Petar Lekarski

Assistant Editor – News & Investigations

Petar joined MoneySavingExpert in 2019, but his passion for all things MoneySaving goes back much further – as evidenced by his 'Part of the furniture' badge on the MSE Forum.

He developed his in-depth knowledge of bank accounts, credit cards, loans and savings in the Money team before moving across to MSE News. He has written about a wide range of personal finance topics, covering everything from mobile roaming charges to supermarket loyalty schemes to railcards.

In 2021, Petar researched and wrote MSE's comprehensive and massively popular guide to diesel emissions legal claims, and he continues to maintain it as the cases progress.

Petar has also worked directly with Martin Lewis as his researcher, supporting the MoneySavingExpert with his eponymous ITV show and other media appearances over a period of 18 months.

When he's not polishing prose or crunching numbers, you'll find Petar at the cinema, eating spicy food or cycling around London on a rented bike. He also enjoys playing video games, bouldering and lists of three.

Latest from Petar Lekarski

Fixed-rate mortgage deals have gotten cheaper in recent weeks – but will this trend continue following the Bank of England's decision to hold the base rate at 5%? We've spoken to five mortgage brokers to see what they think is next for mortgage rates. Here's what they told us...

24 September 2024

Primary school classroom with children and a teacher at the front

Universal financial education – providing young people with the knowledge and experience to thrive in our highly competitive consumer economy – is vital for the future of our society, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has warned. Addressing an all-party group of MPs and peers at Parliament, Martin told them, loudly and plainly: we need financial education in EVERY school, for EVERY child.

10 September 2024

Barclays is overhauling its 'Blue Rewards' loyalty scheme for 100,000s of customers by scrapping monthly cash payments and adding Apple TV+ instead. The changes mean most should ditch the scheme from Wednesday 4 September. Here's what you need to know.

3 September 2024

Winter Fuel Payments – a tax-free payment made to all pensioners to help with winter energy bills – are to be restricted to those on benefits and Pension Credit, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced. But MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has urged the Government to include a wider group, and to leave no stone unturned ensuring the 800,000 eligible who miss out on Pension Credit get it.

2 September 2024

Chase has cut the rates on its linked savings accounts by 0.25 percentage points. As of Thursday 8 August, its easy-access 'boosted saver' now pays 4.85% – down from 5.1% – while its standard saver pays just 3.85%. The changes mean you can earn more on your savings elsewhere – though Chase is still worth keeping for its debit card perks.

20 August 2024

Mobile phone being held. On the screen it displays a message saying: 'Buy Now, Pay Later' and featuring a shopping trolley.

Regulation of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector WILL go ahead, the new Government has confirmed. It means consumers will finally get much-needed safeguards on BNPL purchases, as well as protection from unsustainable borrowing – something MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) and its founder Martin Lewis have long campaigned for. Though we still don't know when any new rules will take force.

25 July 2024

Confused about the 'two-child benefit cap' and what it really means? MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has a quick and simple video briefing to clear up some of the misinformation. It takes you through Child Benefit rules, the two-child limit for Universal Credit and the benefits cap.

22 July 2024

If you have a Nectar card, you may be able to earn a few quid's worth of extra points over the next few weeks, as Sainsbury's has brought back its 'shop for points' promotion for some members. Unlike most other offers of this type, where you need to buy specific items, all you need to do here is spend £1 or more at a time in a few separate transactions. So it's a no-brainer if you were planning to do that anyway.

15 July 2024

Barclaycard's cutting minimum repayments – you could be in debt YEARS longer paying DOUBLE the interest.

If you've got debt on a Barclaycard, it's likely the minimum you have to repay each month will be cut from next week, as the bank is changing how repayments are set for millions of customers. If you're unaware and pay interest (so aren't on a 0% deal), and don't act, you could stay in debt for many years longer and pay possibly £1,000s more in interest.

14 July 2024

igd-hero-sending-money-abroad-international-transfer.png

Money transfer firm Small World has collapsed into administration leaving many, particularly those in developing countries from reports we've seen, without access to vital cash they've been sent by friends and family in the UK.

11 July 2024

Twitter/X users report bizarre glitch that takes them to MSE's car finance reclaim page – but we AREN'T behind this.

If you've used the social media platform Twitter – also known as X – over the past month or so, you may have encountered a bizarre glitch where tapping on any image, video or link unexpectedly takes you to MoneySavingExpert.com's (MSE's) car finance free reclaim page. To be clear: this ISN'T an advert, we AREN'T behind it, and we've reported it to X to investigate.

30 June 2024

The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the seventh time in a row. But with some economists and traders still predicting a rate cut in August, there could be a knock on impact on mortgage and savings rates. Here's what you need to know.

24 June 2024

If you're booking your next holiday, watch out for fake deals, clone websites and bogus cancellations, as criminals are using a variety of sophisticated methods to trick holidaymakers out of their money.

17 June 2024

Nationwide to pay £100 'Fairer Share' bonus to millions of customers again – here's who will get the payment and when.

If you bank with Nationwide, you could get a free £100 paid into your account this month as part of the building society's returning 'Fairer Share' scheme. The bonus will be paid to millions of its current account customers who also have savings or a mortgage with it.

17 June 2024

Rents in England are going up at their fastest rate in over a decade. In this guide, we take you through when your rent can and can't be put up, how to challenge an increase and where to get one-on-one help.

10 June 2024

TSB will shut at least 36 of its branches in 2024 and 2025, the bank has announced. Below we list the branches disappearing and what the alternatives are if you still want face-to-face banking.

13 May 2024