STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
I’M WITH Economy Energy and pay £45 a month for gas. Recently, I had an email saying my direct debit payments are rising to £83. Why is this happening? M. H., Bexleyheath, Kent.
eCoNoMY energy reassesses direct debit payments every six months to ensure they match how much energy a customer uses. In June, your account was £142 in the red. Your balance is now £54 in debit, with another bill due in two weeks.
economy energy says it raised your payments so you would break even over the next few months. If it later finds you are overpaying, your bills will be reduced again.
MY 16-year-old son signed up for a free trial of Deliveroo, the food delivery service. Eight months later, he discovered he had been charged £7.99 a month — a total of £64. He used the service only during the free trial and didn’t realise it was a paid-for subscription. Deliveroo will only refund the last month’s payment, leaving him £56 out of pocket. I don’t know how he subscribed in the first place as the minimum sign-up age is 18. P. A., by email.
aFTeR escalating your complaint, deliveroo has now accepted your son made a genuine mistake and refunded the full amount as a goodwill gesture. a spokesman said that it makes it very clear in its terms and conditions that subscribers must be 18. He adds that customers can cancel the subscription at any time. I WROTE to Leeds Building Society in May before my Isa matured to tell it I was switching to Skipton BS and to expect a transfer form. A month later, I phoned Skipton and was told the form had been sent but the Isa had not been transferred. It feels a rather long time to wait. P. F., Wiltshire.
IT’S taken almost a month to get a response from Skipton and leeds BS about this.
leeds BS says you originally asked for the funds to be reinvested in one of its fixedrate Isas before requesting the transfer to Skipton. It followed your initial instructions, which is why your transfer request was rejected. after I got in touch, it says it has worked to put things right.
Your money should now be with Skipton. leeds BS apologises for the delay and will be sending you a goodwill gift.