Currys won’t refund me for TWO faulty VHS-to-DVD recorders
I WONDER if you could wave your magic wand in my direction?
My wife and I wanted to record old VHS tapes on to DVDs, so about three years ago, I bought a Toshiba DVD player/recorder costing £399.99 from Currys. I paid a further £94 to extend the warranty for five years.
We were so pleased with it that we bought a second one — but both have now broken down.
When the first stopped working, Currys offered a replacement of the same value, but there is no similar product available.
In the end, we accepted a £200 Samsung recorder, but it is picky about which tapes it will let me copy.
Now the second one has broken, and I do not want another Currys voucher. My wife and I are both 70 and have no need for more technology! I’m starting to feel I’d have been better off sticking with my old VHS videotapes. D. F., Salford. As A self-confessed techie who at one time rushed out to buy new gadgets as soon as they became available, I can appreciate your problem. I only bought my iPhone three years ago, but the battery is dying ever faster and the latest phones don’t fit my requirements.
Your predicament turned out to be surprisingly complicated, though Currys was very sympathetic and helpful.
It has offered a refund on your original machine and generously offered to cover the cost of an alternative device that will fit your requirements — this does not have to be bought at Currys.
If you can’t find anything, it will simply refund you for everything. IN JUNE 2009, I withdrew cash from my Nationwide Isa, then locked away the passbook to save the rest to pay for mine and my husband’s funerals.
I assumed the £12,739 would be safe left alone, but in August this year, I took the passbook to be updated and was told that the money had been transferred to another Isa and the account closed. I have not done this and the money has just vanished.
Nationwide says that it has no records beyond six years ago and my money is lost.
I am 86 and believed that this passbook was 100 pc safe. Mrs J. C., Hampshire. NAtIoNwIde has investigated, and it seems you transferred the money elsewhere.
In August 2009, you withdrew £12,755 via a cheque payable to an account at Lloyds tsB. Lloyds confirms the money was used to set up a cash Isa, however it was withdrawn a few months later. the banker’s draft to withdraw the money was in your name, so could only have been paid into an account in your name. Your current account is with another bank, and Lloyds has offered you assistance in contacting it.
You provided authority for Nationwide to speak to your husband about your accounts. He was adamant that you’d never had an account with Lloyds.
A Nationwide spokesman says: ‘our records show that the money was transferred to Lloyds tsB as part of an Isa transfer request in 2009. At that time, Isa transfers were made by cheque, meaning that the customer’s passbook was not required and, therefore, would not show the transaction.
‘However, the customer should have received confirmation from Lloyds that the transfer had been completed at the time.’ WHEN working for Mitre, I joined its Save As You Earn scheme twice. The second time, things went pear-shaped. I took voluntary redundancy in October 2016, but the maturity date for my SAYE was December 1, 2016. I received a letter saying I had until April 28 this year to exercise my options.
I then received an updated letter saying I had until May 31.
On May 10, I contacted Capita to discuss my options and was told they’d lapsed on April 28. When I told it about the second letter, it said this was issued by mistake and I should contact Mitre. But I don’t accept this. It is Capita’s mistake, which it should resolve. J. B., Cumbria. sAYe schemes allow you to put away money every month in order to buy shares in the company where you work.
Capita has investigated and agrees it was to blame. It wrote to you on december 29 to outline your options and advise that you needed to return the completed paperwork no later than April 28. In the same correspondence, it said no further letters would be issued to prompt you.
However, due to an internal error, a further reminder letter was actually sent in March, telling you to provide instructions by May 31.
Capita has apologised and agreed to make a £1,700 goodwill payment. this is the amount you would have received on May 10.
You generously said you would donate £100 of this to charity.