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SOME OF OUR WRITERS

GEORGE PITCHER The Reverend is the Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary for public affairs

ESTHER RANTZEN Esther is a legendary consumer rights broadcaster, best known for fronting BBC’s That’s Life

JEFF PRESTRIDGE Jeff is personal finance editor of Financial Mail on Sunday.

Fight back against the great train fare robbery

BY JOHANNA GORNITZKI BY

Overcrowded trains and extortionate rail fares are already a reality in Britain. But it’s about to get worse. From January next year, train passengers will face ticket rises averaging 8%.The government says this is necessary to fund improvements to the rail system.

The decision will affect not only daily commuters but also people making off-peak, long-distance returns, and those of us buying short distance, anytime tickets around major cities – in short, anyone using the train. Worryingly, some of us will find fares rise even more than the already monstrous 8% figure, as train companies are allowed to increase prices by an extra 5% on top of that as long as the rise is ‘balanced with reductions elsewhere’.

Here at Moneywise, we’re outraged by this daylight robbery, so in this issue we offer you some tips on how you can fight back and list the best ways to hunt down those elusive cheap deals.

Payday loans have also received a lot of bad press lately, but are they really as bad as many experts would like us to think? To find out, we decided to investigate whether there is any truth in all the scaremongering. As we reveal on page 38, they may actually work in some situations – but they can prove disastrous if you’re not careful.

This month marks the launch of a new children’s savings vehicle – the junior ISA, or JISA.The product will be replacing the child trust fund that was abolished earlier this year. It’s great to see the government taking saving for children seriously, but will it really offer parents a better way to save for their children, or is it just a marketing ploy by David Cameron and his cronies to capture parent votes? To help you make up your mind, we’ve looked at the top 10 questions you need to ask before considering a JISA – see page 44.

Also, don’t forget to read our investment trust supplement – free with this issue. editor@moneywise.co.uk

MONEYWISE N O V EMBER 2 0 1 1 GROUP PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR Rachel Lacey EDITOR Johanna Gornitzki DEPUTY EDITOR Ruth Jackson ASSOCIATE EDITOR Faith Glasgow SENIOR STAFF WRITER Nathalie Bonney STAFF WRITER Rebecca Rutt CONTRIBUTORS Rob Griffin, Sally Hamilton, George Pitcher, Andrew Pitts, Tony Levere, Jeff Prestridge, Esther Rantzen, Cherry Reynard, Laura Staples, Matthew Wall ART DIRECTOR Mark Stammers PRODUCTION EDITOR Laura Staples SUB EDITOR Sacha Farnham CHIEF EXECUTIVE Tomas Carruthers PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Jeremy King ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Kay Fox Joyce MARKETING MANAGER Alexandra Kyriakidis ADVERTISING MANAGER Chris Sorrell Moneywise Magazine First Floor, Standon House, 21 Mansell Street, London, E1 8AA 020 7680 3600 (phone) 020 7702 0710 (fax) moneywise.co.uk editorial@moneywise.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS HOTLINE 01795 414 934 Annual subscription UK £47 Write to: Moneywise Customer Services PO Box 326, Sittingbourne, ME9 8FA or subscribe online at moneywise.co.uk

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M&G Global Dividend Fund See page 18 to find out more

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