Foot soldiers in the supermarket price war

As the grocery discounters make greater headway in to our food spend the Big Four supermarkets continue to tell us that they are cutting prices lower than ever before. A veritable snow storm red tickets on the heavily stacked shelves desperately try and persuade us that the prices we are seeing are all seriously reduced (honest). But as last night’s “Dispatches” on Channel 4 (and Money Fight Club’s regular research) shows, this is all a load of hokum. Shareholders are still the priority. Supermarket customers are just cannon fodder. We all need to teach them a lesson and boycott their […]

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Dear Mr. Lewis, as Tesco boss in waiting…

Dear Mr. Dave Lewis, Congratulations on your new job as boss of Tesco.  You don’t take over your new role until October, so, over the coming months we’d like you to think about a few things that should make your job easier and more rewarding. Here’s a heads up… Current chief executive Philip Clarke is leaving in the wake of what businesses like to call “challenging trading conditions”. From where we sit it looks like shoppers have simply turned their backs (in increasing numbers) on food retailers who who use words like ‘offer’ and ‘bargain’ as marketing weapons and have […]

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Getting train ticket refunds and compensation – don’t let them railroad you

It was the journey from hell. The train did not stop where it was supposed to and we ended up around 40 miles from our destination and an important family lunch. The assistance promised by the rail company didn’t materialise and we ended up taking a £70 taxi ride and having to race off early to get our train home, as the tickets we booked (not knowing how late we were going to arrive) specified that we took a particular train. Okay… gloves on: BISH! I wrote a clear letter detailing the specific failings of the rail company and attached […]

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Don’t get burned by travel & home insurance rules

If you have your bag or wallet stolen while in this country or abroad you may lose out if you have not kept the cash machine or bank counter receipt from when you withdrew the money. Insurers are increasingly asking for proof from policyholders that they had the cash they say has been stolen and are refusing to pay out if you do not have the proof. If the money is snatched soon after you leave the bank or machine there should be no dispute but to be absolutely sure you may also need to keep all the receipts for […]

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Beware new consumer rights do not give you a bruising

The European Consumer Rights Directive strengthens rights for e-consumers and those who buy on their doorstep. But we all need to be careful that we do not end up worse off. The new rights came in on Friday the thirteenth (June 2014) – which may be unlucky for some, but not for Money Fight Club followers,  if you follow our tips. Under the changes, online and doorstep customers now have 14 calendar days to return goods they do not want, or to cancel contracts and get their money back plus the cost for post and packaging. This is double the […]

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Why we’re still not out of the wood on pensions

When Gorgeous George announced our pension freedoms in the Budge, a lot of us thought great – we’ve got enough saved to pay off the rest of the mortgage and have a good holiday. But then reality cuts in – a pension’s for life and I may own by house but I can’t buy a sausage with a brick. Our guest blogger is Henry Tapper, founder of online pension resource, the Pension PlayPen. Henry has worked in pensions all his life and is now a Director of First Actuarial. Would you like to blog for us? To people who’ve done […]

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Smartening up your mortgage credit profile

It’s got even harder to get a mortgage because of changes brought it in under the Mortgage Market Review. So it’s worth making sure your mortgage credit profile is in the best possible shape. Lenders will want to take a close look at your spending and if you haven’t gone for a mortgage for a few years the added level of detail will come as a shock. Making sure bills are paid on time and being registered to vote are two of the basics but there is a lot more you can do, including checking there are no black marks […]

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Why supermarket price wars aren’t all they’re cracked up to be

Tesco has joined Morrrisons in tantalising supermarket shoppers with offers of price cuts. According to The Telegraph: Tesco has cut the cost of a cooked breakfast, with lower prices on eggs, bacon and tomatoes, saving families ‘£96 a year’. Hmmm… The Tesco salvo was in response to a similar promise to cut prices from Morrisons. Of course, it would be cynical to point out that both these generous offers were made on the back on dwindling profits. We’re all for basics such as bread and eggs costing less but we trust supermarkets about as far as you can throw a […]

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