STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
FIVE of us have booked flights and accommodation through British Airways for a trip early next year. Our return flight has been cancelled and we have been booked on another service the next day. BA has agreed to sort out an extra night in the hotel, but should we ask for compensation to cover our food and a day off work?
P. R., by email.
iF an airline cancels your flight, it must offer an alternative flight or refund. Given how long it is until the trip, you are entitled to nothing further so by paying for another night in the hotel, Ba has already gone above and beyond. it is up to you if you want to ask for more compensation — the airline can only say no.
I BOUGHT a refurbished Rangemaster cooker on eBay with a six-month warranty. The seller came back to fix it, as the fan blew when I turned it on. He then claimed he would now have to wait for six months to get the payment and began pestering me to accept a refund and pay him again via PayPal. When I refused he became threatening.
W. B., by email.
eBaY says you should not make transactions outside of the website. a spokesman says the funds were in the seller’s PayPal account and he has agreed not to contact you further.
A CAR drove into the back of our BMW. I called my insurer LV= to arrange a courtesy car, but the Mini we were offered is much too small. We need a car big enough for our dogs
and grandchildren who are coming to stay. LV= will not return my calls and I have no repair date for our car.
A. H., Norwich.
Your policy entitles you to a courtesy car that is equivalent to a small hatchback, which is why a Mini was provided. larger cars, similar to yours, cost more. lV= suggested several alternatives, which you turned down, delaying the repairs to your own car as you were still driving it. lV= has not charged you for supplying a larger car and given you £100 in compensation because you felt let down by its service.
I TRIED to deposit a cheque in my Lloyds account, but the cashier refused to bank it, as my middle name — and not my first — was printed on it. I go by my middle name and have always been able to bank cheques in this format. Has Lloyds introduced new rules?
D. R., St Austell, Cornwall.
lloYdS says it takes a common sense approach to cheque deposits. it will accept a cheque using the customer’s middle name as long as it is listed on your account. it says in this case its branch staff applied the rules too strictly. it has reminded them of the policy and apologies for the confusion.