| | MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter New. First EVER 30mths 0% debt shift
Yet the real question is: 'Can you get it?' Our free boosted tool tells you A balance transfer is when you get a new card that repays debts on old cards for you, so you owe it instead at a cheaper rate. On the surface, the market's massively improved since the credit crunch started six years ago. Today's new 0% deal lasts twice as long as the best then.
Yet this upside has a downside. Far fewer get top deals. It's no longer just about which card's best, it's which of the top cards can you actually get... | 1. | Boosted tool shows your chances of all the top cards. Apply for a card and lenders score you to see if you'll be a profitable customer. The problem is the only way to find if you're accepted is to apply, and that leaves a mark on your credit file, which can have a negative effect.
Our Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker shows your odds of getting a card. It does a soft search, which lenders can't see, so it has no impact. This week we've added Barclaycard, the market leader, so almost every top card's in. Please only use it if you're serious, as we pay for each search. | | | | 2. | New. Longest EVER 0% balance transfer. There's a price war on. Barclaycard's launched the new longest-ever 0% and a slightly shorter one with a lower fee...
Get the card with the lowest fee, within the time you're sure you can clear it.
| | | | 3. | Need new borrowing too? 15mths 0% on both. Be careful with new borrowing. Ensure it's planned, budgeted for and affordable. If you need it as well as a debt shift; all-rounder cards protect your credit score as it's one application. Our All-Rounders Eligibility Checker includes these top picks.
| | | | 4. |  The eligibility checker said I've a 70% chance - is that enough? We're surprised a few have been put off applying by the eligibility checker, even with high scores. 70% means 7 in 10 people with your circumstances will get it - pretty good odds. To help...
70%+ Good chance. 40-60% Reasonable chance. sub-30% Limited chance.
Remember: REJECTIONS DON'T GO ON YOUR FILE, only the fact you applied does. One application isn't a big deal, lots in a short space of time are. So use the checker to find which one's best to go for, so there's less chance of needing to re-apply for another card. | | | | 5. | The BIG balance transfer golden rules. If you're shifting debt, obey these.
a) Repay at least the set monthly minimum, or you may lose the 0% rate.
b) Aim to clear the debt or shift again before the 0% ends, or rates rocket.
c) Don't spend on these cards, it isn't usually at the cheap rate. If you're trying to clear debt, new borrowing doesn't help.
d) Never withdraw cash, it's at a hideous rate & can hit your credit score. | | | | 6. | My credit's bad. Anything I can do? If your acceptance odds are poor, there's one option for a short respite from costly debts (eg, payday loans, overdraft charges) to help you get on track, but it needs discipline.
The Barclaycard Initial* card (will you get it?) is 0% on spending (not balance transfers) for 3mths. Even some with old bankruptcies, defaults or CCJs pass its credit check. So do your normal, budgeted spending on this card (not new borrowing), and your income will build in your bank account.
This can then be used to pay off other, costlier debts. Yet plan to ensure you clear it before the 3mths end or it's 34.9% APR. Full Barclaycard Help.
| | | | 7. | When 30mths 0% isn't 30mths 0%. A 'representative APR' means only 51% of accepted customers need to get that rate, the rest may get worse. Something similar is happening with 0% rates; some people get accepted but get a shorter 0%. Our eligibility checker can't yet tell you your chances of getting the full deal (we want to try) but we say if a card may do this. | | | | 8. | Check your credit file for errors (& earn up to £17) It's not just bad credit history that can kibosh you, errors on your files at the three credit reference agencies can too. While you've a legal right to check files for £2, instead sign up for a free credit monitoring trial to get your file, then cancel.
Even better, do it via a cashback site and you can get paid. For full help, see Check My Credit File For Free. Like our eligibility checker, checking your file leaves a mark lenders CAN'T see, so isn't a problem. | | | | 9. | How to boost your credit score. Each lender's different, so think of it like a beauty parade. It's art, not science, but some things make you more attractive to most. Full help in Boost Your Credit Score, but at speed:
a) Close unused cards. Too much avail credit looks bad. See Should I Cancel?
b) Space applications. Too many, too close looks desperate.
c) Stability's good. If poss, put a landline, not mobile, on applications.
d) Be consistent. Eg, use same job title on applications if it hasn't changed.
e) Get on the electoral roll. Without this, getting credit's tough. Do it here.
f) Things stay on your file 6 yrs. So if you can hold until they've gone, great.
g) Applications stay on file 1 yr. If you've lots, delay until they've wiped.
h) Never miss repayments. Set up direct debits to pay at least the min. | | | | 10. | Free Amazon £20 on 'rebuild your credit' credit card. If you can't get good credit, bizarrely, one way to build your score is to get any card, even at a poor rate, and use it properly to build a decent history.
The Aqua Advance* (use the Credit Rebuild Eligibility Checker) accepts some with poor credit. On top, if you make monthly payments and stay in your credit limit for 2mths, you get a £20 Amazon voucher.
To rebuild your credit, get the card, do around £50/mth of your normal spending and set up a direct debit to repay IN FULL to avoid the big 34.9% rep APR. Full help in the Credit Rebuild Card guide. |
If you're struggling to meet even your minimum repayments, have card debts of more than a year's after-tax salary, or just can't sleep at night, then the solutions above aren't for you - you need a different strategy.
Get free, one-on-one debt counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange, National Debtline, or, if you're struggling emotionally too, CAP UK. See full info in Debt Crisis Help. And don't worry, they're there to help, not judge you. |
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| Wed 30 Oct 2013 |
BIG (eg, £70) home insurance discounts comparison sites MISS
With many paying under £200/yr, extra discounts, incl Direct Line £45 or L&G £70 M&S vch, have a big impact Our aim is to negotiate you a path through the home insurance maze to the ultimate savings. Yet there's no perfect solution, so we're constantly refining our Cheap Home Insurance system to build up the savings. The basics... -
 Never auto-renew - get the cheapest quote at speed. Comparison sites look at different insurers, so combine as many as you've time for. This month's order: a) Confused.com* b) Compare TM* c) Gocompare* d) Tesco Compare*. For special circs, eg, one bed or claimed before, the order's different - see Cheap Home Insurance. - Hot deals they miss. Two big competitive insurers aren't included by comparisons. So check them directly too, plus other new customer deals not included in the results.
- Direct Line up to £45 M&S MSE Blagged. Direct Line isn't on comparison sites. Via this Direct Line* link get a £30 M&S e-gift cards for buildings, contents or both or £45 for premium (incl accidental damage & away from home).
- L&G £70 M&S/Deb'hams MSE Blagged. While L&G's on comparison sites, get COMBINED buildings & contents via this Legal & General* link and use MSMONEY to get £70 M&S vouchers or DEBMONEY for £70 Debenhams
- Aviva. Aviva* is also missed by comparison sites. It can be cheap, so it's worth checking.
See our regularly-updated hot Home Insurance Deals to ensure you're always maxing it out. - Home insurance need-to-knows. It isn't just about the policy - what you quote for counts too.
a) Don't hugely overinsure buildings by covering market value instead of rebuild cost. See Buildings Cover Tips.
b) Don't under-cover contents, or you risk a reduced payout when claiming. See Contents Cover Tips.
c) For high value contents also check Hiscox*, Home & Legacy, John Lewis Specialist*.
c) Fit a secure lock, such as a five-lever mortice deadlock. The insurance reduction means it can pay for itself.
d) Don't pay monthly, this is effectively a costly loan. Pay upfront, or if you have to, get a 0% credit card instead.
e) If your claim is unfairly turned down, formally complain. After that, go to the free Financial Ombudsman. |
| Ssssh! Argos substitutes £100 Vax steam mop when you buy £25 generic. Can you find one? Vax Trick £8 champagne & more (stock up for Xmas)
£8 Antoine de Clevecy champers (buy 6) RRP £22. Sainsbury's newbies | £6 Maschio prosecco RRP £13 | £13 De Vallois champers RRP £26 | £15 Heidsieck champers RRP £30 | And far more. Full list: Cheap Champagne (please be Drinkaware). Kurt Geiger outlet sale: all shoes sub-£39. Online sale on until Mon 4 Nov. Limited s(t)ocks. Shoeaholics Deals FREE latte/tea every day. It's now confirmed - how to get John Lewis's free monthly cuppa & cake vouchers. Plus a reminder: a special free card gets you a free daily cappuccino/tea, etc from Waitrose. |
Q. Is a cheap fix worth it if the PM'll cut energy prices? A. Yes
Scottish Power's joined BG, Npower & SSE in hiking prices 9%. Even with PM's plans, URGENTLY LOOK AT FIXING It's finally fashionable to talk about cutting energy bills (we've been at it so long, like neon, we're back in). Yet forget whether politicians want to freeze or cut bills. YOU need to check ASAP you can't slash your costs, before it's too late. - Urgent: Check if you can cheaply fix. A fixed tariff locks you in on a rate for a set time. Many can save £100s fixing, and beat price hikes. Whether you can fix and save depends on location and usage, so ALWAYS COMPARE. Yet with a normal comparison right now, you risk moving to one of the firms that hasn't yet hiked, but will soon.
Our Cheap Energy Club Top Pick Fixes comparison shows your prices for the top picks in the table below, and gives £30 cashback if it can fix you. For Q&As on fixing (eg, long or short) see Energy Fixing FAQs & video. | Top 'NO EXIT FEE FIXES' for typical usage. Not prepay. | | Fixed until | Cost/yr | Standard tariff (PRE-HIKE price) (1)
| - | £1,420 | Longest, no exit fees: Npower*
| 31 Dec '17 | £1,370 | Long & cheap, no exit fees: EDF*
| 31 Mar '17 | £1,340 | | Cheapest, no exit fees: EDF* | 31 Mar '15 | £1,180 | | Cheapest variable: price rises possible | - | £1,120 | | (1) Typical quarterly dual fuel billing. Source: Ofgem. All others average monthly direct debit. Varies by region. | - Do the PM's plans impact fixing? The PM's on-the-hoof policy is trying to cut what green levies he can. These make up 9% of energy bills. If he halves them, it'd be a £60/yr cut (far less than the current rises).
This doesn't impact the 'fixing if you save' logic, but now we even more strongly suggest you pick a fix that has NO EXIT FEES (like all in the table), so if we're lucky enough to see price cuts you could leave, no hassles, if needed. See Martin's Has PM hit fixing? blog for more.
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| 850,000 Travelodge rooms £17-£25, incl Xmas. Dec-Feb stays. Full info in the Travelodge Sales note. Boots big points boosters + Ted Baker gift deal
Get 1,200 pts on £50 spend (Wed or Thu) | Triple Points Weekend (min £30) | Get £40 Ted Baker gift set for £19 House of Fraser 25% off brands FLASH sale. Now on. Web & store, incl Whistles, Calvin Klein & Diesel. See HoF. Urgent. Kindle Fire HD tablet £100 with code + free £20 gift card. Ends Sun. Full info in Currys Deals. |
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| 25% off contact lenses. MSE Blagged. Code gets discount at LensOn, which then makes it cheapest for some, eg, Johnson & Johnson 1-day Acuvue 30 pairs £27. Use our LensChecker tool to get the code & see how it compares. 15% off Ugg code. MSE Blagged. Never cheap, but gets classic short Uggs £127 & talls £161 delivered. Snug Uggs |
6% 'savings' - too good to be true?
Peer-to-peer lending can deliver far greater returns than normal savings - yet you must understand the RISK It's not easy to put colour into savers' cheeks. Even the top easy-access deals pay a spit-worthily low 1.7%, long fixes just 2.6%. Yet if you're debt-free, and willing to up the risk, our new Top Peer-To-Peer Lending guide shows an alternative... -
 What is peer-to-peer lending? This is online financial matchmaking. Money-cupid websites match borrowers with savers hunting for good returns. As the bank is cut out, borrowers often get slightly lower rates, while savers get far improved headline rates of up to nearly 6%. The websites do all the credit-scoring and repayment chasing on your behalf. - The top sites. The big three are Zopa, Funding Circle & Ratesetter. Picking is as much about how they mitigate risk as the rate offered. Our full Top Pick Crowdlenders analysis will take you through it.
- The need-to-knows. 1) There's no savings safety back-up if firms go bust. 2) They're currently unregulated (that's coming soon) but all above are in a trade body with some decent 'stability' requirements. 3) The loans are between you and borrowers - if a site goes bust, you're still owed, and all above have insurance to keep collection services going. 4) This is a new industry, so there's a risk of as-yet unpredicted problems. Read full Peer-To-Peer Risks analysis.
- How much can you earn? Over to Martin, who's been doing this personally for over a year: "I've earnt around 5% over the three sites in the last year, far in excess of normal savings (my site-by-site results are in the guide), and got exactly what I was promised. Yet it mightn't always work this well. If you're tempted I'd start just dipping your toe in the water to see how it works, and see it as just one option, not a carbon copy replacement for all savings."
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| Forum Hottie. Sainsbury's Tu 25% off everything. In-store clothing sale, incl school uniform. Sainsbury's Tu Deals £350+ hotel package £99-£210. Depends on dates. Get 2 nights, 3-course dinners & brekkie in 3-4-star Peel hotels.
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Revealed. Top 10 high street shops to haggle with
If you don't ask, you don't get. Follow our top haggling tips for maximum success getting high street reductions Haggling isn't just reserved for fly-swarmed foreign bazaars - it's alive and kicking on British high streets. Here's how: - Take our high street haggling crash course. Be charming, smile, win 'em to your side, and don't be offended if they say no. Our 20 Haggling Tips take you through how to bag bargains. From picking your time (the Saturday before Christmas isn't a winner), to who to haggle with (junior staff have no discretion and very senior ones have no time, so go for supervisor level) and the phrases that pay.
- The top 10 high street stores to haggle in. We polled 4,300 MoneySavers, only 1,800 of whom had asked for discounts, to find where hagglers had most success. Cue the music, pop pickers: Duh duh duh de de duh der de...
| Store | Success rate | Store | Success rate | | 1. | Homebase | 73% (26% big discount, 47% small) | 6. | TK Maxx | 60% (13% big discount, 47% small) | | 2. | Currys/ PC World | 71% (15% big discounts, 56% small) | 7. | Tesco (1) | 57% (13% big discount, 44% small) | | 3. | B&Q | 70% (22% big discount, 48% small) | 8. | Debenhams | 54% (10% big discount, 44% small) | | =4. | John Lewis | 61% (23% big discount, 38% small) | 9. | Sainsbury's (1) | 52% (13% big discount, 39% small) | | =4. | Wickes | 61% (23% big discount, 38% small) | 10. | Asda (1) | 51% (8% big discount, 43% small) | Only stores where 100+ tried to haggle included. Figures rounded. See full haggle poll results.
(1) We suspect supermarket haggling success is usually on non-grocery goods, eg, TVs, furniture, etc. |
Savings can be huge, as Mcintoshclan found: "Haggled in Ernest Jones for an Omega watch. Already had 20% off voucher, then quoted lowest internet price I could find. Got extra £160 off on top of 20% off - saved £444." back to top ↑ |
| 5,000 free Southern Home Show tix (usually £8). 31 Jan - 2 Feb 2014 at Ally Pally, London. Free Tickets B&Q and Debenhams spend £50, get £10 gift cards...
D'hams spend £50, get £10 gift card | Body Shop £30 vch for £15 via daily deal | Tie Rack 25% code
Wilko £5 off £50 online | B&Q spend £50, get £10 gift card | Miss Selfridge 20% code | Full list: Discount Vouchers Amex user? Free £5 for writing a TripAdvisor review. One per card, must register first. See Amex Deals.
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Restaurant vouchers | Discount vouchers | Top deals |
 BOOK GIVEAWAY
Rome travel guide. 25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one? MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Should my child pay £25 to go to a birthday party?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... My son's been invited to two birthday parties and both require payment to attend. I'm not sure whether this is the latest craze, the norm or just unfortunate, but I don't know what to do. I don't want my son to be left out, but £25+, a present and the cost of travel is a lot. Should I pay up or decline? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I pay for my son to attend a party? | Suggest an MMD | View Past MMDs THE GREAT HUNT
Saving money when holidaying on your own
It's outrageous you get charged more if you want to holiday on your own. So we want to tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge on tips and tricks to cut solo travel costs. Share yours/read others': Solo holidays Past topics: View all CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Aer Lingus Offer: Just pay taxes & charges Ends: Sun 3 Nov
Our pick this week is Aer Lingus's offer. You only pay taxes and charges for flights to Ireland from 13 UK airports between Fri 1 Nov and 31 Mar 2014. We found Manchester-Dublin flights for £26.99. To find 'em quickly, use the FlightChecker on a £30 one-way max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges - see Budget Airline Fee Fighting. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED
Extreme water MoneySaving
As Hopeinhell commented, the responses to last week's hunt are fascinating. Some MoneySavers use leftover bath/shower water to flush the loo while scarlet macaw uses cold water from the hot tap, before it's warmed up, to water the garden. Gick goes one step further by peeing in a bucket and using it to water the runner beans. Nice. back to top ↑ |
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Martin's blogs | Martin's appearances 31 October
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week. | 31 October
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5 Live, 12pm-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Listen to past shows.
| 1 November
This Morning, ITV, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Money Talks with Martin Lewis.
A celebrity faces Martin in the vault. | 4 November
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12pm.
Subject tbc. | |
MSE team corner | Discussion of the week When do you put your Christmas tree up? With 55 days to go, when's the appropriate time to put your tree up? 1 December? Or last-minute on 24 December? What's your preferred day? Tell us on the When do you put your Christmas tree up? discussion. | Cheap travel money |
This week's poll: Should the TV licence fee be scrapped? A TV licence costs £145.50 a year for any home with a colour TV, regardless of whether you watch the BBC or not (see TV Licence Saving). But all the money raised pays for the BBC - that's TV, radio, regional programmes, BBC Online and their associated costs (full details).
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps sent a warning shot to the BBC this week about the licence fee, saying he'd consider opening up the cash so other broadcasters could apply for some.
Which of these is closest to your view? | Poll resultsDo your kids nag you to get a payday loan?
More than one in three voters with under-10s say their kids have repeated payday loan ad slogans, with 14% saying their under-10s nag them to get one.
- 29% say their under-10s see payday loan ads as fun.
- 35% say their under-10s have repeated payday ad slogans.
- 18% say their 10-16 year-olds tell them to get a loan.
2,785 voted. See the full results. |
| Q: I bought a pair of M&S trousers two weeks ago. After being worn twice they've discoloured and frayed. The shop insists it’s reasonable wear and tear and so it's not refundable or replaceable. They're testing, what rights do I have? Robert, by email. MSE Wendy’s A: Goods must be of ‘Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose And last a Reasonable length of Time’, what we refer to as the SAD FART rights. If they aren’t, and as long as the trousers weren’t meant to fade and fray, you’ve a right to a refund. The problem's from enforcing rights where you and the store disagree. Within six months of the purchase, it's up to the shop to prove something wasn't faulty, so you’re easily within that timeframe. If it refuses, get official and put your complaint in writing. Unfortunately though, under our current system, if that fails your only option is to go to court. But you need to decide if it's worth it for a pair of trousers, especially if M&S has had the quality tested. |
 Archna's free game of the week: 10 game |
Geeky (or is it nerdy?) real-time world statistics Prepare to be amazed as you watch real-time counters for stats such as 'births this year' and 'emails sent today' go up faster than you can process on Worldometers. 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 barclaycard.co.uk, tescobank.com, halifax.co.uk, lloydsbank.com, fluid.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, rbs.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, aquacard.co.uk, npower.com, edfenergy.com, gocompare.com, google.com, aviva.co.uk, directline.com, admiral.com, postoffice.co.uk, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, gocompare.com, tescocompare.com, energyhelpline.com, moneysupermarket.com, uswitch.com, postoffice.co.uk, productsandservices.bt.com, hiscox.co.uk, johnlewis-insurance.com.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances constitute an FCA regulated activity. For this reason, pages with links which take you to the sites of insurers or insurance intermediaries are hosted by MoneySavingExpert.com Limited on behalf of MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC. MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is MoneySupermarket House, St. David’s Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ. To change your E-mail or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips |
