MONEY MAGIC
USEFUL CONTACTS AND MORE INFORMATION
Section 75 –
if you pay with a credit card
Get your money
back using s.75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1874
Covers £101 to
£30,000
Get the refund
from your bank
More: in this blog search
‘money back plastic’
Chargeback –
if you pay with a debit card
Get a refund
from your bank using chargeback
Any amount
Don’t take no
for an answer
More: in this blog search
‘money back plastic’
Recurring
payments – made online with debit or credit cards
Stop them at
your bank
If any taken
later bank must refund
More: in this blog search
‘continuous payment racket’
Send it
back! If you buy online
If you buy
online absolute right to return it for any or no reason
Give notice
within 14 days
Return within
another 14 days
More: gov.uk search ‘right to return goods’
Nuclear
option if you are refused your rights
Find the boss
ceoemail.com
Go to court
moneyclaim.gov.uk
More: in this blog search
‘get that refund’
Marriage
Allowance – pay less tax!
Married or
civil partnered; one pays no income tax; the other does not pay higher rate tax
Claim £252 a
year off your tax
More: gov.uk search ‘marriage allowance’
Call HMRC Marriage Allowance helpline 0300
200 3300
Attendance
Allowance
£110.40 a week
or £73.90 if you have long term physical or mental health condition that means
you need help from another person with basic daily tasks.
More: gov.uk search ‘Attendance Allowance’
0800 731 0122
Underpaid
state pension
You may be owed
thousands of pounds if
You got Child
Benefit for a child under 16 between 1978 and 2010
Your state
pension is less than the standard £176.45 (old) or £230.25 (new)
More: gov.uk search ‘home responsibilities
protection am I eligible’
or
www.tax.service.gov.uk/guidance/Check-if-you-are-eligible-to-apply-for-Home-Responsibilities-Protection/start/about-this-guidance
or call 0300 200 3500
Winter Fuel
Payment
You will have
had a Winter Fuel Payment of £200 or £300 if you were born 21 September 1959 or
earlier. Couples will get a share of it each. It will be taken back in 2026/27 from
individuals whose income exceeded £35,000 in 2025/26.
More: in this blog search
‘winter fuel payment’
gov.uk search ‘winter fuel payment’
Call: 0800 731 0160
Budget
update November 2025
Written for
Saga on Budget Day.
Also see Budget 2025 timetable in this blog.
Active Cash™
wake up your savings
Don’t let your
money languish. Put money in best buy one year deposit or ISA accounts.
More: in this blog search
‘active cash’
Best buys: search ‘theprivateoffice best
buy cash’ or moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/
Premium
Bonds – trust the laws of statistics
Best for higher
rate taxpayers who can buy maximum £50,000 worth.
nsandi.co.uk or call 08085 007 007
Fraud – just
say nothing and hang up
If someone on a
dating site asks you to send them money as a loan or a gift don’t!
And never
contact them again.
If you get a call, or a message, or an email from someone you don’t know, end the call at once or delete the message. Do not speak to them. Do not engage. If you hear anything of what they say repeat to yourself – It’s a lie and the person saying it is a thief. And hang up.
General Help for older people
independentage.org or call 0800 319 6789
citizensadvice.org.uk or call 0800 028 1456
turn2us.org.uk
ageuk.org.net
Paul Lewis,
January 2026
