Helen Knapman

News & Investigations Editor

Helen has over a decade's experience championing consumer causes and has worked as a personal finance journalist and editor on national titles since January 2011.

She has held her current role, MSE's News and Investigations Editor, since April 2023. Previously, Helen held senior positions at financial magazine Moneywise and at The Sun.

Helen covers all issues that impact consumers, and has played a pivotal role in MSE's Lifetime ISA and unusually high call volumes campaigns. Standing up for consumers, fighting for their rights, investigating injustices, and holding big firms and the powers that be to account is what drives Helen. She regularly appears as an expert for MSE on TV, radio and in print.

Helen was named as the Wincott Foundation's Personal Finance Journalist of the Year in 2019, having won the Online Financial Journalist of the Year at the 2013 Santander Media Awards.

In her spare time, Helen tries to practise what she preaches by bagging a bargain on everything from gym classes to globetrotting and dining out.

Latest from Helen Knapman

If you're heading out to vote in various elections across England, Scotland and Wales today you don't need to bring your polling card or ID - but you will need to bring a pen or pencil and wear a face covering.

5 May 2021

The cost of buying school uniform for children in England could fall later this year after a new law was passed which will mean schools must try to keep prices down and keep branded items to a minimum.

29 April 2021

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If you starting using your car to commute during the pandemic and plan to continue to do so, you may need to notify your insurer ASAP. A temporary extension of cover organised by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) trade body ends at 11.59pm on Friday (30 April), and if you don't have the correct insurance in place you could be fined and left unable to claim. Some insurers don't need to be notified immediately though and have automatically extended cover further - we've full details below.

29 April 2021

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Music streaming giant Spotify is to hike the price of its Student, Duo, and Family paid-for 'Premium' packages, with some customers set to pay an extra £2/month, or £24/year. However the price of its Individual subscription - currently £9.99/mth - doesn't appear to be changing.

25 April 2021

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Barclays is to close its Pingit payments app on 30 June, and related services including Pingit savings 'jars' and Pingit's wearable tech which allows you to make contactless payments will also be scrapped. If you use Pingit and are affected, we've full info below on exactly what's changing and what you need to do.

13 April 2021

The Government has unveiled details of how it plans to open up foreign travel this summer for those in England, with countries to be graded under a new traffic light system which will determine whether travellers need to quarantine and what coronavirus tests are required.

8 April 2021

Thousands of Ratesetter investors have been left waiting to get their cash back from closed accounts after a 'technical issue' delayed withdrawals made over the Bank Holiday weekend and on Tuesday. The peer-to-peer lender says it's now fixed the problem though, and says payments should arrive in customers' accounts by the end of Thursday (8 April).

7 April 2021

EE mobile customers with 5G contracts and compatible handsets can now access the faster service in 35 more locations across the UK, including Brighton, Swansea and York. It's the latest expansion in 5G coverage by one of the major networks - we've details below on how to check which areas are covered by all four of the major providers.

7 April 2021

Millions of Sky broadband and TV customers will be hit with price hikes of up to £72 a year from April onwards, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal. But if you're affected you may be able to leave penalty-free or haggle down your bill – we've full details on what's happening and your rights below.

31 March 2021

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MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has had his pleas for more help for mortgage prisoners heard in the House of Lords this week, as new rules were proposed which could see interest rates capped for some.

11 March 2021

Cyclists in England can once more get their hands on free 'Fix Your Bike' vouchers worth £50 as the Government has today released a third tranche under the scheme.

11 March 2021

Millions of universal credit claimants will continue to get a £20/week uplift to their payments for a further six months, it was announced today, after Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a series of benefits adjustments in his 2021 Budget.

3 March 2021

HMRC P60 end-of-year certificate and letters about tax rates

Some 1.3 million people are expected to start paying income tax and a million more will become higher-rate taxpayers by 2026 after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced income tax thresholds are to be frozen after a rise this April. The Government's also freezing the pensions lifetime allowance and the thresholds for capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

3 March 2021

Plusnet customers will no longer be able to get a discount on their home phone line rental by paying for a year upfront, after the telecoms firm axed its 'line rental saver' option for existing customers. If you're on the line rental saver currently, you won't pay any more until your minimum contract term expires, but when it does you'll be switched to paying line rental monthly, which costs just over £30/year more.

26 February 2021

A landmark class action case against Mastercard, which if successful could see millions of UK consumers receive £100s each in damages, is set to return to court next month. It's the latest step in a case that has rolled on for almost five years. Here's an update on the most recent developments and what the next stage means for consumers.

22 February 2021

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Millions of EDF, Eon, Npower and Scottish Power customers will see energy bills hiked by £96/yr on average from 1 April. All four firms are raising prices by the maximum allowed under the new energy price cap announced earlier in February. But most households can beat the hikes and save £200/yr by switching to a cheaper deal.

18 February 2021