ASDA shoppers are delighted after discovering a Cadbury chocolate advent calendar is selling for just 85p in stores.

The deal has been shared on the Extreme Couponing and Bargaining Facebook group and users are shocked by the reduced price.

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The advent calendar is selling in stores for 85p.

It is a Cadbury Dairy milk advent calendar, containing 24 milk chocolates in various festive shapes.

On the Cadbury website, the calendar sells for £2.25, meaning this Asda bargain is 62% discounted from the original price.

One excited member commented: “I’m going to go look for this after work”.

While another person responded: “get me one if they do have it please”.

The item is available in store and online on the Asda website for the bargain price

When we searched around, we couldn’t find an offer cheaper than this one for the same advent calendar.

On Ocado the calendar is priced at £2.25, which is still 62% pricier than Asda.

And in Poundland you can buy the calendar for £2.75, making the Asda purchase almost a 70% save.

And for shoppers looking for something a bit different, Asda’s entire advent calendar range is available online and in store.

White chocolate lovers can purchase a white chocolate Cadbury Calendar for £2, which is selling on Amazon for as much as £8.89 – meaning an entire £6.89 off your purchase.

Shoppers can also satisfy their sweet tooth at Asda with Maltesers, Milkybar, Galaxy or Terry’s Chocolate Orange options, both for the price of £2.50.

In comparison, Morrisons is selling the Galaxy Smooth Milk Chocolate Christmas for £3.25, which is 75p extra.

There is also a Swizzels Sweet Shop calendar available for £6.00, which is sold in other retailers such as Selfridges for £8.99 – meaning a £2.99 save.

Other places already offering great deals on low priced advent calendars include Poundland and Home Bargains.

Poundland sells alternative non-chocolate calendar options, such as a Hot Wheels or Christmas barbie advent for as cheap as £1.

And in Home Bargains, punters can buy a Polar Express or Grinch style calendar for £1.25.

Despite these low prices, the iconic Asda Cadbury advent was still the cheapest option we found online.

To find your nearest Asda store, use the store locator tool on the retailer’s website.

And to secure the best prices, make sure you shop around, by comparing prices in Whats New or Deals via multiple retailers’ websites.

What else is new for Christmas items in Asda?

Asda have released a full Christmas range already – from Christmas dinner items, to bakery goods, to Christmas gifts and festive drink products.

On the Asda website you can “build your own cheeseboard”, with cheeses starting from £1.95.

The Wensleydale Creamery Hot and Spicy cheddar is currently reduced at £1.95 from £2.20.

For £3.25, punters can also buy a box of 12 pigs and blankets, and 12 Golden Yorkshire Puddings for 220g.

There are also great deals on wine, where if you buy 6 bottles you save 25% off – perfect for those hosting Christmas this year.

And Christmas gift sets start from just £4.00, such as the Lynx Africa duo which is selling on the Boots website for £8 – double the price.

However, Boots is also great for gift sets, with up to 2,212 options to shop from.

For example, if you’re just looking for something small, hand cream gift sets only cost the punter £2.50 on the Boots website.

In order to get the best prices, we recommend you shop around before you buy.

To compare prices efficiently, use the “sort by” tools on each retailer’s website, so you can see the cheapest items first and surf the best deals.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

A TERRACED house has hit the market for FREE – but buyers may be stunned at what they find inside.

The property steal up for grabs, in New Tredegar, Wales, holds endless potential for those with renovation projects in mind.

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As reported by WalesOnline, the home is in dire need of a complete revamp – after being ravaged by a fire.

It’s in a “sorry state of repair”, but for a £0 price tag – auctioneers predict the house will attract plenty of bidders.

Inside there is hoards of room to create a large home, or even transform the space into flats.

Sean Roper from Paul Fosh Auctions said: “The terraced house is in the village of New Tredegar, and comes with sweeping valley views.

“The village benefits from a good range of amenities and shops and is ideally situated for access to Bargoed and Blackwood.”

The property is located a commutable distance away from the M4, as well as Newport and Cardiff.

Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and Abergavenny are also accessible.

Sean added: “Although severely damaged in the fire and now partially stripped out, the building, which is being sold with vacant possession, appears to offer three rooms on the ground floor.

“There are a further four rooms on the first floor with three to four rooms on the lower ground floor with a bathroom area. The property has a rear garden and is served with a lane access.

“Listed with a £nil reserve this large property with huge potential could end up being sold at auction for a matter of just a few hundred pounds depending on interest and a developer’s appetite for the challenge.”

The property is welcoming bids online by Paul Fosh Auctions from 12pm on Tuesday, October 1.

Bidding will come to a close on 5pm on Thursday, October 3.

It comes as the UK’s ‘cheapest house’ is also on the market from an unbelievable £0 – but it may be difficult to find the front door.

Homebuyers may be excited to find the Welsh property on sale in the village of Dyffryn Cellwen in the Upper Dulais Valley, for such an astonishing price.

The 6,156 sq ft home is located on the outskirts of the beautiful Bannau Brycheiniog national park, with convenient access to the A4109 leading to Swansea.

However prospective buyers will have to go “in with their eyes wide open” as the house is definitely considered a ‘fixer upper’, completely overgrown with brambles and foliage.

Elsewhere in the UK, an ordinary three-bedroom flat went on the market for £115,000 – but inside it’s like “stepping into Narnia”.

Meanwhile, a man who brought a crumbling castle that was once fit for a king revealed how he bagged a royal’s paradise for just £1.

Martin Higgins, 60, from Brockham in Surrey, bought Betchworth Castle for cheap after the local council refused to restore it.

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A HUGE deadline date in the car finance mis-selling scandal has been pushed back by the regulator.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is currently carrying out an investigation into whether motorists were unknowingly overcharged on historical loans.

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Those who bought a car, motorbike or van on finance before January 28, 2021, could be owed potentially thousands of pounds.

The FCA is in the process of finding out how many motorists have been affected and what compensation customers will receive and had intended to publish the outcome of its investigation this month.

However, the publishing date has been pushed back to May 2025 and the date firms have to respond to customer complaints to December 4, 2025.

The FCA says it has had to push back the deadline due to it taking “longer than expected to get the data” it needed from implicated car finance firms.

Investigators have also been unable to complete their review because of a pending court case surrounding one of the complaints.

It’s worth nothing, the FCA’s decision to extend the deadline to December 4 next year is just when firms have to have respond to any complaints.

Customers can still complain to their providers before this point, and in some cases there are time limits for doing so.

You can find more information about any time limits on the FCA website.

What is the Car Finance Discretionary Commission Scandal?

The Car Finance Discretionary Commission Scandal affects those who bought a car, motorbike or van on finance before January 28, 2021.

After this date, city watchdog the FCA banned lenders from using “discretionary commission arrangements” (DCAs).

DCAs allowed brokers to increase interest rates on car finance loans, which in turn saw their commission bumped up.

It has been classed as an unfair practice because drivers weren’t told about the DCAs and therefore thought any deals were a fixed price that they couldn’t negotiate on.

Anyone who took out a vehicle on finance before January 28, 2021, could have been unfairly paying more than they should have.

The FCA has now launched an investigation to see how many people have been impacted.

MSE’s website has a useful checklist on who might be in line for money back.

It also has a list of firms who are unlikely to have handed out dodgy deals and therefore don’t owe customers money.

How to claim

Consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com has a page on its website with an email template you can use to complain to your firm.

Or, you can complain directly to them without using the template.

In the complaint, you should ask whether you were overcharged due to your broker getting paid commission and ask the company to correct this if that is what happened.

If you’re not satisfied with the company’s response, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for free.

You have until July 29, 2026, or up to 15 months from the date of their final response letter, whichever is longest.

Be wary of using a claims management firm to help you claw back any overpaid car finance as you’ll have to pay it a portion of any successful claim.

The FCA has previously said the total cost of redressing motorists impacted by the car finance scandal could cost firms between £6billion and £16billion.

It means affected customers could get potentially £1,000s back in overpayments.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

A MAJOR energy supplier has launched a market-leading energy-only fixed price tariff that is £149 cheaper than the price cap.

EDF’s “Essentials Fixed 1y Oct25” is £1,568 a year for a typical energy user paying by direct debit, making it £149 cheaper than the upcoming cap.

The average standard variable energy bill is set to rise by 10% to £1,717 on October 1 under the new price cap.

The deal is available to new and existing who have a smart meter or agree to have one installed.

A fixed energy tariff charges customers the same rate for their gas and electricity each month until their contract ends.

This means you are locked into the price even if the cap goes up or down.

In comparison, a standard variable tariff can go up or down according to the price cap which is set by Ofgem, the industry regulator.

The price cap changes every three months and EDF predicts that it will hit £1,690 in January before falling back down to £1,676 between April and June.

The energy supplier said that locking into this deal will save customers £122 over the course of this winter.

But it is impossible to guarantee that this will be the case as there is a chance that the price cap may be higher or lower.

Meanwhile, due to volatility in the energy market, EDF may withdraw this deal at any time.

Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “EDF’s new Essentials tariff could be a great option for households that want to fix their energy costs to beat the price rise coming on October 1.

“It’s worth considering a fixed deal if you want to know what you’ll be paying from month to month.

There are several fixed deals on the market that can save you money compared with the price cap.”

How do other deals compare?

Octopus Energy is offering the next cheapest deal, at £1,599 a year for a dual fuel tariff.

The “Octopus 15M Fixed September 2024 v3” deal is £118 cheaper than the current energy price cap and is available directly from Octopus Energy.

Meanwhile, households which lock into the “Co-op 15M Fixed September 2024 v2” from Co-Op Energy could save £118 against the October price cap.

The deal is also £1,599 a year.

How do I sign up?

Existing customers can sign up to the new tariff via the MyAccount tab on the EDF website.

Meanwhile, new customers can join EDF through its website.

But customers who sign up to this tariff will need to have a smart meter or agree to have one installed.

A smart meter gives real-time information about your energy consumption, whereas traditional meters require you to manually take a reading.

There is no upfront cost to get a smart meter and you do not need to pay for the in-home display it comes with.

This tariff is a one year deal, which means that once you are locked in you will not be able to leave for 12 months without paying a fee.

If you want to leave before the contract ends then you may be charged an exit fee of around £25.

At the moment this tariff works out to be £149 a year cheaper than the current price cap.

This is great if the price cap continues to rise as forecast as you would save even more money.

But if the price cap falls then you could end up paying more.

Before applying for this deal make sure to shop around to check that it is the best on offer for your family and budget.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

THE government has promised to crackdown on fraudsters and get more people into work in a fresh shake up of the benefits system

Sir Keir Starmer pledged to “leave no stone unturned” as his government aims to “rebuild our public services” during his speech at the Labour Party conference today.

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New laws will be introduced so that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can ask banks to report fraudulent activity, for instance if a claimant has more than £16,000 in savings, or how much they earn.

Anyone with more than this in the bank is not usually entitled to means-tested benefits like Universal Credit.

DWP estimates show that 3.7% of benefit spending was overpaid last year, meaning the government now pays out over £9.5billion in benefits that people aren’t entitled to.

At the moment, the DWP can only request information from a claimant’s bank account if there are “reasonable grounds to suspect fraud.”

Instead, the new proposals aim to remove the bureaucracy and will require banks to flag exactly when a claimant’s earnings clash with the eligibility criteria of their benefits.

Under the proposals, the DWP won’t be able to access bank accounts directly, and the exact information they can request is still to be confirmed.

The government department will also be handed more powers to recover debts from those who can afford to pay it back but have avoided doing so.

Labour also stressed that the Bill would contain safeguarding measures for vulnerable welfare claimants, and staff would be trained to the highest standards on the appropriate use of new powers.

The new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will bring the changes into law, though a timescale has not been given.

The Bill must pass through parliament and then into law, which can take months or even years.

The Prime Minister said in his speech today: “If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness.

Broader welfare reforms are expected to help cut the number of people claiming sickness benefits like PIP and Universal Credit’s disability payments.

The government plans to launch a new initiative to encourage millions of benefit claimants to re-enter the workforce and bring down the amount it spends on welfare.

Currently, 2.1million Universal Claimants are permanently out of work and claim limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments.

These claimants have undergone a work capability assessment (WCA), which decides whether they can work and are eligible for the free top-up.

Households falling into this bracket can claim up to £416.19 a month.

That’s on top of a standard allowance worth up to £617 a month.

An additional 479,716 claimants have a limited capability for work (LCW), meaning they must prepare for future employment but remain out of the workforce.

It’s unclear how the government plans to reduce the number of claimants receiving disability payments.

The Labour Party previously said it wants to “review” Universal Credit.

The DWP hasn’t denied moving forward with a proposal to scrap WCAs and use PIP assessment for all disability benefit claims.

Instead, LCWRA payments could be replaced by a new Universal Credit “Health Element”.

Households would then need to meet the eligibility criteria for personal independent payments (PIP) to qualify.

Any changes are anticipated to be unveiled later this year when Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Autumn Statement on Wednesday, October 30.

BACK TO WORK

Rachel Reeves told The Sun in August that she wants to get more jobless Brits back into work as the £306 billion welfare bill is “out of control”.

Ms Reeves has vowed to crack down on benefits spending as the workless crisis puts the brakes on a booming economy.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, previously announced a “Back to Work Plan” to tackle economic inactivity back in July.

Under the DWP’s plan, Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service will merge to help more people find work and support those seeking better opportunities with the means to find better-paid work.

However, the government is expected to go further when the Chancellor delivers her Autumn Statement next month.

BENEFIT EXPENDITURE

The government is forecast to spend £305.6billion on the social security system in Great Britain in the current financial year.

Total welfare spending is forecast to be 11% of GDP and 24.9% of the total amount the government spends in 2024 to 2025.

Around 55% of social security expenditure goes to pensioners.

This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be £138.1 billion in 2024 to 2025.

The government is expected to spend £138billion on working age and children welfare.

This includes spending on Universal Credit and its predecessors, and non-DWP welfare including child benefit.

A further £89billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions, and £35.3billion on housing benefits.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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MORRISONS has revealed the exact date customers can book their Christmas deliver slot – here’s how you can get an early one.

Bagging yourself a slot during the festive period is notoriously difficult as it’s the busiest time of the year so you need to make a note of these key dates to make sure you aren’t left disappointed.

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As delivery slots are snapped up quickly, especially in the run up to Christmas, shoppers are advised not to hang about.

Preparations for the holiday period seem to get underway earlier and earlier.

Morrisons will start taking bookings next month.

Delivery Pass customers will be able to book their slots from October 2.

Customers without a Delivery Pass can book slots from October 9.

A Morrisons Delivery Pass allows you to shop online as often as you like without having to pay for delivery every time you checkout.

Shoppers can choose from an anytime (seven-day) pass or midweek (Tuesday-Thursday) pass.

The cost of your delivery pass will depend on the length of its validity:

• Midweek annual pass – £40
• Anytime annual pass – £70
• Midweek six-month pass – £25
• Anytime six-month pass – £45
• Midweek month pass – £5
• Anytime month pass – £8

Shoppers can buy a delivery pass on the Morrisons website before booking a slot.

All shoppers need to spend at least £25 before they can check out an online order.

Those without a delivery pass will be charged between £1.50 and £6 to secure a one-hour delivery time slot.

People are advised they shouldn’t get a delivery pass unless they think it will save them money in the long term – not just to get a Christmas slot.

Earlier this month, Morrisons unveiled its Christmas food range.

This year, the festive range will feature everything from the classic turkey, salmon, puddings, and whole range of starters and sides.

Morrisons isn’t the only high street supermarket to have already tempted shoppers with its festive foods and many others, such as Tesco, M&S, Asda and Iceland have also released details of their products.

The news comes just days after Ocado announced its dates to book a Christmas delivery slot would be available.

Shoppers are being told to “look out” for an email or SMS which will alert them the day before they can book their festive delivery.

The retail giant will be making over one million home delivery and click-and-collect slots available on the week of December 20 to December 24.

Non-Smart Pass Holders will have to wait a little longer for general access becomes available, which is usually the following week.

The retailer also detailed that slots over Christmas week have a minimum spend of £90.

To be the first to find out about early festive slots, you could sign up to a loyalty plan – these often give you early access but you should only sign up if you know you will save money on its benefit schemes.

We recommend you spend some time comparing online, by browsing Christmas menus and prices on the retailers’ website.

You can also visit compare the market websites, which draw easy comparisons between product quality and prices.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories