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.

Recent coverage in the press

Nationwide three steps needed for £100 payout The Mirror

Latest from Petar Lekarski

Jobseekers claiming certain work-related benefits can once more get unlimited mobile data, minutes and texts for £10 a month. If you need that much data it's a cracking deal and you could even use the Sim to temporarily replace your home broadband – but you can get cheaper deals if you need less data.

11 April 2021

Over 250,000 customers of the defunct gas and electricity supplier Green Network Energy (GNE) are still waiting for EDF Energy to set up their accounts two months after it was appointed as their new supplier, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal. EDF's warned it'll take until the end of May to finish transferring all customers – here's the latest on what's happening and your rights.

31 March 2021

More than 100,000 Argos customers who bought an extended warranty from the retailer online between July 2019 and October 2020 will soon get a £5 e-gift card, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found the retailer failed to make customers aware of cheaper alternatives.

26 March 2021

Millions of Vodafone customers will be hit with price hikes of up to 4.5% next month, the telecoms provider has confirmed. But only those who are out of contract can cancel penalty-free. Here's what's happening.

25 March 2021

Teletext Holidays may face court action if it fails to refund customers whose package holidays were cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said.

25 March 2021

image of woman with laptop looking at bills and calculator

Lifetime ISA providers are setting early deadlines for savers who want to withdraw cash penalty-free without using it for a first home or retirement – so if you want to do that, don't wait until the official early April cut-off. In some cases savers have just days to make a penalty-free withdrawal – we've a full provider-by-provider breakdown below.

19 March 2021

Ratesetter is to shut all 45,000 existing investor accounts on 2 April and all of Ratesetter's loans will be transferred to Metro Bank from the same date. Both of these changes are taking place after Metro Bank bought Ratesetter last September.

3 February 2021

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