STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
MY WIFE and I are in our late 80s and in poor health. We do not think we will live for another seven years. We want to give money to our daughter — will she have to pay tax on it?
F. F., Coventry. If You both die within seven years of making the gift, it is possible your daughter will have to pay inheritance tax at 40 pc on the cash — but only if your total estate is worth more than the £650,000 inheritance tax threshold for couples. Your daughter should not have to pay income tax on the money you give her because it is a gift. However, she may have to pay tax on income that arises from the gift, such as savings interest.
I AM interested in a fixed-rate bond with the French RCI Bank, owned by the car manufacturer Renault. If I do, is my money protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
D. A., Bristol. Good question. RCI savers are not covered by the FSCS if it fails, but it is covered by fonds de Garantie des depots et de resolution, the french protection scheme, which protects the bond to the value of €70,000 (£59,822) if the bank goes out of business.
I BOUGHT my wife a tablet computer from Argos for her birthday. A few weeks later, she noticed a crack in the corner of the screen. I took it back to Argos, but was told it was accidental damage and I must pay for someone to assess it. This seems unfair to me as we didn’t break it. Can you help?
F. M., Runcorn, Cheshire. ARGOS insists that it followed the correct procedure and it was accidental damage. But it has agreed to give you the cost of the tablet in vouchers, which you are happy with.
SKY recently installed a HD box for my bedroom TV. We already have one in the conservatory. But since the engineer came, the TV hasn’t worked. I think the aerial was damaged, but Sky won’t take responsibility.
A. A., via email. SKY insists its engineer didn’t cause the damage, but as you’re a loyal customer and as a gesture of goodwill, it will repair the aerial free of charge.
AFTER a family trip to the U.S., I received a £4,597.93 bill for my teenage son’s mobile phone. He told me that he’d turned the mobile data off so he wouldn’t be hit with costly internet charges. I can’t afford a bill this big. What can I do?
P. H., Epping, Essex. UNFORTUNATELY, it seems your son turned off the £120 data cap, hence the huge bill.
o2 promised to try and help you within five days, but you never heard a thing. To o2’s credit, it agreed you didn’t receive good customer service when you tried to resolve the problem, so it has reduced your bill by £4,527.93 — and you tell me your son now has a pay-as-you-go phone.