Martin's Deals: Free £7 Amazon and passwords tip
Free £7 Amazon, Tesco double up, a tip about passwords, big discounts at The Body Shop and Laura Ashley gift set. 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.
TalkTalk hack - protect yourself online
Last week millions of TalkTalk customers may have had their personal details, such as names, addresses, bank account and sort-code details accessed in a huge hack, many have contacted me worried. The main things to do are keep an eye on bank statements, check your credit file for new applications and change your password.
Yet also if you use the same password elsewhere change that too. And in fact never use the same password for any significant accounts (ie, those where you could be defrauded if hacked).
Of course the problem is remembering the huge number of passwords we have in today’s world, so here’s my trick.
Think of three words people won’t guess, for example Shepherd, Reid, Pigeon and then some numbers like 391 or 2978. Then make your password a combination of those which you can then encode eg, a “reverse Ben capitalised then usual 3” would be Drehpehs391 – that way you can have lots of combinations remembering very little.
As for leaving TalkTalk, as many have asked about, if you’re out of contract you can, if not unless you’ve had money taken from your bank account it says it’ll charge you penalties. Yet you could say TalkTalk has breached its own ‘privacy policy’ and broken the contract thus allowing you to leave it without charge.
Check for ‘free’ Amazon £7 code
If you’ve an Amazon account, log in to check if you’re eligible. Those who are eligible are told in green writing “you have successfully qualified for the promotion code” and you’ll need to buy £30 of Amazon gift cards in gift boxes, in a single purchase, by Saturday 7 November. If you can’t see it cut and paste this amazon link.
To get the offer you need to buy £30+ of Amazon gift cards in gift boxes (the boxes are free), and Amazon says it will email your £7 promotional code two days after you buy them. As gift cards are valid ten years, this is effectively a “if you’ll spend £30 on Amazon in the next ten years here’s a free £7” deal. The codes need to be used by Wednesday 23 December, and have no minimum spend.
Martin’s Quickies
- Tesco Clubcard Christmas double-up. From Monday 2 November till Sunday 27 December Tesco is doubling up its Clubcard points, which means you can swap £5 in Clubcard vouchers for £10 of vouchers. You can use the vouchers in certain departments in-store or online at the following departments – clothing, electricals, entertainment, health and beauty gifts, home, opticians, sports equipment, stationery and toys – check Clubcard's website for the full list.
For example, a Barbie Glitter Hair Doll for £10 in vouchers, usually £20 and an Oral B toothbrush for £10 in vouchers, currently on sale at £19.99 but usually £39.99.
- 40% off at The Body Shop. Go online or in-store to The Body Shop and you can get 40% off most items, including those already reduced by up to 50% in the sale. You'll need to enter the code 14664 (or show it on your smartphone or take a printout in store) and it's valid until 9am on Tuesday 3 November. You'll also get free delivery for orders over £20, otherwise it's £2.49. I found a Chocomania Body Butter for £3.90, down from £6.50 (was £14 before the sale) and an Amazonian Wild lily shower gel for £1.95, down from £3.25 (was £6.50 before the sale).
- 50% off Laura Ashley gift set from Boots. For lovers of floral, as part of its weekly 'Star Gift' Christmas promotion, Boots has reduced its Laura Ashley Ultimate Indulgence bath set from £40 to £20, when you order online or in-store until next Thursday. This tends to be very popular with forumites in the lead up to Christmas and the gift set includes a bath soak, body lotion, shower cream, hand and nail cream, hand soap, soap dish, soap dispenser and candle.Based on the full sized items I totted this up to have stuff sold separately for around £42.55 in it, so it's a decent deal for £20.
Web exclusive: 25% off Sainsbury’s Tu
Go online to Sainsbury’s Tu or in-store to Sainsbury’s selling its Tu clothing and you’ll get 25% off everything until 11.59pm on Monday 2 November. Delivery’s £3.95 (or collect from a store for free if you order over £15). There’s no code needed – the discount is applied automatically and applies to all men’s, women’s and children’s clothing.