Council tax warning and cheaper BT Fibre broadband

Super cheap BT fibre broadband, council tax warning, Sainsbury’s toy sale and kid’s half term activities. 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.

BT fibre broadband and line rental £219 for a year (before calls)

The key to getting cheap broadband is to pounce when there are hot short lived promos on, and currently there’s one on for BT. Better still it's fibre broadband (available to 83% of the UK), with speeds of up to 52Mb, which is up to three times faster, but costs less than most people pay for standard broadband. To see how this compares to all deals see Martin’s ‘Full cheap broadband’ guide.

The only shame is that if you’re an existing BT broadband customer you can’t get it.

Here’s how it works: The deal isn’t direct. Instead go to comparison siteCable.co.uk by 11.59pm Thursday 27 October and click the first offer on the list. The cheapest way is to pay a year’s line rental up front for £205, or pay £18.99 a month (so an extra £23 over a year). Then the broadband’s discounted to £10.99/month (usually £26/month) plus a one-off £49 activation fee and £7.95p&p for the router.

So all in you’ve paid £394 for the year, but then you can claim £175 back in two parts after installation one on a £125 prepaid Mastercard claim form, and another £50 cheque claim form – set a reminder in your diary because you won’t be reminded – making it £219 for the year, equivalent to £18.24/month. This is a great deal considering most people are paying £300-£400 for bog standard broadband and line.

Live with someone with a mental disability? You might beowed £1,000s in overpaid council tax

If there’s only one person living in a house the council tax is cut by 25%. It’s well known that students are ‘disregarded’ for council tax purposes, in other words a non-student living with a student still gets the 25% single person discount.

Yet it’s very scarcely known that the same is also true for someone with a 'severe mental impairment', such as alzheimer’s or dementia. So if they live alone they shouldn’t pay any council tax, and if they live with someone then the house should get the 25% off discount. This is likely to affect 100,000s and I want to tell you after a call from Alzheimer's Society, Stroke Association, and Parkinson's UK that so few know.

To qualify for the discount the person needs to be medically certified as being severely mentally impaired and they need to be eligible for (not necessarily claiming) at least one of ten eligible benefits, including severe disablement allowance, disabled persons tax credit, incapacity benefits and employment and support allowance.

And this isn’t just going forward, it’s backdated to, as far as it was relevant back to 1993. One lady got in touch to say her mum got over £3,000 back after wrongly paying the full amount for seven years while her husband had dementia.

To make a claim either you or the person suffering a severe mental impairment can contact the council for a claim form, you can find your council contact details via the Government's 'Apply for Council Tax Reduction' site. For a retrospective claim, you'll need to write to your council explaining the circumstances – you'll need to do this separately even if you're claiming for a reduction going forward as well, though you can attach your letter to the claim form.

Martin’s Quickies:

Up to 50% of ALL Sainsbury’s toys: This is one of the big pre-Christmas toy sales MoneySavers wait for every year, as it's a great one for Christmas prezzies. Go to any Sainsbury’s store (can’t do this online) that sells toys and you’ll be able to get up to 50% off ALL toys, until Tuesday 25 October. Around half of the toys will have the full 50% off discount and if you want something it’s best to go quick as it’s likely to be hugely popular. An example of what’s in the sale includes Disney Frozen 'My First Doll' for £12.50 (normally £25), next cheapest is £14.99 at Argos, Thomas & Friends train set for £22.50 (£45 before sale), next cheapest £30 at Asda and a Lego 'Classic Brick Box’ for £33.33 (£50 before sale), next cheapest £35.99 at Smyths.

2for1 entry at Merlin attractionsIf you buy selected Cadbury chocolates, including Chocolate Orange Minis, Dairy Milk Giant Buttons and Crunchie Rocks (costs around £2ish at most supermarkets), you’ll find a 2for1 voucher to use at 32 Merlin attractions across the UK (there aren’t any in Wales and Northern Ireland), such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Sea Life Centres (in Scotland and England), Madame Tussauds and The Dungeons (Edinburgh and London).

The voucher works when you buy a full-priced adult ticket at the entrance gate, usually around £52ish – so you can save yourself a fair bit if you’re planning on going. The voucher’s valid until 31 July 2017, so you can save it for next summer if you want (and buy more packs if you plan on visiting several times) or go during the winter, many theme parks have special attractions on eg for Halloween - though do check first as some parks have excluded dates and are closed over the winter months. But majority of the attractions will accept the voucher over the half-term.

Free pets and bike workshops: Pets at home is running free pet workshops (lasts up to one hour) for all children across its 420 stores, every day during the half-term until Sunday 30 October. You’ll need to book your spot online and children will learn how to interact with and care for animals such as guinea pigs, hamsters, fish and rabbits. They’ll also receive a certificate and stickers after. Plus Halfords is running a free bike workshop for 7-11 year olds across its 430 stores, until next Wednesday (26 October). You need to book online and kids will learn how to check the tyre pressure, fix a puncture, and adjust their seat, plus they’ll receive a goody bag which includes a tool kit, slap-wrap, discount voucher and a certificate.