Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Sky Sports £6 day pass, 6% savings?, Ralph Lauren 40% sale code, holiday tricks, poor credit 0%, Boots 75% sale, Burger King 2for1s, 2x specs £25

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Martin Lewis

MoneySavingExpert.com weekly email

Cutting your costs, fighting your corner Martin's Money Tips Wed 15 Jan 2014
Cards Reclaim Shopping Deals Utilities Banking Travel Insurance Mortgages Income

This week

Boost savings to 6%
New: Poor credit 0% debt shift
Free budget planner: Self-diagnose
Get PAID to get home insurance?
Ralph Lauren 40% code off 50% sale
£6 for one-off Sky Sports via web
90% book sale - Mrs Beeton £4.50
TWO Cineworld tickets £11
£30 Ocado food + 1yr del = £25
2 specs £25 all-in
FORTY 90% off clearance deals
E.on hikes energy bills - save £100s
Rumour: Boots sale boosted to 75%
70% off dresses, eg, Jenny Packham
Stop Press: CPP payouts for 7m
Instant Burger King 2for1s
£25 MOTs with code
Free £16 No7 cream (over-60s)
Tax deadline THIS FRI for many
EXTRA 50% code off Lyle & Scott
1,000 Free Southern Home Show tix
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 tips to slash overseas holiday costs
Cheap flights, packages, hotels, car hire, travel money & more for 2014

Summer may be a way away, but January is the biggest holiday-booking month, especially for families. If you're planning to Goa-way (groan) and are Balkan (grooan) at the price, use our 10 key rules to slash the Costa (groooan).

1. Slash flight costs using the RIGHT comparison. For scheduled flights, don't wait till the last min as flight costs soar. See Cheap Flights.

- Cheapest price on normal flights: Here, use flight comparisons. We like Skyscanner* (for ease), TravelSup* (for breadth) & Kayak* (for gizmos).

- Check cheap charter flights for resorts: Going on a traditional package hol? Check for spare tour operator flights via Avro* & Flights Direct*.

- Find the perfect time to book
: Use the Flight Insight tab on comparison site Momondo*, eg, on average 59 days ahead is the perfect time to book.
2. Find the cheapest price for your hotel room. Don't trust the star system. It isn't standardised worldwide and is often about facilities, not quality. The ubiquitous TripAdvisor's* reviews (rule of thumb: ignore the best & worst 10%) help and it has a basic price comparison function too.

Then double-check both Trivago and TravelSup* to see if the room you're lusting after is cheaper elsewhere. Far more tips in Cheap Hotels.
3. holiday costsPackage holidays can undercut DIY web bookings... especially if you're booking 7, 10 or 14 days away in a traditional resort. For prices skimpier than Rihanna's bikini, book very late. Yet if you need special facilities (eg, for families), book now. And don't think prices are fixed - you can often haggle travel agents down to shave more off. More in Cheap Package Holidays.
4. Create your own "protected package holiday". Package holidays have been protected under the Atol scheme for a long time, so you're owed money back or help coming home if something goes wrong.

If you book flights & hotel together, Expedia*, Travelocity, Ebookers* & Lastminute.com* sometimes give extra discounts. Plus it's little-known that since 2012, if you book a flight plus separate hotel or car hire together (or within 24 hours) from the same travel (not airline) website, you now get Atol protection, just as with a package holiday.

Compare this to booking the cheapest flight & hotel separately to see if this protection 'costs' you.
5. UNBEATABLE rates in every country. Whether euros, dollars or Mongolian tughrik, the cheapest way to spend overseas is with specialist overseas credit cards. Get one now so you're set for every trip this year.

While most plastic adds a hidden 3% load, so spend £100 of euros and your statement shows £103, the cards below are load-free worldwide, giving near-perfect rates. A full list in Top Cards Abroad, but for speed...

- Top pick cards (no annual fee):
Halifax Clarity's* the winner, due to lower ATM fees. For poorer credit scorers, look at Capital One*. With both, repay IN FULL to minimise the 12.9% and huge 34.9% rep APRs - beware withdrawing cash, you pay interest even if paid in full (APR Examples).

- Will you get one?
Our free Overseas Card Eligibility Checker shows which cards you've the best odds of success with to minimise your applications.

- Want cash before you go instead?
Use our TravelMoneyMax comparison.
6. Advanced MoneySaving: How to book 5-star hotels at 3-star prices. If you're looking for the really big bargains, you need to get clever.

A) Uncover secret hotels.
Lastminute.com* and Hotwire* sell secret hotels, where you get big discounts but aren't told the name till you've paid. Yet we can show you how to uncover secret hotels' identities before you pay.

B) For HUGE discounts - Priceline bidding loophole.
Fiddly, complex but devastatingly lucrative, our Priceline Loophole shows you how to home in on massively-discounted rooms, as forumite Tracylouiseg found: "Just booked a hotel in NYC for 7 nights at £518. Direct price with hotel: £2,118."
7. Get travel insurance the day you book (cheapest from £6). Don't wait to get insurance, or you're uncovered in the event of cancellation or sickness. Yet you can often massively undercut the holiday firms' policies.

For cheapest single trip policies, use the MoneySupermarket* comparison, prices start at £6. Yet if you go away 2+ times a year (incl weekends), it's usually cheaper to get an annual policy.

- Annual policies under 65 from £13:
The cheapest annual policies meeting our min cover levels usually come from one of Holidaysafe Lite*, Coverwise*, or Protect Your Bubble*, so check all, eg, a 25-yr-old in Europe only's £13, a couple worldwide aged 45 is £38. See Cheap Travel Insurance.

- Check your FREE EHIC card is valid:
European Health Insurance Cards go out of date, so check ASAP. Full help & renewal info in the EHIC guide.
8. Posh villas often undercut posh hotels. If you're going as a family or with friends, cheap villas may massively undercut similar quality hotels. A 3-bed Sicily villa was £375/wk compared to £1,800 for a similar-quality hotel.

Or consider renting rooms in homes, eg, Barcelona flat £26/nt, similar hotel £61/nt. Plus we've a code for up to £175 off one night with short-term spare room and apartment rental site Airbnb (min 2-nt stay).
9. BA Exec/Avios sale - pay £1 taxes on short-haul flights. If you're an Avios (ex-Air Miles) collector, it's holding flash sales where you can get flights, hotels & more for half the points. Until noon today (Wed), pay just £1 taxes on selected short-haul flights - a corker. See 30 Avios Point-Boosting Tips.
10. Book car hire early to save big bucks. If you're hiring abroad, generally early booking is far cheaper. What can be £14/day months ahead can be £24/day just before you go and far more when there, adding £100s overall.

- Find cheapest: Use comparisons Kayak* and Carrentals*.

- Then get cheaper 'excess' insurance: Ignore hire firms' fear-sold 'excess insurance' policies. If you want it, get it before you go, eg, for £2, not £5+ a day. Use the Moneymaxim excess comparison* plus we've blagged 15% off Direct Car Excess Insurance*. Full how-to in Cheap Car Hire.

Blagged for MoneySavers

Did you miss?

Get permanently cheap energy
Our 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: Going on holiday? Find out where your pound goes furthest
Yodel named worst parcel delivery service again
Customers vent fury as WorldStores fails to deliver
Metro Bank to charge for debit card use outside Europe
Npower confirms energy bill cut - but prices are still up
Saved cash? Don't be shy, tell your mates.
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
Jan Money Makeover Special Wed 15 Jan 2014
Can you boost savings to 6%?
Savings rates are spitworthily low. Yet there are ways to punch up the interest. Here's our masterclass...

If you say "I can't be bothered moving my savings, all rates are tragic," wash your mouth out with soap. Many may dismally be sub-1%. But there are always tricks to squeeze out better rates... All accounts here have full £85k UK savings safety.

  • Top Savings Accounts6% AER regular saver & free £125. First Direct* is the no.1 cust service bank (93% of you rate it great). If you've got it or get it (£125 for qualifying switchers), you can put up to £300/mth in its 6% Regular Saver for a year. HSBC customers get 4% on a similar product, or anyone, Leeds BS's 3.05%. See full Top Regular Saver info.
  • Earn 5% AER easy-access via bank accounts. Bizarrely, bank accs pay higher interest than savings. Nationwide FlexDirect* pays 5% AER but for just a year, just on up to £2,500. The stand-out's Santander 123's* 3% AER on all savings if you've £3k-£20k. It has a £2/mth fee, but pays up to 3% cashback on bills. With both, you need to properly switch to them. Full info: Top Bank Accounts
  • 1.8% AER tax-free if you haven't opened a cash ISA this year. A cash ISA's just a savings acc where you never pay tax on interest. You can put £5,760 in until April. If you haven't, do it! The Post Office's 1.8% AER on £100+, but the rate plummets after 18mths, so diarise to ditch and transfer then. Full best buys: Top Cash ISAs
  • Lock in for up 2.65% AER. If you're prepared to lock cash away, you can earn more. Yet many pundits predict UK rates will rise in 2015, so don't lock in at today's levels for too long just in case. Full info: Top Fixed Savings.
    1yr fixes: Shawbrook Bank 1.95%, 1yr cash ISA fix: Aldermore 1.85%, 2yr fix: Shawbrook Bank 2.4%, 2yr cash ISA fix: Post Office 2.25%, 3yr fix: Shawbrook Bank 2.65%, 3 yr cash ISA fix: Virgin Money 2.4%.
  • Check your local credit union for 3% savings. These are local savings & loan co-ops. Some beat best buys, eg, 3% savings dividends, 2.15% AER 1yr fixes and 2.5% easy-access cash ISAs. Check the Credit Union guide.
  • 1.6% AER standard easy-access savings. Coventry BS's 1.6% variable, with max 4 penalty-free withdrawals/yr. For unlimited withdrawals, Tesco Bank's 1.55% (rate drops in a year, diarise to switch then). See Top Savings.
More boosts: 6% Returns With Peer-To-Peer Lending | Repay Debts With Savings | Overpay Your Mortgage

PS. For more savings boosting help, watch Friday's Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV, 8pm (between Coronation Streets).

Ralph Lauren EXTRA 40% code off up to 50% sale, eg, £12 tops. MSE Blagged. Not usually cheap, but with discount... ladies' top (full price £40) £12 with code, men's polo shirt (£85) £30 (delivery £5). Ltd stock. Ralph Lauren

Sky Sports web-streamed day pass for £6 (norm £10), use any time in 2014. MSE Blagged. Watch online for a day, save for when needed, eg, F1, Heineken Cup, golf majors (MCFC winning Premier League - ML). Now TV

Up to 90% book sale, eg, Mrs Beeton How to Cook £4.50 (norm £16). 1,000s reduced till Fri. Book People

TWO Cineworld tickets £11 (usually £7-£13 each). Includes central London. 18,000 available. Cinema Tickets

Get £30 food shop and £70 delivery pass for £25. Ocado newbies only. 2500+ avail, 10% off brands. Ocado

New. Shift debts to 0%, even if you've poor credit
Slash credit card interest. The longest 0% deal's 30mths & now even those with poor credit can get 6mths

Cut the rate and more of your repayments clear the actual debt, instead of servicing the interest. The key tool's a balance transfer. Here you get a new card that repays debts on the old card(s) for you, so you owe it instead, but at a lower rate.

  • New. Poor credit 6mths 0%. Perversely, balance transfers usually need a decent credit score. Yet this Capital One Balance* card offers 0% till Aug & accepts even some with past CCJs/defaults. After, it's a HUGE 34.9% rep APR, so repay by then or shift, even back to original cards if their rates are lower. Full Cap One Balance Help.
TOP PICK BALANCE TRANSFER CREDIT CARDS
Card Intro offer Balance transfer fee Rep APR after
Barclaycard* - Longest EVER 30mths 0% (1) 2.89% 18.9%
MBNA* - Lets you shift overdrafts too 29mths 0% 2.89% (4% for overdrafts) (2) 18.9%
Lloyds* - Long lower fee 24mths 0% (1) 1.5% 17.9%
Halifax* - Low fee & 0% spending too 15mths 0% 0.8% 17.9%
Fluid* - Lowest fee 12mths 0% 0.75% 18.9%
MBNA*- Very long-term low rate 6.9% for life of balance None 18.9%
Capital One Balance* - For poor credit 0% until August 3% 34.9%
FULL INFO: Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples) 1) Some get shorter 0%. 2) See Money Transfers for full info.
  • Find the best card YOU CAN GET. To find if you'll get a card, you need to apply. Yet each time marks your credit file. To minimise that, our Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker shows your bespoke acceptance odds for each card.
  • Always follow the balance transfer golden rules... a) Repay at least the set monthly min, or you can lose special rates. b) Always plan to fully repay before the 0% ends, or rates rocket. c) Don't spend on these cards. That isn't usually at the same cheap rate. d) Try to use existing cards efficiently first - see Credit Card Shuffle.

2 x prescription specs £25 all in. MSE Blagged. Combine code & 2for1 to slash price of frames & lenses. Specs

40x 90% clearance bargains, eg, £6 FCUK belt, £2 swimsuit, £1 elec toothbrush...
It's the depths of the Jan sales, shops are clearing stock, so we've set our stall to find 40x 90%ish clearance deals, incl...
£5 Roberto Cavalli thong (was £50) | £5 Redakai game (£96) | £1 London 2012 lion (£20) | £1 One Direction annual (£8)

Save £100s & freeze energy bills as E.on is last big firm to hike. On Sat, E.on raises prices an avg 3.7% so all the big 6 will charge 4-10% more than six months ago. Beat hikes: Use our top pick Cheap Fixes Comparison to find your cheapest, read our Cheap Gas & Elec guide for details or watch Martin's ITV energy special from last Fri.

Rumour. Boots sale boosted to 75%? Unconfirmed, but likely to jump today (Wed) based on past years. Boots

Free budget planner analyses your finances
Most budgets are, frankly, pants. So we've built one that works. Most importantly, the trick is STICKING TO IT

You probably know how much you earn. But how much do you spend? Spending more than you earn at best eats your savings, at worst builds debt. January's a good time to sort your finances, so use our free Budget Planner to help.

  • sort debts Free Budget Planner. Our Free Budget Analysis tool is designed to fix the problems with most budgets. a) Focusing on one month isn't enough. It misses Xmas, holidays or even a new sofa. b) It's not about 'motoring'. It's about MOTs, tax, petrol, insurance, breakdown, etc. We've included 90 spending areas. Prepare for a shock.
  • Get your finances into shape. First, check if you can cut bills with no lifestyle change. Our 40 Money Makeover tips explain the big savings. Then redo your budget. Hopefully you no longer overspend. If you do, it's time to cut back. See our 20 Tips To Stop Spending.
  • Piggybanking helps you stick to a budget. This takes willpower or technique. So, try Martin's Piggybanking technique. It reverses the fact bank statements lie, as they ignore what's due to come in or out.

    - Select main spending categories. As well as a main account, everyone should have a bills account (overestimate how much you'll need), then others that reflect key spends, eg, holidays, kids' clothes, Xmas, new kitchen.
    - Set up separate accounts for each of them. See Best Piggybanking Accounts for how.
    - Use standing orders to feed them. Set them up for two days after payday to shift the assigned amounts to them.
    - Now they tell the truth. Now your main account tells how much you can really spend. Plus, if you see a £700 holiday, but there's £400 in your holiday account, you now KNOW you can't afford it. Cut your cloth accordingly.

Up to 70% off posh bridesmaid/occasion frocks. Incl £25 Jenny Packham satin maxi (was £110). Debenhams

Stop Press. CPP card protection: 7m to share £1.3bn pot. Well done, enough of you voted for automatic payouts for mis-sold card protection & ID theft insurance, so claim forms will arrive in Feb. Find if you're due: Reclaim CPP

Burger King 2for1 vouchers. Register 'n' print to get 18 vouchers valid till March. Some are 2for1s. BK Deals

MOTs £25 with code, or hidden council MOTs for fewer fails. If you're likely to pass spotlessly, focus on cost. This MSE Blagged £25 MOT code works at 140 centres. If not, council MOT centres seem to produce fewer fails.

Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Balance Transfers Car Insurance Cheap Loans Top Cash ISAs
Longest 0%: Barclaycard*
30mths 0%, 2.89% 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*
Aviva*
Admiral MultiCar*

M&S* (£5k - £7.5k)
6.2% rep APR



The AA* (£7.5k - £15k)
4.6% rep APR

Post Office 1.8% AER
Min £100, incl bonus
Post/branch. Transfers allowed

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

See Card APR Examples & Loan APR Examples
Can you get PAID to get home insurance?
Flooding has put home insurance under the spotlight - are you undercovered and overpaying?

There's no one-stop-shop cheapest insurer. Yet follow our full Cheap Home Insurance system to ensure you get the right cover at the lowest cost. Take it to its zenith and some even get paid to take policies out. Here are the titbits...

  • home insuranceSTEP 1: NEVER auto-renew - speedily combine comparison sites. Different sites check different insurers, so combine as many as poss. Our mainstream order is Confused*, Compare TM*, Gocompare*. For special circs, see Cheap Home Ins.
  • STEP 2: Check deals they miss. Aviva* & Direct Line* aren't included by comparisons. Check them. Plus right now buy Swinton* combined buildings & contents and enter code HMWTDR648 to get £30. See all Home Insurance Deals.
  • STEP 3: Double-check policies & FIVE need-to-knows. Here are the key points.
    a) Don't overinsure buildings. Just cover the cost to rebuild it, not what it'd sell for. See Buildings Cover Tips.
    b) Don't under-cover contents or you risk them only paying a proportion of your claims. See Contents Cover Tips.
    c) High value contents? Specifically check Hiscox*, Home & Legacy and John Lewis Specialist*. If you've got one-off valuable items (eg, for Christmas), then check if they need listing separately. See Big Ticket Item Help.
    e) Fit a secure lock, such as a five-lever mortice deadlock. The insurance saving means it can pay for itself.
    f) Don't pay monthly. Pay upfront, or if you can't afford it, get a 0% credit card instead.
  • Hit by recent floods? How to claim. Provide full details of what's damaged or destroyed, explain what happened and take photos. Many insurers give 180 days to make a claim, but the earlier the better. If your claim's unfairly turned down, don't give up - you've a right to get the free Financial Ombudsman to adjudicate. See Claiming Tips.
  • Can you GET PAID to get insurance? Once you've found your very cheapest deal, see if you can get cashback from a cashback site, as this tweet last month shows: "Best cashback EVER! Purchase £50. Cashback £70. #paidtoinsure." For more help see our all-time record - paid £67 to get home insurance.

Free £16 No7 cream & more for over-60s. First come, first served. Event at 98 stores, today (Wed) ONLY. Boots

For many the tax return deadline's THIS FRIDAY. You need to file self-assessment returns by 31 Jan or face a £100 fine. Yet your only option now is filing online. If not registered, it can take 10 working days. See Tax Help.

EXTRA 50% off code for Lyle & Scott 50% off jumpers/jackets sale. Limited stock. See Lyle & Scott Deals.

1,000 free Southern Home Show tix (usually £8). 31 Jan - 2 Feb, Ally Pally, London. Free Tickets


Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Gas & Electricity Bank Accounts Home Insurance Landlines
Get permanently cheap energy.

Our club ensures you're always on the cheapest tariff.

Join free: Cheap Energy Club

Up to £30 cashback for dual fuel, £15 for single switches.

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 £13 Travel Insurance

Restaurant vouchers

Discount vouchers & sales

Top deals

The Moneysaving community
The MoneySaving Community

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK
Behind with your rent or mortgage? Don't struggle in silence

Housing advice charity Shelter says one in 11 people struggle to keep the roof over their heads. If this is you, early advice from an expert can make the difference between losing your home and keeping it. Contact Shelter today, or pass on the link if you think a friend could do with its advice. Plus share your housing cost concerns on the MSE Forum.

BOOK GIVEAWAY
Paris travel guide.
25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Should I share holiday disaster news story for money?

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... Three friends and I had a holiday disaster about six years ago. A journalist friend of mine is now paying me to use the experience for a story. I'm doing all the legwork for it, but I'm using the photos my friends took. As I'm doing all the work and they would never have bothered to sell it, should I keep the money, share all or part of it or make a small contribution towards our next holiday? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I share holiday disaster news story money? | Suggest an MMD | View Past MMDs

THE GREAT HUNT
Have you you ditched the day job? Share your stories
Giving up salaried work can be a serious financial jump. We'd like to tap self-employed MoneySavers' collective knowledge to find out what you'd suggest to others thinking of dumping their day job. Share yours/read others': Working for yourself Past topics: View all

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Jet2 Offer: 10% off code Ends: Ongoing
Our pick this week is Jet2's 10% off code. Each passenger gets 10% off the cost of any return flight (excluding some charges and extras). Enter the promo code SALE10 at the checkout to get the discount. To find flights quickly, use the FlightChecker on a return 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
What's in your shopping arsenal?

It seems MSE Debs isn't the only one to carry a tape measure in her handbag - forumites use 'em for measuring kids' clothing.
Other essentials for savvy shopping include a bottle of water (which saves buying one) and possibly the most MoneySaving item of all - a shopping list.

Quick forum tips

Freebies

Martin's blogs

Martin's appearances

16 January
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week.
16 January
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5 Live, 12pm-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Listen to past shows.
17 January
This Morning, ITV, 10.30am-12.30pm.
The Money Vault with Calum Best.
17 January
The Martin Lewis Money Show, ITV, 8pm-8.30pm.
Savings and flight delays.
20 January
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12pm.
Subject tbc.
PS. Missed The Martin Lewis Money Show? Watch past episodes.

MSE team corner

Discussion of the week

This is reality, my nose is frozen

Many people are trying to cut fuel costs by keeping heating to a minimum. Read forumite Topher's bone-chilling yet heart-warming account and share your stories on the My nose is frozen discussion.

Cheap travel money

UK's Best Currency Rates
£100 will buy you:
Best Worst
Euro Flag 119.62 107.62
US Flag $ 163.35 146.93
Turkish Flag TL 352.50 312.97
Rates correct at 4pm Tue
Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash

This week's poll: Which money issues do you hide from your partner?

Is it a question of sharing everything, or are finances a secret?

Which money issues do you 'hide' from (or not fully disclose to) your partner?

Poll results

Do you know what information is kept on credit files?
Voters were in the dark about key aspects of credit files – neither marital status nor past rejections can be seen by lenders.

- 85% said lenders can see past borrowing rejections, which is INCORRECT.
- 74% said lenders can see your marital/domestic status, which is INCORRECT.
- 95% said lenders can see missed credit card payments, which is CORRECT.

8,341 voted. See the full results and answers.

Question of the week

Q: I told my utility companies I'm moving house by calling 0844, 0845 and 0871 numbers. The longest call, to E.on, was over an hour. I waited for an answer with no callback option and this call alone cost more than £20. Can I reclaim the costs? Cat, by email

MSE Rochelle's A: Calling these numbers can be costly, yet sadly you've no automatic right to claim back this cash. However, it's worth complaining to the provider if you feel the call has been especially long - it may decide to refund some of the money as a gesture of goodwill.

Companies often have alternative geographic numbers (which start with 01, 02 and 03) which allow you to call them for a fraction of the cost. Try the site Saynoto0870.com to search for these cheaper normal numbers. Also see our Say No To 0870 guides for more tips on cutting costs.

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

 Debs' free game of the week: You Are Still A Box

'I cut my finger on a crumpet' and more stupid accidents

That's it for this week, but before you go, check out this highly amusing forum thread started by someone who (somehow) sustained an injury from a crumpet... Read the full stupid accidents discussion and add your own.

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team

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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

skyscanner.net, travelsupermarket.com, kayak.co.uk, avro.co.uk, flightsdirect.com, momondo.co.uk, tripadvisor.co.uk, trivago.co.uk, expedia.co.uk, ebookers.com, lastminute.com, halifax.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, hotwire.com, moneysupermarket.com, holidaysafe.co.uk, coverwise.co.uk, protectyourbubble.com, carrentals.co.uk, moneymaxim.co.uk, direct-carexcess.co.uk, firstdirect.com, nationwide.co.uk, santander-products.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, lloydsbank.com, halifax.co.uk, fluid.co.uk, gocompare.com, google.co.uk, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, marksandspencer.com, theaa.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, swinton.co.uk, hiscox.co.uk, johnlewis-insurance.com, postoffice.co.uk, productsandservices.bt.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.

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