currently refusing entry to British tourists.

6 May 2021

MoneySavingExpert.com and the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, which were both founded by Martin Lewis, are among 17 organisations today calling for the Government to use its new Online Safety Bill to help protect people from an avalanche of online scams.

6 May 2021