DEAN DUNHAM
It’s worth sifting through the fine print at the end of any contract, not doing so can land you in serious financial difficulty be mainly driven by a younger or higher risk driver. This is a huge gamble. Not only will this invalidate a policy, it is illegal and fraudulent and could land you with a criminal record. IF YOU have an accident or even lose something while drunk or taking drugs on holiday there’s a huge chance your insurer will reject your claim.
This could end up costing tens of thousands if you need urgent medical care or to be airlifted home. There is no help whatsoever if you don’t have valid travel cover. SPORTS and beach activities are not included as standard on most policies. Impromptu jet-skiing, zip lines or even banana boating could leave you in deep water. YOU must be honest about existing medical conditions, even if they seem trivial. Don’t be tempted to not declare some conditions to try and save money – it could end up an expensive mistake.
interest rates are tempting but without knowing the full cost of the loan, including all fees, over the term could mean you pay way over the odds.
The lowest rates often come with £1,500 fees, and over a two-year deal that is high.
Get a mortgage broker to help you do the sums to ensure you really are getting the best deal.
Renting your property out on Airbnb can invalidate home insurance or violate the terms of your mortgage agreement. IF YOU can afford to pay upfront for a phone, then do it and take out a SIM-only deal so you won’t get stuck in an expensive 24-month contract. SIM-only deals can start from a month at a time.
Plus you won’t end up paying interest on the handset, a cost that is often hidden in the total monthly contract bill.
He proposed that he popped in on an adhoc basis when he could so that he could rectify the issues “a bit at a time”.
Worried, Mary felt she had no alternative but to accept so did so gratefully.
The handyman handed her a bill for £49.99 for reparing the leak which Mary paid immediately.
She told me that she was pleasantly surprised with this as it was cheaper than she expected.
Over the next 14 months the handyman and his young sidekick turned up at Mary’s house on a frequent basis, for no more than one hour on each occasion.
Mary has no idea what they did on each occasion as she simply left them to their work.
Then on October 2 this year the horror story unfolded. The handyman called at Mary’s house and handed her an envelope with an invoice. The invoice was for £6,298.74 and stated that it was 126 call outs at £49.99 each.
Mary was shocked and wrote to me.
I’ve written to the handyman and told him this is not on. Clearly no price was agreed with Mary and in these circumstances the Consumer Rights Act says that Mary will have to “pay a reasonable price for the service and no more” (section 51[2]).
Mary is now getting a reputable trader to do a report on exactly what work this handyman has done so that we can assess what’s ‘reasonable’.