Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

"I am not a scrounger, and this is why"
One man's story | Plus free 5-min benefits check-up — don't be put off getting what you're entitled to
Not everyone on benefits is a scrounger. Nor does everyone get £26,000/yr, despite what the recent "cap 'em" debate's made some believe - far from it. Of course, some abuse the system, and the system abuses others by failing to make work pay. Yet the current vitriol risks putting those in need off getting what they're entitled to, eg, 1m pensioners don't claim pension credit, even though they've often paid into the system for all their working lives...

Wrist tumour: "Imagine the reaction when I shake hands at job interviews"

• "I'm not a scrounger". After a chance Twitter conversation, we invited Ross Goodall to be a guest contributor this week. The bus driver became unable to work due to the tumour on his wrist (pic right - we've his permission to share it) and in his words, "I’ve two young children and a partner to support on a smidgeon over £11,000 a year's benefits" - Read Ross's story.
• Do a five-minute benefit check-up. Benefits and tax credits aren't solely for the unemployed, the web stretches much wider than you think, usually up to families with a sub-£40,000 income (higher for those with specific needs, eg, disabilities). We've a special, detailed Benefits Check-up Tool that asks a range of questions, then lists what you're entitled to. Payouts will change in April, but being up and running now helps.

Full help in the Guide: Benefits Check-up Related: Tax Code Reclaiming Tool, Tax Credit Renewals, Stop Spending

Slash credit card debt costs — NEW top deals
Repay long term 6.9% FOR LIFE | Mid term 22 months 0% | Short term 2.9% fee-free
Check your credit card APRs (interest rates). If they're 10%+ (or even less) and you've a reasonable credit score, you're likely to be throwing away over £100 a year for every £1,000 you owe. Instead, shift the debts to one of these new cards to slice down the rate. All require a credit check. Ensure you make the monthly repayments or you can lose the promo deals.

• Long term — lock in 6.9% FOR LIFE, fees-free. If you're unsure of how quickly you can clear your debt, or need 4 years+ to repay, a long term consistent rate's cheapest. Sainsbury's* lets new cardholders shift debts to it at 6.9% rep APR. While the APR's technically variable, regulations mean if you don't miss payments, you can reject rises provided you agree not to borrow more. Yet as it's a 'representative' APR, sadly only 51% of accepted applicants must get the 6.9%, others may pay more.
• Mid term — up to 22 months 0% deals: If you can clear within 2-3 years, shift debts to a top 0% deal. The record 2yr deal's now gone, so the table's changed. As these are for new cardholders, go for the first you haven't got.
  
  

  Longest 0% balance transfers
  Card	0% lasts	Fee (of amount shifted)	Rep. APR (when 0% ends)
  Barclaycard*	22 mths	2.9%	17.9%
  Halifax*	22 mths	3.5%	17.9%
  NatWest*/RBS*	20 mths	2.9%	17.9%
  Virgin*	20 mths	2.99%	18.9%

• Short term — new 2.9% for 16mths no fee. Halifax's new Clarity card deal (branch/phone only hence no link) gives new cardholders 16 mths at 2.9% fee-free, which beats 0% cards for most if you can fully clear it in under 13 months. Alternatively, Barclaycard* has a 16 month 0% with a 1.6% fee and Virgin* 16 month 0% with a 1.99% fee. If you can't clear these before the promo ends, they jump to to 12.9%, 18.9% and 16.6% representative APR after.
  

The cheap rate's usually only for shifted debts, so avoid new spending. Full help via our 'Which card's my cheapest?' tool in the Updated Guide: Best Balance Transfers, (Official APRs) Related: 18 mths 0% spending, 6% Loans

Your biggest consumer rights mistakes
In December 8,000 people took our Consumer Rights Quiz — here are the most common errors

Only a seriously brainy 3% of people who took our 10-question Celebrity Consumer Rights Quiz got full marks, so here's a crammer for the rest of you... (SPOILER ALERT. We're about to tell you the biggest errors, so take the quiz first if you haven't).

• Been sent a gift? No return right if faulty (75% got it wrong). Legally, only the person who pays has a right to return faulty goods, not the gift recipient. To get round this, use a gift receipt which transfers the right, or get the shop to write on its copy of the receipt as well as yours "bought as a gift". Of course, many shops allow it anyway, but it's worth doing in case.
• Return online goods & you ARE entitled to delivery back (71% wrong). Order online from an EU company paying a delivery charge, and you've a right to send it back without fault for a full refund AND delivery costs back under the Distance Selling Regulations. Though unless it's faulty, you're not entitled to the cost of returning it to them.
• No refund right for faulty goods after five months (51% wrong) Many people thought if you send a faulty item (in this case a treadmill) back after five months, you can expect a full refund. Wrong. Under six months, while the shop still has to prove it wasn't faulty when you bought it, you're much more likely to get a repair or exchange.

• No right to return personalised goods (33% wrong). While Distance Selling Regulations mean you've a 7-day right to return most online goods, personalised items such as specially-made "I love pookie-wooky-face" T-shirts are excluded (unless faulty).
  

Full Help: Consumer Rights Try more MSE quizzes: How tight are you?, New MSE Quiz Page