STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

MY five-year interest-free Help to Buy government loan is coming to an end. Who should I call for advice? S. B., by email. IF YoU want to speak to government Help to Buy representatives in england, call 0345 848 0235. In Wales, the number is 08000 937 937. For Scottish Help to Buy homeowners, it depends where you live. For the Highlands and Shetland Islands, it’s 01463 701 271; for Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray it’s 01224 202900; and anywhere else it’s 08450 020 163. WHEN I signed up for a Solarplicity energy deal in February, the offer stated I was entitled to free LED light bulbs. Despite emailing the firm’s customer services 17 times, I haven’t been sent any. G. K., by email. YoUR order was not processed because you tried to order 20 light bulbs when you were entitled to only eight. Solarplicity admits it should have corrected your order. Your new bulbs should be delivered within ten working days. I RECEIVED a letter from insurer Hastings Direct informing me I was owed a refund due to a miscalculation of my no-claims discount. I had to confirm the refund through a link, but I don’t have a computer. When I rang, it said it had no record of the refund. Is this a scam? R. T., Dyfed, Wales. HASTInGS Direct confirmed to me that your refund is legitimate. You had nine years of no claims, not eight as it had recorded, and so should have paid £23.67 less for your insurance. It says a system error held up the issue of your cheque. A spokesman says: ‘We’ve apologised and issued the refund; we have also paid £30 in compensation for the inconvenience caused.’ I WON a trip to the London Science Museum in June after entering a Mr Kipling prize draw. I entered the winning code on its website and it emailed me confirmation I had won. But the firm refuses to give me the prize. M. S., by email. To CLAIM your prize you must provide proof of purchase. Mr Kipling asks entrants to keep hold of their cake packaging and receipt to validate entries. You say you sent the packaging, but Mr Kipling says it never received it. It adds that it must insist on proof of purchase because it received around 80 entries from your email address using similar codes, many of which do not match up to those it randomly generates.