MoneySavingExpert.com

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MoneySavingExpert.com
URL http://moneysavingexpert.com/
Commercial? Yes
Type of site Finance
Owner Martin Lewis and Martin S Lewis Ltd
Created by Martin Lewis and Martin S Lewis Ltd

MoneySavingExpert.com is a British consumer finance information and discussion website founded by journalist Martin Lewis in February 2003 with the aim of providing information and journalistic articles enabling people to save money.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The website states that it is the UK's biggest independent money site, with over two million visits every month[1], and has an Alexa ranking of 2697[2]. The site aspires to have an ethical stance with the principles of being free to use with no advertisements[3], independent, unbiased and journalistic in all its research and money-saving articles[4].

Martin's Free Money Tips e-mail is sent to over 650,000 people each week[5] and contains a mixture of editorial articles and tips from users in the site's Forum (MoneySavingExpert Forums).

[edit] Motto

The site's motto detailed on the home page is "we spend our lives being screwed by companies for profit, this site is about how to screw them back".

[edit] Campaigns and charity

The site/Martin Lewis have launched two petitions relating to the advertisements of secured loan products on TV.

  • The first aiming to have the adverts banned from children's television which received 43,000 signatures[6].
  • The second appealing to Carol Vorderman to stop appearing in secured loan advertising. Lewis felt that Vorderman was seen by the general public as a credible figure because of her mathematical skill demonstrated in TV programmes such as Countdown. This petition had over 80,000[7] signatures and newspapers reported that she threatened legal action to try to stop it[citation needed].

Both of these campaigns have been the subject of Parliamentary early day motions[8].

MoneySavingExpert.com regularly contributes to charities nominated by site users. It is estimated that £100,000 may be donated in the 2006-2007 year[9]. In previous years all money has been given to nominated charities based on the percentage of the vote given by site users, but it has been announced that in the future a new registered charity, the MoneySavingExpert.com Charitable Trust, will distribute the money. It has also been announced that a proportion of the money will fund a feasibility study into setting up a "MoneySaving Kids charity" to help educate children about how to be consumers[10].

[edit] Awards and support

  • Winner of the New Media award at the Personal Finance Media Awards, November 2005[12]
  • The Guardian newspaper wrote that the site has "a fearsome reputation for deconstructing the deals on offer from the banks and building societies to find out whether they are really good value"[13]
  • The Times listed the site as one of "ten that stun with sheer insight or inspired rich media".[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ About the web site. moneysavingexpert.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
  2. ^ Related Info for: moneysavingexpert.com. Alexa (2006-08-14). Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
  3. ^ Patrick Collinson. "Proud to be a 'terrorist'", The Guardian, January 15 2005. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.
  4. ^ Martin Lewis. Moneysavingexpert - How this site is financed. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  5. ^ Martin’s Money Tips e-mail sent 23rd August 2006 (2006-08-23). Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  6. ^ Debt: Not In Front of the Children. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  7. ^ The "Carol Vorderman: Secured Loan Ads Don't Add Up" Appeal. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  8. ^ Early Day Motion - Debt: Not in Front of the Children Campaign. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  9. ^ Lewis, Martin (2006-10-08). New Site Charity Nominations Now Open. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  10. ^ Lewis, Martin. Moneysavingexpert.com - The Charity Fund. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  11. ^ House of Commons. Tuesday 25 January 2005. Notices of Motions for which no days have been fixed ('Early Day Motions'). House of Commons (25 January 2005). Retrieved on 2006-08-13.
  12. ^ 2005 Bradford & Bingley Personal Finance Media Awards Winners Unveiled. Bradford & Bingley (9 November 2005). Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
  13. ^ Patrick Collinson. "Now time has come to end this mis-selling scandal", The Guardian, September 17 2005. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.
  14. ^ Simon Kurs, Sally Kinnes. "Kings of the online jungle", The Sunday Times, January 1 2006. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.

[edit] External links

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