Where Does It Go? – UK Money Blog £

..at least, according to the British public. Recent stats from an internet traffic website Hitwise shows that Martin Lewis beat Obama, Britney Spears and Diana Vickers to the top spot as the most searched for celeb in the UK. A dubious honour, so what is it about Marty-babes that makes him so popular?

Lord Martin o Mighty

Well, money saving is the game, and there is nothing the British public like more than saving a bit of cash. Martin is also largely held responsible for the bank charge rebellion, which started a string of court cases against the banks for unfair bank charges.

Martin also presents a very nice brand image of being impartial upon his website, the peoples champion, and enjoys 5 and half million visitors to his forum every month.

But does anyone ever question how he got to that position? Is he a money saving genius, or simply a very good self promoter making money from people’s thirst to save money? Questions have been raised in the past about how much trust should be placed in his weekly newsletter, which recently advised people to dump all their cash in Iceland banks due to high interest rates….a few weeks before the country went bankrupt.

And what of his qualifications, those which make him a “money saving expert”? “Broadcast Journalism” says his offical bio.

And is everyone sure his impartial advice isn’t influenced by the large amounts of cash he receives from the finance companies he may advise to use?

I may be indulging in the typical UK trait of knocking down someone I helped put up on a pedestal, but I guess my general point is: don’t trust everything you read, even if it is from Martin’s lips, which to be fair he does say at the bottom of every page on his website.

Update: comments on the Hitwise blog confirms the above!

Quote from the comments:

I think I speak on behalf of the majority of journalists and television producers who have crossed Martin’s paths in recent years, when I say he is one of the most arrogant men walking this planet.

And a blog post from Insiders View entitled “Martin Lewis – Money Saving Expert or Money Grabbing Show-Off?” (hey guys, no need to copy my blog design so much )