|
True or False? Scottish notes aren't legal tender
Legal Tender - Facts & Fiction
From the end of next month the old style Edward Elgar £20 note will be withdrawn from circulation, meaning you can't use it, though you can trade it in at a bank. Yet what is, and isn't, acceptable is oft shrouded in mist - mainly because the term 'legal tender' is pretty spectacularly misunderstood.
- Are Scottish bank notes legal tender? No, not even in Scotland, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be used. It simply means most people don't understand what legal tender is (see below). Bank of England notes are only legal tender in England and Wales, meaning there are no legal tender notes in Scotland at all.
- What is legal tender? It simply means if you have a court order against you for money, the person you owe cannot turn down your settlement if you offer to pay by legal tender.
- Trivia time - Is 22p of 2ps legal tender? No but 18p is. For pub quiz use only, be aware that with coins the amount counts. So you can settle court debts of up to 20p in 1ps and 2ps; up to £5 in 5ps & 10ps and up to £10 in 20ps & 50ps. However, £1 & £2 coins are legal tender to any amount - in England, Scotland, Wales & NI.
- What if a shop refuses your cash? There's little you can do, shops don't have to sell you goods, whatever you offer for payment.
Let me finish with a quick word to English shopkeepers - please do accept Scottish and Northern Irish notes. While not legal tender, they are UK Parliament approved legal currency, which makes them a perfectly acceptable way to pay. Discuss: Legal Tender
|
|
[[tip_box_in_tip]]
|
| The Ones Not To Miss |
Free BA Europe returns incl. ALL taxes & charges!
Massive new credit card freebie! Do normal spending for totally free flights
Get a free BA Europe return or earn serious AirMiles towards long haul trips, provided you've a reasonable credit score & as there’s no time limit on when you use it, the strikes won’t impact it. New Freebie: With Lloyds Airmiles Duo you get both an Amex & Mastercard and until June apply via Lloyds* website and for the first 3 mths you earn a massively accelerated one AirMile per £1 spent on the Amex (max 1,500). After that it's back to the normal 1 per £10 spent (still reasonable). Keep it free: Set up a direct debit to repay in full every month, so there's no interest, or it's 15.9% APR. Then use it for your normal day-to-day spending to build up AirMiles. 1,500 AirMiles gets... Two BA Paris/Amsterdam returns or one return to most European (Italy, Spain, German, Czech Republic etc) airports BA flies to, including ALL taxes & charges. Easier but with strings: Get the same card via AirMiles* website, spend just £10 on the Amex for a 1,500 Miles voucher, yet here you must book at least one night in a hotel via AirMiles website, which can be costly. More Freebie Flights: With BMI Amex* spend £250 in 90 days for a Europe Biz return or on Flybe spend just £1 for two standard flights. Yet with both, taxes aren't included and can be large & repay in full or the APRs are 16.9% &18.9%. FULL, pros, cons & many more deals in the Updated Guide: Credit Card Freebies Related: Top Cashback Cards, 0% Credit Cards, Cheap Travel Money
|
 |
Urgent! Watch £10 of Film & TV online free. Inc. ALL major new releases
Blinkbox code lets you rent or buy new hot flicks or TV episodes to watch legally on your PC / PS3
15,000 available at 12.30 Weds 12. Likely to go quick! Just register & enter code. See the Daily Deals List: Shopping Vouchers
MAJOR Pizza 2for1s! Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, Strada & Zizzi
Plus Domino's any pizza £9.99 delivered (starts Thurs), Prezzo 2for1 for £1 & ASK 2 meals for £10
Join La Tasca 50% off & O'Neill's 2 burgers 'n' chips for £5 in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers
Top 6% AER Children's Savings plus grab freebies. New Guide
Boost your kid's interest - it's a great lesson - many accounts are now dismal
Sadly children's savings aren't immune to dismal interest rates, not just depriving kids of cash but of the valuable lesson to make your money work for you. Time to change that... Earn 6% on regular savings: Lock £10 to £100 away (no withdrawals) every month for a year and Halifax's children's regular saver pays a fixed 6% AER. Top Easy Access: If you can get to a branch Northern Rock's kids account pays 3% variable AER on £1-£10,000. For online access, anyone over 11 can open the adult Halifax* Websaver Extra account at 2.6% AER; for younger children top with some online access is Halifax Save4it at 1.05% AER. Top 'No Access' Deals: Yorkshire & Clydesdale (branch only) let you lock cash away at a fixed 4.45% AER interest for 5 years. Though remember, if UK interest rates rise, and 4.45% doesn't look good anymore you can't shift to up the interest. Grab Freebies too: Many accounts entice kids in with good freebies but poor rates, yet just open them with £1 to get freebies like alarm clocks, zoo entry & piggy banks (full list in article). FULL info, best-buys and accounts pros & cons and how to use your kids' tax free status yourself in the New Guide: Children's Savings.Related: F E Petition, Teen Cash Class , Child Trust Funds, Childcare costs
|
 |
Free discount card for a year's 2for1s at 250 UK gardens inc. Eden Project. Use as many times as you like until April 2011, comes with £3.60 magazine, see the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out
Sony Bravia 40" LCD £499 via TV trade-in. Can you beat it? How does the Sony trade-in stack up? See the Forum note: Cheapest Sony TVs
Clearance deals: Net-A-Porter, Asos, Tesco, eBuyer outlet stores
Massive discounts at web outlet stores for electronics, designer clothing & more
Many drive miles to 'outlet villages' to snap up end of line bargains; however some high st. and high-end shops now clear out at online 'outlet-stores' either via eBay or special websites. Who's included? Clothes from Net-A-Porter's The Outnet, TK Maxx & Warehouse, all sorts of electronics from ebuyer and big name eBay stores from Tesco, Argos & Littlewoods amongst others, plus check out the Amazon hidden discount finder which creates your own pages. What type of bargains? To name but a few: half price Nike air max trainers (£30) at Schuh outlet, 32GB Apple iPod Touch £159 at Argos Clearance, £40 women's Diesel jeans at MandM, £100+ off Dell laptops at Dell, Luella purse £45 at TK Maxx online. Though of course always compare prices to elsewhere. Why so cheap? With clothes, they've often been cleared out to make way for new stock, and some electricals are refurbished repairs under warranty. Full pros & cons and a comprehensive rundown of the top sites in the NEW Deals Note: Outlet Stores on the web
|
 |
Free £19 Guerlain serum, Free £5 Body Shop cream & Free haircut
New beauty freebies all in £4ish mags. Plus free £10 Nails Inc. varnish with Diet Coke
Join free Banana Republic fragrance with £2 mag & free £5 Boots No.7 voucher. More in the Daily Deals List: Beauty Deals
[[tip_box_in_tip]]
Free Kelis mp3 (no. 10 in singles chart) & 600 more mp3 freebies. Get her Acapella for nowt, plus check the list of 680 free songs
Home phone, line rental & superfast broadband for £13.14/mth
Though fiddly, as only £2/mth more than BT line rental alone it's a cracker - run down of best-buy bundles...
There's a way to get line rental, free evening & weekend calls and (depending on your line) superfast broadband of up to 20Mbps for £13.14/mth. How to get it: Orange's Home Max bundle's £17/mth but sign up now for 18 mths via comparison site SimplifyDigital* and you get £50 automatic cashback, which added to the 3 months free Orange offer brings the avg down to £13.14/mth.You must be an Orange mobile customer to get this, but if not, just grab a free Orange mobile sim and top it up once with £10 to qualify. Customer service feedback hasn't been great, but its management's just changed & should help that. Next cheapest: The next cheapest route is get line rental from Primus at £9/month if you sign up via Homephonechoices* and broadband from Plusnet Value* which is £6.49 a month plus £25 activation fee, but currently you get 4 months free - over a year in total this works out at just £15.40/mth. Superfast Sky broadband 6mths free: Until 31 May Sky* TV customers can get 6 months free unlimited, 20Mbps broadband with its £11/month landline via a current offer - after that it's £10/mth ontop - a good deal for its superfast package. With all these though watch for high call charges - full details on how to defeat those plus pros & cons in the Updated Guide: Cheap Home Phones Related: Cheap Broadband, Cheap Gas & Electricity
New Look £5 off £30, LaSenza.co.uk 15% off, & Brantano 20% off
New Vouchers & Codes! Evans.co.uk £5 off, H&M 20% off voucher and Benefit.co.uk 15% off
Join a free discount card for The Mall shopping centres all over U.K. See the Daily Deals List: Discount Vouchers
Urgent! 500 Hoxton posh hotel rooms £1
Usually £60 - £200, but getting one's an online scrum. Be online at EXACTLY 12 noon Thurs 13 May
Stays are 14 May to 31 August. For more info & how to up your chances, see the Deals Note: Hotel Sales
What'll you take home this year? Free Income Tax Checker
Tool reveals what cash should hit your account after tax, NI, pension & student loan
If you don't know what you'll take home, how can you budget? We've fully updated our easy to use income tax calculator for the new 2010-11 tax year with all the bands (right up to 50%), so it'll tell you what your take-home pay will be. Anyone changing jobs, getting a pay rise or cut can also use it to indicate if you're overpaying. How it works: Simply tell the Tax Calculator your salary (it's primarily for employees) and whether you make pension or student loan contributions and it'll reveal what you'll earn after all tax & national insurance deductions. Compare with the past: After you've got this year's answer, speedily find out what you'd have received in any of the past ten years too. Redo your budget! Once you know your new income, use the Free Budget Planner to check it balances against your expenditure. Related: Tax Rates 2010/11, Money Makeover
|
 |
Turned away or unfairly treated while trying to vote? If you were or someone you know was, human rights charity Liberty is looking to take (free) legal action. Liberty Link: Election problems
5p/litre off fuel voucher per £50 spend at Sainsbury's and Tesco. So if you spend over £100 split shopping into two - ends midnight 23rd may. Updated Guide: Cheap Petrol/Diesel
Bank Charges "They're refunding all my charges for 2 years - £806"
You can still win. Success stories are flowing in - reclaiming is possible if you're in hardship
Since last Nov's test case loss, rumours of the death of bank charges reclaiming have been greatly exaggerated. If you're in financial hardship, there's still a realistic chance of getting some or all of your charges for going beyond overdraft limits or bouncing direct debits back. The most eloquent way to demonstrate this is with one of a number of recent notes from MoneySavers...A gesture of 'goodwill': Patrick82 says "I still can't believe it. I was getting the maximum charges applied to my account every month so sent a claim for financial hardship. I received a phone call saying 'as a good will gesture' they'd refund all my charges from the last two years; £806. I was expecting them to tell me where to go, not pay up without a fight". Find out if you're eligible and how to reclaim in the full Bank Charges Guide inc template letters: Bank Charges. Other Reclaiming Guides: PPI, Credit Card Charges, Council Tax, Your Financial Rights
New Sales! Debenhams 25% off and LauraAshley.co.uk 25% off
Join online sales - Millets up to 50% off, Burton up to 50% off and Dorothy Perkins up to 50% off
Plus Office up to 70% off. See full details of all main current high street sales in the Daily Deals List: Sales Diary
Help us reveal disguised own brands - do you have proof?
Last week we revealed Boots No.7 was being relabelled and sold in Poundland - know of others?
Last week's disguised Boots revelation caused a stir in the press; our pictures showed the label being pulled off some Poundland Pure products, revealing the original Boots No.7 & Botanics labels hidden underneath - where they're sold at much more than a pound. The story spread like wildfire and was picked up by both the Sun & Daily Mail. Know of any other disguises: For years the disguised own brand hunt's listed suspected cases, but for us to go large on it, and help people know where to buy the same for less - we need proof that'll hold up. So perhaps you worked in a factory, or you've spotted relabelling or have any info that could help us prove it - we'd love to hear from you. Please email: disguises@moneysavingexpert.com
Not got your £1 KGB Cineworld ticket? It went through fine for most, but if you didn't get it find out what to do in the Forum Note: KGB deals issues?
Last Chance! Ends Sun! £60 M&S voucher on 17% off Aviva Home Insurance
Combined building & contents deal from the 'we're not on comparison site' insurer - needs 3+ yrs no claims
Go via this link to Aviva* and get a £60 M&S voucher on top of its long term '2 mths free' deal (the page doesn't mention the voucher, click for t&cs). Yet always compare against the combined results of GoCompare*, MSP*, Confused*, CompareTM* . FULL info in Cheap Home Insurance
|
[[tip_box_in_tip]]
|
| Big & Easy Ways To Save |
| Quick links or click the titles for full pros, cons, alternatives & more savings |
|
|
|
| More MoneySaving |
|
 |
Q. I'd be very interested to know, in the light of the volcano disaster, which insurance company you'd suggest that wouldn't let the public down. Jean, by email
Martin's A: If six months ago I'd written warning everyone to "ensure you get a policy covering exploding volcanoes in Iceland" you'd probably've laughed. By definition insurance is about the unknown so it's impossible to know what the next 'volcano' or 'swine flu' issue will be and check if travellers are covered.
This isn't about price either as some far from cheap insurers like Aviva, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Nationwide, didn't pay out for all volcano related costs. One issue was whether it was a natural disaster (rarely covered) or bad weather (usually covered) and that's something only defined after an event.
Maybe somewhere there's a undoubtedly super-expensive cover-all policy, but MSE isn't about that, and I've not heard of it anyway.
So what can you do? Well my view (and many will disagree) is ensure the common risks are appropriately covered like medical issues while away, lost baggage, repatriation, stolen cameras etc and the price is low (see Cheap Travel Insurance); at least that way you've a bit of cash left over in case unforeseen eventualities do happen.
|
Discuss: Travel insurance
Suggest: A question of the week
(big general issues not personal q's pls) |
|
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, Charecroft Way, 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 we 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 we believe transparency is important, we're including the
following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: lloydstsb.com, airmiles.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, simplifydigital.co.uk, homephonechoices.co.uk, plus.net, sky.com,
aviva.co.uk, gocompare.com, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, virginmoney.com, tescofinance.com, rbs.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, alliance-leicester.co.uk, natwest.com, halifax.co.uk. 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-focused 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 amongst others the News of The World, The Telegraph and the Sunday Post. Find out more: About the site and its funding.
Disclaimer: This e-mail is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to your
own specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research Full Terms & Conditions.
To change your E-mail or stop receiving Tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips |
|
Latest weekly email
