STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
I HAVE overpaid tax on my savings since 2011. To claim it back I need to know how much interest I’ve had, but I don’t have paper statements and Nationwide says it doesn’t store these figures. What should I do?
M. E., Rushden. yOU were given inaccurate information. Nationwide keeps details of all interest payments made back to when the savings account was opened. To get this information you should request an S975 certificate. Nationwide is offering you £50 compensation by way of apology. I’M CONFUSED by the sums in your article last week about using your pension as a cash machine. If I had £100,000 and took regular income from it for 30 years, how much would I be able to have in total?
R. D. by email. IF yOU took a £5,000 annual income you would pay £750 tax on your withdrawal after the taxfree allowance. This means your annual income would be £4,250. after 30 years, assuming the funds remain invested in the stock market and grow at 5 pc, you would have taken £127,500 in income and paid £22,500 in tax. WE LIVE in a mobile home for 11 months of the year. Do we have to pay council tax?
J. P., Herefordshire. IF a caravan is someone’s sole or main residence, the Valuation Office agency is required by law to give it a council tax banding and charge you accordingly — even if the holiday park where it is based isn’t open all year round. If you think your banding is wrong you can complain to the council’s valuations office to request a review. WE RECENTLY bought the Hive app and set up the wireless thermostat on our kitchen wall. However, on several occasions recently, we couldn’t connect to the app to heat our house. We called our supplier, E.On, who referred us to British Gas! Can you help?
B. U., Newport. BrITISH Gas is behind the Hive system, but it can be used with other suppliers. you’re not alone in your concern; others have been affected, too. Hive says it suffered a glitch recently, which meant the app could not connect with heating systems. It says it has put in safeguards so it doesn’t happen again. MY FATHER got a call from someone claiming to be from the taxman, asking to check bank details for an alleged overpayment he was due to get back. Was it a genuine call?
R. L., by email. NO, IT was a scam. an HmrC spokesman says it would only get in touch if it was requested to call back — and even then, staff would never ask for bank details. If they call back, hang up — and wait five minutes before making any call as fraudsters sometimes stay on the line.