4x FREE £200+, Plug-in solar panels – worth it?, Due £70 Mastercard payout?, £1k John Lewis beauty £250, £10 off railcards, 900Mb Sky b’band £22

Plus… Big 2nd-hand money-makers, Premium Bonds rate rise, cheap airport parking tool, M&S 70% off

Plus... Big 2nd-hand money-makers, Premium Bonds rate rise, cheap airport parking tool, M&S 70% off

                                                           

18 August 2026 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Rare. New. Ending. FREE cash deals: - Four banks paying switchers £200+ - FAQs: Multi-switch to make £1,000s? - No-switch £100 supermarket voucher - Slash overdraft debt to 0% New. 900Mb b'band £22/mth & more BIG 2nd-hand money-makers News. Due £70 from Mastercard? New. Plug-in solar panels - worth it? £1k of John Lewis beauty for £250? Shift card debt to 0% till Aug 2029 Want to vote for Martin? Premium Bond prize rate to rise £10 off railcards code Child 16+ & in education? Urgent check FREE visits to 700+ historic buildings Cheapest airport parking tool Boosted. 70% off M&S sale New. Top student bank account 'Scammers took out £1.4k contract in my name' - how to protect yourself 10% off Apple & £120 gift card for some Flu vaccine bookings open early in Eng 'We got £3.5k after insurer refused to pay out on burglary'  Help us get 300k WhatsApp followers Best buys: 5% savings, 35GB Sim £3/mth, 5.9% loan, etc MMD: Is it wrong to borrow my sister's inheritance? Quick deals: Free brownie, 2 pizzas + ice cream £5 & more

A huge seven banks now pay you to switch... - Rare. FREE £220 top payer - New. Boosted FREE '£200' + top service - Ending. FREE £200 + 50% off Apple TV Plus... grab a FREE £100 without needing to switch at all! This week's a cracking one to switch banks, with one of the broadest batches of free cash incentives we've seen for a while - which means most will qualify for at least one of them as a 'new customer'. And even if you don't, there's an easy freebie up for grabs that doesn't require you to switch at all. Below, we'll cover... - Top free cash switching deals, plus high earners' premier deals. - FAQs - including can I multi-switch to make £1,000s? - New. Grab an easy £100 supermarket voucher - just open an account, no need to switch  - Overdrafts are high-cost debt - slash it to 0%. Switching is usually easy & hassle-free: To get the bonuses, you need to use the bank's seven-working-day switch service (so it takes roughly 10 days in reality). It'll close your old account for you, move your money over, and shift all Direct Debits & standing orders. All payments to the old account are auto-forwarded too. Most people find it a piece of cake, though you'll need to pass a not-too-harsh credit check. The top FREE cash switch bonuses Get up to £220 to switch A crucial measure of bank profitability is the 'cross-sell' ratio - ie, how many different products they can sell you. Banks believe if they have your current account, it's easier to sell you other things, which is why so many are willing to (legally) bribe you to switch to them right now.  We say grab the cash if it works for you - but don't let it buy your loyalty. You needn't stick with the bank for other products, so bag yourself the best credit card, loan, savings, mortgage and more from across the market. However, don't let that stop you getting paid for your custom. Free cash for new switchers You usually need to switch 2+ Direct Debits. Full info: Top bank accounts HSBC Bank Account* Min pay-in: A total of £2,000 within 60 days (can be in dribs & drabs). None needed after. Fee-free? Yes. Can joint accounts switch & get bonus? No. Rare top cash offer FREE £220 on fuss-free account. This is the biggest upfront cash, and HSBC rarely does this under its own brand - so it's a winner many will qualify for. You need to spend £500 on the debit card in the first 60 days to get the cash - not a hassle for most, just do some of your normal spending on it. There's also a (beatable) 5% regular saver on up to £250/mth for a year.   Eligibility improved: Normally its sister bank, First Direct (which runs switch deals more often) says you can't get the bonus if you've banked with it before. This time, even if you've had switch cash from HSBC or FD, as long as it was before 2023 - and you're no longer a customer - you can get this deal. See full HSBC eligibility & review. Ending. Barclays Bank Account* Min pay-in: A total of £2,000 going in (can be in dribs & drabs) in 30 days. None needed after. Fee-free? Yes. Can joint accounts switch & get bonus? No. FREE £200 plus optional half-price Apple TV+. Simply switch by Thu 27 Aug, and as long as you meet the initial monthly pay-in, you get £200. You can also opt for Barclays Blue Rewards for £5/mth (must then pay in £800+/mth into the account & register for digital banking) to get Apple TV free (normally £10/mth).  Eligibility: You can't have received a previous Barclays switch bonus and can't have held a Barclays current account on or before 9 Jun 2026. See full Barclays eligibility & review. NatWest Reward Min pay-in: £1,250 each month. Fee-free? No, £2/mth (but possible £5/mth cashback, so £3/mth net gain - £2/mth from 1 Oct). Can joint accounts switch & get bonus? Yes. FREE £200 plus possible £3/mth cashback. As well as the upfront cash, if you have £1,250/mth going in (equal to paying in a £15,000+ salary), the account pays £5/mth cashback (£4/mth from 1 Oct). Factoring in the £2/mth fee, that's a £3/mth gain until 1 Oct and a £2/mth gain thereafter (see full info in NatWest eligibility & review). Also comes with linked 5.25% reg saver on up to £150/mth - and unlike most similar accounts (which only let you do it for a year), here you can keep going until you hit a £5,000 max balance. Eligibility: You can't have had a previous NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank switch bonus, and you can't have held a NatWest current account on 6 May. See full NatWest eligibility & review. New. First Direct 1st Account* Min pay-in: A total of £1,000 going in (can be in dribs & drabs) within 45 days. None needed after. Fee-free? Yes. Can joint accounts switch & get bonus? Yes. Top SERVICE & more FREE £175 cash + £25 Amazon voucher, 7% regular saver, 0% overdraft, top debit card overseas. The ongoing £175 cash is boosted by an extra £25 Amazon voucher, bringing the total value to £200. Other perks include: - 92% 'great' service (top in most polls we've done). - Linked 1yr 7% fixed saver for up to £300/mth. - Most get an ongoing £250 interest-free overdraft. - Top card for spending overseas, with near-perfect exchange rates. Eligibility: Unlike sister bank HSBC above, here you must be a totally new customer and can't have ever had ANY First Direct product or opened an HSBC current account since Jan 2018. See full First Direct eligibility & review. Two more standard accounts that'll pay you to switch... Nationwide FlexDirect. FREE £175 plus 5% interest on up to £1,500 and 1% cashback (max £5/mth) for 12mths. Co-op Bank Current Account. FREE £125 + £25/mth for 3mths plus 7% variable interest on up to £250/mth. App-only Starling Bank is also offering a non-cash incentive for switchers. The link has more info. Bigger cash but only for higher earners... HSBC Premier FREE £500*. Free family travel insurance & digital GP access. To get this, you must have a minimum £100,000/yr salary. See full HSBC Premier eligibility & review. Barclays Premier has switched from free cash to an up to £600 experience instead. The link has more info. Q. Can I switch multiple times to make £1,000s? As Martin explained in his Question Time podcast recently, you can use a burner account to grab multiple bonuses while keeping your main account. This works for many, including here in MSE Towers. For full pros and cons, see make £1,000s by repeatedly switching bank. As Dawn emailed in June: "Dear MSE Team, I've switched a second current account several times and received around £1,500 in switching bonuses, latest was Bank of Scotland who paid up straight after the switch. I've got a bonus hotel stay still to use from a TSB switch too!" Q. Will switching bank affect my credit score? One extra search on your credit file shouldn't make much difference (though many in a short time can). Some lenders do score you down short-term for switching bank accounts, as they like evidence of longevity. For belt 'n' braces safety, if you're imminently (within a couple of months) about to apply for a mortgage or an important, needed debt, prioritise that and avoid switching until after. Otherwise, one bank switch isn't really an issue. More in how switching banks affects your credit. Q. What about packaged bank accounts, any good? If you shell out £100s each year for family travel insurance, breakdown cover, and mobile phone protection, a packaged bank account - where you pay a monthly fee, and get lots of insurance products thrown in - could save you big. Yet they're only good if you'd be paying for the standalone cover anyway. Right now, our top pick is Co-op Bank Everyday Extra as it gives switchers a FREE up to £200, which effectively covers nearly 16mths of its £12/mth fee. You get world family travel insurance (max age 79), mobile cover for the whole household, UK & European breakdown cover for the account holder(s). Not far behind is Santander Edge Explorer*, which gives switchers a free £150 hotel voucher on a similar £17/mth account. For full info and options see our packaged bank accounts guide. Q. Are subscriptions moved when you switch? As we explained above, Direct Debits and standing orders are moved for you. But recurring payments (eg, Netflix, Disney+ etc, where you give the long number on your debit card when you pay) do NOT switch - you must update these yourself.  If you do forget, though, normally they'll notify you that "your payment card no longer works" so it shouldn't be too big an issue. See recurring payment help. Don't want to switch? Grab a £100 supermarket voucher just by opening an account New Santander customers can get a £100 supermarket voucher if you open one of the current accounts below by Wed 26 Aug via our links.  Then spend £200+ in grocery stores or supermarkets across 4+ debit card transactions in each of Sep, Oct and Nov. Once done, you'll be emailed by 14 Dec to claim the voucher (it must be done within 30 days, do check your junk folder), which can be spent at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda or Waitrose. Santander Edge* - a winner if you want ongoing cashback on household bills, especially for joint accounts. - 1% cashback up to £10/mth on Council Tax, energy, water, mobile & home phone, broadband & paid TV bills you pay from it by Direct Debit - Linked saver paying 6% variable for a year on up to £4,000 - Top debit card for spending overseas with near-perfect exchange rates - 8% variable regular saver you can put up to £200/mth in for a year Santander Edge Up* - good if you have higher bills. Same as above, but costs £5/mth and pays up to £15/mth cashback. You'll need to pay in £1,500/mth and you won't get the 6% saver. Santander Everyday* - a basic, fee-free current account without any perks. The simplest way to claim the £100 voucher. You can't currently have ANY Santander product (current account, mortgage, credit card, loan, etc) to be eligible and you won't qualify if you've had one (or a switch bonus) from Santander in the last year. Overdrafts are the worst mainstream debt How to slash the cost, possibly to 0%  Frankly, unless you're never overdrawn, ensuring you've a cheap overdraft option is crucial. Too many think 'credit cards bad, debit cards good'. For those overdrawn, it's more a case of 'credit cards bad, debit cards worse', because overdrafts now have typical 40% rates - nearly double bog-standard high-street credit cards. You CAN switch banks if you're overdrawn. Though the new one may not offer you an overdraft or even match your existing one. Most of the banks below have overdraft eligibility checkers you can use before applying to see whether it's likely you'll qualify. Full info in top overdraft accounts, but in brief...  A possible £250 0% overdraft and, if you switch, £175 free cash. First Direct* (full details above) gives accepted new switchers £175 cash, which can help reduce what they owe, and many get a £250 ongoing interest-free overdraft too (credit score dependent - it's the standard 40% above that). So it's good for smaller overdrafts, or those who dip in. You will have to 'switch' the overdraft over yourself. While all your Direct Debits and standing orders will be moved as normal, expect your old bank to ask you whether you can pay the overdraft off, or whether you want to keep the account open while you do (it varies by bank). If you do keep it open, payments to the old account are unlikely to be forwarded to the new one, so you may need to arrange to move them yourself. PS: Club Lloyds has a £100 0% buffer too; Nationwide a £50 buffer, but also pays £175 to switchers. Lower interest rate overdrafts. App-only Starling* has no 0% overdraft, but does offer overdrafts with rates typically lower than most other banks. Depending on your credit score, you could get a 15%, 25% or 35% overdraft, so check your eligibility on its site before you apply. Still, at these rates it's costly, so you'd be better to try a... 0% money transfer credit card. One of the few, rare, specialist Money transfer credit cards may allow you to do a special transaction to pay money into your bank account, so you then owe it at 0% instead. You can use that time to clear the debt. You can get up to 14mths at 0%, though there's a fee of 4%. You need to understand how it works though, so do click the link above to read the guide.  Its big strength, especially for larger amounts, is it takes you out of the overdraft world and shifts it to a card. Even if you can't clear the card within the 14mths, the interest rate after is 24.9% - much lower than the 40% charged by overdrafts. Better still, once the debt is on the card, if the 0% period is running out you can try to do a 0% balance transfer to try and keep it interest-free. Martin's 4 top tips to cut your overdraft... The rate isn't the only thing to focus on. Our Cut overdraft costs guide has full info, but here are Martin's 4 most important tips: Aim to repay a fixed monthly amount. Eg, if you're £500 overdrawn, 'paying' £100 means aiming to be £400 overdrawn at month end. A budget will help. Consider moving Direct Debits to just before payday. The idea is you're overdrawn for less time, so costs are lower. Got savings? Use 'em to clear it. See Repay debt with savings? Struggling with all debt? Get free help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline or StepChange. They can help you make a plan and can make a huge difference. For more, see Debt help.

 

 

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

 

 

 

New. MEGAFAST 900Mb broadband just £22/mth - that's half what most pay for bog-standard speeds Over six million homes are out of contract, free to switch, yet still overpaying £100s a year for sluggish broadband. This week, there are stonking, nationally available megafast deals, so now's a great time to compare, ditch, switch & save. The best thing to do is put your postcode into our broadband comparison to find the best deals in your area. We collate them from 37 providers, including promos from many different sites (the best deals are short-term promos you can't get direct)... PS: Millions are also overpaying on mobile, so check our Cheap mobile comparison too. Today's cheapest broadband deals include... (All links via our Broadband Comparison, as what you can get is postcode dependent & it tells you there) Typical out-of-contract costs as a benchmark:  BT £73/mth 67Mb, Sky £43/mth 30Mb, Virgin £62/mth 132Mb Top national deals (avail to min 70% of UK) Ends Thu. Sky (b'band & line) 150Mb '£18/mth'  OR  900Mb '£22/mth' Service rating: 7/10 ('Good') 2yr contract It's £23/mth for 150Mb (£29/mth for 900Mb), so a scheduled total of £552 (or £696) over the 2yr contract. You'll be emailed a choice of a £110 (£165 at 900Mb) prepaid Mastercard or shopping voucher within 4mths (check your junk folder if not received). Factored in, that's equivalent to £18.42/mth (or £22.13/mth for 900Mb). Important: Unlike other firms, Sky doesn't list mid-contract hikes before you sign up, so the price could rise at any point (usually in April). Sky may look slightly cheaper than it really is. If prices do rise, you can leave without penalty within 30 days of notification. New. Vodafone (b'band & line) 150Mb '£19/mth' OR 500Mb '£23/mth' Service rating: 7/10 ('Good') 2yr contract It's £22/mth for 150Mb (£24.50/mth for 500Mb), both rising by £3.50/mth each April. So a total of £605 (or £665) over the 2yr contract. You'll be emailed a choice of a £150 (or £115) voucher for Amazon, Tesco etc within 4mths (check your junk folder if not received). Factored in, that's equivalent to £18.96/mth (or £22.92/mth for 500Mb). Super-cheap local deals - if you live in the area... New. Community Fibre 100Mb b'band '£13/mth' Service rating: 7.9/10 ('Excellent') 2yr contract In many London boroughs, parts of Surrey & Sussex. It's £14/mth, rising by £3/mth each April, so that's a total of £402 over the 2yr contract. You'll be emailed a £90 prepaid Mastercard or shopping voucher within 3mths of your first bill (check your junk folder if not received). Factor all that in and it's equivalent to £13/mth. Hyperoptic  159Mb b'band '£14/mth'  Service rating: 7.2/10 ('Good') 2yr contract Big towns & cities, incl London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, Swansea. It's £10/mth (rising £4/mth each April), so that's a total of £328 over the 2yr contract. Factor in the price rises and it's equivalent to £13.67mth. Long-term cheap 'social tariffs' for some on lower incomes On Universal Credit or similar benefits? Try a social tariff. Many providers offer discounted social broadband tariffs, which give long-term cheap prices of usually £13/mth to £20/mth for 30Mb+. Add your postcode via the link above and, within your search results, you'll see the social tariffs local to you. - Our 'equivalent cost' adds all costs, deducts promo credits & averages over the contract so you can compare easily. Why have service ratings improved? We've changed how we assess customer service to make results more robust. Previously, our broadband customer service scores were based on our user polls (which tended to attract people who had a complaint). We've now moved to using a large, nationally representative YouGov survey, giving a broader, more balanced picture of customer experience. See our new broadband provider rankings. Slow broadband? Before switching, test your speed - is it the Wi-Fi or the connection? Do a speed check - first via Wi-Fi, then by plugging your device into the router (if you can). If Wi-Fi's a lot slower, try our speed-boosters. At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. Plus all bigger providers (not locals) must also indicate your estimated minimum speed before you apply. You don't need to contact your current provider to switch. Ofcom's 'One Touch Switch' rules mean your new provider now handles all elements of the switch for you, so it should go more smoothly. You'll be told when the switch is happening, and it usually only means 2hrs of downtime. Most won't need an engineer, but you might if you're moving to or from Virgin, a local network (you'll be told before applying), or getting fibre to the premises (FTTP), where a new fibre cable needs to be installed into your home. Don't want to switch? Haggle. In our January poll, the vast majority of those who'd haggled with the big broadband firms were successful. Use the deals above as a benchmark. Read full Broadband haggling tips. Members of cashback sites can occasionally undercut deals. In some cases, the cashback can mean these sites undercut promos elsewhere, though sometimes the deal differs - so check carefully. More in Top cashback sites.

 

News. Check if you're due up to £70 compensation from Mastercard - even if you NEVER had one. Payouts for millions are finally set to start next year after being delayed by a legal spat. Mastercard reclaim update. New. Plug-in solar panels - what are they and are they worth it? New rules mean these cheaper, smaller, more portable panels can legally be sold from next Thu (27 Aug). We take you through how they work and if they're worth it in our new Plug-in solar guide. PS: Got questions about them or feedback on the guide? Please do let us know. Can you really get £1,160 worth of John Lewis beauty for £250? Read our analysis and watch our unboxing of John Lewis' beauty advent calendar (yes, we know it's August!). John Lewis beauty Got credit card debt? Check if you can shift it to INTEREST-FREE till Aug 2029. A balance transfer's where you get a new credit card that pays off your existing cards, so you owe the new card - but at 0% interest. And now's a great time to check - three top cards give all accepted a definite 3yrs 0%: HSBC's 36mths 0% (3.09% fee) (existing customers use this link), Virgin's 36mths 0% (3.1% fee) and Tesco's 36mths 0% (3.45% fee). Golden rules: Repay at least the monthly min & clear the card before the 0% ends, or it jumps to 24.9% rep APR interest. Full info & more options in Top balance transfers. Want to vote for Martin? His TV show's just made the National Television Awards final. Competition's stiff, so if he's ever saved you a few quid, why not vote for Martin's show (Factual Ents category)? Pls do click through to the end or it won't count. Premium Bond prize rate to rise to 4.35% - are they worth it? This takes it closer to top easy-access savings rates, but most people with typical luck will earn less than the prize-fund rate. See Premium Bonds - worth it? Related: Govt-backed NS&I's saving fixes now pay up to 4.85%. £10 off railcards code. MSE Blagged. Trip.com newbies can bag a tenner off Family & Friends, Two Together, Senior, Network or 16-30 cards, making a 1yr card £25. Railcard code Child turned 16 and in full-time education or training? Act NOW to avoid losing Child Benefit. To keep getting your payments, contact HMRC by Mon 31 Aug. See Child Benefit for kids 16+. FREE visits to 700+ historic London buildings. Limited availability - go quick for the most popular. Many buildings that are usually closed to the public or charge for entry will open for free on select days in Sept, eg, BT Tower, BBC Broadcasting House, film/TV locations, etc. Open House Festival Speedily find the cheapest airport parking. Summer may be nearly over but you can still save big by booking ahead with our Airport Parking: Comparison of Comparisons tool. Pull up at, say, Manchester airport tomorrow (Wed) without a booking and it'll cost you £500/wk to park, yet using our tool today, we found official parking for just £74/wk. We've three of the big four in there, and we include MSE Blagged discounts on top. PS: Help us improve the tool by sending feedback. Boosted. M&S sale now up to 70% off. Online & in stores, eg, £35 shirt for £10.50. See full M&S sale boost analysis.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - £10 off railcards via code Ends Mon 31 Aug	DID YOU MISS? - 94% off Nike trainers? Grab a bargain... from an outlet - Are you about to miss out on £150 winter energy bill help? - Ends 11.59pm (Tue). £243 of No7 for £55 in an Advent calendar - Now FREE for all: 2for1 cinema tickets every Tue or Wed - 'Free' food at Nando's, Zizzi & more if getting GCSE results

 

 

Having a clear-out? Before binning it... STOP! Your old digital camera, toys, football merch, Pyrex dishes & more could now be worth £100s, even £1,000s - here's what to check before you chuck Second-hand retro goods are having a moment. Two weeks back, we told you that digital camera prices are soaring thanks to TikTok's love of 'digicams'. It was so popular, we wanted to take you through the everyday items now fetching surprising sums in detail - to avoid you binning something possibly worth £100s (as happened to one unlucky reader who messaged last week). While condition and rarity will obviously affect the price, this is about selling used stuff - not pristine, unopened items. In most cases, selling on eBay should be your first port of call, as it has more established seller protection policies, important for higher-value items. But for full info on what to sell and how eBay compares to the likes of Vinted and Facebook Marketplace, see our Second-hand selling tips guide. Here are some of the throwbacks that could now be worth a small fortune... Sell old compact digital cameras for nearly £1,000. We aren't talking about pricey SLR cameras here, many standand point-and-shoot models go for up to £300 with the most sought-after fetching £900. As Ruth told us on Facebook: "Blimey, just looked mine up and it's been selling for £600, which is probably what it cost me 15yrs ago!" Here are just a few of the model ranges we've seen command surprisingly high figures on eBay recently: - Canon PowerShot - up to £900. The G7 X (2014 onwards, pictured) is the cream of the crop, but others sell well too. - Fujifilm FinePix - up to £300. Certain models here are high earners, eg, the M603 (2002) can go for £300. - Nikon Coolpix - up to £220. Even less popular models in this range can sell for £70+. - Sony Cyber-shot - up to £130. These were everywhere in the noughties, so prices can vary from £130 down to just £10. Slim, pocket-sized modes tend to sell for more than bulkier models and, of course, not every camera will fetch a premium but it's still always worth checking. See How much is your camera worth? Long-term footy fan? Retro football merch is selling for £600+. You're onto a winner with many 1990s England shirts - we've seen a Euro 96 Gazza number 8 shirt sell for £313 and a 1990 England third shirt for £400 - and those weren't signed or match-worn. Old match programmes can earn you £400, and some complete Panini sticker albums £600+. Which football treasures are top of the league? Got old tech and gadgets lying around? iPods, Game Boys, Walkmans, etc sell for up to £1,650. Nostalgic tech fans will pay big money on eBay - we've seen rare Sony Walkmans fetch £1,650, Game Boys £400 and original iPods £625. See our list of classic gadgets worth digging out. Vintage Pyrex dishes have a cult following (the brighter the better) and earn up to £400. Certain patterns can command hefty prices. We've seen a set of three 'Gooseberry Cinderella' mixing bowls sell for £400. Profit from Pyrex? Earn £400+ for selling My Little Ponies, Tamagotchis and other retro toys. Collectors could be waiting to bid for your childhood toys – especially if you grew up in the 1980s or '90s. We've seen early Transformers fetch £420, Tamagotchis £370, Polly Pocket sets £360, My Little Ponies £290, & a She-Ra castle £230. What toys are worth checking? Vintage 1990s fashion fans could be waiting to snap up your cast-offs for up to £2,000. We've seen retro fleeces fetch £400, Dr Martens boots £250, and a rare jacket sold for a whopping £1,900. See '90s clothes in hot demand. No treasures in the attic? You can even flog TRASH for cash. Surprisingly, you can earn cash for old loo-roll tubes, wine corks, jam jars and more. Eg, we've seen £82 for an empty perfume bottle, £4.30 per jam jar, and 12p per loo roll. Sell your rubbish. PS: Do you need to pay tax on your earnings? If you're only selling personal items you already owned, there's usually no tax to pay and no need to tell HMRC. For full help, see Do I pay tax on online earnings?

 

New. Top student bank account gives £1,500 0% overdraft, plus FREE 4yr railcard & £20 cash. If you're off to uni (or your child is) after A-level results last week, it's time to open a student bank account. Our top pick is Santander's Edge Student* as it gives a DEFINITE £1,500 0% overdraft for 3yrs, and a free 4yr 16-25 Railcard (worth £100ish). Plus, buy anything on the debit card before 31 Dec and you'll get £20+ cash. Full info & options: Best student bank accounts. 'Scammers took out a £1,400 mobile contract in my name' - how to protect your identity from theft. MoneySaver Grace was shocked to get a debt collection letter over a contract she knew nothing about. See Fraud alert. Students, parents, teachers - buy an iPad, Mac etc to get up to 10% off & a free up to £120 gift card. Apple isn't MoneySaving, but if you're buying anyway, this is a cheaper way. Take a bite out of Apple Flu vaccine bookings now open in Eng - two weeks earlier than normal. Those eligible for FREE NHS flu jabs can now book for Sept onwards. Not eligible? Some private bookings from £10 are also open - see Free or cheap flu jabs. 'We got £3,500 after our home insurer refused to pay out when we were burgled - thanks MSE.' Success of the week. Jonathan emailed: "Our home insurance claim was rejected due to the policy wording only covering 'forcible or violent' entry. The police confirmed the door lock had been slipped, but the insurer wouldn't listen - it was a total nightmare. Luckily we found the MSE guidance on How to complain about a claim, including how to escalate it to the Ombudsman, which we didn't know was an option. After following the process, we were finally paid out £3,500 for our stolen items. Thanks to the whole MSE team!" If we've helped you save or reclaim (on anything), please tell us about it. Help us get to 300,000 followers on WhatsApp :) We're growing rapidly and would love to pass that landmark, plus it means you get the latest MoneySaving news and deals straight to your phone. What'sAppening?

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Top definite 0% card: HSBC (check eligibility; existing customers use this link), 36mths 0%, 3.09% fee, 24.9% rep APR No-fee 0%: Virgin (check eligibility) 12mths 0%, 24.9% rep APR Top energy deals Use our whole-of-market Cheap Energy Club Broadband top picks Fast fibre (100Mb+): Sky '£18.42/mth' Ultrafast fibre (900Mb+): Sky '£22.13/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Insurance Car: Use our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Home: Use our Compare+ Home Insurance tool Travel: Use our Compare+ Travel Insurance tool Cheap loans £5,000 to £7,499: M&S Bank (check eligibility), 6.9% rep APR £7,500 to £15,000: M&S Bank (check eligibility), 5.9% rep APR Top savings accounts Top easy-access savings: Spring 5% up to £5k, min £10 Top easy-access ISA: Trading 212 4.56%, min £1 Top one-year fix: MBNA Bank 4.85%, min £1k Best bank accounts Free £220: HSBC Ending. Free £200: Barclays New. Free £175 + £25 Amazon voucher: First Direct Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.64/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£2.68/mth' for 5GB 10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 10GB 31GB+ data: Lebara, '£2.75/mth' for 35GB

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Would it be wrong to borrow from the interest on my sister's inheritance that's saved under my name? When our mother died, my sister didn't want her share of the inheritance paid into her bank account as she was concerned she'd end up living off it, so I paid it into a savings account in my name, on the basis that she'd let me know when she needed the money for something. In the meantime, I've been paying tax on the interest, which now amounts to about £20,000. I need a short-term loan of around £10,000 for home improvements. Would it be wrong to borrow from the interest on my sister's money? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Would it be wrong to borrow from the interest on my sister's inheritance? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

 

QUICK DEALS - Co-op: £5 for two pizzas and a tub of Ben & Jerry's (normally £14) - PureGym: FREE three-day pass, till Sun - Last chance. Lidl: Free brownie, doughnut, pizza & more every time you shop - Homebuilding & Renovating Show: Free tickets for 18-20 Sept in London + other locations in 2026

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - MSE Forum highlights: driving to work, ducklings & Dutch trains

 

 

 

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