The complicated world of pensions

Q: My partner won’t let me see my kid. We share childcare but due to coronavirus he said its best if he stays with him in his house. I’ve only seen my child from the garden and I really need to have my child live with me.

A: If you live in a different home from your child’s other parent and you both look after the child, you can still do this.

It’s important to think about the child’s health, how they feel about moving between households, and whether there are vulnerable members in either household.

When you’re travelling between homes, try to avoid public transport if you can and stay 2m away from other people.

If there’s a court order or formal agreement in place, you should try to stick to those arrangements.

If you decide it’s best to change the agreement, you can do this. Both parents should make a written note of any change agreed, for example in a note, email or text.

If you have an informal arrangement, you should discuss what to do with the child’s other parent.

It might not be possible to maintain contact if one household has symptoms and all the members of the household need to selfisolate. In this circumstance you might be able to maintain contact by phone or video call instead.

A: Your options are to wait and apply again at a later date, but your best option is to start the appeal process and complete a mandatory Reconsideration (MR).This will be sent back to the DWP to review their decision.

You need to remember that you have one month from the date of the decision letter you have received to raise a MR.

You can do a MR by either completing the online form, apply in writing or by phoning the DWP on the number on the decision letter you received.

In your MR you need to let them know why you disagree, so it is best to have bullet points on where you think you should have been awarded points and provide any evidence, such as medical reports or GP letters.

Your local bureau or local authority should be able to assist you with this if required.

If your MR is turned down the next step would need to be an SSCS1 appeal and this would go to a tribunal, again your local bureau/local authority should be able to assist you with this. out when you’ll get your refund.

It might take longer to get your refund at the moment because lots of people are asking for refunds. If you’re offered a voucher instead of a refund, it’s usually best to ask for a refund. Tell the company you booked with – they have to give you a refund if you ask.

If you aren’t getting anywhere you would need to raise a section 75 through your credit card company.

If the item cost more than £100 but less than £30,000, tell your credit card company you want to make a ‘section 75 claim’.

Make your claim to the company which sends your statements – for example, if you have an HSBC Mastercard, make your claim to HSBC not Mastercard. If you’re not the main cardholder, you can’t make a section 75 claim but you could ask them to do it for you.

You don’t have to complain to the seller before making a section 75 claim. You can make a complaint and a section 75 claim at the same time but you can only get your money back from seller or the card company, not both.