STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

WHEN I moved house, my internet provider, Plusnet, persuaded me to switch my landline to them. But the new line was dead and it took Plusnet two weeks to fix it, even though I mentioned I have medical problems and rely on my home phone. Is there anything you can do?

D.O., London. PLusNET says you notified the company of your medical needs, but that because you also had a mobile phone, you didn’t meet the criteria for it to treat your case as an emergency. It has since apologised and offered you three months of free broadband worth £26.97 as a gesture of goodwill. ARE there any Government benefits and allowances I don’t have to pay income tax on? I am 86 and don’t have a computer. M. B., Lowestoft, Suffolk. soME common income tax-free state benefits for pensioners include pension credit, winter fuel payments and free television licences for over-75s. For details call hMrC on 0300 200 3300, or the charity Tax help for older People on 0845 6013321. OUR FLIGHT home from Majorca was delayed overnight because of a dispute involving a drunken stag party on the inbound plane. We spent an uncomfortable night in the airport. Now easyJet is refusing to pay compensation, claiming it was an ‘extraordinary circumstance’. J. M., Nailsea, Somerset. Eu ruLEs state that airlines do not have to pay out for flight delays caused by extraordinary circumstances. Civil Aviation Authority guidelines on what counts as ‘extraordinary’ include passenger security incidents — which this was. EasyJet has apologised for the inconvenience and says it complies fully with Eu rules. I’M 79 and live on the state pension plus savings income from my building society accounts. Can you tell me how much I can earn before tax is due for the 2016/17 financial year? P. C., Southampton. NoBoDY with a total income below £17,000 in the tax year 2016/2017 will have any tax to pay on their savings. If your total income is over £17,000 and your savings income is more than £1,000, you may have to pay some tax on this.