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Govt. reveals 130,000 in the WRONG council tax band Check 'n' challenge your band NOW & reclaim £1,000s Great news in the Sunday Telegraph; it reports that, over the past three years, this site's “Check 'n' challenge your council tax band" campaign has been the major player in the rebanding of 130,000 homes. On those numbers, it's possible nearly 1 MILLION people in the wrong band could get it lowered, with backdated payouts hitting their pockets. Why you could be in the wrong band. In England and Scotland, bands were initially set in 1991 by a rush job to withdraw the poll tax. Unbelievably, valuers were sent in cars doing ‘second gear' valuations, where they allocated thousands of bands while driving by. Yet, shockingly, it's never been redone. Check 'n' challenge only takes ten minutes. There are two simple steps: first compare your band to neighbours in similar properties. This is easy, as it's all public data available instantly online. If that shows you’re overpaying, then simply work out your home’s value in 1991, using free web tools. Full step-by-step guide: Council Tax Rebanding Get a backdated payout. If your property’s rebanded, not only will you save £100-200/yr, the refunds are backdated, possibly to 1993 when council tax was instituted. We’ve had scores of people reporting payouts in the £1,000s, with one street even being collectively rebanded, and getting £100,000 back. Read Success Stories: Council Tax Rebanding We’re very proud of the rebanding campaign. It started with a perfect mix of the forum and main site, as we developed, then honed, the technique with amazing feedback from forumites. It's now great to see that, over the years, the success has had a nationwide impact.

Week of Tue 19 - Mon 25 May '09 (Last week's position) 1. Top Savings Accounts (3) 2. Freebies (1) 3. Hotel Sales (New) 4. Top Cash ISAs (4) 5. Cheap Travel Money (6) 6. Cheap Flights (8) 7. Stop Junk Mail (New) 8. Travelodge £19 sale (New) 9. Do Surveys For Cash (2) 10. Balance Transfers (10) The Bank of England’s prediction that interest rates are likely to stay low well into 2010 boosted Top Savings back to the top of the charts. Plus, the £2 for three nights camping proved to be mega-popular, with summer hotting up. The new Stop Junk Mail guide's strong showing may bring tears to the eyes of some marketeers. The above excludes daily deals notes

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The Ones Not To Miss MSE

Boost Tesco, AirMiles, Nectar & Boots points up to EIGHT times. Hidden loyalty tricks.
If you've a stash of Nectar, Tesco, Airmiles points or others, you can massively increase their value without spending a penny. Scheme by scheme: This fully re-researched & rewritten guide goes through the hidden routes to maximise every major loyalty scheme, in some cases turning a £25 stash into £200-worth. Points valuing tool: The fully updated LoyaltyChecker tool lets you value points from any of 40 schemes. FULL info in the New Guide: Loyalty Points Boosting Related: Top Cashback Credit Cards, MegaShopbot, Cheap Supermarket Shopping

New! Urgent 50% off Pizza Hut Delivery & La Tasca (both end Sun). These click 'n' print vouchers join GBK, Slug & Lettuce and Browns. Full info in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers

New energy tariff, cheapest for some. ALL should Compare, Switch, Save & get Cashback.
There've been no major responses from other providers since British Gas cut electricity prices, but E.ON's just launched the not-so-sexily named E.ON EnergyOnline Extra Saver v14 tariff. It's the new cheapest for some high users, so it's well worth comparing now. Switch & get cashback: (Only via these special links). Top Pick Comparison: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch. Dual Fuel: Moneysupermarket* gives £30 cashback, Uswitch* a free case of wine & SimplySwitch* £35 in Amazon vouchers. FULL info inc. for those who've CAPPED in the Updated Guide: Switch Gas & Elec Related: Grant Grabbing, Boiler Cover

Last Chance! Free £100 with best buy bank account (inc 0% overdraft). A free-£100 promo for new customers switching to Alliance & Leicester's* Premier account ends 3pm Thurs 28. Plus you bag a 1yr 0% overdraft & free travel ins. FULL info, pros & cons in the Article: Best Bank Accounts

New Credit Card Freebie! Get £15 at Play. Plus 0% for 9 mths on spending
A new card from online shop Play gives a £15 voucher, if you spend £150+ on it with the first 90 days. Grab it, use for normal spending, and the voucher's totally FREE. Is it any good? Normally with freebies we say "always repay in full", yet this is 9 months' 0% on new spending too, one of the longest around. So if you need cheap short term borrowing, and budget to repay before it jumps to 15.9% APR, it's a top combo. Plus it gives loyalty points equivalent to 1% of your spending. More Freebies: Right now, others inc. two BA European return flights, £30 vouchers and more. FULL freebies listing, pros, cons & impact on credit scores in the Updated Guide: Credit Card Freebies Related: Best Balance Transfers, 0% Cards, Budget Planner

Urgent Qantas Sale. £499 all-in London to Oz & £519 to NZ. Book by 2 June for flights before 23 June. See the Forum Note: Australia Flights Related: Cheap Flights

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37" LCD TV, HD-ready £290 delivered. Cheap if you can afford it. Plus more HD telly bargains in the Deals Note: Cheap LCD HDTVs

New. Cheapest Car Insurance for YOUNG drivers. Add PAYG policies to top comparisons.
After many requests, we've added a new young drivers' section to the cheapest car insurance system. Here's a summary. Combine comparison sites: Always start with the usual combined comparisons system, to speedily get scores of quotes; the top four are MSupermarket*, GoCompare*, CompareTM* and Confused*. Check specialist policies: If you don't find a cheap deal, try specialist Pay-As-You-Go insurers, which use a car tracker, inc. Coverbox* and i-kube. FULL info, options, how to get extra cashback and detailed young drivers' section in the Updated Guide: Cheap Car Insurance Related: Van Insurance, Motorbike Insurance, Home Insurance

New 25% off vouchers! Wallis, Kookai, Esprit & Oli. These are in Grazia (£1.95) & join HoFraser Therapy (20%), Karen Millen online (20%) & last chance Oddbins (20%) in the Daily Deals List: Shopping Vouchers

Earn 6% AER on your savings! This hidden account still thrashes other best buys
Most best-buy tables headline 4%. Barclays' Monthly Saver pays 6% AER fixed, though it's off-radar, as it's in the little-mentioned 'regular savings' category, hence this reminder. Plus, it's great if you've a Halifax Regular Saver that's about to end. How it works: It lasts a year, and you're meant to pay in £20 - £250 monthly, but can miss months penalty-free. Withdrawals are allowed, but do so, and the interest's halved that month (though at 3%, it's still good). How to get it: Existing Barclays customers can apply online; everyone else must go to a branch with picture ID and proof of address. FULL info & alternatives in the Updated Guide: Regular Savings Accounts Related: Instant Access Savings, Cash ISAs

50% off West End Shows (London) inc. Chicago, Grease, Les Mis & Hairspray. Book before Fri 29 May at Lastminute.com*. Full details in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out

Branded food prices up 28%. Video Of The Week. Take the downshift challenge & SAVE £1,000s While average branded food prices (eg, HP sauce, Kellogg's corn flakes) are up 28% in three years, supermarket own brands have jumped less, at 17%, according to SupermarketOwnBrandGuide.com. Video of the Week: Trying the downshift challenge, where you drop a brand level, can save you a third on your shopping. Over a year it's huge. To prove it, this new video shows how one woman cut her bill by £2,500. Video & Full Guide: Cheap Supermarket Shopping Related: What's Hot At Aldi, Lidl & Netto Last chance! Ends Sun. Free 3-mth online DVD Rental (worth up to £44). A special code gives new customers three months' free DVD rental with Tesco, then cancel at will. See the Article: Cheap DVD Rental

Urgent! £50 cashback on top phone & broadband deal. Inc. line rental & wireless router.
TalkTalk's Essentials is a best-buy broadband & home phone package at £19.41/mth all-in inc. line rental, free local calls anytime & wireless router. The hidden deal: While TalkTalk's own current promo wipes the £30 connection fee, instead sign up before midnight Wed 3 June via Simplify Digital*, and it'll give £50 cashback. It's then the market leader: Over the 18 mth contract, it costs £16.63/mth (inc. all charges & cashback). This is by far the market's cheapest, and ONLY £5.38/mth more than basic BT phone line rental. FULL info in the Updated Guide: Cheap Home Phones Related: Top Cashback Sites

New half price & 2for1s at Alton Towers, Legoland, Sea Life & National Trust. Collect Walkers crisps packets & redeem codes online. These join free kids' activity sessions, sports gear with Ribena, family farm days and more in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out

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More MoneySaving MSE

MoneySavingNews. Ryanair hikes airport check-in charges to £40. Avoid this new 'replacement boarding card' fee by checking in online for £5 before you travel. See the News Story: New Ryanair check-in charges Related: Free FlightChecker Tool, Cheap Flights, Cheap Package Holidays New Travel Forum! New boards for Trip Planning, Bargain Deals and Flights The Travel Forum Board has a mammoth wealth of information. So to make it easier to find what you want, we've divided it into three. There's now the Overseas Holiday & Travel Planning board, the Report Bargains, Deals & Special Offers and Flights, Currency & Car Hire boards. Hot topics include Easyjet hand luggage, Crazy Spanish car hire prices? and Weekend trip to Dublin Related: Travel Money Maximiser, Free Flightchecker Last Chance! Free £30 PAYG mobile broadband laptop dongle (£5 p&p). Until Sunday, Three mobile's giving away USB dongles for web surfing anywhere there's a mobile signal, you just pay £5 postage, and for top ups when you need them. Full info: Mobile Broadband CHEAP FLIGHTS SALES ALERT Airline: Ryanair. Price: sub. £11 e/w. Ends: Midnight Thurs 28 May. Our top pick budget airline sale this week is Ryanair's, with flights to Milan, Pisa, Bologna & more, from a range of UK airports, for less than £11 each way (including some taxes and charges). Tickets are at this price until midnight Thurs 28 May, on selected flights travelling during June and July 09. How to quickly find the sales flights: Don't go direct, instead use the Budget Airline FlightChecker and ask it to find all flights under £11. Non-Budget Airline Tools: These are listed in the Cheap Flights guide. Related Travel MoneySaving: Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance, Mobile Roaming Great 'Party for Profit' Hunt. How to bring in cash from party planning Party planning is a brilliant way to boost your income: you choose your hours, it fits in with kids and work, and can be fun. So we want to tap MoneySavers for your top tips on being a party consultant. How does it work and which are the best firms, eg, Partylite, Body Shop at Home or Ann Summers? What are your tips for holding soirees and how much can you expect to earn? How do you make demonstrating the products fun? Add your ideas/read other peoples': Great 'Party for Profit' Hunt Past Great Hunts: View all

Q. I followed your link, and got free EHIC cards for the family. Yet, when Googling EHIC, you get companies charging £9.95 to do the same thing. Is it an unofficial rip off? Nigel Logan by email A. This is a nasty trend of unofficial rip-offs breeding across the web. Companies pick up on popular free products, make their site look as legit as possible, then sneakily charge for 'processing' or 'aiding' your application. They use special tricks to boost their Google ranking, or pay to put their links high up. These are scams, plain and simple. Unfortunately, it's the less aware who get caught out by them. The two big ones I'm aware of, are: EHIC Cards. These free govt. cards entitle you to free or discounted medical treatment in public hospitals in any EU country. Official Link: www.ehic.org.uk. More Info: Cheap Travel Insurance guide. ESTA: This is the again completely free online form you need to fill in to get permission to go to the USA. Official Link: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov More info: ESTA guide If you forget the link, come via MSE for them, and they're legit. Please report similar paid-for scams via the discuss link below. Discuss: EHIC Sites Suggest: A question of the week (big general issues not personal q's pls)

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Quick Forum Tips Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly Daily Bargains Update Tips, Tricks & Treats

Top Deal! 29p Amazon music downloads. Inc Top 40 hits. Pitch perfect 2 man tent for £23. From Amazon. Carry on camping Bargain Birkenstocks. From £20. In-store at T J Hughes & TK Maxx Ramblers Get Walking Day. 138 free organised walks across the UK. 30 & 31 May The Organised Christmas Club. For MoneySavers who are crazy about Christmas Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: Breaking the news to your partner Competitions thread of the week: Spin to win a campervan Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Adventures in Homebrewland!

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Ian hire a waitress who may want kids?
Ian runs a small cafe, but business has been hit badly by the recession, and he's fighting to survive. He needs to hire a new waitress, but is thinking twice about picking Diane, who's got a great CV, but is recently-married, and he suspects may want kids quite soon. There is already one employee on maternity leave, and the company finances are so fragile that if Ian lost another worker for six months, the caff could face ruin. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Ian hire a waitress who may want kids? Previous MMDs: View All

Great 'Cheap Cuppa' Hunt Result
PG tips says it'll hike tea prices by up to 15% next month because of supply problems, so we asked for your tips on making the perfect cuppa for less. There were some great suggestions, including Try Green Tea, National Cuppa Day, and Sainsbury's Earl Grey

Andrea's Freebies Freebies, Freebies, Freebies

Spooky Ebook, Garnier Vital Restore, Ash Download Working Welsh Stickers, Wrap Recipe Booklet Download

Odds and Ends MSE

This week's Martin's Blog: Can we cope with the base rate rising?
Plus "Who’s Who Recreation Section ... what would you put?". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

Who should pay on the first date? This week's poll. Vote and Do old traditions still apply? discussion.

MPs should be paid £708,223! 9,011 voted last week. According to last week's poll, the average MP's salary should be a colossal £708,223. The result was somewhat skewed by the 119 voters (MPs themselves?) who thought earnings should match Simon Cowell's estimated £50m/year. Discounting these, the average was £64,088; just a shade under an MP's current standard salary. See MPs' Pay poll results.

Archna's Free Game of the Week! Make the mass of molecules disappear. Minim

When to wee in a film! That's it for this week, but before we go, there's a handy new site that shows when it's safe to dash out to the toilet during films. Runpee

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team

Explanation of * Links

FSA NOTE: Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances require FSA authorisation. For this reason, Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0EH is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

How this site is financed. Any links with a * by them are affiliated. That means go via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay ad-free and free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in exactly the same way. As I believe transparency is important, I'm including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: alliance-leicester.co.uk, comparethemarket.com, confused.com, coverbox.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, envirofone.com, gocompare.com, love2recycle.com, moneysupermarket.com, mopay.co.uk, plus.net, simplifydigital.co.uk, simplyswitch.com, uswitch.com, uk.virginmoney.com.. Read more about this in how this site is financed.

MoneySavingExpert.com is the free to use Consumer Revenge website focused on how to save you cash. It's owned, and run by ultra-specialised journalist and bestselling author Martin Lewis. On TV amongst other things Martin is GMTV's Money SavingExpert and presents money programmes for ITV1 Tonight. On Radio Martin has regular slots on Radio 2 Vine and Radio 1 Whiley. He's also a columnist for the News of The World, Moneywise and the Sunday Post. Find out more: About the site and its funding.

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