STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

MY WIFE and I booked to go on a Mediterranean cruise, but she was later diagnosed with a blood clot, so we had to cancel.

We had travel insurance but when we tried to claim, our insurer, Insurance with, said we hadn’t purchased cruise extension cover, and now I’m £3,299 out of pocket. R. D., by email. INSURANCE WITH is updating its website to make it clearer to customers that they must purchase an addon if they are going on a cruise.

It’s listened to your call and admits you did mention the cruise. It now says it will pay your claim, less the £49.25 you should have paid for cruise extension cover and a £400 excess — so £2,849. Insurance with apologises for any stress and inconvenience. I READ in Money Mail that the average pensioner’s income is now £297 a week. I receive only £163 in state pension. J. A., Suffolk. THE figures, from the Department for Work and Pensions, include private and state pensions.

Your £163-a-week state pension is made up of the basic £119.30, plus a state second pension top-up. But you don’t have a private pension — that’s why you’re short of the average. A MAN called me trying to sell a £5,000 diamond. To get him off the phone, I agreed for him to send the paperwork, but I had no intention of buying.

I returned it unsigned with a letter explaining I wasn’t interested. Now the firm is threatening to sue me for breach of contract. Please help. I. H., Isle of Man. IT’S always best to decline any offers made in unexpected phone calls — they could be scams.

For this one I asked Jan Carton, of Citizens advice, who says: ‘It’s usually up to the seller to prove that you agreed to buy something. If you don’t think you agreed to buy anything, write to the seller to ask for proof of the agreement.’ For more help, contact Citizens advice on 03454 04 05 06. A DRIVER crashed into my car and drove off. I paid to repair the damage, but later received a letter from a claims firm saying the accident was my fault.

They contacted my insurer, Axa, which paid out even though the driver had no licence or insurance. How can I find him and make him pay for my repairs? J. S., Huddersfield. axa has looked again carefully at your case. It says the driver crashed into your car after you failed to give way at a slip road joining a main road.

It assures me the driver had a licence and insurance. It cannot give out their details, but says you have instructed a solicitor.