Meat, mail & maternity – this week's MSE Forum highlights

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A few of this week's top threads

The latest smattering of threads that caught our eye:

• How much does your bank balance impact how your bank treats you? 

• At your local supermarket, is cheese and meat kept in security boxes? 

• Amex made an error and sent my new card and documents to the wrong address. How much compensation should I ask for? 

• How often do you get Royal Mail deliveries nowadays?

Help this MSE Forumite decide which room to do up first

• I’m looking for a pre-lit artificial Christmas tree for £60-£80 – can you suggest one?

• How long should I keep bank statements that say, ‘Important document: do not destroy’?

• Every room of my flat needs doing up but money’s tight – which should I prioritise?

• It seems I’m no longer entitled to sick pay after returning from maternity leave, despite seven years’ service

New blog

You can read a summary of the MSE Forum's Ask An Expert: Energy event via our new blog. The fifth event of its kind, it saw MSE Andrew and MSE Clare from the Utilities team answering your energy questions.

Photos of the week

Forumite YoungBlueEyes posted a special find in the Shop Charity in '23 thread: these framed Winnie the Pooh pencil illustrations. It turned out, thanks to the input of the thread's regulars and a specialist outside the MSE Forum, that they're replicas and weren't drawn by the original artist. The outcome wasn't a disappointment for YoungBlueEyes, who wrote, "I'm happy just to have pictures that I like looking at".

Please note: We love seeing your photos, but if you're uploading one, make sure it doesn't include personally-identifiable information such as your face or address.

Money Moral Dilemma

Every week, the Money Tips email features a real-life Money Moral Dilemma (MMD for short). They're intended to encourage debate and, as such, they're usually among the most discussed threads each week.

See what our MSE Forumites had to say and add your own thoughts on the Money Moral Dilemma discussion thread. Do please stick to the MSE Forum rules: keep it kind and keep it clean. Remember, there's a real person behind every dilemma.

Got a Money Moral Dilemma of your own? Email us at MMD@moneysavingexpert.com and it could be featured.

Latest comping wins

The bustling Competitions Time board is a hub for compers to share and discover opportunities to win prizes. We spot new successes every day. This week, Haribobo19 won a Nintendo Switch game, refox5 won a £250 jewellery voucher and LizB62 bagged a £50 Amazon voucher. Well done, all.

Want to peek at some MSE Forum highlights from recent weeks?

• Passports, petrol and guinea pigs (6 Oct 2023) 

• Romans, retirees & rent (29 Sep 2023) 

• Crochet, canal boats & concave soap (22 Sep 2023) 

• Goblets, gardens & girlfriends (15 Sep 2023) 

• Lollies, laminate & leave (8 Sep 2023) 

Your two cents

With so many new mobile handsets launching at the moment (from the iPhone 15 to all sorts of new-gen flip phones), we'd like to know: how old is your handset? We've already heard from people who've kept the same mobile for over a decade and say it's still going strong. Can you beat them?

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