MoneySavingExpert @MoneySavingExp

Things you might've missed on MSE this week: 🎄 It's beginning to look a lot like... time to book your Christmas food delivery slot! 🚂 More people now qualify for Disabled Person's Railcard. 🛒 Earn Clubcard points at 500+ retailers online. And more: moneysavingexpert.com/mse-weekly-rou…

Planning a big spend? You can get an up to £300 'free' John Lewis gift card when you buy selected electricals. But don't see it as an excuse to overspend and make sure to compare prices. Here's how it works, plus examples of what qualifies 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/deals/john-lew…

Ever wanted to be in a TV show audience? Here's how to get FREE tickets to popular shows, including Martin's... ... and some lesser-known programmes such as The Graham Norton Show and Britain's Got Talent 😉 moneysavingexpert.com/deals/free-aud…

New. Huge best-buy top cashback credit card. 💳 You can get 2% back for a year on up to £10,000 spent on it, and 1% above that! But only get it if you don't have other card debt, and you can pay it off IN FULL each month 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/tips/2026/10/1…

Ever had a missed or cancelled flight? You may be able to claim £100s back in airport taxes! 🤑 There's no official deadline to request the refund, though some airlines do have their own policies in place. Here's what you need to know and how to claim: moneysavingexpert.com/travel/missed-…

Martin called it a bad idea that will "dampen competition" and make tariffs for switchers more expensive. Here's what you need to know about the proposed changes: moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/10/m…

Important News: @Ofgem’s just launched a ‘consultation’ about switching on the Market Stabilisation Charge as soon as November. It doesn’t sound a big deal, but it could be, it ain’t good for consumers and I don't want it to slip under the radar. In a nutshell, it means if wholesale energy prices drop sharply, the cheap fixes and switcher’s deals offered will be a lot more expensive, in order to protect energy firms’ profits. That’s because any firm taking on a new customer, including on a cheap fix or other specialist tariff, will have to pay compensation to that customer’s old supplier, if they switch. It's basically a form of switching penalty. While technically this is a consultation, it’s one of those where Ofgem has made up its mind, but is required to consult - it will almost certainly happen. Below is my ‘first look’ explainer on this... ------------------------ How it works (simplified to make it easy to understand): Ofgem decided to put this power back into suppliers’ licences in May, so it could switch it on quickly if needed, and now it is trying to do just that. It means if wholesale prices drop more than 10% below the level built into the Price Cap (and remember the January Price Cap is currently predicted to be 25% higher than now), and someone switches supplier from that or any tariff, the new firm must pay the old one 85% of the drop in wholesale rates beyond that 10%. So very roughly, say the wholesale energy in the Price Cap costs £1,000 (a made-up number, to keep it simple. This is about proportions, not exact amounts): - If prices drop to £900, there’s no Market Stabilisation Charge.\ - If prices drop to £800, you get the first £100 drop, but 85% of the next £100 (£85) goes to your old supplier. So almost certainly the new firm will make you pay the difference, meaning the tariff will be up to £85 more than it would otherwise have been (other factors could affect the amount, but this is a rough illustration) In other words, the new supplier can’t pass a chunk of the saving from lower wholesale rates on to you, because it has to hand much of it to your old supplier. Why Ofgem says it’s doing this Its argument is that the Price Cap requires suppliers buy energy in advance. If wholesale rates fall sharply and people leave in large numbers, those suppliers would be left out of pocket, and it doesn’t want suppliers who did the right thing by buying energy in advance to be penalised. My View I don’t like it. This is a ‘Market Stabilisation Charge’ but the supplier market is pretty stable, and I doubt we are at the domino risk of suppliers going bust in the way they did in the early twenties. A good few energy firms have made large profits since then, and protecting them over winter by effectively dampening competition because it’s ‘not their fault’ feels raw. After all we don’t take their profits off them when they make them ‘through no fault’. Until now, my hope had been that at some point the Middle East situation would de-escalate, wholesale rates would drop. While it would take months for that to feed into the Price Cap, other cheaper tariffs would be available to switch to. That would still happen, but the savings could be no-where near as good as otherwise. ------------ As noted, these are my provisional thoughts and this has only just come out. I will need to do more looking/thinking.

Martin: Over 66 and on a low income? You could be missing out on a top-up worth £3,000+ a year Over 900,000 State Pensioners are eligible and not claiming, so please read and share 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/tips/2026/10/1…

The new rates will be applicable from today (Thursday 15 October). Here's what's happening and how to check if your employer is part of the scheme: moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/10/r…

Just in time for the weekend. You can get two pizzas, a side, and a four-pack of Peroni or Diet Coke for £10 from Co-op (up to £17 if bought individually). Here's what's included 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/deals/coop-foo… Please be Drinkaware

Disney+ has upped the cost of all its plans for the second year in a row for new and existing subscribers by up to £24 a year. But there are a few ways to cut costs... moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/10/d…

You've just DAYS left to bag a whole year of Apple TV for FREE (normally £90)! All you have to do is sign up for a fee-free credit card. We've full info, including if it'll affect your credit score. 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/tips/2026/10/1…

Got debt on credit or store cards? Today you can shift debt to three years interest-free! But with UK base rate rises expected, deals may be about to worsen and sorting sooner is safer 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/tips/2026/10/1…

Not bothered by best-before dates? You could grab 25p Irn-Bru, 50p Lotus Biscoff, 50p Veetee rice and more with our 10% off code 👇 moneysavingexpert.com/deals/approved…

You can now earn points at 500-plus stores when shopping online. 🛒 We've analysed how much you can earn and compared it to other supermarket reward and cashback schemes: moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/10/t…

Did you know this? 👀 We've more tips on how to check your hot water bottle is safe: moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/hot-…

It's hot water bottle season and today is Burns Awareness Day (Wednesday 14 October). Burst, split and leaking bottles cause burns, so it's recommended that you replace your hot water bottle every two to three years. This little wheel tells you how old yours is 👇

Calls to ban insurers from charging a "poverty premium" have been reignited by consumer group Which?. 🚫 Here's what's happening, plus you can watch Martin's car insurance pay-monthly warning: moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/10/p…

Here's how to move to the Lloyds Bank app ⬇️ moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/09/h…

'Should I give my daughter the £250 she says I owe her to keep the peace?'