This week | MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter The Marmite of banking
Fee-paying bank accounts - LOVE 'EM or HATE 'EM? You choose
 | HATE 'EM
Valueless accounts that've been mis-sold to 100,000s |  |
 Check now if you're due £100s or £1,000s back
We're becoming deluged with successes from our Reclaim Packaged Account Fees guide which launched last year. Many were flogged fee-paying accounts with 'perks' such as travel and mobile insurance which didn't actually cover them. EVERYONE who pays a monthly bank account fee should CHECK NOW. - The big danger sign. If you got one of these because the bank called you, or it invited you in to say "you're a special customer" then upsold it to you, or it told you "you have to get it...", then it's likely at best you're paying over the odds. At worst, you were mis-sold and are due cash back.
- Don't think it's £15 a month, think £180 a year. Multiply the monthly cost by 12. Then see if you could buy the 'perks' cheaper (see our cheap Travel, Mobile, Breakdown insurance guides). If so, STOP PAYING NOW. Ask to switch to a no-fee account - you can still reclaim later if you do this.
- Can you reclaim £100s or £1,000s? (Even for long-closed accounts.) Like all insurance products (which is what these really are), the bank needs to ensure it's suitable for you. It's starting to look like banks systemically failed to do that, though just not claiming doesn't mean you were mis-sold - it's about whether the cover was suitable. Check if you were mis-sold via our Mis-selling Checklist, including:
- They said you had to get it, eg, to be accepted for a mortgage/loan.
- You were too old for the travel insurance and thus weren't covered.
- It didn't check you were still eligible for the insurance every year.
- It hiked the price and didn't tell you, or give you the option to leave.
- Any of the policies didn't cover you, and this wasn't pointed out.
- 'I got my mum £1,000 back...' If you were mis-sold, you should get ALL the fees paid back, and this can be large...
To spur you on, Rick emailed us: "NatWest accepted responsibility for mis-selling an Advantage Gold account to my mum in 2001 when she was 75 and ineligible for most benefits. After I went to the Ombudsman it repaid £855 in fees plus interest of £70 and £50 compensation. Thanks for your templates." - How to reclaim. If you feel you were mis-sold, there's no need to pay a claims handler. We've a full guide with easy template letters to help - see Reclaim Packaged Account Fees for FREE. As always, remember if the bank says no, you've a right to go to the Financial Ombudsman.
- Best no-fee accounts (and get £100). If you're ditching the fee, also consider switching bank. First Direct* (min £1,000/mth income) has won every customer service poll we've ever done and gives new switchers £100. Or Nationwide* (min £750/mth income) includes travel insurance up to 73. Full info & more options: Best Bank Accounts
 | LOVE 'EM
It's by far the cheapest & easiest way to get insurance |  |
 £600 travel, mobile & roadside cover £120
While the actual banking benefits are small (in-credit rates aren't much better, though overdrafts can be bigger) these are actually disguised insurance bundles. Provided you actively choose the best policy, and you genuinely need cover, packaged accounts can be huge MoneySavers.
To find your perfect account, enter what insurance you need into our Packaged Account Analyser some of the top picks include...
- Family cover for worldwide travel, all smartphones & breakdown. The relatively new Nationwide FlexPlus* account is a stonking couples & families deal, if you use it. For £10/mth - £120 a year - you get:
- Good mobile cover for all family smartphones (usually c.£60 each).
- Worldwide family travel insurance up to 75 (usually up to c.£150).
- European breakdown cover for account holder(s) (usually c.£80).
- Free extra year's extended warranty on electricals.
Buying ALL individually could cost £600/yr. If you use 'em, £120/yr's a corker. It pays 3% interest (on first £2,500), but avoid its overdraft. - Getting an HSBC mortgage? HSBC Premier is free for those with high earnings/savings, but charges £25/mth if you don't meet its criteria. It gives worldwide family travel insurance and a £300 fee reduction on its mortgages, so you save as much as the year's fee.
- Double the benefits with a joint account. If you've got a packaged account and a trusted partner, add them as a joint account holder, even if they won't use it. Then both of you are covered under all the policies, but for just one fee. Review your options in the Packaged Account Analyser.
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Blagged for MoneySavers |
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 Get permanently cheap energy Our new club ensures you're always on the cheapest tariff.
Join free: Cheap Energy Club |
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Free help & templates: Reclaim PPI |
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| The Ones Not To Miss | Wed 7 Aug 2013 |
Urgent. Cheapest energy fixes ending?
Strong industry rumours some of the cheapest fixes may be pulled imminently. If you want to do it, do it TODAY A fix lets you lock in a price with no hikes at all. We've heard rumours (nothing certain) some of the cheapest deals may be pulled any second and replaced by similar but worse versions. So if fixing's for you, to be sure, do it now... - Save £100s and lock in no hikes for up to 3 years. Many who've not switched can save £100s and ensure long-term no price hikes. Crucially all our top picks (right) have no exit penalties, so if things do change, you can leave.
Go for a short fix if you prefer a lower rate now, longer if price certainty's more important for you. Longer deals only end up cheapest if prices rise by c.10% each year, but that has happened before (and some predict far bigger rises). - ALWAYS compare. Plus get £30 cashback & free night in a hotel (ends soon). Your winner depends on your usage and where you live. To find out, plug your details into the MSE Cheap Energy Club comparison. It'll...
a) Compare the whole market to find you the cheapest tariff (the 'top picks' tab shows all the above tariffs).
b) Give you £30 cashback if it can switch you - and currently if Npower wins, a free night's stay in a UK hotel.
c) We then monitor your tariff and if it gets costly (or others cheaper), we'll let you know when to switch again. - Is a fix right for you? First ensure it's a cheap fix, don't lock in on a high rate. Even so, the cheapest variable deal will usually undercut the cheapest fix slightly (the comparison will show you). So the key is - how much are you willing to pay for price certainty? More help, comparison and cashback options in Cheap Gas & Elec.
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| 2 pairs of specs £29 code (tints avail) MSE Blagged. Frames, prescription lenses, tints £29 deliv. Glasses Deals SUPERFAST fibre optic up to 30Mb broadband £18.50/mth with code - no line rent needed. MSE Blagged. V rare to be cheap and not need line rental. 1) 6mths 1/2 price. Newbies to Virgin Media* (avail to 50% of UK, use link to check) get 6mths of 18mth contract 1/2 price at £11.25/mth, then £22.50/mth. Installation's £50. 2) £55 bill credit. The code MSE55 gets £55 credit on first bill. All in, it's £332 for 18mths, equiv £18.50/mth. Cheap Broadband Free meals at Carluccio's, Wagamama, Prezzo & more - be a mystery shopper. No promises you'll be picked, but a mystery shopping firm's signing up 100s each month. Do assignments for food. Mystery Shopping £59 of plants £15 with code. MSE Blagged. 14 new shoots, incl clematis & geranium. 2,300 available. Garden Deals |
Snap happy! 400 'free' prints | 64GB memory £23
Some flash discounts (sorry) - whether you're just back from your hols or about to go, slash your camera costs Whether you're off to Bognor, Marbs, or Phuket, a snapshot (sorry again) of how to save on making memories last...  Get over 400 free photo prints (you pay delivery). Many developers offer 40-100 prints free for newbies, though you pay usually pay £2-£3 delivery. Make use of them all using our Free Photo Prints Finder and you can get over 400 'free' ones.
If you want to do it all in one place, here are the cheapest deals:
- 100 6"x4" prints: New Photoworld customers get 100 prints free with £2.25 delivery.
- 200 6"x4" prints: Tesco is £10 for in-store pick-up - newbies get 150 bonus Tesco points.- Memory prices have plummeted - 64GB now £23. The amount of memory your money now buys has jumped. You can get an 8GB SD card for your camera to hold 2,300 photos for just £3. Or a 64GB USB flash drive to back up huge number of photos and videos for £23. Fully updated deals in our Cheap Memory Cards guide.
- Free online file storage. Backing up online is a useful safety net too. There's a raft of no-cost options, incl Dropbox (2GB, or up to 18GB if you recommend friends), SkyDrive (7GB) and Google (15GB). If you've 1,000s, spread your photos across these. Full info in Free Online Storage.
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| FREE Cadbury Crispello choc bar. RRP 59p. Print vch (4,500 avail) & take to one of 1,000 Nisa stores. Nisa Deals New. Shift card debts to 24mths 0% for just a 1.5% fee. New Lloyds Platinum* lets most accepted cardholders shift debt to it for 24mths 0% for a LOW 1.5% fee. Contrast that to the longest 0% Barclaycard's* 28mths 0% rep, but with over double the fee at 3.5%. If you can repay in the shorter time, it's a no-brainer. Ensure you clear the debt or shift again before the 0% ends, or they're 17.9% or 18.9% rep APR. Full help: Balance Transfers, Eligibility Checker, APR Examples |
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| £89 Kindle Fire tablet (refurb - usually £109). Normally £129, this gets £20 off a £109 refurb. See Kindle Fire. £20 Tesco clothing for £5 Clubcard vouchers. Combine a 50% sale with new double-up vouchers. Tesco Deals |
Travelex 2-hour FLASH currency sale
Boost airport rates on euros, dollars & others | Got more time? Find how to get PERMANENT unbeatable rates If you're due to head off for some sun, TravelMoneyMax will find the very best rates wherever you go. Including... - Leaving soon? Travelex 2-hr flash sales. The boon here is a strong rate at the airport if you PRE-ORDER (rates are hideous if not). Past sales have been strong, but to help, we update TravelMoneyMax during sale hours so you can compare. For all bureaux de change, pay by debit card - not credit card - to avoid extra fees.
SALES TIMES: US $ & others (except €uros): Thu 8th 11am-1pm. €uros only: Fri 9th 11am-1pm. - Important: You can bag permanently unbeatable rates for EVERY country. Most credit & debit cards add a hidden 3% load, so spending £100 worth of euros costs £103. Yet a few no-load worldwide cards give perfect rates worldwide, smashing bureaux de change, provided you repay IN FULL every month, or interest dwarfs the gain.
| Specialist 'no-load' worldwide cards (with no annual fee) | | Card | Load | ATM fee | Cash interest per £100 (1) | Rep APR
Fully repay to avoid | | Top for overseas - Halifax Clarity* | 0% | None | £1 | 12.9% | | Top for UK & abroad - Capital One Aspire World* (2) | 0% | 3% (min £3) | £1.50 | 19.9% | | Top for poorer credit - Cap One Classic Extra* | 0% | 3% (min £3) | £2.50 | 34.9% | (1) You pay this even if you repay IN FULL, but only on ATM withdrawals. (2) Also pays UK cashback up to 1.25%
Other no-load cards include Saga* (over-50s) 11.9% rep APR and Select* (Nationwide custs only) 15.9% rep APR
| - Top prepaid cards (incl free £80 Tastecard). If you're unlikely to get credit, try a prepaid card - an electronic traveller's cheque. You load it with cash, then spend. The top rates are with FairFX Euro* and FairFX Dollar*. Normally these cost £10, but are free via these links if you load up €60/$75+. Also, load £500+ on an ICE* card and you get a free £80 Tastecard, getting 2for1ish in 6,000+ restaurants. Full info: Prepaid Cards
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250 'free' London Cake & Bake Show tix pairs - £2.50 del. RRP £15/ticket. 50% code once those go. C&B £1 cupcake maker. In-store only, similar ones sell for £20. Limited stock and info, though. Can you find one? Flight delay compensation - did you win or lose? Let us know. We want to know, airline by airline, who pays up and who's playing hardball. Please answer our Flight Delay Compensation Poll. For help claiming, see Flight Delays. 'Free' £8 Helen E nail polish code (£2.50 p&p). 'Like' on Facebook. 1,000s available in 14 shades. Helen E Deals |
40 young people's MoneySaving tips. New guide
Tips, tricks and techniques for 16-21 year-olds. After all, it's never too early to start MoneySaving Avoid rip offs. Our 40 Young People's MoneySaving Tips should make financial independence easier. Here are a few:  - Crack down on car insurance costs with our full Young Drivers' Car Insurance guide.
- Over 18? Get paid to go out by doing a pub mystery shop on whether you're asked for ID.
- Get 3% interest on your income, by picking the right FREE current account.
- Beware bank advisers - they're often really salespeople aiming to flog you products.
- Spend over £100 a year on trains? It pays to grab yourself a Young Person's Railcard.
- Debt isn't bad, bad debt's bad. Test yourself with the Good Debt/Bad Debt video game.
- If you don't have unlimited SMS, save shedloads with free texts.
- If they're paying to advertise something, they probably need you more than you need them.
- Just because you've an iPhone, you don't need to always buy from iTunes. See TuneChecker for the cheapest MP3s.
- Never just pay the price. Always do a quick check to see if you can find it cheaper elsewhere - use the MegaShopBot.
- You've NO right to return goods if you've only changed your mind (unless bought online). Wallet-Sized Rights Guide.
£50 for your best tips? If you're 16-21, we want your top MoneySaving tips to add to the guide. We'll give the three best ones fifty quid each. See Suggest Your 16-21 Year Olds' Tips. back to top ↑ |
| 'Free' up to £25 spa treats with £6 razors. Buy 1/2 price women's razors, get massages, facials, etc. Gillette Deals 24 rolls of Cushelle toilet roll for £7.49. In-store only. That's just 31p a roll. Lidl Deals Tesco 5p/L off fuel with £50 spend. Bag a voucher when you buy groceries online or in store. Cheap Petrol Two 'free' Thorpe Park tix (RRP £91). Collect eight tokens from Saturday in 40p-60p papers. Thorpe Park Deals
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Restaurant vouchers | Discount vouchers & sales | Top deals |
| The Moneysaving community |
 THE GREAT HUNT
Clever ordering techniques... eg, "double cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce, please"
Forumite aquamac has an ingenious way to cut the cost of a Big Mac by £1.10-£1.40 - by asking for a double cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce. We want to tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge on ordering techniques at fast food chains and restaurants. Share yours/read others': Ways to get fast food favourites cheaper Past topics: View all BOOK GIVEAWAY
Wicked Autumn. 25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one? CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK
Tell the Government about your most recent payday loan
Are payday lenders following new codes of practice? Take this 5-min survey before Wed 14 August to tell it who you borrowed from, what it told you and if you had problems. Related: Payday Loan Need-To-Knows Suggest a campaign: This is for MSE to support other charities, groups and campaigners. Send your campaign of the week suggestion. MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Should we keep quiet about 'free' holiday?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... My husband paid the deposit for our October holiday on his debit card a few months ago - the balance wasn't due until last week. The date came and went and the money's still in his account, but the travel company says it's taken the payment and we owe it nothing. We've no idea if the money's been taken from someone else's account or if it could still be taken. Should we stay quiet and see if we get away with it?
Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we keep quiet about hol? | Suggest an MMD | View Past MMDs CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Thomson Offer: £20 off Ends: Thu 31 Oct
This week's pick is Thomson's £20 off returns. It's valid on all flights until 31 Oct 2013. The discount's automatically applied, and we found flights from Glasgow to Ibiza for £58.98. To find flights quickly, use the FlightChecker on a £60 return max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges - see the Budget Airline Fee Fighting guide. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED
Ripped off for common car repairs - how much should you pay?
Top tips for servicing include researching the cost of the parts so you can work out service charges and trying to find out the problem yourself before getting a quote. Obviously costs will vary a lot depending on the car, and with most goods and services, it never hurts to haggle, especially on costly repairs. back to top ↑ |
Quick forum tips | Freebies |
Martin's blogs | Martin's appearances 8 August
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week. | 8 August
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12pm-1pm.
Consumer Panel. | 9 August
Any Questions?, Radio 4, 8pm-8.50pm. | | |
MSE team corner - Team appearances:
- No team appearances this week
| Discussion of the week August 2013 Grocery Challenge For top tips for cutting your grocery bills, recipes for baking sweet and savoury treats, and hints on preparing delicious soups, head to our August 2013 Grocery Challenge. Share strategies and ingredients to get the best value for money. | Cheap travel money |
This week's poll: How do you rate your bank account's service? We run this poll on big banks' current accounts every six months to see how the experience changes. We'd love your feedback.
Please vote based on CUSTOMER SERVICE for your main CURRENT account over the last SIX MONTHS. Please ignore rates or any other products, or service from before six months ago. | Poll results What have you taken from hotels?
The most popular items swiped from hotel rooms include toiletries, biscuits/chocs and tea/coffee sachets - but it wasn't just the freebies voters owned up to taking. - 7% have taken towels.
- 1% have taken bed linen.
- 1% have taken pillows.
- 1% have taken TVs.
13,176 voted. See the full results. |
Question of the week Q. Is it possible to hire a car in Spain with a debit card instead of a credit card? Andy, via Twitter MSE Marcel's A: In the vast majority of cases, only credit cards are accepted. Often firms will allow you to book in advance via debit card, but usually ask for a credit card holding deposit when you arrive. This money isn’t charged, it's ring-fenced in case of an accident, so you'll need a credit limit of between £300 and £500. This deposit amount is similar to the excess you'd pay, so sometimes this can be £500+. You may find car hire companies in Spain that do allow debit cards. Record Rent-A-Car was the only one we found that allows this in its terms, but on condition that you take its in-house insurance. This may be your only option - but it's expensive. A few smaller Spanish firms may allow debit cards with no conditions, but the established players we checked don't. If booking directly with a car hire firm beforehand, you can call to check if debit cards are accepted, but you can't normally do this through a broker. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
 Archna's free game of the week: Soom |
When's your million-second birthday? Find out when you're a billion seconds, 10,000 days or 100,000 hours old with this nifty time and date tool. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team |
| Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com works We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.
What you need to know This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, how this site is financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySaving Expert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with over 6 million people getting this email and nearly 10m using the site. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: how to save cash and fight for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 30 full time staff about half of whom are editorial researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE Who is Martin Lewis? Martin set up and runs MSE, he's an ultra-focused money saving journalist and consumer campaigner. He has regular slots on Daybreak, Lorraine, Radio 2 Vine, BBC1 Watchdog, Radio 5 Consumer panel and presents ITV Tonight. He is a columnist for amongst others the Sunday Post as well as an author. More info: See Martin Lewis' biog What do the links with a * mean? Any links with a * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See how this site is financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:
Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email firstdirect.com, nationwide.co.uk, npower.com, edfenergy.com, virginmedia.com, lloydstsb.com, barclaycard.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, saga.co.uk, fairfx.com, iceplc.com, confused.com, google.co.uk, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, cbonline.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, moneysupermarket.com, uswitch.com, santander-products.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, bt.com.
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