We presented the unwanted trophy to a humble and apologetic John Petter, chief executive of BT Consumer, at the firm's central London offices this week. BT dominated this year's Wooden Spoon Awards, grabbing almost one in three of all votes cast. Rather than a single catastrophic customer service meltdown, the complaint was that call centre staff were consistently unable to answer basic requests or call back when asked.

On November 4, I received an email from Extra Energy, addressed to my late wife, to inform us that they had been unable to collect a direct debit payment. I rang and explained that my wife had died, I had closed her bank account and was paying all the bills.

Switching your energy tariff is a sure-fire way to save money on your power bill. Up to 2.5 million homeowners have never switched provider - each missing out on an average saving of £291 a year, according to comparison site GoCompare. But there are more ways in which you can cut the cost of living around the house.

We get a steady stream of letters about BT, and through the year we've run a number of stories about readers who have had some pretty dreadful problems with the firm. But I'm actually a little surprised that it 'won'. In all our other Wooden Spoon awards, it is usually a catastrophic customer service meltdown that has led a company to pick up this most unwanted of gongs.

Santander is cutting the rate on its easy-access Isa Saver to just 0.25 per cent tax-free on sums up to £10,000 and 0.75 per cent on larger amounts from the end of next month.

Buy-to-let landlords are set to be hit with more costs from April when an extra 3 per cent stamp duty charge is introduced. The change will add thousands to property purchases. The Treasury has a consultation on the reforms that closes on February 1 2016. Here we outline the major changes to look out for that you can have your say on.

Markets have had an inauspicious start to the year, but will they succumb to the January effect? Since its inception in 1984, there is a four out of five chance that when the FTSE 100 has made gains in January, it will finish the year on a high.

Mortgage brokers have seen a surge in applications for buy-to-let loans from companies as landlords prepare for tax changes that will hit them from April. The latest Buy-to-Let Index from Mortgages for Business found 38 per cent of applications by December 2015 were from limited companies, up from 15 per cent in October.

From April 6, there will be one state pension which will, eventually, give the same pension of £155.65 a week to everyone who builds up 35 qualifying years. The new scheme will start by comparing your entitlement under the existing rules with that under the new rules. It's a complex sum - but you'll get the better of the two amounts.

Alarmed MPs are demanding urgent changes to state pension forecasts to combat widespread public confusion about an overhaul pending this April. Anxiety is so great that MPs rushed out an early report to stress their concerns that women in particular are being deprived of essential information about their state pension age and entitlements.

Do you have £1.5m kicking around and don't know what to do with it? How about an ultra-rare hypercar? We've got the top five second-hand super-exotic vehicles from as low as £300k.

Kay Burley, the Sky News TV presenter, says she's done well on property but would force every worker in the UK to sacrifice up to 5% of their salary to fund a pension if she were Chancellor. She reveals her financial life and why last year was her best earner, in Me & My Money.

If you are one of the millions of people who have never changed energy supplier, have stuck to the same insurer all your life and still have the same bank account as when you got your first job, then you could save up to £3,000 by following our steps today. You'll be surprised how easy it is to do and how little time it takes. Just set aside a day, sit down - ideally with a computer - and prepare to start switching.

The contractions in two vitals organs of the UK economy saw the pound shed half a cent, touching $1.4484, as traders said bets were off for a interest rate rise in the first half of the year. The ONS said a major factor for the hit to industrial production was weak demand for natural gas used for heating, after unusually mild weather.

It appears Britons' love love for Cadbury Creme Eggs is starting to crack after the chocolate giant changed the recipe for the gooey treat exactly a year ago. Sales statistics show there was a £6million sales slump last year as shoppers shun the small chocolate egg filled with fondant in the aftermath of the recipe change.

An ingenious system to gain credit card rewards came unstuck and left a savvy spender with £29,3000 of £100 coins, as the Royal Mint launched a crackdown on special coins. It promotes coins on its website as legal tender, but the Royal Mint has told banks not to accept them and the legal definition of the phrase means they do not have to.

Ten million homeowners a year spend a combined £1billion on such cover to fix broken boilers, repair burst water pipes and kick-start the central heating back into life. Most never have to claim - and those that do can spend more on the cover than they would have done if they just called a plumber to fix the problem.

As fed-up customers set up their own Twitter account to blast hapless Vodafone, we reveal how Cliff and Sarah Savage (pictured) lost out on a mortgage over a dispute. The network's own internet-based customer forum is awash with bad experiences. Many are highlighted by a dedicated account set up on social media website twitter - titled 'VodaVictims'.

REDT Energy has created a pioneering method of storing energy, using large storage facilities that are long-lasting, effective and could transform the way energy is distributed to homes and businesses. REDT shares are 7½p and should increase materially over the next three years as the group ramps up production of its units in the UK and overseas.

Prices for sports memorabilia continue to reach new heights. Here, The Mail on Sunday shows how you can make money from sporting collectables without breaking into a sweat.

With faster, more spacious trains, commuting into London is not as far fetched as it sounds. Prices in London are sky-high, with the average home costing a staggering £531,000, and commuting from further west - even taking into account the cost of the rail season ticket - could be a more affordable alternative.

The world is ageing as never before. Fewer babies are being born, and people are living longer. In the UK, the number of centenarians will multiply six-fold over the next 25 years. While it creates concerns for society, it is a great potential source of opportunities for investors. Living longer means more is spent on health - which benefits companies involved in that sector - and it also means more time for older people to enjoy life and spend their money.

The Oculus Rift is the first mainstream virtual reality headset to go on sale to the general public - but will it be the next big thing? Facebook, and a small design studio in Newcastle are hoping so. Hammerhead VR is creating short films for the device, which it predicts will transform social media, gaming, and the entertainment industry.

To clear the average national household debt of ?13,000 at 6% interest with a monthly repayment of ?100 will take around 17 years. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear your debt - or boost your savings - in less than a year. This is Money's top 50 - updated - money-saving tips may appear light-hearted but are deadly serious.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

A 0.25 per cent move up in the Fed funds rate has set a marker that the Bank of England's ratesetters will be measured against. Economists expect no move here until late 2016 and the money markets say no move until 2017, but the Bank's deputy governor Ben Broadbent says people should not rely on that.

For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips

Musicians have seen pay rises averaging nearly 20 per cent in 2015, while cleaners are getting 17.8 per cent more, and window cleaners 12.3 per cent. Artists in general are earning 14.6 per cent more in 2015 than 2014, according to the huge annual data dump of pay scales by the Office For National Statistics highlights.