Petar Lekarski

Assistant Editor – News & Investigations

Petar joined MoneySavingExpert in 2019, but his passion for all things MoneySaving goes back much further – as evidenced by his 'Part of the furniture' badge on the MSE Forum.

He developed his in-depth knowledge of bank accounts, credit cards, loans and savings in the Money team before moving across to MSE News. He has written about a wide range of personal finance topics, covering everything from mobile roaming charges to supermarket loyalty schemes to railcards.

In 2021, Petar researched and wrote MSE's comprehensive and massively popular guide to diesel emissions legal claims, and he continues to maintain it as the cases progress.

Petar has also worked directly with Martin Lewis as his researcher, supporting the MoneySavingExpert with his eponymous ITV show and other media appearances over a period of 18 months.

When he's not polishing prose or crunching numbers, you'll find Petar at the cinema, eating spicy food or cycling around London on a rented bike. He also enjoys playing video games, bouldering and lists of three.

Latest from Petar Lekarski

Buy now, pay later firms, including the likes of Klarna and Clearpay, are to be regulated – and all shoppers will face affordability checks before taking out this type of credit. The shake-up also means borrowers with complaints will be able to take cases to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

2 February 2021

DPD Local has been ranked as the best parcel delivery firm in our annual poll of MoneySavingExpert.com users, while its sister company DPD – the previous winner of our poll – came second. At the other end of the scale, CitySprint and Yodel got the poorest ratings from MoneySavers. The results come after a hard year for parcel delivery firms in which they've been an essential supply line for many stuck at home.

25 January 2021

Santander is halving the maximum interest-free overdraft it offers those in their second year after graduating to £1,000 from 1 July, and grads who go over this buffer will be charged interest of almost 40%. But you can beat the changes by switching account – here's what you need to know.

21 January 2021

Four "irresponsible" Instagram posts promoting buy now, pay later service Klarna have been banned by the advertising regulator.

23 December 2020

A major new survey by MoneySavingExpert.com has revealed which travel firms are least likely to have paid out full refunds for trips cancelled due to coronavirus, with Lastminute.com, Teletext Holidays, Loveholidays and Ryanair among those rated worst. With many customers waiting over six months to get cash back, we're passing our findings to the Government and regulators and calling for urgent action.

19 December 2020

M&S Bank is soon to close its 2.75% AER regular savings account to new customers – and it's possible its sister banks HSBC and First Direct could follow suit. Yet if you have a current account with one of these banks already, there's still time to open a regular saver and lock in the 2.75% rate for a year.

13 November 2020

Virgin Money has launched an unusual bank-switching incentive, offering new customers who switch to its current account a free case of 15 bottles of wine from Virgin Wines – but how does it compare?

12 November 2020

The Government has confirmed that the energy price cap, which limits how much suppliers can charge for poor value tariffs, will be extended until the end of 2021 – and will cover those on prepayment meters.

19 October 2020

App-based bank Monzo has launched a packaged account – 'Monzo Premium' – with a £15 monthly fee. It offers new features including travel and mobile phone insurance and a metal card – but is it worth it?

19 October 2020

Savings provider Marcus is to cut the interest rate on its easy-access account from Monday 12 October – but should you switch?

24 September 2020

TSB will no longer pay any interest on its Classic Plus current account from December.

22 September 2020

RBS is offering £100 to new and existing customers who switch to its Select, Reward or Premier current accounts – the second big bank switching bribe to launch in recent weeks.

1 September 2020

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Travel abroad from the UK has partially opened up again, after being essentially banned for over 100 days. During that time millions of people have been owed refunds for holidays they couldn't go on. Today MoneySavingExpert.com reveals the results of its latest survey, with 77,000 responses, showing a stark divide in the way different firms treat their customers.

6 July 2020

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Substantial numbers of bounce back loan applicants suffer delays, rejections and credit checks, a MoneySavingExpert.com survey of more than 5,000 small business applicants has found. While lenders such as Lloyds and RBS performed well with most people rating them great, far more HSBC and Tide applicants rated their experience as poor.

29 June 2020

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Hundreds of thousands of prepaid card users, including those with Pockit, Anna Money and FairFX, have had their accounts frozen after action by the UK regulator, with many left unable to buy essentials, pay bills or access their cash. But the regulator now says it's working to lift its restrictions, and MSE founder Martin Lewis says there are signs those locked out may be able to access their money later this week.

28 June 2020

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Autosaving app Chip has started charging, with new and existing users hit with a £1 fee if it sets aside £100 for them in a 28-day period. For those affected, it could now be time to look at rival apps instead.

3 June 2020