BILLBUSTER Special: Big Brit Gas Big Switch ends, £20/mth broadband, 20% off childcare bills, free £225 bank switch ends, cut Council Tax bills and far more

And 1yr 'free' theme parks, invest £200 - get £200 cash, student loan fail, Civ Service Pension fail

                                                           

10 February 2026 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL It's BILLBUSTER time! 12 big easy ways to slash bills, incl: - 20% off childcare costs - Stop mobile phone rip-off - Save £250 per £1,000 credit card debt - Mortgage fix ending this year? - Cut council tax by £100s+ BillBuster. Big Brit Gas Big Switch ENDS BillBuster. 132Mb b'band under £20/mth Ends Sun. FREE £225 bank switch 'Student loan change: natural justice fail!' 'Free' entry to theme parks for a year New. £200 cash when you invest £200 Free Prime Video £5 credit check Martin: Got savings... overpay mortgage? The scandal of Civil Service Pensions £10 champers for Valentine's & more Boots sale boosted to 90% off Reglaze your glasses lenses from £10 Question pod. How to escape joint accounts? Who's your successor Martin? MSE App now 3rd most-read news app! Martin to Scottish govt: Improve PoA '30hrs funded' childcare: what can/can't you be charged for? Half-term kids eat 'free' or cheap deals 'I saved £230/yr haggling on heating oil'  New. Top car club (& car share) schemes 'Mountain Warehouse 67% cheaper on main site than its eBay' Poll: Rate your bank's service This week's best buys: 4.5% savings, 5.6% loan & more  Money Moral Dilemma: Should I keep paying extra to see non-committal friend? BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers MSE Compare+ Car Insurance Best bank accounts Top savings accounts Credit cards for bad credit Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Cheap Energy Club Best Sim-only deals

Martin: It's BILLBUSTER time! Stop the rip offs! 12 big & easy ways to slash bills. Many can save £100s, some £1,000s, a few £10,000s January has folded itself up, put on a coat and slipped out the back door. It's the month most people intend to organise their finances, but intention isn't action, so if you never quite got there... this is your belt-and-braces, no excuses, bill-busting sweep-up. We started this last week with the Big Energy Switch (still on till Thu). Yet remember, the easiest way to overpay a bill is to assume you've sorted it... when you haven't, so no apologies that I've already covered some of these this year - what matters is if you've checked them. I've tried to keep it as simple as possible to avoid TLDR, with links to more detailed info if you're following through. 1. Childcare bills - Typical saving: 20% of childcare costs, up to £2,000/yr per child. - Rough time to do: 30 mins. - Key action: If you pay for childcare, check if you're eligible for the poorly named Tax-Free Childcare scheme, where working parents earning under £100,000/yr can get a 25% boost on what they pay (up to £2,000/yr per child, or £4,000 for a child with disabilities). - Call to arms: Around 800,000 parents are missing out on this key help, and with childcare prices a huge burden than can often put people off going back to work, it's well worth a check.  There's also up to 30hrs 'funded' nursery time for some aged 9mth to 4yrs (depending on which UK nation you're in) and childcare help for those on Universal Credit.  2. Mobile phone contracts - Typical Saving: £100 - 200/yr.  - Rough time to do: 5 mins. - Key action: Text 'INFO' for free to 85075 to see if you're out of contract. If so, speedily find your cheapest Sim (incl with same signal). - Call to arms: Over 14m people are out of contract, and most are being ripped off paying massively over the odds. The cost of Sim-only deals have plummeted. Five years ago a 50GB Sim was £12/mth, today it's less than £4/mth. Full step-by-step help in our cheap mobiles guide. As Rosie emailed the other week: "I took advantage of your deal with Lebara after disappointing service from my last provider. Saved £277 over the next year, get more data, better roaming, a month-by-month contract and keep my old phone number. Dead chuffed. Thanks." 3. Subscription conniptions - Typical saving: £0 - £500/yr.  - Rough time to do: 5 mins (for the initial check). - Key action: Log into your bank account(s) and do a Direct Debit & Standing Order Check to ensure there's nowt on the list you're paying for that you don't need, want or use. See our step-by-step Direct Debit audit help. - Call to arms: To see how important it is, just look at the things people found when they check... from mundane subscriptions that you no longer value, to paying for insurance for a fridge you chucked a decade ago. PS: The 3rd type of regular payment is a Recurring Payment (or Continuous Payment Authority), used by firms such as Netflix, Disney and others. It's where they take your long debit or credit card number and you give them permission to take payment when they need. These are tougher to spot and give you fewer rights than Direct Debit. Scan through a few months of statements to see what recurs - it's worth doing. 4. Energy bills - Typical saving: £100 - £500yr.  - Rough time To do: 5 mins. - Key action: See our urgent Big Switch energy deals below. - Call to arms: Are you still on your energy firm's standard tariff, ie the Price Pants Cap? Get off it now - fix and save up to 16%. 5. Credit card bills I: If you pay interest on debt - Typical saving: £250/yr per £1,000 debt.  - Rough time to do: 10 mins. - Key action: A balance transfer is where you get a new card that pays off debts on old cards for you, so you owe it instead, but at 0%. So then more of your repayment clears the actual debt rather than the interest. Nip to our eligibility calculator to find the balance transfer most likely to accept you (includes some for poorer credit scorers).  - Call to arms: If you can't afford to clear your debts, you can't afford not to do a balance transfer. The longest 'all accepted get it' deal is 36mths 0% (3.45% fee), or if you can repay quicker there's 'up to' 14mths NO FEE. If you do get a card, follow the balance transfer golden rules: a) Never miss the min monthly repayment, or you could lose the 0%. b) Clear the card before the 0% ends, or the rate rockets to 25% ish. c) Don't spend or withdraw cash - it usually isn't at the cheap rate. See our full step-by-step balance transfer help. As Brian emailed us a while back, "Thanks for your tip on 0% balance transfers. I had a £1,700 debt on my card and was being charged interest on it. I got a 0% balance transfer for 28 months which should make it easier to pay it back rather than being hammered with interest charges. I feel a lot better mentally for this." [Rough saving £425/yr]. 6. Broadband (& digital TV) bills - Typical saving: £200 - £500/yr.  - Rough time to do: 5 - 10 mins. - Key action: Jump down to our new top broadband deals below.  - Call to arms: Over 7m homes are out of contract, and if that's you, you may be able to double the speed and halve the price.  Streaming? See Disney+ | Amazon Prime | Netflix tips to save and also Do I need a TV licence? 7. Credit card bills II: If you're debt-free - Typical saving: £100/+yr per year.  - Rough time to do: 4 mins. - Key action: Get a top cashback card that pays you when you spend on it. If it's a credit card, just ensure you pay it off IN FULL each month (and never do cash withdrawals) so there's no interest.  - Call to arms: Spend on (virtual) plastic and the store pays the plastic provider, so the aim is to effectively get this paid to you. All it takes is swapping a card.  The top flat-rate payer is the Lloyds Credit Card which gives a straight 1% uncapped cashback for all UK & overseas spending in the first year (& perfect exchange rates abroad). For each £1,000 you spend, you get £10 (PS: Don't see it as an excuse to spend more, just use it for your normal spending). GlennTheBaker posted on our forum last month: "I usually use my Aqua Rewards card for all spending as I get 0.5% cashback (capped at £100/yr) and no FX fees but got the Lloyds Ultra credit card in October and received my cashback of almost £80 on 31 Dec 🙂" 8. Car & Home insurance bills - Typical saving: £50 - £400/yr. - Rough time to do: 10 mins. - Key action: Use our Car Insurance Compare+ and Home Insurance Compare+ tools, which don't just do a comparison, but give you step-by-step personalised help on how to cut the bill. - Call to arms: Insurance prices are dropping, yet we've all been programmed to expect big price rises, so many get their renewal bill, see "oh its only up 10%" and settle, when in reality that could easily mean paying £100s over the odds. As Nicholas emailed last month: "Hi Martin, I would like to thank you, after watching your ITV show on Tuesday, my auto renewal came in the post of £351, so went on comparison sites, got the same cover for £51 [saving £300/yr] thank you!" 9. Mortgage bills - Typical saving: £2k per £100k mortgage.  - Rough time to do: 1hr. - Key action(s): a) Check your current mortgage details. b) Do a quick mortgage best-buys comparison to see what's available. c) If it's looking good or you need help, speak to a mortgage broker. - Call to arms: Over 1.8m mortgage fixes end this year. If that's you and you do nothing, you could see what you pay increase by say £300/mth as you'll be moved to your lender's Standard Variable Rate (typically 7% compared to the 4% cheap fixes). So prepare in advance to stop that happening. This takes time, but an hour should be more than enough for you to work out if you're going to be able to save large. Our free remortgage guide can take you through it step by step and our ultimate mortgage calculator will help you see if you can save. 10. Council Tax bills I: In too high a band?  - Typical saving: £3,000 - £10,000 back-pay & £100+/yr lower bill.  - Rough time to do: 30mins to start (then if its a go-er far more later). - Key action: Follow my check 'n' challenge your band system with videos & tools to see if you can lower your band - Call to arms: Up to 400,000 homes in England and Scotland are likely in the wrong band and may be due thousands back. Some find this easy to do, others get push-back and find it a hard fight. Do ensure you go through the guide carefully, speculative challenges without proper research are dangerous. Yet when it works, it works, as Trevor emailed me: "Following your show on Council Tax, we received a refund of £8,871 for an incorrect banding going back 28 years. Over ten years ago I appealed and it was rejected. After watching your show I applied for our PAD and discovered our 4-bed house was listed incorrectly as a 6-bed and nearly 80sq m bigger. Thanks again for your programme." 11. Council Tax bills II: Missing out on a discount? - Typical saving: 25% off the bill. - Rough time to do: 15mins. - Key action: Scan the list of Council Tax discounts to see if you're missing out (single or only live with under-18s, students, on Pension Credit, low incomes, disabilities, have a carer, mental capacity issues, etc). - Call to arms: Millions are likely missing out on Council Tax discounts. The biggest category is help for those on lower incomes, as many assume help is automatic if you get Universal Credit. It isn't, you need to apply separately.  As a special mention... if you know someone with dementia, Alzheimer's, severe Parkinson's or who's had a severe stroke, they may be entitled to the 'severe mental impairment' discount, which can be worth £1,000s backdated (if so, it's worth checking if you're entitled to Attendance Allowance too). 12. Water bills - Typical saving: Up to £300/yr.  - Rough time to do: 5 mins. - Key action(s): If you've more or the same number of bedrooms in your home than people, see if you can save £100s with a free water meter, if you can't get one, see if an 'assessed charge bill' is cheaper for you. For far more help, see last week's email's six ways to save £100s on water bills. - Call to arms: Eng & Wales water bills are rising again in April, this time an average 5% (Scotland is up 9%). ------------------------- How to keep saving year-round... The MSE team and I will try and help you keep on top of things over 2026, both the big stuff and when you can grasp short-lived opportunities. Please do suggest to friends and family who may find it useful that they get this email or the MSE app alerts (which can get you the email even earlier).  And, of course, it's not just cutting bills, it's managing your finances too. Use our Budget planner guide and Money Makeover list for far more areas you can save on. PS: I know some people's savings may be a lot bigger, or a lot smaller than my guesstimates above. The time taken a lot quicker or slower. These notes are just illustrations to spur you to check, but of course everything depends on your situation and on you.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

BillBuster #2: Typical saving £300/yr ENDING. The MSE Big Energy Switch II Save up to 16% over the Price Cap with our special cheap fixes. Includes a British Gas deal, for new & existing customers, hugely undercutting what it offers direct Last week we launched our 'cheaper than the cheapest fixes' Collective Switch. 10,000s have already gone and both the British Gas & Fuse deals end 5pm this Thurs at the latest. Both deals lock in the maximum rate, so it's guaranteed not to rise during the fix, giving you peace of mind of price certainty. A collective switch is a regulated process where energy firms bid to offer special deals that undercut their own public deals. The Govt is about to cut some underlying structural costs from energy bills (some shifted to general taxation, some cut) - what it calls the April '£150 off bills'. That means the Price Cap is predicted to drop but also, unprecedentedly, those on most existing fixes will see their rates cut too (see will my firm's existing fixes get cheaper?). So, with these Collective fixes, you get a cheap rate now, and it gets even cheaper from April... Are you eligible for the 'Collective Switch'? Almost certainly YES! Rules say collectives are members-only. We define our 'members' as those who (on Mon 2 Feb) were either... - Signed up to receive this, the free MSE weekly email (just ensure you use the same email address). - Or signed up to our free Cheap Energy Club. As your exact winner depends on location and usage, all links go via our Energy Club comparison, so you can see how these tariffs stack up for you, and ensure they're compared against any new tariffs that may launch. Big Name Winner: Cheap 1yr fix. British Gas 12mth. 11,000 switches left (as we managed to get more). New & existing customers | £50/fuel exit penalties | Dual fuel, elec or gas only. DD & Pay on Receipt of Bills | No Smart Meter needed. This is 14.1% less on average than the Jan Price Cap (including MSE cashback), and British Gas will pass on the full 1 April Govt bill reduction on the fix too - see rates below. Existing BG customers can get it too, and it's far cheaper (typically £120/yr) than the cheapest deals BG is offering direct. If you're already on a BG fix, it won't charge you early exit fees to switch to this (so see if it's cheaper - if it is, move).  PS: Since last week's launch, Outfox Energy has cut its price to a similar level to our BG deal - so you've even more choice. Your cheapest depends on usage and region, and you'll see both when you do the comparison. Small Firm Winner: Cheapest long fix. Fuse Energy 18mth. Uncapped, ends 5pm Thu. New & existing customers | £50/fuel exit penalties | Dual fuel/elec only and 'Variable' Direct Debit only (so you pay each month based on what you've used) | No Smart Meter needed. It's 16.1% cheaper on average than the current Price Cap (including MSE cashback). It's available to new and existing customers, though if you're on a Fuse fix already, you'll need to pay £30/fuel exit fees. Fuse says it will pass on the full Govt cut on 1 April (see below), though its price won't fall by as much as British Gas, as it isn't currently part of the ECO scheme (one of the elements being wiped off bills). So that means its reduction will, we guess, be a little under half that of elsewhere... How the deals stack up (for average UK Direct Debit)... (exact rates vary by region) ELECTRICITY Now 1 April (estimated) Price Cap Standing Charge 54.75p/day 57.2p/day (a) BRITISH GAS collective Standing Charge 52.52p/day 52.5p/day (b) FUSE collective Standing Charge 43.54p/day 43.5p/day? (c) Price Cap Unit Rate 27.69p/kWh 24.7p/kWh (a) BRITISH GAS collective Unit Rate 23.83p/kWh 20.3p/kWh (b) FUSE collective Unit Rate 23.87p/kWh 22.0p/kWh? (c) GAS Now 1 April(estimated) Price Cap Standing Charge 35.09p/day 29.1p/day (a) BRITISH GAS collective Standing Charge 29.63p/day 29.6p/day (b) FUSE collective Standing Charge 24.7p/day 24.7p/day (c) Price Cap Unit Rate 5.93p/kWh 5.7p/kWh (a) BRITISH GAS collective Unit Rate 5.10p/kWh 4.8p/kWh (b) FUSE collective Unit Rate 5.18p/kWh 5.2p/kWh (c) (a) EDF's current prediction. Forecasts change, but as we're near the assessment period's end, it's hopefully in the right ballpark. (b) This is British Gas' 'expected' estimate for the remainder of the fix, but it says it awaits final info from the Government. (c) For Fuse from April, we know its c.£50 cheaper on typical use, and the reduction will only be on electricity bills. So we have guesstimated what its new electricity unit rate will be based on this, but understand it is very rough.    Those are the average UK rates, to see the exact rates for where you live, when in the comparison result for that tariff click the 'More info' button and you'll see it there. For far more detail on these tariffs, see our expanded note in last week's email, including... - These fixes are predicted to substantially undercut the price cap... see full predictions graph. - These are a simple way to save but there are other options... these include EV tariffs and specialist tariffs. - Struggling to pay bills - what do I do? It's always worth talking to your energy firm. Be polite and straight with it, and make sure you explain if you're vulnerable. There can be hardship & debt grants from energy suppliers. For far more info, see our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills, Energy saving tips & Energy mythbusting guides.

 

Ends Sun. First Direct FREE £225 bank switch. The First Direct 1st Account* gives newbies switching to it £175 cash, plus, till Sunday via this link, a £50 Amazon voucher. It was top in our most recent customer service poll, with a 92% 'great' rating. Its debit card gives near-perfect exchange rates abroad, you get access to a 7% regular saver and most get an ongoing £250 0% overdraft. Full review, eligibility info & list of all six FREE cash switch deals in top bank accounts. Martin: 'On a Plan 2 student loan? Why freezing repayment threshold is breach of natural justice!' Martin's recorded a new quick audio briefing on the coming freeze from 2027 to 2030. Related: Should you overpay your Plan 2 loan? blog and Martin's full Plan 2 detailed debrief podcast. Get a year's free entry to Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, Legoland etc with an overnight stay from £62. There are some exclusions, so read our full free Merlin Essential annual pass info for full details. New. £200 cashback when you invest £200. A code means newbies to investment platform IG can currently get an easy £200 cash in three steps. a) Open its stocks & shares ISA; b) Deposit up to £200 into it and invest some/all of it by 27 Feb (uninvested money earns 3.75% interest). c) Hold your investment till 1 July. IG will then match your initial deposit in cashback (max £200) paid into your account by 30 July. IG is a DIY investment platform, meaning it offers a range of shares & exchange-traded funds (ETFs) you pick yourself. How to do it in our full IG £200 cashback investment code. Amazon 1-tap check for free Prime Video £5 credit. Use to rent/buy a film/TV show. See if you're eligible. Martin: 'Got savings... is it time to overpay your mortgage?' Watch Martin's 60sec vid via his YouTube channel (& do subscribe) or, better still, listen to his full new detailed should you overpay your mortgage or save podcast, which covers how to overpay the best way, whether you should invest and more. Listen via BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify etc. Related: Mortgage overpayment calc. Tonight (Tue) at 7.15pm ITV1, or after on ITVX. The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE:  The financial benefits of marriage and how to make the most of them... Martin: 'In recent years I've been swamped with people telling me - sometimes happily, sometimes begrudgingly - "We only got married 'cos of you!". That's because there are special financial rules for married couples (& civil partnerships) for Inheritance Tax, wills, savings, investments, the Marriage Tax Allowance, ISAs & more. So if you're long-term cohabiting, this'll help you decide whether it's worth it for you. If you're already married, it'll show how to maximise the gains. Plus, of course, my News You Can Use. Do give it a watch. The scandal of Civil Service Pensions: Now loans offered as delays plunge 1,000s into hardship. It's too little too late - see the Civil Service Pensions scandal update. Valentine's Day free gift cheques, £10 champers, £4 for 12 roses & more. Romance is great, but don't feel pressure to spend big (or at all). See Valentine's deals. Boots clearance sale boosted up to 90% off, eg, £6.50 Soap & Glory 65p. Limited stock - find a Boots bargain? Reglaze your glasses lenses from £10 delivered (normally £21). MSE Blagged. Need new lenses (eg, new prescription, or yours are cracked)? Replace them while keeping your existing frames. Lensology code. Question Time podcast. How to escape a joint account? When not to claim Child Benefit? Who is your successor Martin? In Martin's Question Time podcast, you can ask whatever you like (within reason) and many do, including this week: 'If I cancel a Direct Debit, do I have to tell the company?'. Listen via BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify etc.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - Reglaze lenses from £10 all-in (norm £21) Ends Sat 28 Feb	DID YOU MISS? - Top easy-access cash ISA upped three times... now 4.4% - Martin: Chancellor, your Plan 2 student loan change isn't moral - On a solar Feed-in Tariff? It'll get worse from 1 April - The top 10 Money Moral Dilemmas of 2025 - Martin: Ofgem's failed to deliver 'low or no Standing Charge' tariffs

 

 

BillBuster #3: Typical saving £300/yr  New. Cut your broadband bill to under £20/mth on fast 100Mb fibre (or go even faster, 500Mb for £22/mth)  Millions are overpaying for broadband and from April it'll get worse, as a fresh round of price hikes hit. Firms use a trick called 'price walking': stepping up existing customers' prices each year, so before long they're often paying more than double what new customers pay. If that's you, good news, you're likely out of contract and free to switch, boost speeds and halve costs. As ever, the very best deals are short-lived promos, and there's a host around today. See the full deals for your postcode in our Broadband Comparison, yet here's the headline... Today's cheapest broadband deals include... (All links via our Broadband Comparison, as what you can get depends on your postcode) Local deals New (ends Mon). Community Fibre  500Mb broadband '£16.50/mth' (2yr contract) Service rating (1): 7.5/10 ('Good') In many London boroughs, parts of Surrey & Sussex. This deal is currently £16/mth (the price will rise by £2/mth in Apr 2027), so that's a total of £406 over the 2yr contract. Yet you''ll be emailed a choice of a £10 voucher for Amazon, John Lewis or M&S within 3mths of your first bill (check your junk folder if not received). Factor all that in and it's equivalent to £16.50/mth. New (ends Mon). Hyperoptic 522Mb broadband '£21.67/mth' (2yr contract) Service rating (1): 7.7/10 ('Good') In big towns & cities, incl parts of London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol & Swansea. You currently pay £16/mth but the price will rise £4/mth in both Apr 2026 & 2027, so that's a total cost of £520 over the 2yr contract, making it equivalent to £21.67/mth. National deals Ends Thu. Virgin Media  132Mb broadband '£18.83/mth'  (2yr contract) Available to 70% of homes Service rating (1): 3.4/10 ('Poor') Cheapest national 100Mb+ deal. This deal is £16.99/mth, but the price rises by £4/mth in Apr 2027, so you'll pay £452 over the 2yr contract, making it equivalent to £18.83/mth. New. Vodafone  500Mb broadband & line '£22.30/mth' (2yr contract) Available to 70% of homes Service rating (1): 5.5/10 ('OK') Cheapest national 500Mb+ full fibre deal. This deal is £24/mth, but the price will rise by £3.50/mth in Apr 2026 & 2027, so that's a total of £695 over the 2yr contract. Yet you'll be emailed a choice of a £160 voucher for Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's etc within 4mths of your first bill (check your junk folder if not received). Factor all that in and it's equivalent to £22.30/mth. Long-term cheap 'social tariffs' for some On Universal Credit or similar benefits? Try a social tariff. Many providers offer special 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. (1) Broadband ratings tend to be worse than other sectors, so all scores are lower. See our full broadband service poll results You don't need to contact your current provider to switch. Until recently, switch broadband and with some providers you had to contact both your old and new firm (sometimes leaving you paying both during the overlap). Now, regulator Ofcom has rolled out a 'One Touch Switch' service, so the new firm should seamlessly sort it for you. Don't want to switch? Haggle. In our June 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. 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 must also indicate your estimated minimum speed pre-application. Switching usually only means about 2hrs' downtime. You're told the switch time, and most don't need an engineer, even if you're getting fibre to the premises, though someone may need to look at the externals of your home (you needn't be there). There are exceptions, eg, if moving to or from Virgin (you're told before applying). Members of cashback sites can sometimes 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.

 

It's official. The MSE App is the UK's 3rd most-read news app - are you on it? New Press Gazette research shows our app is only behind BBC and Apple News. Join the now 3m+ people who've downloaded it (for free, obvs) via Apple | Android. Martin writes to Scottish Govt to ask it to improve Power of Attorney system. See Scottish PoA reform? Childcare news. What can & can't you be charged for as part of '30 hours funded' childcare (Eng)? The govt has clarified the rules, you should only have to pay for genuinely optional extras and shouldn't lose your place if you opt out. See Funded childcare update news. Half-term kids eat 'free' or cheap deals, eg, £1 kids' meal with no min spend or adult purchase needed. Next week's half-term for many - see kids eat free, plus more free & cheap things to do with the kids. 'I saved £230/yr haggling on my heating oil.' Success of the Week. Martin (not that one) emailed to say: "I wanted to share a success relating to heating oil haggling. I contacted my provider which quoted me 92p/litre. I thought that seemed expensive, so after ordering 600 litres (£552), I quickly checked the BoilerJuice website and found a price of 54p/litre. I phoned back my supplier and threatened to cancel. Surprise, surprise it matched the online price [saving me £228]. It's worth highlighting as people get locked in by paying monthly." If we've helped you save (on anything), please tell us about it. New. Top car club (& car share) schemes now that Zipcar is no more. With one of the best-known hourly-rate car/van hire firms no longer on UK roads, we've a new guide comparing car clubs (and car-share) schemes. 'Bizarre, Mountain Warehouse was up to 67% cheaper on its main site than its eBay site.' Eg, £170 jacket on eBay was £100 on main site. See MSE Hope's Mountain Warehouse prices blog. Seen similar elsewhere? Let us know. How do you rate your bank's service? Have your say in our six-monthly current account poll.

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest definite 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility) 36mths 0%, 3.45% fee, 24.9% rep APR No-fee 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility) up to 14mths 0%, 24.9% rep APR Best bank accounts Free £200 + £25 Amazon voucher + cashback: Santander Edge Free £175 + £50 Amazon voucher + top service: First Direct Free £200 + £30 cashback: TSB Broadband top picks Fast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin Media '£18.83/mth' Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Vodafone '£22.30/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 Cheap loans £5,000 to £7,499: M&S Bank (check eligibility), 6.9% rep APR £7,500 to £15,000: TSB (check eligibility), 5.6% rep APR Top savings accounts Top easy-access savings: Chase 4.5%, min £1 Top easy-access ISA: Trading 212 4.4%, min £1 Top one-year fix: DF Capital 4.25%, min £1,000 Top energy deals Try our whole-of-market Cheap Energy Club Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£3.13/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.25/mth' for 5GB 10GB to 30GB data: iD Mobile, '£3.46/mth' for 15GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£3.67/mth' for 50GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your bank's service? Every six months, we ask for your help to track the quality of customer service provided by banks. By comparing your answers with last time, we can see which have got better or worse. Please vote based on customer service for your main current account over the last six months. Vote in this week's poll.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: TV licence fee to rise by £5.50 to £180 a year from April 2026 - Base rate held at 3.75% – here's what it means for you and when it might change

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I keep paying extra for trains and hotels to see my friend who won't commit? I live in the south and have a friend who lives in the north. I suggest dates and mid-point meet-ups early so we can bag cheap trains and hotels. But she takes ages to commit or suggests alternatives, so by the time we book, it costs more. I've paid up till now as I'm happy to see her and accept we have different personalities. I'm starting to feel resentful though, as it keeps happening, even after I've explained the financial implications delaying has on me. Do I ask her to cover the extra, or accept paying more is the price of staying friends? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I keep paying more to see my friend who won't commit? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

 

GAMING GOODIES Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass: Up to 55% off 3-month, 6-month, and one-year subscriptions  Nintendo: Up to 30% off 3-month, 6-month, and one-year subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online Amazon Prime: FREE Civilization VI (and loads more PC games) for Prime members. Where to find free PC games: Sell trading cards, do the game giveaway rounds, and more in our Deal Hunter blog

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - MSE Forum highlights: planes, Pot Noodles & Premium Bonds

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 11 FEB ONWARDS) Thu 12 Feb - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, midday

 

 

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