Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Free Ideal Home, Sky 50% code, free wills, Free Amzn/M&S £100, Kindle Fire HD £119, 50% off posh hotels, Vans 50% off, euro sale

Martin's Money Tips Email. Can't see full email properly? Read it online (may affect Gmail/Yahoo users).
Martin Lewis

MoneySavingExpert.com weekly email

Cutting your costs, fighting your corner Martin's Money Tips Wed 2 Oct 2013
Cards Reclaim Shopping Deals Utilities Banking Travel Insurance Mortgages Income

This week

Free £100 M&S/Amzn voucher trick
Can you release your pension?
Flash euro/dollar sale or better...
What do you pay for mob insure?
10,000 Free Ideal Home Xmas tix
Sky 50% off codes
Free wills for over-55s
Kindle Fire HD £119
50% off posh hotels, UK & world
£25 gets £30 Ocado + £70 del pass
15mth 0% debt shift just 0.8% fee
Free Trex 2014 calendar
Vans trainers 50% sale (eg, £21)
Beat Ed's 'freeze energy' promise
Unltd trains £15/day Lon Midland
Tastecard £30 for a year code
New Help to Buy mortgage Q&A
Codes: Topman 20% | Burton 25% | M&S £5 | Brantano 30% | H&M 10%
Regatta winter coats 60% off
BT price hike (but you can escape)
Property auctions - bag a bargain?
Vouchers Index: Restaurants / Shopping
Best Buys: 0% cards | Car insurance
Best Buys: Gas & Elec | Bank Accs

MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter

10 tricks to save motorists large
Whether car, van or bike, you could cut £1,000s off annual motoring costs

There's nothing like a motor for driving up bills. Running costs have hit an avg £3,900/yr for a typical family car (source: AA). To help make it more a-ford-able (sorry), we've 40 Motoring Cost-Cutting Tricks. Here's your starter for 10...

1. Private parking firms CAN'T fine you. Parking tickets from supermarkets, housing estates or other private car parks do better impressions than Jon Culshaw. Some are dressed up like fines, they can even be called Parking Charge Notices to mimic council Penalty Charge Notices. Don't be fooled, they're just invoices.

If a ticket's slapped on your windscreen and you think it's unfair (eg, no signage), like any invoice, reply explaining why and that you won't pay. It may huff and puff, yet they can't 'hit your credit record' or 'send bailiffs' without the time and expense of court action. If they do push that and the ticket's truly unfair, the court will wipe it anyway.

There is another way, but only with 176 out of the 1,000s of firms: for a year it's been possible to appeal to a independent body - 45% of the 15,000 who tried succeeded. Full info in Fight Unfair Private Parking Tickets.
2. Cheapest car insurance incl the big discounts COMPARISONS MISS. Pinpointing the hottest deal isn't straightforward - all comparisons differ in what they cover, plus some biggies are missed altogether. To navigate through it, follow our special system, as sweetiecazgggg tweeted:

"Oh my word. Followed your pyramid of insurance tips and it went down from £880 to £580! #felloffmychair."


a) Correctly combine comparisons for a wider spread. Our order for max quotes in min time: Gocompare*, Google*, MoneySup*, Confused* (as many as poss).

b) Hot deals comparisons miss: They miss two biggies: Direct Line* (get its policy via this special link & you get a FREE £60 M&S e-gift card) and Aviva*. Check our full Car Insurance Deals list for other hot current promos.

c)
Don't assume 3rd party's cheapest. Selecting comprehensive makes some insurers consider you a lower risk. Try both.

d) Got more than one car? Comparison sites only check one car at a time, missing multi-car discounts. Try them manually, esp. Admiral*.

See our full Cheap Car Insurance guide for more help & cashback.
3. car costs Get 3% back on all petrol/fuel spending. Get a Santander 123* credit card and repay IN FULL monthly to avoid interest and you get 3% cashback on fuel spending (max £9/mth), 2% in department stores, 1% in supermarkets.

There is a £2/mth fee, but serious drivers should easily offset it with cashback earned, as MRoberts71 tweeted: "Thanks for Santander 123 card. Earned a free tank of petrol's worth." Fail to fully repay and it's 18.9% rep APR. See Official APRs.
4. 50% who fight unfair council parking tickets win. Council fines are always legit, but not always fair. Issues incl faded signs, tickets when you paid or when you pulled over for safety. If yours is unfair, challenge it.

50% of people who challenge tickets that they believe are unfair and take them all the way to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (London only), or the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal (rest of England and Wales), win. Full help in Challenge Unfair Parking Tickets.
5. Young driver saved £1,050 on car insurance by adding parents. Under-25s can pay sky-high rates, but small things have a big impact.

a) Correctly combine comparisons. This gives a wider spread as each search different insurers. Our young driver order for max quotes in min time is MoneySup*, GoComp*, Google* & Compare TM* (as many as poss).

b) Add in two biggies missed: Direct Line* (via this special link get a free £60 M&S e-gift card if you get a policy) and Aviva*.

c) Add responsible second drivers. Never lie that you're not the main driver, but use trial and error to get quotes adding responsible older people who may drive the car as a second driver. As one 20-year-old tweeted: "£1,600+ on my own, £550 with 2 named drivers."

d) If too expensive, try 'black box' telematics policies. These monitor your driving. Incl pay-WHEN-you-drive: Coverbox*, Drive Like A Girl* & iKube*; Pay-HOW-you-drive: Co-op* and AA; Pay-AS-you-drive: Insurethebox*.

Full help & options, including cashback, in Young Drivers' Car Insurance.
6. FREE Glovebox Parking Emergency Guide. If you get an unfair parking ticket, acting correctly at the scene can hugely improve your chances of winning an appeal. So we designed a Free Glovebox Parking Emergency Guide to print out, crammed with tips on what to do there & then.
7. AA basic breakdown £17 a year - or haggle. Use a cashback site and you can effectively get AA basic for £17, or £25 RAC. Alternatively, via 'pay and claim policy' AutoAid, you can get cover incl home start and onward travel for £39 a year. Full help in Cheap Breakdown Cover.
8. Borrowing to buy a used car? Do it at 0%. New cars lose so much value as they leave the showroom, we doubt many MoneySavers do it. So we'll focus on used cars. Only borrow if you've budgeted that you can afford the repayments. Compare the following to whatever the dealer/seller offers...

The Virgin* credit card lets newbies do a money transfer at 26mth 0% for a 4% fee. This means it'll pay cash into your bank account, so you can buy the car with it, and owe it instead. Do repay before the 0% ends or it's 20.9% rep APR). Full help in Money Transfers.

If you need a loan, consider peer-to-peer lenders Zopa* and Ratesetter, which allow early repayments and will be cheapest for some.

For £5k-£7.5k loans Clydesdale* and Santander are 6.4% rep APR. For £7.5k - £15k: Sainsbury's* is 4.9% rep APR if repaid in under 3 yrs, Derbyshire* 5% rep APR for up to 5 yrs. Full info and best buys in Cheap Personal Loans, plus see Loan APR Examples.
9. Cut a third off your petrol & diesel costs. Our full Cheap Petrol & Diesel guide will help you cut your fuel spend, but as brief headlines...

a) Max car efficiency can help cut your fuel bill: check tyre pressure, dejunk your trunk, take off roof racks. See soup down your car.
b) Change driving technique to save up to 30%. It's less about slowing down, more about gradual acceleration, shifting up gear sooner and using road positioning to reduce braking. Make huge fuel efficient driving gains.
c) Use speedy tools to find cheapest petrol so you pay less.
10. Quick tricks to drive down costs further. These are the tip of the iceberg. A final triple whammy of key resources to get you revved up (in other words, I wanted to put more than 10 tips in, so I'm cheating).

- Cheap MOTs: Incl hidden council MOT centres that can mean fewer fails.
- Is your driving licence valid? Check it hasn't expired, or risk £1,000 fine.
- Rent out your driveway: Earn cash from unused parking spaces.

Blagged for MoneySavers

Did you miss?

Get permanently cheap energy
Our new club ensures you're always on the cheapest tariff.
Join free: Cheap Energy Club
Reclaim PPI for FREE
Claims handlers aren't more successful.
Free help & templates: Reclaim PPI

MSE News

Top story Minimum wage rise takes effect
George Osborne plans fuel duty freeze extension
Student loans are not big enough
Flight delay comp: Know your rights after Thomson defeated in court
Had a Clydesdale mortgage? You could be due share of £33m
Like what we do? Please tell others too.
If this email's ever helped you, please forward it to friends and suggest they get it via moneysavingexpert.com/tips
Use the Money Mantras If you're skint If you're not skint
The Ones Not To Miss Wed 2 Oct 2013
Free £100 M&S/Amazon/Boots gift card for Christmas
PERFECT TIMING. Do normal spending on this charge card and it can give your Christmas kitty a BIG boost

This is a corking deal. Most cashback card type deals make you wait a year to get the freebie - here it's paid out as soon as you qualify. So do it now and some should earn it in time for Christmas, or ready for the January sales.

  • amazonFree £100 gift card. The Amex Rewards Gold* charge card gives accepted newbies spending £2,000 in the first 3 months 20,000 bonus points. These are convertible into a £100 voucher for shops such as M&S, Amazon, PC World, etc (what's available changes) or BA Avios, Virgin & more flyer points. Points arrive as soon as you hit the trigger £2,000.

    While £2,000 sounds a lot, we suggest you use it, rather than cash or other cards, for ALL usual daily and Xmas spending (not an excuse to spend more). If you don't hit the amount, there's no cost, you just don't get the bonus points.
  • Important rules: 1) This is a charge, not credit, card, ie, designed to be fully repaid each month, so there's no interest. Miss repayments and it's a £12 charge and credit file default. 2) It's a min £20k income & requires a credit check. 3) First year's fee-free, after it's £125/yr. If you don't want to pay, CANCEL by then. Full info: Card Freebies

10,000 free pairs of Ideal Home Xmas tix (usually £12-£18 each). MSE Blagged. Code gets free tickets for any day at the 13-17 Nov London Earls Court show. How to get them: Free Ideal Home Show Tickets

50% off Sky TV & broadband codes. MSE Blagged. Starts Fri. 6,000 codes for Sky newbies (or those who last had it 12+ mths ago) to get a year's 50% off TV packages (incl movies and sport) & broadband. Cheap Sky

Free Wills Month for over-55s. Solicitor drafted in 29 cities and towns in Eng & Wales. Book in Oct, go quick. Full info: Free Wills

Kindle Fire HD £119 (was £159). Cheapest we've ever seen this tablet, or get a £79 non-HD refurb. Kindle Fires

Beware 'release cash from your pension' schemes
It is possible for some to unlock cash, but beware scammers trying to flog nasty pension liberation

Received a call offering to release money from your pension early? Pension liberation scams are targeting people up and down the country, but it could leave you nowt for retirement. Our new Release Pension Cash guide has the facts...

  • pension guidePension liberation can lose you £10,000s. Pension liberators usually text, email or phone, preying on people by promising big lump sums right now from pensions. As a rule of thumb, if you're under 55, and/or they offer more than a 25% lump sum, beware. Their methods are not legit and eat vast chunks of cash. If tempted, see a proper Independent Financial Advisor. Don't become a victim. Read full Beware Pension Liberation info.
  • Over-55s CAN take a 25% tax-free lump sum. Pension unlocking's legal and lets you take up to a quarter of the pension pot you've accumulated as tax-free cash from 55. Think very carefully. The earlier you do it, the less cash you're likely to have to live on in old age, as you could miss possible huge growth. Full help: Pension Unlocking
  • 'Trivial' pensions can be cashed in. If you're over 60 with a pension pot under £18,000, Trivial Pension Rules mean you can take it all out, but, again, be wary and do it the right way.

50% off posh UK, Europe, Far East hotels code. Stays until Dec (3 night min) at 100+ boutique hotels in UK, Europe and worldwide. Eg, Lake District £70 a night (was £139), Italy £50 (was £101). Hotel Sales

Pay £25, get £30 Ocado spend AND £70 1yr delivery pass. Ocado newbies only. 4,000+ avail. Ocado

New. Lowest fee (15mth 0%) debt shift. Halifax* now allows new cardholders to balance transfer at 15mth 0% with just a 0.8% fee (it's 0% on new spending too). Need longer? Lloyds* is 24mths 0% with a 1.5% fee, Barclaycard Plat* 28mths 0% with a 3.5% fee (£20 refund on £1,000+). Ensure you clear before the 0% ends or they're 17.9% & 18.9% rep APR. Will you be accepted? Use the Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker. FULL help: Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples)

Forum Hottie. Free 2014 Trex recipe calendar. Nice calendar with food pics and yummy recipes. Praise the Lard

Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Balance Transfers Car Insurance Cheap Loans Top Cash ISAs
Longest 0%: Barclaycard*
28mths 0%, 3.5% fee

(18.9% rep APR)

Low fee 0%: Lloyds*
24mths 0%, 1.5% fee

(17.9% rep APR)
Get quotes in this order...

Gocompare*
Google*
Direct Line (Get £60 M&S e-gift card)
Aviva*
Admiral MultiCar*

Clydesdale* (£5k - £7.5k)
6.4% rep APR



Sainsbury's* (£7.5k - £15k)
4.9% rep APR

Tesco Bank 2% AER
Min £1, no bonus
Online/phone. No transfers

Virgin Money 1.75% AER
Min £1, no bonus
Online. Transfers allowed

See Card APR Examples & Loan APR Examples

Vans trainers sale - some £21. Two retailers have sales on Vans - one has an extra 5% off code. Vans Deals

Ed'll freeze energy prices for 20 months in 2015? We can do it for FOUR winters now. We don't want to run the country, but if all it took was freezing energy bills, we'd be a shoo-in. Many can already slash bills and ensure no price hikes until March 2017. With a predicted British Gas hike due soon, ACT NOW. Full help: Cheap Gas and Electricity

Unlimited £15/day off-peak train travel vch. Works on London Midland trains, eg, Liverpool to Lon. Train Deals

Flash euro/dollar sale or bag PERMANENTLY cheap rates
Get maximum buck for your bang. Near perfect rates in every country by grabbing special plastic

There are three big foreign currency sins. 1) Exchanging at the airport - you get hideous rates. 2) Falling for 'commission free' - instead ask: "How many euros/dollars do I get for my pounds?" 3) Taking cash when plastic performs far better...

  • Leaving soon? Flash sale. Until Fri 8am, Asda has a currency sale on euros and US, Aus, NZ and Canadian dollars, available for collection or delivery. Don't assume this makes it cheapest - use our TravelMoneyMax Cheap Travel Money Comparison to compare. As with all bureaux de change, pay by debit, not credit, card to avoid extra fees.
  • Important: Trick bags unbeatable rates for EVERY country. Most credit and debit cards add a hidden 3% load, so spending £100 worth of euros costs £103, though this isn't broken out in your statement. A few specialist no-load worldwide, no-annual fee credit cards give perfect rates in every country, smashing bureaux de change. Just ensure you repay IN FULL each month, or interest dwarfs the gain.
Top specialist no-load cheap spending abroad credit cards
Spending on them beats using them to withdraw cash - but even that often undercuts bureaux de change
Card Load UK cashback ATM fee ATM interest per £100 (1) Representative APR
Fully repay to avoid
Overseas only: Halifax Clarity* None None None £1/mth 12.9%
UK & overseas/poor credit: Cap One Classic Extra* None 0.5% 3% (min £3) £2.50/mth 34.9%
Over-50s alternative: Saga* None None 2% (min £2) None 11.9%
Full info/more options: Cheap Overseas Cards (APR Examples). 1) Cash withdrawal interest paid even if you fully clear card each month.
  • Top prepaid cards. You pre-load these electronic travellers' cheques with cash, then spend. Unlike top credit cards, you get the rate when you load, not spend, so they're subject to currency fluctuations. Top rates: FairFX Euro* | FairFX Dollar* (the £10 fee's waived via these special links, if you load €60/$75+). Full info: Prepaid Cards

Tastecard £30 for 1-yr code (RRP £80). Ends Sun. Gets 2for1s or 50% off at 7,000+ UK restaurants. Tasty Deal

New Help to Buy mortgages Q&A. Interested? See Help to Buy Q&A. Free first timers' guide: Mortgage Booklet

Codes... Topman 20%, Burton 25%, M&S £5, Brantano 30%, H&M 10%...
Topman 20% off code | Burton 25% off code and in-store | M&S £5 off £35 if you donate clothes for in-store vch |
Brantano 30% off code | BHS 25% off code and vch | H&M 10% off code | Full list: Discount Vouchers

Regatta winter coats 60%+ off. Eg, men's £16 (were £50), kids' £8 (£25). At web-outlet while stocks last. Brrr-illiant

How much do you pay to insure your smartphone?
Add it up now - are you overpaying? You can cover a phone for £57/year or FOUR+ handsets £120, incl iPhone 5S

Many people'd prefer electrodes clamped to their toes than leave their smartphone at home. No surprise mobile insurance sells so well on the fear of being without it. Yet many overpay. Our Cheap Mobile Insurance guide helps, incl...

  • mobile insurance4 key questions to start. 1. Are you a loser? (who's lost lots of phones.) 2. Does your home insurance already cover it? 3. Is fast turnaround crucial? Stick to your network's cover. 4. Do you pay a monthly bank account fee? Check if you're already covered.
  • Cheapest decent mobile phone insurance deals. These cover accident, loss & theft, but we've excluded policies with nightmare feedback. Full info: Mobile Insurance

    - Any iPhone incl 5S (£750 limit). Insurance2Go* £70/yr. Excess: £50 (£75 for loss).
    - Any Samsung (£750 limit). Using the code in this link: Insurance2Go* £57/yr. Excess: £25 (£50 for loss).
    - Other smartphones (£750 limit). Using the code in this link: Insurance2Go* £60/yr. Excess: £25 (£50 for loss).
    - Thick (non-smart) mobile phones (£150 max). Gadget Cover* £16/yr damage/theft, £27 incl loss. Excess: £25.
  • Family smartphone cover + world travel insurance + breakdown cover £120/year. If you've more than one mobile in the home, the highly-rated £10/mth fee Nationwide FlexPlus* bank account incl phone cover with a huge £1k limit each (so covers iPhone 5S), breakdown cover and world family travel insurance. Full help: Best Packaged Accounts

BT's hiking prices (but you can escape). From Jan BT line rent will be £16/mth (up 54p), connection 14.8p (was 13.9p) & call costs are up too. Your options: 1) Within 10 days of notice you can break contract & switch penalty-free. For options, see Cheap Home Phones. 2) To stick, pay its BT Line Rental Saver* £141/yr upfront now (equiv £11.75/mth).

Property auctions - can you really bag bargains? MSE Archna just tried, see her Property Bargain? blog.

Want Christmas supermarket delivery? Book ASAP. Xmas week grocery delivery slots for turkey, Christmas pud & hot cakes go like, er, hot cakes. Waitrose is taking bookings now - we've got dates the rest start. Christmas Delivery

Ends Thu. 2 Odeon tickets £10 (or £6 each). Or within the M25, £7 for one, £12 for two. Full info: Odeon Deals


Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Gas & Electricity Bank Accounts Home Insurance Landlines
Compare, switch & get cashback

Cheap Energy Club
£30 dual fuel

Energyhelpline*
£15 per switch

MoneySupermarket*
£30 dual fuel

uSwitch*
£40 wine voucher

First Direct*
£125 bonus and top cust service


Santander 123*
Up to 3% cashback on bills

(£2 per month fee)
Get quotes in this order...

Confused.com*
Compare The Market*
Direct Line*
Aviva*

Post Office*
with weekend calls
£10/mth (pay a yr upfront)



BT Line Rental Saver*
£11.75/mth (pay a yr upfront)
Do a Money Makeover Budget Planner MSE car sticker £15 Travel Insurance

Restaurant vouchers

Discount vouchers & sales

Top deals

The Moneysaving community
The MoneySaving Community

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Should I use 5-year-old's £100k Prem Bond win to pay debts?

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...
We bought all our children Premium Bonds when they were born - they're now eight, five and two. The five-year-old just won £100,000. Should I put it in a trust for her until she's 18, split it three ways in separate trusts, or use it to pay our debts and treat them to a holiday? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Pay debts with child's Premium Bond win? | Suggest an MMD | View Past MMDs

Love is... found on the MSE forum. Enormous congratulations to forumites jansus and partlydave, who married last Sat after meeting on our very own forum. Send your wishes to the happy couple and see the pics (to comment you'll need to join the forum).

BOOK GIVEAWAY
The Good Pub Guide 2014.
30 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK
Ever complained about poor NHS/Govt department service?

Have you ever complained to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) about this? A group of MPs are examining its role and want your thoughts on the process. Share your views: PHSO complaints

THE GREAT HUNT
What hidden discount perks are there to your job?

Some jobs or memberships come with killer discounts you may not know about, eg, money off car insurance via employee schemes or 50% off theme park tickets with your breakdown cover. Forumite rhysowen9 has been taking advantage of these sometimes hidden discounts. Have you? Share yours/read others': Membership Discounts Past topics: View all

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Aer Lingus Price: From £26.99 Ends: Ongoing
Our pick this week is Aer Lingus's from £26.99 sale. It's for flights to Ireland from 15 UK airports until 30 Nov, and includes some taxes & charges. We found £25.99 flights from Birmingham to Dublin - cheaper than the advertised price. To find 'em quickly, use the FlightChecker on a £30 one-way max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment & check-in charges - see Budget Airline Fee Fighting. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance

THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED
Are there savings to be had if you work nights?

Forum night owls came up with some canny ways to save if you work the night shift. Parents with different working hours can slash childcare costs and one forumite saw electricity bills plummet (also see Economy 7 - Is It Worth It?). Unsocial hours can mean you go out less, but you might find your purse is better off.

Quick forum tips

Freebies

Martin's blogs

Martin's appearances

3 October
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week.
3 October
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5 Live, 12pm-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Listen to past shows.
4 October
This Morning, ITV, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Money Talks with Martin Lewis.
Christopher Biggins faces Martin in the vault.
7 October
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12pm.
Mortgages.

MSE team corner

Discussion of the week

Do school trip fees help subsidise non-payers?

One forumite ponders school trip fees and if they help cover the cost of parents who don't pay. Join the discussion and share what you think.

Cheap travel money

UK's Best Currency Rates
£100 will buy you:
Best Worst
Euro Flag 118.70 108.21
US Flag $ 161.00 146.73
Turkish Flag TL 318.30 290.00
Rates correct at 5pm Tue
Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash

This week's poll: Do you support the married couples' tax break?

From 2015, the Government plans to allow married couples and civil partners (who aren't 40%+ taxpayers) to transfer £1,000 of their personal allowance - the amount they can earn before tax - to their spouse.

A partner who doesn't work or earns under the personal allowance (currently £9,440 for under-65s) could give the higher earner their allowance, saving them 20% tax, so they'd be £200 a year better off.

Which of these is closest to your view?

Poll results

Should we switch to plastic bank notes?
The Bank of England's planning to swap paper notes for plastic, as used in Oz and Canada. A majority (63%) would welcome the switch.

- 31% have used plastic notes elsewhere and want them here.
- 32% ain't tried, but like the idea.
- 18% don't care one way or t'other.
- 16% think they sound awful.

10,754 voted. See the full results.

Question of the week

Q: Does the new 7-day switch promise apply to savings, as well as current accounts? Ginodb via Twitter.

MSE Andy's A: It's not possible to switch a savings account. If there's a better deal out there, you need to open up a new savings account, withdraw the money and transfer it across - most likely closing your old account. The exception's an ISA, where you must ask the new provider to do the transfer for you, so you don't lose the tax benefits (help in ISA Transfers).

The new seven-day switching system started last month and is just for switching current accounts, including basic bank accounts. In a nutshell, under the new scheme almost all banks promise to switch your current account, including direct debits and standing orders, in seven working days.

The biggest new benefit is that any money paid into the old account for 13 months after the switch will be auto-forwarded to the new account. For this to happen, you must close your old account. You'll also need to close any products only available to account holders, eg, regular savers, so you may lose out on interest. See 7-Day Switching Q&A.

Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails).

 Archna's free game of the week: The Company of Myself

40 nerdy fact maps

That's it for this week, except try these 40 amazing fact maps. There's everything from most common European surnames (France is Martin - ooh la moneysava) to literal translations of Chinese country names (Ireland is Love Your Orchid).

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What you need to know

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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

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gocompare.com, google.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, santander-products.co.uk, comparethemarket.com, coverbox.co.uk, drivelikeagirl.com, ikubeinsurance.com, co-operativeinsurance.co.uk, insurethebox.com, virginmoney.com, zopa.com, cbonline.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, nationwide.co.uk, americanexpress.com, halifax.co.uk, lloydsbank.com, barclaycard.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, saga.co.uk, fairfx.com, insurance2go.co.uk, gadget-cover.com, bt.com, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, firstdirect.com, directline.com, postoffice.co.uk.

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