Petar Lekarski

Assistant Editor – News & Investigations

Latest from Petar Lekarski

Santander cuts rate on popular 5.2% easy-access savings account – should you switch?

Santander cuts rate on popular 5.2% easy-access savings account – should you switch?

Santander has cut the rate on its popular easy-access savings account from 5.2% to 4.2% – but you can easily beat this by switching elsewhere.

25 June 2024

Barclays to axe Blue Rewards monthly cashback – should you ditch it now?

Barclays to axe Blue Rewards monthly cashback – should you ditch it now?

Barclays is overhauling its 'Blue Rewards' loyalty scheme for 100,000s of customers by scrapping monthly cash payments and adding Apple TV+ instead. The changes mean most should diarise to ditch the scheme from 4 September.

24 June 2024

Warning: Five holiday booking scams to watch out for as £12 million a year lost to travel fraud

Warning: Five holiday booking scams to watch out for as £12 million a year lost to travel fraud

If you're booking your next holiday, watch out for fake deals, clone websites and bogus cancellations, as criminals are using a variety of sophisticated methods to trick holidaymakers out of their money.

18 June 2024

Nationwide to pay £100 'Fairer Share' bonus to millions of customers this month – here's who will get the payment

Nationwide to pay £100 'Fairer Share' bonus to millions of customers this month – here's who will get the payment

The £100 bonus will be paid to millions of the building society's current account customers who also have savings or a mortgage with it.

18 June 2024

Spotify subscriber? Save up to £24 a year by removing audiobooks from your plan

Spotify subscriber? Save up to £24 a year by removing audiobooks from your plan

If you pay for a Spotify 'Individual', 'Duo' or 'Family' subscription and don't mind giving up audiobooks, you can now save up to £24 a year by switching to one of its new 'Basic' plans.

21 May 2024

Bank of England holds base rate at 5.25% again – but with a cut now on the horizon, what does it mean for your mortgage and savings?

Bank of England holds base rate at 5.25% again – but with a cut now on the horizon, what does it mean for your mortgage and savings?

The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the sixth time in a row. But there are now stronger signs that a rate cut might be coming soon – which could have a knock on impact on mortgage and savings rates.

14 May 2024

TSB to close 36 branches in 2024/25 – here's the full list, plus alternatives

TSB to close 36 branches in 2024/25 – here's the full list, plus alternatives

We list the branches disappearing and what the alternatives are if you still want face-to-face banking.

14 May 2024

Sainsbury's shopper? Check if you can get an easy Nectar points boost with its new offer

Sainsbury's shopper? Check if you can get an easy Nectar points boost with its new offer

If you have a Nectar card, you may be able to earn a few quid's worth of extra points this month, as Sainsbury's is running a limited new promotion for millions of shoppers.

9 May 2024

Spotify to hike prices by up to £24 a year – here's what's happening

Spotify to hike prices by up to £24 a year – here's what's happening

If you've got a Spotify Individual, Duo or Family account you'll see prices rise by up to £2 a month (equivalent to £24 a year) in a month's time, the music streaming service has announced.

30 April 2024

Chase customer? Check if you can get its boosted 5.1% easy-access saver

Chase customer? Check if you can get its boosted 5.1% easy-access saver

If you have a Chase current account, you may be able to get a table-topping 5.1% easy-access savings rate to go with it, as the bank has launched a new, temporary bonus offer for some existing customers.

23 April 2024

Got a text, email or letter from the Met Police? Don't ignore it – you may need to act to protect yourself from scams

Got a text, email or letter from the Met Police? Don't ignore it – you may need to act to protect yourself from scams

If you got a text message or email from the Metropolitan Police between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesday 17 April – or you get a letter in the next few days – don't ignore it.

18 April 2024

Nearly 850,000 people missed out on cheaper passports last year – here's how to cut costs and beat the upcoming price hikes

Nearly 850,000 people missed out on cheaper passports last year – here's how to cut costs and beat the upcoming price hikes

Nearly 850,000 people missed out on cheaper passports last year – and with fees rising by 7% this week, here's how to get a new passport for less.

9 April 2024

Energy Price Cap predicted to fall by less than expected – so should you fix now?

Energy Price Cap predicted to fall by less than expected – so should you fix now?

It means you'd pay on average 15% less than the current Price Cap over the next year – but you could save more than this by fixing now.

28 March 2024

Car finance mis-selling investigation expected to find wrongdoing, regulator says

Car finance mis-selling investigation expected to find wrongdoing, regulator says

It's "improbable" that an investigation into hidden car finance commission will find no evidence of wrongdoing, the boss of the financial watchdog has said.

14 March 2024

Council tax set to rise for millions in April with most facing 5% hikes – here's what you need to know

Council tax set to rise for millions in April with most facing 5% hikes – here's what you need to know

Council tax bills will rise for millions of people from 1 April, with most local authorities in England preparing increases of 5% – adding around £100 to a typical band D bill. In Wales, most councils are planning rises of between around 5% to 10%.

12 March 2024

Martin Lewis: What the Spring Budget 2024 means for your pocket – national insurance cut, frozen tax rates, Child Benefit boost, no LISA change & more

Martin Lewis: What the Spring Budget 2024 means for your pocket – national insurance cut, frozen tax rates, Child Benefit boost, no LISA change & more

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today announced a range of new tax, benefits and savings measures in his Spring Budget. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has shared his instant reaction and explained what the changes mean for you, and we've added more detail on them below.

6 March 2024