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| DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook |
| Cheapest EVER loans still available at 2.7% - but only just Record low rates are fast-vanishing but some are clinging on to life. Yet ONLY borrow if you need to Loan rates have been on the up since this month's base rate hike. Sainsbury's offers many standout deals but last week it upped rates from a cheapest-ever 3.2% on £5k-£7,499. It's also raised them on £20k-£25k loans - which we don't normally cover in this email. But on £7.5k-£15k it's kept the lowest-ever 2.7% rate intact. We can't predict the future as both competition and the base rate have an effect, but we can't see rates going lower. So if you need to borrow (eg, for a new kitchen), now's a good time. Should you get a loan? We're not suggesting you borrow just because it's cheap. Only get a loan if you NEED it, you've budgeted and can afford repayments. Cheapest personal loans (but beware representative rates). All loans are 'rep APR', so that rate ONLY needs to be given to 51% of those accepted - others can be charged more. All below are for 1-5yrs.
Loan Golden Rules. Full help in our Cheap Loans guide. a) Minimise the amount and repay as quickly as you can. b) Pay on time or risk a charge and credit black mark. c) If borrowing to repay card debt, balance transfers are often cheaper. | ||||||||||||||
| FREE Harry Potter Lego mini toy - Sat only. At certain toy shops, but limited stock. A-brick-cadabra New. Top easy-access savings: 1.41%. Here you can fund and withdraw at will. Bank of Cyprus* with its new 1.41% AER variable account has edged ahead of Coventry Building Society's* 1.4% AER variable deal. Both can be opened with £1+ and have £85k per person UK protection, but you can only make a max 3 penalty-free withdrawals/yr with Coventry. But rates will dive in a year so ditch 'em, as they've a 0.56% and 0.25% 1yr bonus, respectively. See Top Savings for more. 170 autumn flowering plug plants £10 delivered. MSE Blagged. Norm £18. Choice of pansy, primrose, polyanthus or wallflower. Or get four varieties (680 plants) for £20. 2,000 avail. Jersey Plants How to declutter & make £100s this bank holiday. See our 40+ eBay and 25+ Facebook selling tips. And in a big month for broadband & phone line news, there's more...Alert. Beat Virgin Media price hikes. 5m face up to £48/yr b'band, phone & TV rises. Virgin hikes Ends Thu. Cheapest fibre broadband & line in a year - '£16.67/mth'. Via this 1yr newbies' deal from Sky-owned Now Broadband, available to 83% of the UK (check your eligibility via the link). |
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| Urgent deal. EDF postcode lottery: stonker for some, stinker for others This could be a first-class saving. Eng, Scot and Wales is split into 14 energy regions with prices varying by area. And we've crunched the numbers to find this EDF deal is the cheapest big name in nine of them, based on typical use. In some it's close to the cheapest overall - a rarity in a year dominated by small energy firms. Yet it's a flop in the others. For those who can benefit, it's come at a good time - E.on raised prices last week, EDF & British Gas will follow shortly, and while Npower, SSE & Scottish Power have yet to announce upcoming hikes, we suspect they'll happen soon. Cheapest Big 6 for you? Some can save £350/yr, others should avoid. We know a big switching turn-off for many is moving to tiny firms, so this may be useful. The price of this EDF tariff - which is fixed until Sep 2019 - is sub-£900/yr in 8 regions after MSE cashback, based on typical gas & elec use. In the 9th it's just over £900/yr - anythi ng around that mark is rare for the Big 6 these days. Note, it's dual-fuel only (gas & elec), you must pay by direct debit and you can't get it direct from EDF.- Is it the cheapest big name for me? Use our Cheap Energy Club big name supplier comparison to check. It'll show as the EDF Easy Online Exclusive Sep19. It's a typical £860/yr in the Eastern region - this covers parts of London and Essex, plus all of East Anglia, Bucks, Herts etc. That's £350/yr less than the avg Big 6 standard tariff there. But in the South West EDF's charging a pricey £1,112/yr on typical use. Use the link above to compare for YOU as prices vary by region AND what you use. - I'm already with EDF. Can I get it? Yes, and the £25 dual-fuel MSE cashback too via the link above. Some EDF custs may be charged exit fees to switch, so check, but if you're one of the 1.3m on its standard tariff, you won't pay these. - How long will the tariff be available? There's no official end date but we expect it to go soon given it's cheap for many. Just want the cheapest across the whole market? If price is all that matters and you don't mind a smaller firm, switching from a Big 6 standard tariff to the cheapest can save an avg £360/yr on typical use. - Want the cheapest? Do a full market comparison. - Want a supplier with good customer service feedback (incl small firms)? Check our 'Good' or 'Superb' service filters. - Won't switch firm? At least find your current supplier's best deal. Luckily the EDF tariff is available to existing custs. |
| Confirmed. Tesco WILL let you spend Clubcard points as soon as you get 'em. It's finally released full Clubcard shake-up info - news of which we broke in July. Switch to the top service bank and get either £160 Bose headphones, £150 Expedia vch or £140 Fitbit. First Direct's won every bank customer service poll we've done and last week came top of the competition watchdog's first official ratings table. So if service is key, new First Direct* switchers can choose a freebie from the above and more. There's also a linked 5% regular saver and some get a £250 0% overdraft. You must pay in £1k+/mth to avoid a £10/mth fee. See Top Bank Accounts for more info and how switching works. £35 for 7 bottles of wine & 2 glasses. MSE Blagged. Wine alone norm £80. Via Naked Wines newbies' code. 1,400 avail (pls be Drinkaware). Apple student deals: buy a Mac or iPad Pro & get up to 10% off + 'free' £130-£250 Beats headphones. Also for teachers, parents and anyone who works in education. How to bag an Apple disco unt. 15% off Poundshop.com, eg, 85p 40 PG Tips tea bags. MSE Blagged. Del £5 and min £10 spend, so best on bulk-buys. Poundshop |
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| AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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| 7 cheap train tips - as fares set to rise AGAIN Comparisons have shown UK fares are already up to 10x some European equivalents. And it'll get worse in the New Year, when millions will see fares jump by about 3%, as announced last week. But turn the understandable anger into action, as you can cut costs right away, whether travelling this bank holiday or beyond... Train ticket savings tips. Without further delay (though we can't say the same about the trains):1. Get 3x Clubcard vouchers' value. Make £10 worth £30 at rail-ticket site RedSpottedHanky - our top Tesco reward. 2. Pay £10 for a £30 railcard. Gets 1/3 off for families, couples, under-26s, over-60s etc in parts of the UK. £10 railcard 3. Spread the cost of season tickets. They're usually cheapest, but can cost £1,000s - see season ticket help. 4. Check if two singles beat a return. It may sound counter-logical, though that's train ticketing for you... 5. Cheap seats are released 10-12 weeks ahead - pounce ASAP. You can get a free alert the day they're on sale. 6. You can sometimes get a cheap 'advance' ticket just 10 mins before departure. See firm-by-firm deadlines. 7. Check if split-ticketing saves. Yvonne's example explains it: "Instead of buying Manchester Airport to Scarborough, I got a ticket from Manchester Airport to York, and another from York to Scarborough - I saved £60." See split tickets. Plus you've strong rights if delayed. High prices are just one gripe, so too are constant delays. But you've often a right to compensation as most train firms pay at least 50% of the fare back for 30min+ delays, whatever the reason. Full help in Train Delays. |
| New. Top student bank accounts 2018/19, incl up to £3,000 0% overdraft. If you're off to uni (or know someone who is), our updated guide has the top student accounts 2018/19. SKY HAGGLE - SUCCESS OF THE WEEK:"My father-in-law was paying £71.50/mth for Sky. I haggled for him and he's now paying £42/mth. Thanks for all your help, MSE team." (Send us yours on this or any topic.) Want an MSE Charity grant? Our charity's offering up to £7,500 each to organisations that aim to improve people's mental health and independence by teaching practical money and budgeting skills. Its latest grant-giving round opens for applications on Mon 3 Sep - and you can now take a quiz to check if your organisation's eligible. |
| CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK Have your say on rail fares (just as another hike was announced last week). A reform of train fares is being planned by the rail industry and passenger watchdog Transport Focus, which could change the way tickets are priced and sold. If you want to have your say, don't miss the boat (or train) - respond to their survey. |
| THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your bank account's service? Every six months we ask for your help to track the quality of banks' customer service. By comparing your answers with last time, we can see which have got better or worse. How do you rate your bank account's service? Zen tops our broadband customer service poll. In our twice-yearly broadband service poll, Zen emerged triumphant, with 94% of its customers rating it 'great'. Origin came bottom - 56% of its customers considered its service 'poor'. Of the biggies, Plusnet came top while TalkTalk claimed the wooden spoon. See full broadband poll results. |
| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I keep paying rent? I'm renting a room off some who's subletting it to me and a letter just arrived telling him to vacate the property due to non-payment of rent. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I carry on paying rent when I know someone else is pocketing it? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs THE QUICKIES - Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: Should my brother be receiving more support? |
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| MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Fri 24 Aug - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am |
| QUESTION OF THE WEEK Q: I've just moved into my first property and don't know where to start with my energy. How do I find who the current provider is and do I need to contact it? Nikhil, by email. MSE Steve B's A: Firstly, take meter readings so you're only billed for the usage after you moved in. To find the supplier, there are helpline num bers you can ring - see our Cheap Energy Club FAQs to locate them as they vary by region. But don't just blindly stick with the previous supplier once you know who it is. Our club shows the cheapest tariff in your area and the odds are it won't be the one you're on. Many can save £300+/yr by switching - go to our Cheap Energy Club for full help. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
| 'I HAD TO LISTEN TO JESS GLYNNE FOR 5 HOURS STRAIGHT' That's all for this week, but before we go... there's been an uproar on Twitter after delayed Jet2 customers had to listen to Jess Glynne's 'Hold My Hand' on a loop for up to 5 hours. She may be some people's cup of tea, but clearly not everyone's. Burger King staff also played Toto's 'Africa' for a whole day on a loop at one London outlet after a Twitter contest. So what songs have big firms embedded in your head, whether from ads, because you've been on hold for ages, or just heard it on repeat in their stores? Share your stories on our music on repeat forum thread. We hope you save some money, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe 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 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 MoneySavingExpert and Martin LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? What do the links with an * mean?Any links with an * 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 products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. 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 sainsburysbank.co.uk, cahoot.com, zopa.com, ratesetter.com, admiral.com, firstdirect.com, mbna.co.uk, santander.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, gocompare.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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