40. First Direct

MouseTrend...

 

Probably the toughest of all questions. And I am putting the best banking site only on Number 40. British Retail Banks, most of them, are bad in customer service. However, I would strongly suggest to avoid these, who should be in hall of shame. 

The top rated banks include:

First Direct: A part of HSBC and first bank which is entirely online. Also rated the best bank in customer satisfaction surveys. 

Coop: One of the best customer service. This is a building society with great emphasis on clients, not shareholders. 

13. Spotify and TheSufi.com [Tie]

Who doesnt like free on-demand searchable music. Spotify with its clean look, huge collection and web based interface, sets the benchmark who great listening should be.

If you after Sufi Music, www.TheSufi.com is world's largest website on Sufi Music with 1200+ Sufi Songs in MP3 format. Also download Sufi Books [PDF],Poems & Stories, Islamic Art and Apps. A great supplementary site to Spotify. 

36. Weather Underground

Discussing weather in UK is probably the hottest topic, no matter it's cold or hot. Make sure you get the best weather forecast to impress. There were a lot of candidate websites for this category, however, we selected  Weather Underground for its accuracy, very detailed hourly forecasts .

For Mobile Apps, Weather+ is great.

7. BBC iPlayer

BBC, popularly known as Beebs, in UK is the most watched TV in UK and one of the most popular channels in the world.

And you dont really need a TV (aka Telly) to watch BBC. BBC iPlayer is an excellent alternative to TV, as you can stream all TV shows on demand. 

11. Play.com

When it comes to etailing, Play.com is arguably the best website after Amazon.co.uk. Looking for Music, Videos, T-Shirts, Gadgets and Gifts, this Jersey-based retailer is certainly worth a look. 

34. Focus4People

Market research and surveys are big business in UK. The idea  is the companies ask the Market Research Agencies for specific information from public or customers. The Market agencies pay an incentive to survey doers.

27. CycleStreets

25. ZipCar

24. Etsy

The idea behind Etsy is to buy or sell handcrafted goods. This is not the site for mass produced goods, but where  every item is crafted with artisans hands. A nicely designed site for the Retro types which buy things that stand out of the crowd. 

19. 2 for price of 1 for London & South East attractions.

UK is a great place for sight-seeing. Whether you are interested in theme parks, museums, days-out, castles, palaces or experiences such as sports car driving, microflights or spa days etc., there is something for every taste.

2 for 1 is a a great way to save money which effectively is Buy 1, Get 1  Free ticket, when you use the train  and show them the ticket if asked. Just be sure to calculate that the train ticket is not so expensive that it actually overshadows the saving. It's especially great for London if you take a day ticket and plan to see 4+ attractions on the same day. 

28. Groupon / Living Social / Mighty Deals (Tie)

Groupon,, Living Social, Wowchers, Mightly Deals are latest trends in the world of etailing, focusing on discount vocuher, deal-of-the-day, driving masses of customers to sellers by providing good discount. 

But one one of caution. All these websites, despite some good deals, often try to attract by over-selling mediocre deals by making them look superb.

The deal may not be worth as advertised. A dental set 'worth £15' was reduced to £5. 66% off does not mean great discount since an identical thing was available  for 1£ at the poundland!  These websites spend great amount on making their offers look great, via beautiful photography of mediocre prodcusts or gorgeous models. Just watch out!

23. LoveFilm - DVD Rentals/Online Streaming

Online Movie rentals have boomed in UK as people choose online movie streaming over expensive high street movie rentals shops like BlockBusters. 

We recommended: LoveFilm.com. Boasting a massive collection of XXX movies, this business, now owned by Amazon, has grown exponentially over the years. LoveFilm Instant is the online streaming while DVD/Blue Rentals work through making a list of movies. which they post to you and you can return by post. LoveFilm offers several packages depending on the number of movies you can see. Also includes Xbox, PS3, Wii Games dics. 

Also to consider
YouTube: Do you know that you can actually watch many movies on Youtube. 
NetFlix

27. Cineworld Pass / Orange Wednesdays / Price Charles Cinema deals (Tie)

Cinemas in UK are generally expensive, especially in London. However, play your cards right, and you can draw the costs significantly down by these deals and tips:

Use Large Icon, If Affiliat programs possible, use Links else rely  on Adsense?

Cineworld Unlimited Movie Memberhsip
Weekly or more movie goer? Why don’t get Cineworld Memberhsip.

Orange Wednesdays: One of the most persistent and oldest cine discounts. If you have an Orange Pay as you go (Prepaid) or Pay monthly phone, you can send Text 'free' to the Number '241' to get a text message, which you can show to the most cinemas counters to buy1 get 1 free ticket. Works at Odeon, Cineworld, Vue, but some new movies and Westdend Cinemas excluded.

Shop for Daily deals sites (Living Social, Groupon etc.)

18. Foursquare

After good success in NY, Foursquare has entered the UK market, with especial focus on London.

Here it how it works: Foursquare has partnered with Resurants, Fashion retailers etc to offer discount when you 'Checkin' there using the Foursquare Mobile Phone app. Foursquare partners with Amex to  offer 10 Pounds Credit when you Spend more than 10 pounds on places including Primark,  Café Rouge, Eat (£5) etc.

People once check in usually review the place via Foursquare, so its is essentially the Facebook of Reviews, especially resturants. The more checkin, you become a mayor, and get discount or complimentary food. 

16. Valued Opinions - Market research online paid surveys

ValuedOpinions.co.uk
Certainly, the most honest, consistent and genuine re-warder for  your time for filling surveys.  

Simply Register and make a profile and VO will send email notification for surveys.  For every survey received, there is a reward from 0.25 - 2 pounds usually. The best part if once you reach 10 pounds, you can redeem in forms of Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Burton vouchers.

One to Avoid!YouGov. It is one of the largest and most quoted. So why we believe this is the worst? Simple. In order to genuinely earn some cash, you need minimum of 5000 points to get any cheque. Usually surveys give you  0 - 50 points. Since last 3 years, we have not hit the 5000 mark, so not earned a penny. Some users has complained the reduce sending you surveys once you reach 4500 mark. 

Also, YouGov strategy is the same as National Lottery. Even when you have filled a survey, you are given two options: Get into Lucky Draw (Font size 18 with flash). Other option is get points (Font size 10). Chances are most people choose lucky draw and never win anything meaning YouGov don have to pay penny again. Bad, very bad. 

22. MegaBus.com

MegaBus.comFor diligent planners who can plan months in adance, Megabus can offer some good fares (I went from London to Glasgow for 1.50 only by booking 3 months in advance offpeak). Started from Scotland, and now also running in US, Megabus is the bus equivalent on RyanAir. No bells and whistles and everything done online. 

Also to consider: Ocassionally, National Express also offers some good online fares. So worth checking, especially since National Express operates for much more cities than Megabus. 

MegaBus: My favourite during student days. For diligent planners who can plan months in adance, there can be good fares (I went from London to Glasgow for 1.50 only by booking 3 months in advance offpeak)

14. Onecompare.com

Unlike the Emerging Markets, where there is room for new market, Mobile Market in UK is saturated. Very saturated. So there is a constant battle between Mobile Operators to steal other company's customer.

And this is good news for Customers!

There are many websites which offer Customer buying New Moble Contracts/ Switching contract to different Netwotk some great discount. They are Often in  form of  Cashback (Money in your Bank Account) or A Upforont Gift.

Usually Cashback are more lucrative, however, this is for people who are great at mainatining a Calendar to remind them and send Exact documentation asked within certain period (90 days). Perosnally, I found it easy as long as you can follow instructions and have a Google Calendat/MS Outlook to add reminders.

If you cannot remember sending cashback vouchers, Opt for te upfront Gift such as TV, Playstayion, Xbox, Kindle and many more.

Top Sites
1- buymobilephone.et
2- e2save.com
3- affortablemobile.co.uk
4- Mobiles.co.uk

Top TipSince deals of these websites change frequrntly, OneCompare.com is a great website to find which of these websites has the best deal for you. You can enter the phone you are after, enter number of minutes, texts, web you will need and it will give you a comparison of the best deals around!

13. easyJet.com/ / Ryan Air (Tie)

With the right information and deal, you should be able to fly to quite a few destinations in Europe for less than what you may  pay the taxi to arrive at the airport. Europe is well connected and that means there are great airlines such as EasyJet and Ryan Air , Flybe, Monarch to 

Top Tip 1: Not sure which is the cheapest. Try websites like Kayak.co.uk or Lastminute.com to see which airline is offering the best deal

Top Tip 2: Flexible on dates? Try Flightchecker by Moneysaving expert. 

9. Money Saving Expert (MSE)

Unless you are a billionaire already and coming to London to invests large pools of Russian Roubles or Chinese Yuans in its ever booming property market, London will most likely look very expensive. 

No wonder, Martin Lewis, perhaps one of the greatest penny pincher on the planet, has almost 4 Million Email subscribers who wait for his weekly email to find the best bargains on energy, insurance, shopping deals etc.

Although many of the deals are repetitive due to frequent newsletters, MSE is one of the best way to know the best bargains and how to bring your living costs down.

MSE website is  especially useful for:

1- Choosing the cheapest Energy Tariff.

2- Different Insurance, e.g. Car, Home etc.

3- Resturant vouchers (there is an excellent collection, which is frequntly updates)

4- Tips on building Credit ratings

8. GoCompare.com

Buying Insurance such as Car, Home Insurance, Breakdown cover can be daunting and UK market offers a wide range of companies to choose from. Car & Home Insurance, Car breakdown cover, etc. Also it is important to search through as many providers as possible. UK market offer a wide range of Price Comparison websites such as Confused.com, MoneySuperMarket.com, comaparethemarket.com being the big players. 

However, our pick is GoCompare.com, not because of its annoying Tenor adverts, but since it searches through more providers than other. Just dont buy your insurance without it!

3. HotUKdeals

Napolean famously said Britain is the nation of shopkeepers. While that may be true, UK is certainly one of the shopping hubs of the world. And as the online shopping booms, UK is unsurprisingly is the most internet savvy shoppers of the world (Source?? ). 

HotUkDeals is the UK's biggest consumer led forum for hunting the best deals. As customer rate how 'hot or cold' the deal is, a temperature is determined.

Not to miss: HotUkSDeals tend to be popular, so if you use Twitter, it is great idea to keep hooked to @hotukdeals

If hourly tweets are too much of an info, consider, subscribing for their Daily Email Digest.

6. RightMove.co.uk

UK is a nation obsessed with Property Market, just look at the programmes like Location, Location, Location or A place in the Sun. 

Housing, particularly in London, is usually expensive, unless you are comparing to places like Hong Kong or Singapore.

However, there are many websites to help.

Rightmove.co.uk, now acquired by Zoopla.co.uk, is our favourties. You can search by the post code and enter criteria for what you looking for. It usually has the largest database of properties, whether you looking to buy or rent.

Also consider: Gumtree. Unlike the Rightmove.co.uk, which is usually advertised by the Property Agents, Gumtree is basically is hub of accidental landlords. Just be wary of fraudsters, time wasters and always read the Gumtree advice before meeting someone. 

4. eBay.co.uk

eBay is not a website, it is a phenomenon. Looking for an iPhone screen protector? The local carphone warehouse sells it for tenner (£10). Go on ebay and there are hundreds of 'eBayers ' in UK and China, giving it to you delivered at your door for 99p. 

What UKMouses could never understood  is  How they make money considering that 1st class postage in UK is  45p? And sending a postcard to HonkKong costs 60p? Just don’t ask me!

Top TipeBay is focusing on revamping its image that it sells more than smaller accessory kind of items. Watch out for Outlet Stores and Company Outlets by Argos etc. which can provide good bargains as time i.e. refurbished laptops. Some of these are:

• House of Fraser Outlet
• Currys Direct Outlet
• Argos outlet

Good tipeBay is renowned for spelling mistakes in its listings! Which is actually great for bargain hunters as they can use http://www.fatfingers.co.uk , which cashes upon listing mistakes to hunt down a good bargain. 

2. Amazon.co.uk

How people used to shop before Amazon? I don’t know to be honest. Buying toys for Xmas or your new Laptop, Amazon got it all.

Top tip
Amazon shopping is a killer with CamelCamelCamel (No. on our list). Since Amazon prices, based on dynamics of online retainling (etailing), go up and down on daily basis. Do you want to know when is the best price to buy or historical prices, try http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com . Enter a price you want to create an alert, and it will email you when you get the desires price. 

15. Rated People

If you turn on the TV, there is a wealth of programme on Property renovation. Getting a good handyman i.e. plumber, decorator, electrician or a Mechanic can be difficlult job. 

Here are some websites to help you reduce headache when choosing:

Recommended: RatedPeople.com  
You post the job, with an estimated budget i.e. my tap is broken, need a plumber to fix. Handyman will contact you (they pay commission to Rated Poople) Try to get a few quotes. There are no call-in charges so if 2-3 people give you a quote, you can get the best price. Try to haggle; don tbe shy if you have a better price.

Top tipAlways see the Customer reviews before you choose. It will tell if the person is actually a mechanic or a cowboy!

Now also offers iPhone and Android apps. 

Also to consider:
MyHammer: Similar to RatedPeople. 

5. Topcashback

5. Topcashback (Cashback website)

In case you dont know, if you are shopping on eBay, and go to eBay via link on Quidco or Topcashback, some percerntage of the money you will spend on Ebay will refunded to your account on cashback site. The money, one cashback confirmed and payable, can be transferred to your UK Bank account or redeemed in form of Amazon vouchers (usually a small incentive if you use Amazon)

If you shop online, regularly or occasionally, it is always better to use a Cashback site. Penny penny makes many!

In UK, 2 main players: Quidco and TopC Cashback

We recommended!  Top Cashback: The most free fill and no-nonsense site. Unlike Quidco , which charges 5 pounds as minimum for admin fee, Top Cashback is totally free. A wide range of shops available such as gocompare, easyjet, lastminute etc. 

You can choose to be paid in form of BACS payment to your bank account. Or Amazon vouchers is a great option with small incentive i.e. in lieu of cash payment of 5 pounds, you earn 5.30 in Amazon vouchers. The Amazon voucher code is emailed to your email address, which you can deem on the your amazon account. 

2nd Best Quidco:  Good for: In-store checkin can earn you some money. All you need to do is to be within a particular distance of the store to press 'Checkin' on your phone. Shops attract shoppers in this way and pay Quidco some commission, a part of which Quidco gives you as incentive. Do not worry, you don’t need to spend a penny in the stores. Once you checkin, they usually tell you some discounts available to lure you.

1. Gumtree (UK No. 1 Classifieds website)

Gumtree.com

Unarguably the most popular Consumer to Consumer website  in UK. Has a neat interface and great categories which you filter by Locations, Price etc. Want to filter Ads by Apple Iphone 4G less than 200 pounds in NewCastle. Gumtree is not only one of the best option but actually big business in UK now. 

Gumtree is a Local Listing website so always:

  1. Strictly do Face to Face deals. Avoid all sellers who ask for PayPal or say their Mum got sick so they have to go Africa but will pay via PayPal. You will never get the money.
 2. Try contacting by phone. If the person is in UK, he should have a UK phone/mobile. This was you can avoid overseas fradsters.
 3. Use google maps to see how far the seller/buyer is. 

One to try: There can be some interesting things you can find on Freebies section i.e. furniture which other people don’t need. Once I found a 20 years olds Volvo S40, so watch out!

TipCreate an alert i.e. for Dell Latitude Laptop under 200 pounds in London. Gumtree will keep sending you alerts via email so you never miss the bargain.

Also to Consider: Cariglist.comGreat site especially across the other side of the Atlantic. The listing are much fewer  than Gumtree, but still worth a try.

Freebies:

21. SayNoTo0870.com

21. SayNoTo0870.com

For many people, including myself, who do not own a land-line and rely solely on mobile phones, numbers beginning with 0845, 0800, 0844, 0870 can be a nightmare.

These are not included within mobile minutes bundles and costly to dial. Even if you use a land-line 0870 numbers are charged on much more expensive rates. Saynoto0870.com, quite self explanatory, provides alternate company numbers which you can dial.

Top tip: For smartphones, there are great Apps available to enter 08xx number, and they automatically search and dial the non-08xx numbers for your. You don't need to visit SayNoTo0870.com!

• For Andoird Apps, download 0800 Wizard
• For iPhone, download 0800 Wizard.

20. Noddle – Free UK Credit Report for Life.

NODDLE.CO.UK – FREE CREDIT REPORT FOR LIFE.

Your credit file tells a lot of your lending habits and how good your are as a customer for banks to lend you money or mobile phone providers to give you 24 months phone contract.

Building a credit rating is a long term process but the key tips remains the same:

Get yourself on Electoral Roll asap once you are in UK.

1. Try getting a basic credit card even for a 100 pounds credit limit. Remember, debit cards are like cash and don’t build your credit score. Even if you don’t need  credit card, it may help for for a future loan or mortgage

2. Always good to pay in Full using a Direct Debit via Bank.

3. Request to increase credit limit after 6 months. The more unused credit limit you have, the better it can reflect on your rating.

There are 3 key providers of Credit rating/scores:

1. Experian
2. Equifax
3. Call Credit

Our recommended is www.Noddle.co.uk, part of Call Credit, offering a completely free credit score report for Life.