STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

A CHIMNEY leak at my elderly parents’ house resulted in water damage to their living room. I have been trying to sort their £1,250 claim with insurer Covea Insurance since July 9, but staff are being unhelpful and obstructive.

J.C., by email.

CovEA Insurance says it aims to deliver high service standards but occasionally mistakes are made. which it regrets is what happened here. It has now settled your parents’ claim and offered £150 compensation. I WANT to buy a new home using savings to avoid being in a chain, then sell my present home soon after. There could be a short period when I own two properties. Would I have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) when selling my current home?

T. B., Essex.

You shouldn’t have to pay CGT if you sell your current home within two years of buying your new one, according to AJ Bell. You will have to pay the additional 3pc stamp duty on your new home, but you can reclaim this if you sell your existing home within three years. VIRGIN Mobile keeps texting to say a new SIM card is on the way. But it has not arrived and Virgin says it will cut me off if I don’t replace my existing one. I can’t get through on the phone.

A. P., Surrey.

THE SIm card was mistakenly sent to your old house. A new one has been sent to your current address. It adds that some call centres were closed during lockdown but customers would have got through eventually. I PAID for a £1,460 Bertazzoni dual-fuel cooker in June. The retailer, AO, initially failed to deliver it on the day it promised and then, after arranging an alternative date, did not send an engineer to install it.

L.C., by email.

Ao HAS apologised and refunded the cost of the engineer. It has arranged an alternative solution to connect your cooker.