Martin Lewis and Hugh Fearnley Whitingstall named among the 2015 Money Heroes by UK money bloggers; TalkTalk and Pizza Express lead the list of Money Villains.
The end of a year is a traditional time to review the last 12 months, and that’s no different among the UK’s money saving and personal finance bloggers.
Coming together as part of the UK Money Bloggers collective, some of the top money saving and personal finance bloggers in the UK have compiled a list to celebrate the money heroes of 2015, and another to name and shame the money villains.
The UK Money Bloggers Heroes of 2015
- Martin Lewis – for donations to charity and campaigning
- Stella Creasy & Laura Coryton – for raising awareness of the “Tampon Tax”
- Timpson Dry Cleaners – for offering free dry cleaning for the unemployed going to interviews
- Ros Altmann – for fighting for pensioners rights
- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – for getting us all to think about how much we waste
- Channel 4’s Dispatches – for exposing working practices at Sports Direct
The UK Money Bloggers Villains of 2015
- Pizza Express and other big restaurant chains – for taking an admin fee from their waiter’s tips
- TalkTalk – for continued customer service frustration and “that” data hack
- Smart Pig – for pushing payday loans to students
- Philip Davies MP – for blocking financial reforms in the commons by filibustering
- Next – for being anti the living wage
- Martin Shkreli – for buying an AIDS drug and whacking up prices
The Money Heroes
Doing good with money is always great to see. Martin Lewis makes the cut thanks to his £2 million donation to money causes, while Timpson Dry Cleaners were just the ticket with free dry cleaning for job seekers.
Championing change was just as important. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall showed us just how much we waste and pressured supermarkets to stock wonky veg. Pensions have had a huge overhaul in 2015, and Ros Altmann has done more than most to help us understand saving for our future.
Our final two heroes made a stand for consumer rights. Student Laura Coryton was among the first to highlight the ludicrous nature of the “Tampon Tax”, with Stella Creasy MP explaining the inequalities of the debate (Jaffa Cakes as a necessity?). Elsewhere Dispatches exposed the poor working rights at Sports Direct.
More: https://ukmoneybloggers.com/who-are-our-2015-money-heroes/
The Money Villains
Our villains list is dominated by organisations who we felt didn’t play fair with their finances. Pizza Express was just one of many high street restaurants whose dodgy tipping policy was exposed. Clothing giants Next are on there thanks to their opposition to the living wage.
We also take issue with Smart Pig trying to peddle payday loans to students, while TalkTalk‘s awful year didn’t make their customer service any better.
Individuals haven’t been ignored. Though George Osborne’s policies have angered many, we’ve highlighted his fellow conservative MP Philip Davies for stopping discussion of reforms that could really help those struggling. Then there’s Martin Shkreli who bought an AIDS drug and promptly tried to make a fortune – you don’t get much worse than that.
More: https://ukmoneybloggers.com/who-are-our-2015-money-villains/
Andy Webb, founder of UK Money Bloggers said “The heroes on our list have all done something special this year to really make a difference to the money matters of people in the UK. The villains on the other hand have been sneaky, incompetent or downright greedy.”
“It’s important we celebrate those that help us, and equally necessary to name and shame the bad guys who make it difficult for us to know who to trust. ”
Notes for editors
The Heroes and Villains were decided through discussion by a group of UK money bloggers including:
- Andy Webb – Be Clever With Your Cash
- Kalpana Fitzpatrick – Mummy Money Matters
- Charlotte Burns – Lotty Earns
- Sara Williams – Debt Camel
- Lauren – The Shrewd Life
- Jenni Hill – Can’t Swing a Cat
- Leanne Fraser – Broke in the Big Smoke
- Rebecca Smith – Keene on Saving
- Deepak Tailor – Latest Free Stuff
- Natalya – Cottage Retreatist
About UK Money Bloggers
UK Money Bloggers (www.UKmoneybloggers.com) is a collective of personal finance and money saving bloggers. Increasingly influential in digital and print, these bloggers write about everything money related – from debt to deals; and from current accounts to coupons.
More information
For more information and further quotes on why why we think the heroes and villains deserve a place on each list, members of our community have explained our decisions here
https://ukmoneybloggers.com/who-are-our-2015-money-heroes/
https://ukmoneybloggers.com/who-are-our-2015-money-villains/
Contact Andy Webb for more information:
email: [email protected]
Twitter: @AndyCleverCash