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  It doesn't have to cost the earth to stay in touch. There are a number of ways you can cut the cost of calls, no matter where your friends and family live. PC to PC Download Skype* and you can enjoy free calls to other Skype users. There are no hidden costs - it's free to download and free to use. All you need is a broadband connection. Plus, if you have a webcam, you can make video calls and talk face to face. Download Skype*   PC to landline Instead of using a landline such as BT or Virgin, Vonage* uses your existing broadband connection. Call plans start at just £5.99 a month and you can make unlimited calls within the UK and around the world. Another advantage to Vonage* is that it could be cheaper for friends and family to phone you. When you sign up with Vonage.co.uk you receive a phone number - you can pick any area code, regardless of where you live. Friends and family can use this number to call you cheaply. For example, if you've moved abroad

          ID fraud protection                                 Exchange currency         Money transfer                                 Bookshop         Free brochures   How does Deal Finders work? We carefully vet the partners we choose to work with, ensuring you get the best deals from trusted providers. This Is Money receives a monthly fee to offer you these services. This income enables us to employ journalists to write bias-free analysis and to champion your consumer issues. Find out more about our independence.  

  .mainDeal a {font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;} .mainDeal a:link {color: #3D4BD2} .mainDeal a:visited {color: #3D4BD2} .mainDeal a:hover {color: #D58A14;text-decoration: none;} .mainDeal img {border: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;} .dealHeadOne {margin: 0; padding: 25px 0px 0px 55px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; position: absolute;} .dealHeadOne a {text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;} .dealGrad p{width:410px;font-size:0.95em!important;font-size:12px;padding-left:20px;} This is Money's simple aim is to help you make more money and pay out less. That's why we offer Deal Finders, the best place on the web for financial tools and money-saving deals from a huge range of providers as selected by us. Don't miss: How This is Money can make you richer Also:- Five steps to being £2,000 better off in one week - Only eight steps needed to fix all your finances for good - Thousands more money-saving ideas • How 102 yrs of Daily Mail heritage gua

  In these changeable economic times, security is paramount. Make sure you're protected against the unexpected. Compare, apply and save on insurance policies:         Life insurance         Home insurance         Mortgage protection        Landlord insurance         Travel insurance         Car insurance         Breakdown cover         Health insurance         Dental insurance         Car warranties         Household warranties         Motorbike warranties         Business insurance         Income protection insurance         Mortgage protection         Dog insurance         Cat insurance   How does Deal Finders work? We carefully vet the partners we choose to work with, ensuring you get the best deals from trusted providers. This Is Money receives revenue when you switch using Deal Finders. This income enables us to employ industry experts to write bias-free analysis and to ch

  Car insurance is a legal requirement for car owners. There are two types of cover you can opt for - fully comprehensive or third party cover. The price you pay not only depends on your claims history but can also be affected by the area you live in, your age and your sex. If you haven't made a claim on your car insurance, or your current policy is up for renewal, you can switch to a cheaper provider. Our tool helps you compare the best deals and possibly help you get a far lower quote than from your exisiting insurer:   Get cheaper car insurance           Related reading: •Guide to car insurance •Find out the typical annual premium for your area   How our partner services workWe carefully vet the partners we choose to work with, ensuring you get the best deals from trusted providers. We also make sure we get the best customer service from these providers on your behalf. Commission we receive enables us to employ experts to write bias-free analysis and advic

The Bank of England is set to ignore mounting pressure to pump more money into the economy on Thursday amid fresh fears of another global recession. Worries about the strength of the world economy have intensified in recent weeks following a raft of gloomy data which suggested the recovery is running out of steam and sparked a bloodbath on world stock markets. Hold tight: A man passes a doorway at the Bank of England in the City of London. Amid the financial gloom, the prospect of interest rates being hiked from their record low of 0.5 per cent has faded but there are now heightened calls for another round of quantitative easing (QE), or money printing, to inject some life into the UK's flagging economy. When the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last met a month ago it voted unanimously to hold interest rates for the 29th month in a row as two members who had previously voted for rates to be hiked to 0.75 per cent changed their minds as the economy showed increasing

The Government will invite private sector bids this week for £170million worth of contracts auditing 10,000 town halls and health authorities. Bidding for the work of the Audit Commission, which is being abolished, begins tomorrow with regulators hoping the process could help break the dominance of the major firms. The outgoing commission will award the first contracts, for between three and five years, after which local authorities and public bodies will be able to hire their own auditors. Of the 10,000 bodies, more than 9,000 are parish councils. The most lucrative work is likely to come from about 500 local authorities and NHS bodies. As well as private firms, a mutually owned spin-off from the commission is set to bid. Former commission and audit chief Gareth Davies is leading the new mutual and is on leave of absence while the procurement process takes place. The Financial Reporting Council suggested last year that the Commission's work could be passed to a rival of the Big

Don't take travel insurance with an airline or holiday company - you can get the same level of cover for a fraction of the price elsewhere. Our comparison tool allows you to seek out the cheapest deals while keeping an eye on the level of cover and the conditions.   Compare travel insurance policies and prices           Warning: Cheaper policies may not offer as much cover, so make sure you check the smallprint! Travel insurance: We guide you through how to get the cheapest cover ESSENTIAL READING Each year holidays are ruined by illness or robbery or even the sudden need to return home because someone else is ill. There's no legal requirement for you to have insurance when you travel abroad but if you find yourself in a situation like that you'll bless the day you took a policy out. And with competition within the industry growing fiercer, prices have tumbled. Annual policies for Europe start at £12 while worldwide cover begins from as little as £20. Choosing y

  Council tax is to be frozen or reduced in every local authority area in England this year, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles confirmed today. That will make it the first year since the tax was introduced in 1993 that it has not risen. The freeze was funded by £650m provided by Mr Pickles' Department for Communities and Local Government to support councils which opted not to increase their bills. Official statistics published today show the average Band D council tax set by local authorities in England will remain unchanged at £1,439 for 2011/12 as a result of a 0% increase on last year's council tax level. Some 378 councils have frozen the tax and 43 have reduced it. 'This Government has made sure that for the first time ever council tax bills have remained frozen all over the country this year - saving some local tax-payers up to £72,' Mr Pickles said. 'We are standing up for the hard-pressed taxpayer who watched their council tax bill double. Tackli

June Farrow’s tiny, doll-like frame belies her huge reserves of grit and determination. This week she stood, impeccably attired and implacable, in the dock at Norwich Magistrates’ Court and told the bench, with her customary courtesy, why she would not under any circumstances be paying her council tax arrears. With the fluency of a defence lawyer, she outlined the reasons why she intends to continue challenging the inequity of the charge — by paying only a quarter of the monthly bill levied by the council on her detached rural home. Fighting for her cause: June Farrow, from Norfolk, refuses to pay her council tax arrears Although the court has the power to impose draconian penalties, including sending her to prison and seizing her possessions, none of this worries the redoubtable 72-year-old widow one whit. She says: ‘The bailiffs can come if they want. I’ve got nothing left for them to take. I’ve sold my wedding ring, my engagement ring, my granny’s ring and the antique clock sh

I have had a letter from a company offering to possibly reduce my council tax bill by getting a revaluation on my home. Of course they suggest that if there is any refund then a fee would be payable. What do your experts think? H.P, Guildford. The Government has announced recently that there will be no council tax revaluation before 2015 Linda Mckay of This is Money replies: The Government has announced recently that there will be no council tax revaluation before 2015. This has brought out some ‘consumer champion’ companies who are targeting homes which they believe may be in too high a band as neighbours in the same street are paying less council tax. These companies hope to profit by the reclassification of your property, their services are generally based on no win-no fee and ask for £25 plus VAT of the (equal to 30 per cent) total refund awarded by the council.   More... Can you challenge your council tax band? Potentially, for example, if your property is currently in

> Second home-owners face a council tax hit after local authorities were given the green light to do away with discounts worth hundreds of pounds. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is to embark on the first major reforms to council tax rules since its introduction in 1993. Mr Pickles wants to give local authorities more flexibility to charge full rates of council tax for second home-owners. At the moment, rebates of between 10 and 50 per cent of the total bill can be given on second homes. Under the plans, councils would able to scrap this – a move which campaigners say could save up to £42million a year. There are an estimated 250,000 second homes in Britain. He is also considering allowing councils to axe discounts on empty properties, which can be as much as 100 per cent for up to a year. At the moment, a property which needs major structural repairs can be granted a 100 per cent council discount for a year while works are being carried out.   More... Can you challenge your c

More than a quarter of a million families with annexes converted for more living space could have council tax bills slashed. Such live-in annexes - where elderly relations often stay, hence their common 'granny flats' tag - are currently counted as separate dwellings with their own council tax bill additional to that on the main house. But the Government is considering scrapping it, and even overhauling planning regulations and fees to make it easier for families to make more of these conversions, thus easing the demand for new houses. Housing benefit: An annex often does not even have its own separate front door, but by definition has its own living space, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom Communities Secretary Eric Pickles told the Daily Telegraph: 'We are keen to remove tax and other regulatory obstacles to families having a live-in annexe for immediate relations. 'We should support homeowners who want to improve their properties and standard of living. These

Higher-value homes should pay proportionally more council tax, a leading charity has said, with council tax bands changed accordingly. Research carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation revealed those living in a £320,000 house will typically pay only twice as much as those living in a £68,000 property, despite it being four times as valuable. Changing the bands would help to keep house price inflation in check, the Foundation said in its Tackling Housing Market Volatility report. Contentious: The charity believes it would help keep house price inflation in check, but others think it is unfair because poorer people whose property value has risen over time would be penalised Kathleen Kelly, from the charity, said: 'We need radical tax reform that would reduce volatility and offer a better deal to millions of households, while developing alternatives to ownership so people have access to stable tenancies in both the social and private rented sector.' But local gove

Second home owners are about to be hammered by council tax rises on their holiday properties as the Government allows councils to repeal concessions. There are just over a quarter of a million holiday homes whose owners until now have benefitted from council tax discounts of between 10 and 50 per cent, due to the simple fact they are not living in the home for much of the time and therefore not using council services. But from April 2013 local authorities can charge full whack on the 'second homes', meaning hundreds of thousands will see painful monthly rises. Max tax: From April 2013 local authorities can charge full whack on the 'second homes' - and Cornwall is one area scrapping tax concessions as locals have become prices out of the market 'Everybody should pay their fair share of council tax, whether they use their property all year around or if they just use it two weeks a year,' Tory leader of Cotswold District Council Lynden Stowe told t

> The average UK council tax bill will rise below the rate of inflation in April but, as two thirds of councils are freezing bills, the rise will by far higher in some areas. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today confirmed that the average Band D council tax bill would rise by £12 - or 0.8 per cent - to £1,456 from April. It means the average bill will fall in real terms as inflation is running at 2.8 per cent. However, the rise in the average is driven by just a third of councils. The rest have granted ministers' wish for local authorities to freeze bills in exchange for a central government grant to help meet higher costs. In all, 257 of the 421 eligible English authorities (61 per cent) qualified for a DCLG grant worth 1 per cent of their council tax bills by imposing a freeze or reduction in the charge - down from 90 per cent in 2012/13. It means a third of councils rejected the offer of central Government help. Councils imposing the

  This is Money's aim is to protect our readers. We want to make sure you always get the best deals and help you avoid rip-offs. That's why we campaign on so many issues. Our biggest campaigns have been the call for fair play on bank charges and to highlight the hardsell by banks and building societies on loan and credit card insurance. We also carry the campaigns of our sister titles, Money Mail and Financial Mail, on the site and lend support with extra stories and guides. All is explained below. Stamp out the protection racket: We led the way in the fight against the mis-selling of loans insurance, or payment protection insurance (PPI). We ran a survey and had responses from more than 1,100 readers. We discovered that around half of people who have been sold PPI probably didn't need it. Consumers overwhelmingly supported our calls for greater scrutiny of this troublesome industry. We also exposed the inner workings of NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland by re

  City watchdogs slapped a £840,000 fine on Liverpool Victoria for mis-selling insurance today in a stark warning to other firms. Sales procedures: A call centre operator The Financial Services Authority imposed the huge penalty on the friendly society for pushing payment protection insurance on customers seeking personal loans between January 2005 and August 2007. Liverpool Vic, a mutual that claims an ethical stance, is the eighth firm to be fined for poor PPI practices in the last two years. PPI is sold with credit to cover repayments if the policyholder falls ill or loses their job, but customers calling Liverpool Vic for loans were not told the cover was optional and many were not made aware it meant additional interest on the premium for the life of the loan. The fine, the FSA's second-largest for this type of mis-selling, shows an increasingly tough stance by the regulator. Liverpool Vic promised to pay compensation and received a 30% reduction for settling e

  The last of the 2,500 post offices being closed as part of the Network Change Programme will shut its doors for ever in the New Year. Saddened: Betty Pritchardand husband Ray. The Wilkin post office, in the suburbs of Brownhills in the West Midlands, ends its six-week consultation period on Monday, December 22, and will close just a few weeks later. Down the road stands the 30ft Brownhills Miner statue marking the gateway to the Black Country and a tribute to the area's mining heritage. The pretty post office is a small converted Edwardian terrace house with a hand-painted red sign. Inside, the sub-postmistress and her husband, who runs the attached store, have decorated the small shop and post office window with dozens of cactus plants. But the popular couple, after more than two decades of serving customers, are accepting the inevitable. They did not wish to talk to Financial Mail, but their customers were more forthcoming. Betty Pritchard, 76, has been visiting

  The post office at Bethlehem is buzzing this Christmas. But the branch is nowhere near Jerusalem. Pilgrims must follow the star to Swansea and head 25 miles north to the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park to the biblically named village in Carmarthenshire. Spirit: Ann Harris selling cards with the valued Bethlehem postmark The Bethlehem branch was axed by the Post Office two decades ago but reopened in 2000 after pleas by the subpostmaster from nearby Llandeilo, Michael Williams, 59. 'I was amazed as so many post offices have been shut down in the area. But the Post Office seemed to think allowing a branch in Bethlehem might be a good public relations move,' he says. 'We get hundreds of visitors making a pilgrimage to see us every year. It is fantastic and enables us to keep open all year round.' The tiny branch is attached to the village hall and is usually open just four hours a week to serve the 150 villagers. But this month it is open full time

  Have you been the victim of dastardly behaviour by your bank or insurer? This is Money's Campaigns Editor Simon Lambert explains how to reclaim bank charges, credit card charges, loans insurance/PPI and mortgage fees. Consumer fightback: Could you battle back against banks, and insurers and reclaim what you are owed? Over the recent years banks, building societies and insurers have been repeatedly exposed for not having treated their customers as fairly as they should. Charges for going overdrawn on current accounts, penalties for overspending on credit cards, useless payment protection insurance, and the mortgage exit fees, have all given consumers a raw deal. This unfair treatment has lined the pockets of institutions that pay lip service to customer service and the idea of offering a good deal. But the good news is that people who have been wronged have been successfully reclaiming bank and credit card charges, PPI premiums and mortgage exit fees. Find out what you

Cash savers are the big victims of the country's slide into recession since 2007. We are calling on Chancellor George Osborne to change the rules on tax-free cash Isa savings in his Autumn Statement in early December. You'll be able to follow the campaign's progress, learn how the changes we propose would benefit you and find out how to take part by paying regular visits to this page. SIGN THE PETITION TO GET FAIR DEAL FOR ISAs DEBATED IN PARLIAMENT We've set up an e-petition and need 100,000 signatures 'Financial Mail on Sunday is calling on the Government to revamp Individual Savings Accounts in the Autumn Statement (December 5) so that cash savers get an improved offer. We want cash savers to be able to use the full annual Isa allowance (£11,280) as opposed to the current limit of £5,640. We also want Isa holders to be able to transfer stocks and held within their Isas into cash - a key tool for people approaching retirement. The proposals would revi

Women living in poverty in Africa are reaping the benefits of projects backed by a mobile phone giant amid a boom in corporate social responsibility initiatives. The Mabinti centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, takes on groups of 18 women who have had corrective surgery at a local hospital for the condition of obstetric fistula, which is a common complication of a long childbirth in poor areas. Run by Katia Geurts, it educates them about vital health issues including HIV and it also teaches practical skills to enable them to make a living. Jane Riu Rugalabamu, 34, is one of those who have been taught how to make handicrafts such as table cloths and Christmas decorations. She said the surgery and lessons had transformed her life – she is no longer incontinent and now she can sell at craft fairs. Support for the fistula hospital and Mabinti comes as controversies such as Starbucks’ tax avoidance raise the profile of companies’ efforts to improve their public standing. The Vodafone Foundat

Regional growth figures to be published this week are expected to throw up some surprise winners and losers after the last league tables showed east London and Belfast in the top five. One expert said: ‘It is not just a North-South divide. In the South East there are towns that are struggling, such as Hastings, in East Sussex, and Chatham, in Kent, while in the north are success stories such as Preston, in Lancashire, and York.  Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, has the lowest proportion of graduates of any large town, but very high levels of employment, as its workforce has good technical qualifications and the jobs are available. Regeneration: In 2009, Belfast was among the top five ‘Brighton, on the other hand, has high levels of youth unemployment.’ The figures, which will cover both 2010 and 2011, measure ‘gross value added’, which is gross domestic product minus the effect of taxes and subsidies. In 2009, the bottom five areas, in descending order, were Blackpool; Sefton,

A new boy band? No. It is the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme – the latest plan to get banks to lend and kick-start the economy. Don’t banks lend already? Not as much as many would like. Cash-strapped businesses and households have been starved of credit. Strategy: The FLS was launched at the beginning of August last year Yesterday Bank of England executive director Andrew Bailey said FLS meant there was less competition for savers’ money and as a result rates had come down.   More... Savers beware of bonus deals that pay lower rate than 'clean' accounts Plight of savers gets worse as price rises pushed up cost of living How does FLS work? Banks and building societies can borrow an unlimited amount of cheap money so long as they maintain or increase lending. The more the banks lend, the less the Bank charges. Is it working? It has got off to a slow start. Figures show banks borrowed £4.4bn of cheap money between the launch on August 1 and the end of Sept

Mothercare? Nice try, but no. These are the mothership firms that sit at the top of a chain of businesses. They own enough voting in a subsidiary that they effectively control it. In the UK this is usually defined by a controlling stake of more than 50 per cent. Cadbury's parent company is US processed cheese giant Kraft Examples? Take a familiar brand such as Cadbury for instance. The uninitiated in the world of business might assume it’s the same old British institution it always was.   More... 30 SECOND GUIDE: Davos 30 SECOND GUIDE: Office fraud Of course, the parent company is US processed cheese giant Kraft. Is the parent always bigger? Glad you asked. Take Tui Travel, itself the parent company of First Choice and Thomson Holidays. Its own parent is German firm Tui AG, which has walked away from merger talks to combine the two. Tui AG owns 56 per cent of Tui Travel, so one might assume that it is larger. But because everything else it owns isn’t worth much, the ‘

> No. Graphene is a new creation developed by scientists at Manchester University. It won the Nobel Physics Prize in 2010 and has been heralded as a ‘miracle material’ that will transform industry. What’s so good about it? A single sheet of carbon atoms, is it so thin that you would need three million sheets just to stack up to 1mm. But it is stronger than steel, tougher than diamond, and conducts electricity 30 times faster than silicon. Impressive. Miracle material: George Osborne tours science laboratories being used to research the use of Graphene during a visit to the University of Manchester Where can I get some? It is currently being put into products and devices made by companies such as electronics giant Samsung and IT group IBM – even Novak Djokovic’s tennis racket, made by Head. It is also being used in some aircraft wings, digital displays and solar cells. But its practical application could stretch further. Such as? Yesterday a group of universities w

Easier said than done Indeed. For years banks have been able to treat customers appallingly, safe in the knowledge that it’s such a hassle to switch accounts that most people stay put. Official figures suggest customers typically stick with the same bank for 26 years, while the average marriage lasts less than 12.  Why is it so difficult? When switching accounts you also have to make sure that all your regular payments – from your salary to direct debits – are set up for your new account. This can cause delays as the numerous companies involved  – banks, utility firms etc – drag their feet, make mistakes  or force customers to jump through hoops. Why don’t banks help? Most offer a switching service where you fill in a couple of forms and they promise to do the legwork for you – including contacting the relevant firms.   More... 30 SECOND GUIDE: The 'Big Four' Tax Advisers ALEX BRUMMER: Bank customers' freedom of choice is a myth Current account switching myths b

Whatever next?! No, not self-congratulatory headwear for bankers who are paid bonuses. These are proposals from Brussels to curb bankers’ pay. By how much? No more than one year’s fixed salary. Banks which want to hand out bigger awards will need to clear it with a majority of shareholders. Even then the maximum award will be twice salary. There will also be an absolute ban on upfront cash bonuses which exceed salary. Why? Bankers’ pay is widely deemed to have spiralled out of control. There is huge political appetite in Europe – with France and Ireland at the forefront – to clip the wings of bankers.   More... 30 SECOND GUIDE: Macro-prudential tools £17m bonus bonanza for top Barclays bosses despite string of scandals Mark Carney to help reform and 're-found' Bank of England What does the UK think? British banks are keen to dilute these plans, claiming the best talent could quit Europe. They also argue the rules could be counter-productive, encouraging lenders to ra

Is that Lincoln? No. Shinzo Abe, the new Prime Minister of Japan. And Abe-onomics? The economic policies of Abe. The new government in Japan, led by Abe, has said reviving the country’s economy is the top priority. Abe has set out plans to hit an inflation target of 2 per cent – just like the Bank of England – by pumping billions into the economy and at the same time weaken the yen to bolster exports. Taking action: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is prioritising reviving the country's economy Why is it needed? Japan has been fighting economic stagnation and deflation – prices falling rather than rising – for years. It suffered a ‘lost decade’ in the 1990s after a property and banking crash. It has never recovered – resulting in two lost decades.   More... Is Japan's stock market set for a comeback? 30 SECOND GUIDE: Office prices 30 SECOND GUIDE: Does the glass ceiling still exist But they are on top of things? If only. Japan is the third largest economy in the wo

Where to start? From the ground up, obviously. As the hip and stylish readers of the City & Finance section will no doubt already be aware, wooden floors have been in fashion for some years now. But that’s all about to change, with the humble carpet set to make a comeback. Out with the parquet: The carpet is set to make a comeback, according to estate agents and interior designers Who gives a shagpile? Well it’s good news for the likes of Carpetright, the flooring firm. Just a year ago, the company was notorious for issuing profit warnings. As recently as 2012, the firm issued its seventh in the space of just 12 months.   More... 30 SECOND GUIDE: Traffic Light System CARPETRIGHT : Check the latest price here But now? There is something of a rug revival underway, if you believe estate agents. If you don’t believe estate agents – and frankly who can blame you – then interior designers are saying it too. Carpetright certainly seems to be riding the wave. Underlying sales in

At airports? Yes, these are charges made to airlines by airports for using their runways. While they are paid by airlines, they result in higher fares so should be viewed as a direct charge on consumers. Rising costs: Head of AIG Willie Walsh warned passenger fares would be pushed higher Who sets it? The Civil Aviation Authority yesterday announced it had capped the rate for airports for five years from 2014.   More... Air passengers face paying higher fares despite airport landing fee price caps, warns boss of BA parent Willie Walsh Taken for a ride: How the hidden price of a taxi from the airport could add £400 to the cost of your holiday 30 SECOND GUIDE: DEMISING The exact figure differs from airport to airport, with Heathrow’s rates capped 1.3 per cent below inflation, measured by the retail prices index, and Gatwick’s rates 1 per cent above RPI. It said this would protect consumers from rising rates. Will it? Airline bosses don’t think so. Willie Walsh, head of British

Cashpoints? No, that’s ATMs. This is about annual meetings. All firms quoted on the London Stock exchange are required to stage a get together for shareholders once a year. Board members are re-elected (or not) and other matters such as the pay report are also voted on, although investors have little power. Holding directors accountable: A shareholder speaking at the Bank of Ireland AGM in Dublin last month The results of ballots are not binding – they just show sentiment. What’s the point? Directors need to be held accountable to their owners and this is the one chance the board have to explain what they have achieved (or not), run through the accounts and, most importantly, take questions, which can be awkward, random, or downright offensive.   More... Aviva takes a beating from investors as executive wages are vetoed Top tips for DIY investors: Three ways to avoid the savings drought and beat inflation ALEX BRUMMER: Online grocer Ocado lowers the shutters for secret AGM JEF