Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

NS&I inflation beating savings - lock in for ONLY 1 year
These tax-free savings are back! While the label says it's a 5yr deal, you only need keep it for one

NS&I's relaunch of its five-year tax-free inflation-linked savings has been splashed all over the papers. Yet the real highlight's often missed: high inflation's only predicted for the short term, and a small clause means you still get inflation-beating interest if you withdraw after a year. Our new Inflation-Linked Savings guide has full info, here's a summary:

• At current rates, some earn equiv of 9%. Save £100 to £15,000 for five years in NS&I's inflation-linked certificates and you get tax-free interest, equal to RPI inflation plus 0.5% a year. At the current 5.2% rate a basic rate taxpayer would need 7.1% to beat this from a normal account, a higher rate payer 9.5% – both unachievable as top five-year fix is 5.05%. Supply's limited, so hurry if you want it.
  
• Yet current rates won't last - but you can withdraw early. Over five years, inflation could drop like a stone while interest rates soar, making this deal poor. Cash-in during year one and no interest's paid, but after, you only lose a small amount. Withdraw after a year & a day and you get RPI + 0.25% for the past year, so it's a way to bet on inflation with an easy escape. Full withdrawal explanation in the Inflation-Linked Savings guide.
  
• Even kids can get it. Anyone can open one, plus both members of a couple, boosting the savable amount.
• Top easy access - 3.3% tax-free. Any over-16s who haven't opened a cash ISA since April can put £5,340 in Santander's easy-access ISA at 3.3% AER. This tracks base rate for a year, so if it rises, as many predict, so will the return. The top-paying normal savings is Nationwide* 3.05% AER (min £1,000), though it only allows one penalty-free withdrawal a year. Rates on both deals plummet after 12 mths, so diarise to ditch and switch then.
  

Far more best-buys in Top Cash ISAs and Top Savings. All accounts here have full £85,000 Savings Protection.

Special number HALVES cost of calling mobiles. Updated guide!
No need to change line, simply dial code to cut calls from 13p/min to 6p/min

It's no surprise calling mobiles is a huge chunk of many home phone bills, with daytime charges at 13p/min with BT and up to 31p/min with Virgin (£9 for 30 mins). Our updated Cheap Calls to Mobiles guide can slash costs. Here's a summary:

• Special code cuts costs to 6p/min. Dial an override provider's access number from your landline (sometimes you need an account) so you're routed through it and pay its rates. Current cheapest is 6p/min for calling mobiles on weekdays, though it depends on your home phone provider. Use the daily-updated UK CallChecker to find yours.
• Line rental and inclusive weekend calls to mobiles £11.23/mth. The Post Office's* home phone package includes unlimited weekend (6pm Fri - 6am Mon) calls to mobiles, eve & wknd calls to landlines and some international calls. You get 60 mins free then simply hang up and redial. It's giving one month free on its £12.25/mth deal, so it averages £11.23/mth over 12 months - £2.50 less than BT's standard price.
  
• Or just call from your mobile. If you've a deal that includes free calls to other mobiles, it's better to use these than your landline. If you've nearly used your allowance, landline calls are cheap from home phones anyway, so save free minutes on your handset for costlier calls to other mobiles.

Full info in the Updated Guide: Cheap Calls to Mobiles Related: Cheap Home Phones, International CallChecker

It's always best to avoid borrowing, but if you can't, interest-free is the way to go and '0% for spending' cards do just that. Plus, the top two now pay rewards. Always ensure any borrowing's planned, budgeted for and as small as possible.

• New! 0% for 15 mths and Tesco pts. Accepted new Tesco* Clubcard credit card holders get 0% for 15 mths, plus you earn at least 1 reward point per £4 spent. These are worth 1p in Tesco stores, but up to 3p in Clubcard Rewards, incl train tickets, Pizza Express & Goldsmiths jewellers. Ensure you clear all the debt or switch to a 0% Balance Transfer within the 15 mths or the rate jumps to 16.9% representative APR.
• M&S 0% for 15 mths with rewards. Joint market leader Marks & Spencer* also offers 0% for 15 mths (then 15.9% representative APR after). It pays 0.5% in rewards points so there's not much in it. It mainly just depends where you prefer your points.
• MAKE money from 0% cards! Both cards can be used by the debt-free for 'stoozing' - a technique to make £100s from plastic. Get one, then put all normal spending on it while stashing unspent wages in a top savings account to earn interest. It's a complex technique, so read all warnings first in the Stoozing guide.

Full info Updated Guide: 0% Cards Related: 0% for 20mths balance transfer, Stoozing. (See Official APR Examples).

PPI reclaiming - not got paperwork? Get it for £1
Don't pay to reclaim £1,000s! It's now much easier to get money back, even without any docs

The banks threw in the towel a fortnight ago, opening the reclaiming floodgates for payment protection insurance which was mis-sold alongside credit cards, store cards and loans. We've been swamped with questions, here are answers to the most common:

• How far back can I claim? As long as it was ACTIVE in the last six years you can claim. So a loan from 2000, repaid in 2006, counts. In rare cases you can go back further.
• No paperwork? What can I do? Often, the PPI is listed on your credit agreement. Under the Consumer Credit Act, you've a legal right to a copy (costs £1); use this template letter. Then look for mentions of insurance, eg, 'payment cover' or 'protection plan', and use the mis-selling checklist to see if you were done. If not on your agreement, under the Data Protection Act, for £10, you can ask it for all info on you.
• I can't remember my lender. Some people have had many cards or loans and can't remember who from. The easy way is get copies of your credit reports that list them all. See the Credit Rating guide.
• How much am I due? For a loan, compare what you paid with what you should've paid using our loan calculator. If you were paying £120 every month and it should've been £95, you know that's £25/mth insurance. On a five year £5,000 loan, PPI costs are around £1,500 - this is big money we're talking about.
  
• I got a text saying I was due money back. IGNORE IT, it's often lying spam. Some claims companies have latched onto this campaign, with cold calls or ridiculous texts, eg, this sent to an MSE team member who's never had PPI: "Free Message: Important! Our records indicate you may be entitled to £3,750 from mis-sold insurance. To claim, reply Yes." The company then takes 25% (can be £1,000s) for doing something most can easily do for free themselves. Please spread the word.

Step-by-step help for doing it yourself in the Updated Guides with Template Letters: PPI Reclaiming, Credit Card PPI Reclaiming Related: Bank Charges, Credit Card Charges, Council Tax

Urgent! Hot home & car insurance promos ending
Get £40 Tesco or M&S vouchers with home insurance | Free TomTom with car cover

A range of deals are ending so if your renewal's due soon grab a quote now and lock-in the promo deal for up to 2 mths. We're NOT saying "these are good deals", just "worth checking in case they're good, to get the added bonus".

• £40 Tesco or M&S voucher with HOME insurance. Get a quote & sign-up to Tesco* by 25 May and get a £40 shopping voucher. Meanwhile, get a Legal & General* quote by 31 May and sign-up within 30 days to get a £40 M&S voucher.
• Free TomTom or £50 M&S voucher with CAR insurance. Get a Santander* quote by Sun 22 May, and buy within 30 days to get a free TomTom sat nav, worth around £90. Or get a quote via this RAC* link by 9 June and buy within 60 days to get a £50 M&S voucher (important, the page itself doesn't mention the £50, but it's confirmed, and mentioned in the Ts & Cs).
• Don't just sign up, ALWAYS do a comparison. Remember, as different sites search different providers, the key is combining them in the right order to get the max search in min time.
  
  Home insurance order: GoComp*, MoneySupermarket*, CompareTM* & Confused* then add big insurers they miss: Aviva* (free contents with buildings promo) & Direct Line* (12 months for 9).
  
  Car insurance order: MoneySup*, GoCompare* then add Aviva* (12 weeks free promo) & Direct Line* (up to 70% no claims discount) and check for cashback at BeatThatQuote* (£25) or SimplySwitch* (£40).
  

For FULL info on promos, how to compare and to get up to £100 cashback, see the Updated Guides: Cheap Home Insurance, Cheap Car Insurance Related Insurance: Van, Bike