What an immense privilege to be taking over as Money Mail editor, with my first issue today.
I’ve been writing about personal finance for many, many years on Money Mail’s sister website, This Is Money, where I was most recently the deputy editor.
To say I’ve been an avid reader of these pages in the Mail is something of an understatement.
Helping hand: Money Mail is here to guide you through the storm — just as it has done time and again over the years
But blimey, I’ve rarely known a time when it’s been more vital to stay on top of your finances.
From the cost of living squeeze and the hangover from the nation’s Covid borrowing binge to the chaos in the mortgage markets and the fallout from the war in Ukraine, it’s been a dizzying year for families and households trying to stay on top of their bills.
But fear not: Money Mail is here to guide you through the storm — just as it has done time and again over the years.
I’ll be building on a rich tradition of fighting your corner and helping you, our wonderfully loyal readers, make your money work as hard as possible.
From the cleverest tips on how to earn more from your savings to exposing wrong-doing, rip-offs and scams perpetrated by firms you thought you could trust, I’ll be on your side every step of the way.
It says a great deal that I’m only the eighth Money Mail editor in a history stretching back almost 60 years. In that time, we’ve had 19 chancellors — although five have come in the past three years!
So what gets me up in the morning? And what gets my goat? Well, one of my proudest moments as an editor has been overseeing a major probe into billions of pounds of underpaid state pensions, which resulted in thousands of people getting windfalls of cash they should have received from the Government.
And last year I published a book about how to make money in all sorts of unexpected ways — and how to keep growing that pot (it’s called Never Go Broke, available in all good bookshops, should you be interested).
You’ll find I’m passionate about savings rates, boosting pensions, investigating scandals, the power of compound interest in making your savings and pensions grow, teaching youngsters about money and championing stories that make a real difference to your wallet, purse and piggy bank.
And what about those dislikes? How’s this list for a starter for ten: the push to cancel cash, the drive to use smart meters, private parking firms and irritating parking apps, firms that take loyalty for granted and, above all, companies big and small that don’t rectify mistakes before Money Mail has to get involved.
As my predecessor, Victoria Bischoff, wrote in her final Last Word column a couple of weeks ago, the letters and emails we receive from you are absolutely vital in helping us do all that.
You are what has long made Money Mail the best newspaper personal finance section in the country. So please write to me with your financial problems and gripes. You can find my contact details at the end of this column.
It’s a turbulent, frantic and worrying time for households. But just remember that whatever comes your way, my crack team of Money Mail reporters and I have got you covered.
Credit card chaos
John Lewis is a brand so loved by some customers that they have a dedicated credit card linked to the shop to collect reward points.
But the firm has recently changed the provider of that card, and in doing so it has alienated some of its most loyal customers, who now find themselves blocked from taking out a new card or being offered a significantly reduced limit — despite fantastic credit histories.
Indeed, the first two letters I opened as Money Mail editor were about this very issue.
Last week, John Lewis boss Dame Sharon White said the cost of living crisis was having a larger impact on the firm than the pandemic.
Why, then, is it treating some of its customers so poorly by refusing this simple credit card transfer?
To my mind, it makes absolutely no business sense. Time to put it right, Dame Sharon.
- Write to me at Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or send an email to [email protected].
