Get faster broadband, cheaper
£212/yr BT broadband, NHS workers tax back, free kids activities, free upgrade to Windows 10 and last chance to renew tax credits. These are our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis’ Deals of the Week.
Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.
Ends today: £212 for a year’s BT Fibre fast broadband and line rental
Fibre broadband is fast and great for gamers, downloaders and if there’s multiple users in the house. However it can be expensive, so the key is to wait and get it when there’s a cheap promo deal on – like now!
Newbies to big broadband beast BT, can go online to Cable.co.uk and pay a year’s line rental upfront for £205.08 (equivalent to £17.09/month or if not pay monthly line rental at £18.99) and get phone and up-to-52Mb speed unlimited broadband (around 80% of the UK can get this) too. Then the broadband’s half-price at £12.50/month plus a one-off £49 activation fee and £7.99p&p for the router. You also get access to BT sport for £5/month and free 100GB of cloud storage.
So all in you’ve paid £412 for the year, but then you can claim £200 back in two parts after installation one on a £150 prepaid Mastercard claim form, and another £50 cheque claim form – set a reminder in your diary because you won’t be reminded – making it £212 for the year, equivalent to £17.70/month. This is a great deal considering most people are paying £300-£400 for bog standard broadband and line.
NHS workers – check you’re owed a tax rebate
If you are, or were an NHS worker – so nurses, midwives, health visitors, doctors, psychologists etc – and at some point since 1999 took part in the'Widening Access Training' scheme (WAT), you may be due tax back. My team and I have been doing work on this and have already had people reporting reclaiming of £6,000 back. To check whether or not you can reclaim, and how to do it see Martin’s ‘Step-by-step NHS tax reclaim’ guide but in brief…
The issue is that the WAT scheme involved full-time training – and as this was a special training scheme the payments people got while on it should’ve have had NI or tax – but the payments received were taxed as if you were working.
- If you were and NHS employee at the time – Whether or not you can reclaim depends on varying factors, such as the type and length of course, how long you attended the course for, who ran the course, how much income you received and what type of payments you received while studying.
- If you were on an NHS ‘contract of training’: Some employees contracts were suspended while they were training, and for most you didn’t need to pay any tax or NI on your income from that contract. So if you did, then you can try to reclaim it.
I’m not saying you’re all definitely owed tax, but it’s worth checking out, as I’ve heard of some successes and it is worth, doing your research, then talking to your NHS trust to see. Like Lindsay who emailed me “I only found out about my reclaiming rights from a colleague, after the course had ended. I was eventually able to reclaim £1,700 NI and £4,200 tax (almost £6,000 in total), but only after making a formal complaint to HMRC”. Though if you were also eligible for tax credits it’s important to be aware they may be affected by the tax back.Martin’s Quickies:
Last chance for free upgrade to Windows 10
If you've Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you have until tomorrow midnight (though with time differences you could do it early Saturday morning) to upgrade for free to Windows 10, the latest version (after it’ll cost you around £100). It won't work if you've Windows 8, though upgrading from Windows 8 to 8.1 is free – see these instructions on how to do it. To upgrade go online to Windows 10 and click the ‘upgrade for free’ button – though before doing it make sure you back up your data just in case.
Free ‘swim safe’ and football lessons for kids
Sign up online at Swim Safe and you can book your 7-14 year old child onto a free outdoor swimming lesson which lasts for 40 minutes including a 10 minute water safety talk from a qualified lifeguard – they talk about the dangers of swimming in the sea and how to spot someone in danger. There are over 4,000 spaces available across 14 locations in England and Wales, and it runs until 25 August (depending on location). Plus if you book online at FA Skills website girls can get free football coaching sessions (boys will have to pay £3-£5 per session, this is to encourage more girls to participate in the sport) which will teach them how to dribble, pass the ball, and shoot goals. It’s for kid’s between 5-11 and its running at various locations up and down the country until the end of August.
Urgent. Last chance to renew your tax credits.
This Sunday is the last chance for around 5 million people to renew their tax credits. If you fail to do it, your credits could be stopped, or you could end up being overpaid, which sounds good, but can be a nightmare, as you’ll need to pay it back. What you need to do depends on the colour of the envelope you’ve received. If it’s white, you must check the reviewform’s correct and if it is, tell HMRC asap. It’s probably best to do it online at HMRC, on its free app (free download from Google Play or the Apple app store) or call it on 0345 300 3900, though lines will be very busy. If it’s not correct, again you need to tell HMRC asap. If it’s brown, you just need to look through the statement and make sure it’s correct. If it is your credits will automatically be renewed, if not, then let HMRC know.
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