2021

Twice a year we poll MoneySavers to check how their banks have treated them recently – 'great', 'OK' or 'poor'. Our summer poll closed this week. It's always surprising how well banks do generally compared with other sectors – here are the results, with links to banks that feature in our top picks.

Over 600,000 people in England and Wales were 'pinged' and told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app between 8 and 14 July, new figures show. If you're one of them – or if you're one of 100,000s instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test & Trace, there's a range of financial support you could get, as MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has explained.

Royal Mail has warned that households in 10 areas of England, including Blackpool and Worthing, could face delays to to both parcel and letter deliveries as staff members have been forced to self-isolate due to Covid-19. Here's what you need to know and what you can do if you're facing delays.

The legal process for people to nominate a trusted friend or relative to look after their affairs if they lose the capacity to do so could be made quicker, simpler and easier to access under new Government proposals.

Nationwide has launched a five-year fixed-rate mortgage deal at 0.99% – the first time interest rates on a five-year deal have EVER dropped below 1%. While mortgage interest rates have been continually creeping down over recent months, Nationwide's latest deal is another reminder of the fierce competition between lenders. So there's no better time to check if you could save £1,000s on your mortgage now.

The Government has announced a new set of wide-ranging consumer protection rules, which will require Christmas savings clubs to safeguard customers' money, firms to make it easier to cancel subscriptions and regulators to stamp out "dodgy tactics" used to lure online shoppers, plus much more. But the new rules won't come into effect for a while yet.

Numerous big changes to overseas travel restrictions came into force this week. As expected, rules for 'amber' destinations were overhauled, so fully vaccinated adults or any under-18s no longer need to quarantine on return. But as announced last week, the exception is that returners from amber-listed France must still quarantine, and the Balearic Islands moved from green to amber.

MoneySavingExpert.com and the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, which were both founded by Martin Lewis, are among 13 organisations today renewing calls for the Government to do more to tackle online fraud after it failed to commit to cracking down on scam financial ads in its new draft Online Safety Bill.

An eight-week wait to refer complaints to ombudsmen and alternative dispute resolution schemes could be halved under new Government proposals. The outdated rule is something MoneySavingExpert.com has campaigned to reduce since 2017. 

Petrol prices have hit their highest level since October 2013, according to motoring firm the AA. It says the hikes are due to oil prices rising again following a slump caused by the pandemic. But there are ways you can cut costs now as we explain below.