| | | For more tips, alerts & inevitable bad puns follow Martin: |  |  |  | | Don't believe the hype. While UK broadband speeds average 7.6Mb/s, many pay for packages offering triple this, but don't get anywhere near it. Time to sort it... | 1. | Check broadband speed. New ad rules require 'up to' speeds, but just mean a meagre 10% need to get that. So check your broadband speed* then read on to see if one promises less, costs less, but delivers the same. | | | | | 2. | How to boost your broadband speed. Many small things help. 1. Use a shorter cable from phone point to router. 2. Replace microfilters. 3. Plug in, don't wi-fi, for big downloads. 4. Consider a signal-boosting gadget for your phone socket. Much more in the Boost Broadband Speeds guide. | | | | | 3. | Before you switch broadband... 1. Been with provider less than a year? Check leaving doesn't breach contract. 2. Check neighbours' speeds for your new provider with StreetStats*. 3. Sadly, most cheap broadband deals are only available to 80% of the UK. Use our Cheapest Broadband For Me tool to see what's available where you are. | | | | | 4. |  NEW! £6/mth broadband + £25 set up. This special link gets Primus* at £5.99/mth + £25 set up, with 10GB monthly downloads and speeds 'up to' 14Mb. For 50p/mth more, BT-owned Plusnet* has good feedback and while its download limit's also 10GB, it's unlimited from midnight-8am — great for scheduling films/games. See our Cheap Broadband guide. | | | | | 5. | New cheapest line rental £6.29/mth. If you only use a landline for broadband, paying line rental's frustrating. So go cheap. Primus has cut its Line Rental Saver* deal to £6.29/mth. To add in inclusive evening & weekend calls, its Home Phone Saver* is £7.99/mth. Alternatively, BT's Line Rental Saver* is £129/year upfront (£10.75/mth). See Cheap Home Phones. | | | | | 6. | Urgent. Cheap broadband AND line rental £9/mth all-in. Sign up for TalkTalk's Essentials package* by 11.59pm tonight (Wed) and it's half price for 12 mths (£3.25/mth), plus you get a £50 Tesco voucher, and line rental is £114 for a year upfront. Factor the voucher as cash and it averages £8.58/mth on a 12mth contract. See TalkTalk Essentials deal & Cheap Broadband. | | | | | 7. | Cheapest unlimited downloads £15/mth + £26 set-up. Watch lots of iPlayer & Netflix, use Spotify, or download games and it's easy to bust limits and pay penalties up to £5/GB. The cheapest unlimited download deal is O2* at £15.25/mth (much cheaper for O2 mobile customers) with speeds 'up to' 20Mb. See our Cheap Broadband guide. | | | | | 8. | Cheapest fast fibre optic broadband £21.49/mth + £55 set-up. The cheapest's Plusnet's Extra Fibre* £21.49/mth package with a big 120GB download limit (unlimited midnight to 8am). Speed is 'up to' 38Mb, and fibre optic is often consistently faster than normal. See Cheap Broadband. | | | | | 9. | Free phone line installation (normally up to £130). Broadband usually needs a landline, which can cost up to £130 to install. Until 20 May the Post Office* has no-cost, no-contract landline connection. You could get it then switch, though it has good packages. See Free line installation. | | | | | | | 10. | Free antivirus software and office software. Antivirus is crucial. Without it, if you're defrauded via PC, a bank could argue negligence and not cover you. Yet Free Antivirus Programs offer just as much protection as paid-for services. Plus, while you're at it, kit out your PC with Free Office Software incl lots of design/photo programs. | | | | | | | 11. | Haggle to cut costs. Here are 11 tips for the price of 10. If you can't (or don't want to) switch, then haggle. In our recent poll, 75% of TalkTalk customers and 71% of O2 customers negotiated a better deal. Politely tell it you want a better deal and will ditch it if not.
As MoneySaver @japp88 tweeted: "AOL broadband £30/mth, down to £20 with unlimited calls, line rental and 2 mths free." See How To Haggle. | | | | If this email's ever helped you — please encourage friends/family to get it too. Why not forward it and suggest they sign up (it's free) via moneysavingexpert.com/tips? | |  You don't need to pay to reclaim PPI
Help to do it yourself | Why give 30% of YOUR money away? It's easy for most It's been a big PPI reclaiming week. On Monday, MSE teamed up with Which? to hold a summit with all the banks and the Ombudsman, to work to stop people unnecessarily using claims firms (see summit results). Thousands give away big money needlessly. Plus, to take on their airways dominance, please spread our joint Don't Pay To Reclaim radio ad.  Banks have £5 billion aside to be paid out. It's 12 mths since banks lost the court case. Since then, the process for those who were mis-sold's become easier. Banks are now mostly playing ball, so some get money back with just a call or letter — see our Reclaim PPI for Free guide.- "I claimed £16,000 back myself" Mark Hare's tweet says it all. "Thanks to the website, I managed to claim £16,000 back. No one should use the companies, it's easy to do yourself." Had Mark used a firm at 30% + VAT, they'd have probably sent a similar template to ours, but he'd have paid £5,760.
- Not got paperwork? Unsure if you were mis-sold? Many go to claims firms for answers to questions such as: "I can't remember my lender", "I've lost the paperwork" and "can I reclaim from Egg?" Answers in our PPI FAQ
- Are claims companies ever worth it? If you know the facts and are willing to pay a hefty 30%+, we've no problem with it. Yet many aren't told costs, are wrongly told they can't do it themselves, or that firms have a greater chance of success. If you use a firm, never pay upfront and ensure the fee ONLY relates to the amount repaid (not the whole PPI cost). Be extra-careful if you've arrears — a payout may clear debts, leaving you to find the fees.
| Free TWO Eurostar returns, plus European return flights
Credit card freebies are back | Just sign up, do your normal spending & Bob's your uncle Credit cards offer saucy freebies to tempt us, hoping they'll earn big bucks from high interest. Yet MoneySavers know better, they grab the deals at no cost. Here are some hot new deals...  How to grab rewards at no cost. Just do your normal spending on the card until you hit the 'trigger' amount to get the freebie (you pay taxes). Ensure you repay IN FULL each month, preferably by direct debit, to ensure there's no interest.- 'Free' BA / BMI flights, eg, Morocco return, 2x Prague or Eurostar. Accepted new BMI* cardholders who spend £250 within 3mths get 20,000 BMI destinations miles. Yet BMI's being taken over, so in July they can be turned into 20,000 Avios (was Airmiles) points - enough for a BA Zone 2 return (eg, Marrakech, Athens), TWO Zone 1s (Milan, Nice), or TWO Eurostar returns. You just pay £27/return flight taxes (no taxes on Eurostar). Info, pros & cons in BMI Amex Freebie. Fail to fully repay the card, and it's 16.9% rep APR.
- TWO Free Eurostar Paris/Brussels returns. Accepted new Lloyds Duo Avios* cardholders get an 18,000 Avios voucher if they spend £500+/mth for 3mths; enough for two Paris/Brussels Eurostar returns on some trains (or two zone 1 flights). Yet with this voucher you must book one night in a hotel via Avios's website, rooms are decent but not the cheapest. More info & how to boost the points in Lloyds Duo Freebie. Fail to fully repay the card, and it's 15.9% rep APR.
More cards & credit score impact in Credit Card Freebies and Airline Credit Cards (see Official APR Examples). | Top children's savings — earn up to 6%
Ensure ickle ones don't get ickle interest with top junior ISAs, CTFs & savings Don't think kids are immune from banks' tricks. Many once-good deals now pay pitiful rates. Turn your child into a MoneySaver to maximise their interest. All accounts below have £85K Savings Protection.  - Top Junior ISAs 3.25%. These tax-free accounts allow £3,600/year to be saved or invested for under 18s born before Sep 2002 or after 3 Jan 2011. The top payer's Coventry BS's 3.25% AER. Be aware the money's locked away till their 18th birthday, then it's theirs, so if they want to buy a Porsche, you can't stop them. Pros, cons & more in Top Junior ISAs.
- Are kids' savings taxed? Children are taxed like grown-ups, so they can earn £8,105/tax year before paying tax (cash from parents is different, see Kids' Tax). Yet barring prodigies, most won't earn this, so their savings attract no tax; thus Junior ISAs' 'tax-free' status isn't such a biggie.
- Earn up to 6% in the top children's savings. Put £10-£100 away EVERY month for a year and Halifax Kids' Regular Saver pays a whopping 6% AER. The top normal easy access rate is Northern Rock's Little Rock 3% AER. To lock a lump sum away, top deals are all branch-only, including Yorkshire or Clydesdale banks at 4.25% AER for 5 yrs. Or Halifax at 3.7%-4.1% AER for 2-5 yrs. Full help & more best buys in Top Children's Savings.
- Top child trust funds (CTFs) 3%. Under 18s who can't get a Junior ISA will usually have a CTF. Up to £3,600/year tax-free can be added to these (but the money is then the child's). If your rate's poor, you can transfer to Yorkshire BS 3% AER. Full info: Top CTFs.
| Cheap (Cheep) pet insurance, eg, £50 gift card
Don't risk your pet's life. Vets' bills can hit £1,000s — put cash aside or get cover If you've a dog or cat, get insurance, put money aside, or risk making an upsetting decision if hit by an unexpected bill (eg, dog cataracts £1,500). Our updated Pet Insurance guide explains the choices. Here's a taster.  Speedily compare dog & cat deals. Benchmark a cheap quote by pet comparisons on Gocompare* and Comparethemarket, then add missed biggies Aviva* & Direct Line*.- Free £50 Sainsbury's gift card. Compare those against deals not on comparisons. Sainsbury's* gives Nectar cardholders either 25% off online quotes OR a £50 gift card by phone (so only take voucher if quote under £200). Also try Tesco* which gives a £30 gift card AND up to 25% off online for Clubcard customers.
- Dog owners — warning. By law cats are free spirits. Dogs aren't, so if they cause injury or damage you're liable. Check your pet insurance covers this. If not your home insurance may, or it's £25/year from The Dogs Trust.
- Horses, snakes, rabbits &more. No comparison sites for these, so do it manually:
Horses & ponies: Petplan Equine*, Animal Friends* & NFU Mutual. More in the guide.
Rabbits / budgies / chinchillas: Exotic Direct*. For bunnies, Quotezone*, Petplan* & Helpucover*.
Snakes / tarantulas etc: Exotic Direct* is the specialist. Much more help in Cheap Pet Insurance. Related: Slash Car Insurance Costs, Cheap Home Insurance | | |  | RNIB says: Ask your bank to improve accessibility
RNIB, the charity offering support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties, has released a banking experience guide to help banks improve accessibility (good read for small biz too). If you're one of the UK's 2m blind or partially sighted people, or have spotted issues in banks (many are in the booklet), speak to your local branch. Suggest a campaign: This is for MSE to support the work of other charities, community groups and campaigners. Send your campaign of the week suggestion. | | | | | | | | | | | | Thursday 26 April
Lorraine, ITV1, between 8.30 & 9.30am.
Real Deals.
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12-1pm.
Consumer Panel. Monday 30 April
This Morning, ITV1, between 10.30am & 12.30pm.
Subject tbc.
Tuesday 1 May
Daybreak, ITV1, between 7 & 8.30am.
Children's Savings. | | All Martin's Appearances | | | | | | UK's Best Currency Rates | | £100 will buy you: | | Best | Worst |  | € | 122.20 | 109.30 |  | $ | 161.06 | 144.17 |  | TL | 281.50 | 243.66 | | Rates correct at 4pm Tues | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash | | | | | | | ISA providers love to suck people in with great rates, then drop 'em. Yet you've a right to massively boost the rate through a top cash ISA transfer. Which of the following is nearest your situation? I don't have cash ISAs | Vote | Transferred within last fortnight | Vote | Transferred within last year | Vote | Needn't transfer as my rates are near best possible / locked-in | Vote | Got ISAs and didn't know I could transfer | Vote | Not transferred for over a year and rate poor/unknown | Vote | Not transferred for over 5 years, and rate poor/unknown | Vote | | | | | Are you taking a holiday this summer?
Almost 25,000 of you voted in last week's poll and the results were surprisingly similar for individuals/couples and families with kids. Nearly 7,000 are holidaying in Europe/the Med, but 20% are staying away in the UK. A fifth aren't planning a holiday at all. See Full Results | | | | | | | Q: When going abroad we search for the best deals on exchange rates, but there is little information to help us get the best return on leftover cash. Who offers the better exchange rate for euros to pounds? MSE Alana's A: Our TravelMoneyMax tool has a search to compare both buying travel money and, on the buyback tab, selling travel money. It's likely the rate you'll get won't be so good as exchanging the other way around, though. Plus be aware you can only convert notes, not coins, and there is a time limit with old currencies (such as pre-euro francs). If you often end up with leftovers, consider getting one of the Top Cards for Spending Abroad if you can make purchases by card rather than cash. This is usually cheaper than converting currency, plus it's safer than carrying large sums. Please suggest a Question of the Week (we can't reply to individual emails). | | | | Is Martin a contortionist who wears women's shoes? We all had a bit of a giggle here at MSE Towers when MSE Paloma spotted this link to a funny snap of Martin she spotted in the forums (well done amistupid). Is Martin a contortionist who wears women's shoes? Your captions, please. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team | | |
