-
Beware the December pay trap!
Yep - here we are again, time for the annual warning thread,,, I'm talking about the "December pay trap" - you know the one, rather than being paid on the last day of the month, or the 28th, "because it's Christmas" your company set up the pay run early - anything from 10 days early. The money lands in your bank account,…
-
Saving money on food deliveries
I hope someone can help me because I cannot find a way out of my problem. I have to have food delivered as I live 2 bus journeys from the supermarkets and coming back on 2 buses with a load of shopping is never gonna happen. However, I usually have to add stuff I don't really need to make up the 40 or 50 pound basket…
-
Rental car rights
Hello, I hope you’re all well. I have a feeling we’re limited in our rights here, but feel aggrieved and so wanted to run it past the MSE mega brains to see if we have any chance of recouping some of our money. We were due to have a pickup truck dropped off today, for us for a Christmas trip for the family. It was due to…
-
Cancelled mobile phone refund
I'd like to call on the expertise of forum members for this question. I bought a phone from Motorola UK, cancelled it on the same day, and I'm wondering when I should expect to receive the refund. T&Cs can be found here https://www.motorola.com/gb/en/legal/terms-of-sale * Purchase made online at 08:30 on 7th November,…
-
Contributions Based NS ESA to UC query (not transitional)
Apols, this seems a touch complicated to me. I'm on ESA, awaiting medical assessment. I have a fit note that takes me to March 2026, so one hopes the assessment will be completed by that time! I have a query, I'm sure all the experts are aware, Cont based ESA stops after 12 months. For me that would be June. What's the…
-
Can I AVC my Xmas bonus
Ooft - very grateful for my Xmas bonus but have been whacked in tax. Can I send most of my bonus to my company Nest pension as an AVC to save tax? We don't have salary sacrifice set up yet - but if it's quick I could set it up for the company - so maybe others that have been whacked have the option also?
-
Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.
Hi there, today I reactivated my account with MSE. Hoping to get some motivation to pay off our mortgage a little quicker. Little bit of back story- So I had a diary in the debt free wannabe forum many years ago. I paid said debt off, saved up money to purchase a house :) and moved. Since then (2015) I have divorced, been…
-
Roofing problems after work completed
Hoping I can get some advice. My parents recently needed a roof repair, got a few quotes and went with one of the more expensive ones as they had amazing reviews on Trust pilot. The work got completed and then my Dad noticed some of the work hadn't been done. The roofing company said that the work wasn't requested. Why…
-
Facebook Marketplace - easy to get scammed as a seller?
I don't particularly like selling on eBay. It's a last resort for me for a few reasons - * the fees. * the ease with which a dishonest buyer could screw you over. Thankfully I haven't yet had this in my experience but it's only a matter of time in my opinion. I have some items I'm wanting to sell which people in various FB…
-
M&S credit card offer ??
Hi everyone, I signed up for the M&S credit card through a MoneySavingExpert offer back in November/early December. I’ve finally received the card, but I’ve completely forgotten the exact details of the signup bonus! Does anyone happen to remember what the MSE-exclusive offer was at that time? My searching skills are…
-
Withdrawal rules on notice accounts
I have a 95 day notice account that I planned to empty, so I calculated the interest into the future and scheduled the withdrawals but didn't factor in rate cuts so the final withdrawal will be short. if I make a deposit prior to the final withdrawal, will it allow the withdraw or does the deposit need to remain in their…
-
West Brom experiences
I applied for the Triple Access Saver (Issue 1) 4.55% on 11-Nov, I got the email saying it’s in progress. finally got an sms on 20th saying it’s been approved and they would email me details of how to add cash. Eight days later, not heard anything checked all my junk folders etc. I know they have my email correctly.…
-
Private healthcare when exceeding insurance limit
I have private medical insurance through my work which has a £2000 limit for consultations and tests. My consultant has been very thorough about tests, which means that I am nearly at the £2000 limit already. I'm expecting I will need more appointments and tests before the plan year renews on 1 August. I haven't ever gone…
-
Finally credit card debt free
Been a while since we were credit card debt free but today I can say it. We changed the way we do the finances. Now my husband pays the bills as its easier to transfer from his account to the joint then the remaining goes to mine so I can withdraw the cash budget for the month then the remaining funds went to the credit…
-
Consultation Claims car finance emails - scam?
Been contacted twice by a company called Consultation Claims regarding a car finance claim that they allege I've made with them. Latest email had contractual documents attached that are allegedly signed by me 'for my records'. A few points: (1) never heard of them, never had any contact/made a claim with them in the past…
-
Negative equity pay off
Hi I'm looking for some opinions on our car's negative equity. In short we swapped out our PCP agreement for a different car, the old one unfortunately had negative equity due to the drop in its value we owe £3000. Currently we are financing this over 4 years. I'm wondering whether we try and pay it off sooner through…
-
Flying solo
I previously had a diary (well actually I've a few) but in June I had a big life shift which meant I disappeared for a while! I've had a few attempts at trying to pay off debt, made great progress and then progress stopped and the debt increased again. But this time I seriously mean business and I am determined to get this…
-
2026: time to face facts and plan for the hard times ahead
Hello everyone, I've been a long time lurker under a different alias but have now created a new moniker to be a bit more vague about name and area of UK as starting this journey and will be posting for my own sanity and all your support I've seen so much across the years. I'm in a deep pile of debt that I've been servicing…
-
Gulf Air flight delay
I had a flight from Goa - Manchester with a stopover at Bahrain. This whole route was with Gulf Air. My flight from Bahrain - Manchester was delayed by 10hours. I reached out to Gulf Air directly for compensation and they have responded with a final response of denying paying me compensation. Unfortunately the CAA wont…
-
Debt repayment rules
I have three non-priority debts that are 16-years old. Total debt £16,400. I have had a repayment arrangement since then for £1 pm to each creditor. This arrangement has been trouble-free. I have now had an offer from the largest creditor (£8766) to pay this off at a substantially reduced amount (£3507) by December 11th. I…
