January 2017

TalkTalk is reducing the price of its broadband and fibre packages for those who sign up for two years and is promising not to raise prices for the duration of the contract. Existing customers are also eligible, if they commit to a new contract – but most can save more by switching to cheaper deals elsewhere.

Regulator Ofgem is pushing ahead with plans to encourage customers to find the best energy deals, with a series of trials taking place that will include forcing suppliers to reveal cheaper tariffs offered by rivals.

P arents with young children who are widowed in future could miss out on £1,000s once changes to a Government bereavement scheme are rolled out in April. But a broader overhaul means childless widows and widowers aged under 45 will benefit from a bereavement allowance for the first time.

Energy customers are still being given incorrect info about the switching process by big six firms, six weeks after MoneySavingExpert.com revealed suppliers had been wrongly telling those coming to the end of a fixed-term contract they'll have to pay an exit fee to switch provider.

MoneySavingExpert.com users have once again voted for the UK's best and worst parcel delivery companies – and the results of our latest poll of over 11,000 consumers show that Yodel and City Sprint aren't delivering the goods.

About 100,000 current accounts held with building society brand Norwich & Peterborough (N&P) are set to close by 31 August because the brand itself will cease to exist. If you're affected by the closure you'll be contacted with details on how to switch elsewhere.

A MoneySaving football fan trying to find the cheapest train tickets from Newcastle to Oxford was astonished to be sent a whopping 56 tickets to cover just two return journeys. It's the most extreme example we've yet seen of split-ticket savings – the trick which means booking multiple tickets for different parts of the same journey can bizarrely be cheaper.

Fewer than 2% of the UK's 70 million active personal current accounts were switched in 2016, the latest figures show – and the overall number of switches fell slightly compared with 2015. If you're not happy with your bank you can pocket more than £100 by ditching and switching.

Many are skint after Xmas so use Jan to sort their finances. If you've not started, the clock's ticking. You may have seen these tips before but we make no apologies for repeating them as they're the key savers. So stop putting it off, pause the TV, delay your trip to the pub/salon/shops and read on...