Yes, it was subject of a DDoS attack late on Friday and, although a specialist firm (prolexic.com) appears now to have been engaged to work on the 'problem', the site has only one page running at the moment (and even that's intermittent):
APOLOGIES!
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION DUE TO DDOS TECHNICAL PROBLEMSAll the functions have been taken off line temporarily to keep it working.
Want Martin's detailed PPI reclaiming guide and free template letters?
They'll be available as soon as the site is back up and running. However, to ensure you don't forget, they will be included in the free (ad-free) weekly MoneySaving e-mail (which you can get via the box below).
In the meantime, you can watch Martin's Google video Guide to PPI Reclaiming.
New to MoneySavingExpert.com?
This is the ad-free, free to use Consumer Revenge site, used by over 3,000,000 people in the UK a month. The best thing to do is get yourself on the distribution list for the weekly MoneySaving e-mail (see box above) which will be a good prompt to come back and save yourself a fortune.
What is a DDOS problem?
It is a 'distributed denial of service attack'; in other words someone is maliciously attacking the site to stop it being able to function (see Wikipedia's DDOS attacks explanation). Frankly it's devastating and the fact it happened with the publicity surrounding the launch of the PPI reclaiming campaign is probably not a coincidence.
In practical terms it means, they've simulated as if billions of people are trying to use the site at any moment, so of course the servers can't cope. Sadly it's much easier to destroy something than it is to create it.
And finally a word to those who are attacking the site. Millions use this site, many rely on it for crucial info to make their lives better; some are desperate for help with their debts, and others want support through a myriad of issues. What you're doing is hurting many people, please stop.
Martin appears to be of the opinion that the site has been targeted as a result of his latest campaign against the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance but, of course, with his outspoken style (e.g. "Screw the banks before they screw you") and high profile campaigns against many 'legal rip-offs', the list of possible suspects must be quite long.