Editorial Policy

GetSmartSaver.Uk is an independent, founder-run UK money site. This page sets out who writes it, where the numbers come from, how providers are rated, how the site earns money, and how to get something corrected. It is the standard every page on this site is held to.

Who writes GetSmartSaver.Uk

Every article on this site is written and edited by Karl Johnson, the site’s founder and editor, based in Coventry, West Midlands. There is no anonymous byline and no syndicated filler: if a page carries a claim, a named person stands behind it.

Karl is not a financial adviser and GetSmartSaver.Uk is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Nothing on this site is regulated financial advice or a personal recommendation. It is research and explanation, published so that you can make your own decision — and, where the stakes are high, take proper advice.

How we check rates, prices and rules

Three rules govern every figure published here.

1. The source is the provider, not an aggregator. Savings rates, tariffs, fees and terms are read from the provider’s own published terms and conditions. We do not copy figures from comparison tables or other editorial sites, because that is how a stale number travels.
2. Rules and thresholds come from the primary source. The Bank Rate and its decision dates come from the Bank of England. Tax rules, allowances and benefit rates come from GOV.UK and HMRC. Deposit protection comes from the FSCS. Energy price cap figures come from Ofgem. Where a page states one of these, it links to it.
3. If we cannot source it, we do not publish it. A claim with no verifiable source is removed rather than softened. Several plausible-sounding figures have been deleted from this site for exactly this reason.

How often things are re-checked. Rate and deal pages are reviewed at least once a month, and immediately whenever a headline rate or price moves — a base rate decision, a price cap announcement, a provider repricing, a subscription price rise. Every page carries the date it was last reviewed, at the top. If the date looks old, treat the figures with caution and tell us.

How we rate providers

Provider reviews carry a score out of 5. A score is only ever published once the account or product has been assessed against all five of the criteria below; reviews where that work has not yet been completed are published without a score rather than with a guessed one.

• Value — the rate, fee or price against the best comparable product available to a UK customer on the day of review.
• Terms — what the headline number hides: bonus periods and their expiry, withdrawal restrictions, minimum and maximum balances, tiering, exit fees.
• Access and usability — how the account is opened and run day to day, and whether the app or website makes that straightforward.
• Protection and regulation — FCA authorisation, FSCS or safeguarding status, and what is actually covered if the provider fails.
• Track record — how the provider has treated existing customers: repricing behaviour, service record, and whether it has form for quietly cutting rates after sign-up.

Scores are not weighted by commission, and a provider cannot pay to be reviewed, to be scored higher, or to be removed. Scores are revisited when a product changes materially.

How this site makes money

GetSmartSaver.Uk is free to read. It earns money in three ways: affiliate commission when a reader opens an account or buys a product through a link; advertising; and the sale of our own spreadsheets and guides in the shop.

Commission never affects rankings, scores or what we say about a product. Where a table is ordered, it is ordered on merit and the ordering rule is stated. Plenty of products we recommend pay us nothing at all, and they are recommended anyway. Full detail is in our affiliate disclosure.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, we want to fix it, and we would rather hear it from you than leave it live. Email team@getsmartsaver.co.uk with the page and what looks wrong. Factual errors on rates, prices and rules are corrected as a priority, and the page’s review date is updated when they are.

Where a correction changes the substance of a recommendation, we say so on the page rather than editing silently.

What we will not do

• Publish a rating or score that has not been assessed against the criteria above.
• Present a figure we cannot trace to the provider or to a primary source.
• Accept payment for a review, a ranking position, a score, or the removal of criticism.
• Describe ourselves as regulated, or offer anything that amounts to personal financial advice.

Who we are not

GetSmartSaver.Uk is an independent editorial site. It is not connected to SmartSave Bank (a UK savings provider), Monefit SmartSaver (an Estonian platform), or getsmartsaver.com (a separate US/Canadian site). We are UK-only, and our brand mark carries the dot: GetSmartSaver.Uk.

This policy is reviewed at least once a year. Questions about it go to team@getsmartsaver.co.uk.