STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
MY FAMILY and I recently took a £ 12 taxi ride home after a night out. I paid by tapping a ‘ contactless’ card on the reader. But when I looked at the receipt the next day, the bill was for £13.20. Have I been ripped off?
G. W-M, Ilminster, Somerset. WhILe many taxis — particularly those in cities — offer the facility for you to be able to pay with a contactless card, there is a convenience charge, usually 10pc.
The details of the charge should be on stickers next to the reader. If this wasn’t the case, you should complain to the taxi firm. I’M TRYING to switch my £4,500 cash Isa from Santander to Nationwide, but am struggling to withdraw my money. Santander staff don’t appear to know where my account is in their systems and have spent two weeks hunting for it, without success.
H. l., yorkshire. WITh any cash Isa transfer, it’s the job of your new Isa provider — Nationwide — to sort the process, not you. So don’t try to withdraw the money. If you do, you’ll lose the tax benefit. Call Nationwide, explain your mistake and let them take it from here. MY FREEZER, which is insured with Domestic & General for £49 a year, broke down three months ago. I was told I’d need to pay £28 plus a £41 delivery fee for a replacement. This seems outrageous, not least because I’m still waiting for it.
J. b. M., london. TheSe charges are stated in your insurance terms and conditions, says D&G. But as a goodwill gesture, it has agreed to send you a cheque for £251.98 so you can replace the freezer yourself. MY TRAVEL insurance renewal quote from Saga says it will cost £3 to pay by cheque. When did this start?
D. E., Merseyside. SaGa has been charging £ 3 for cheque payments since January 2007. THE property next door has been bought by a developer, who wants to knock down our garage wall and remove a shed. Isn’t there a rule against this?
P. D. E., Weybridge, Surrey. DISPUTe expert Mark hessel, at eMW Law, says that under the Party Wall act 1996, a neighbour must give advanced notice of work. If you object, they would likely have to foot the bill for a surveyor, who will seek a fair compromise.
If the project gets the go-ahead, your neighbour must repair any damages in full — and that might mean a new shed.