EVERY Saturday, The Consumer Crew are here to solve your problems.
Mel Hunter will take on readers’ consumer issues, Amanda Cable will give you the best advice for buying your dream home, Maddy Tooke rounds up the best coupons to save you money and Judge Rinder will tackle your legal woes.
Jane Hamilton, property expert
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COULD your home be a cash machine? With more than half of UK adults in debt and a third staying awake at night over money worries it can be good to use your pad to pad out your bank balance.
Here are some simple tips – but ensure you check your tax and home insurance needs first.
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- Rent out storage space. Commercial storage units cost more than £100 a month, so there’s a growing trade in renting space in other people’s homes. Charging £10 a week for 15sq ft of space could make you more than £520 a year. Advertise on storenextdoor.com or storemates.co.uk.
- Rent out your household stuff. Peer-to-peer site my-shed.co.uk lets you hire your garden tools to people locally while you can make cash on fatllama.com renting anything from furniture to bikes and kids scooters.
- Rent out a room. The Government’s Rent a Room scheme lets you earn up to £7,500 per year tax-free from letting out furnished accommodation in your home. See gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/the-rent-a-room-scheme.
- Location shoots. You don’t need a posh pad to hire it out to ad agencies, TV or film crews. Normal homes are in big demand and you can make up to £1,000 a day. See locationworks.com.
- Clear your clutter. The average person is sitting on £530 worth of unused items. List it on eBay, join your local Facebook selling page or hold a garage sale for bulky items.
Buy of the week
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BRISTOL was the most searched for place outside of London for both buyers and renters in 2019, new Rightmove data has revealed.
The city’s average asking price is £316,410, but you can pick up this smart Avonmouth penthouse for £210,000 at zoopla.co.uk/new-homes/details/52820135.
Don’t get caught in a knot
JAPANESE knotweed can knock thousands off the value of your home or make it difficult to sell.
Now a new tool has been created to help homebuyers and sellers assess the impact of the invasive weed on the value of a property on a website by Environet.
Founder Nic Seal says: “Sellers will be able to see whether it’s worth their while financially to have an infestation professionally treated before marketing a property, by seeing exactly how much its value is diminished.
“Buyers, meanwhile, can get a realistic idea of how much they should be offering.”
See environetuk.com/Japanese-knotweed-house-price-calculator.
Deal of the week
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HERE’S a golden opportunity to save. This trendy Tromso Gold Basket table sells for around £25 at other retailers but is just £10 at B&M stores.
SAVE: £15
Judge Rinder
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Q) N 2002, I got married and took out a £70,000 mortgage on a property, while my wife took out a £30,000 unsecured loan so we could renovate the place.
We separated in 2005 and I signed over my share of the house, worth £20,000, on the condition she took on any debt we had.
Then, in 2007, she declared herself bankrupt and I am having to pay her debt as we were still married at the time of bankruptcy.
I am still paying through attachment of earnings to this day.
We divorced in 2010, though I’d not seen or spoken to her since 2005.
She still lives in the property and is now bankrupt-free so will get all the profits from the house if it is sold.
Is there any way I can legally get her to pay her share or pass the debt back to her? Simon, Leeds
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A) There may be a way you can get your ex-wife to pay her share. You might also have a significant legal claim against the lawyers who advised you on this issue and in your divorce.
Reading your version of events, it seems to me that as soon as you signed over your share of the house, your ex-wife should have then become legally liable for all debt relating to it (including the mortgage).
This should have been reflected in an agreed order automatically removing you from having any legal interest in the property.
Assuming you had a lawyer at the time, they should have advised you to do this or have done this on your behalf, even though you were still legally married.
Once you were legally divorced, this should have been an end to the matter as far as you were concerned.
I simply don’t understand how or why (even if you were liable for payments from 2007) you have continued to pay anything after your divorce came through – and certainly after your ex-wife was discharged from her bankruptcy.
You need to get in touch with a lawyer (preferably one who didn’t handle your divorce) as soon as possible.
This situation is a serious legal mess and you may have a number of remedies, including a case against any legal advisers who helped to get you into this state.
Q) MY wife and I own our home and, as pensioners, have a will leaving it to my four children.
My son suggested I have the deeds altered so they don’t pay inheritance tax when the time comes. Is this legal? Peter, Darlington
A) You can legally gift them your home as long as you and your wife live for at least another seven years after you transfer the house over to them.
This is a very risky thing to do.
If you decide to go ahead, you will need to make sure you and your wife are legally protected and are permitted to stay in the property whatever happens.
You will need to set up a trust for this, which I would strongly advise you not to attempt on your own. See a specialist lawyer who will advise you.
If you are confident that you and your wife have a good decade ahead of you, this could be a perfectly legally acceptable way to proceed.
Just be very careful.
Q) I BOOKED an end-of-tenancy cleaner who confirmed the booking via email. But on the day of the booking, they did not turn up.
The estate agent that manages the property then deducted a large cleaning fee from my deposit, which was more than twice what I had agreed to pay the cleaners.
I believe the cleaning company should compensate this loss but it said all it can do is refund the deposit I paid them when I booked.
Is this fair? What else can I do? Michael, London
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A) Unless the estate agent who manages the property booked the cleaner on your behalf, or is somehow connected to this company – and it doesn’t sound like it – the cleaner’s view, that they are only liable for the refund of your deposit, appears to be right.
I understand this may have been practically difficult but as soon as the cleaning company let you know it could not attend, it was legally up to you to get the place up to scratch, scrubbing the place yourself if necessary.
I can understand why you are frustrated but it seems to me you don’t have any legal recourse worth pursuing.
Contact
- Judge Rinder regrets he cannot answer questions personally. Answers intended as general guidance. They do not constitute legal advice and are not a substitute for obtaining independent legal advice.
- Got a question for Judge Rinder? Email judgerinder@thesun.co.uk
Mel Hunter, Reader’s champion
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Q)I PLACED an online order with Carphone Warehouse but realised immediately after placing the order the name and email address provided were spelled incorrectly.
I phoned up at once to amend the details and was told the incorrect order would be cancelled and a new one placed.
I later became aware payments totalling £341.91 had been taken from my bank account by O2, relating to the original incorrect order.
It seems that order wasn’t cancelled by Carphone Warehouse after all.
O2 has confirmed that this number was never used and that no calls were ever made on it.
I have sent four letters to Carphone Warehouse, two of which were signed for, and have made around 30 phone calls. But still the issue hasn’t been resolved.
I am annoyed the money was taken but am even more frustrated at the lack of customer service from Carphone Warehouse. Elaine Ferguson, Co Tyrone
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A) Because you had a genuine payment going out to O2 each month, you didn’t spot the extra money disappearing from your account.
It was only much later you realised your balance was nearly £350 lighter.
O2 investigated and realised the SIM had not been used at all – then passed on the matter to Carphone Warehouse. That is when things stalled.
Incredibly, it took another two years – until I got in touch with the tech company – before the firm finally agreed to repay that £341.91.
A spokesperson for Carphone Warehouse said: “We have apologised to Ms Ferguson for her experience and worked with her and the network to resolve the issue.
“We have offered her a goodwill gesture, which she has accepted. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this caused.”
Mystery insurance
Q) MULTIPLE insurance policies have been taken out by Domestic & General in my mum’s name, which she had not taken out.
When we found out, we cancelled them and wrote to D&G, sending one letter as a complaint and another with Mum’s bank details so it could refund her.
We got no reply to the second letter so I emailed D&G again.
It kept on asking for more details and we still haven’t got anywhere. Gareth Matthews, South Wales
A)Domestic & General provides cover for domestic appliances, which can be handy if a freezer breaks down unexpectedly or your oven suddenly gives up the ghost.
But on this occasion the policies in your mum’s name were not taken out by her and she hadn’t agreed to any renewal.
You had been trying to help her get the policies cancelled and her money refunded.
This proved harder than it should have been and you felt like no one was listening.
I stepped in and finally managed to get the £500 refund your mum was owed.
D&G told me: “We are sorry Mrs Matthews has had a bad experience with us.”
Maddy Tooke, Coupon Queen
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My top five freebies this week
- O2 customers get 30 days free yoga from MoveGB fitness with the O2 Priority app. Find your nearest class at bit.ly/freeyoga30.
- Free WOW Hydrate from Checkoutsmart.com. Offer available until January 6. bit.ly/freewowhydrate.
- Free tea or filter coffee at Ikea for Ikea Family card holders. Sign up for yours in-store or online at bit.ly/ikeafreetea. Available from Monday-Friday.
- Kick-start your New Year’s resolution with a free unlimited five-day gym pass from Xercise4less. Sign up at bit.ly/5daysfreegym.
- Free pineapple daiquiri from Browns Restaurants when you sign up to the Browns email newsletter. Sign up at bit.ly/freepineappledaiquiri.
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Top 10 deals
- Get 10 per cent off orders over £90 at Monsoon with code TREATDEC from Vouchercloud.com. Ends Tuesday. See bit.ly/20monsoon.
- Save 15 per cent on sale orders at Blacks with PRESENT15, expires tomorrow. Or get 15 per cent off first full- price orders with NEWSU, expires January 15. See bit.ly/blacks15.
- Get 20 per cent off selected sports and outdoor orders from Amazon with code SPORTS20. Ends January 19. See bit.ly/amazon20sports.
- Save 10 per cent on cycle clothing orders from Wiggle with CYCLE01. Ends January 31. See bit.ly/10wiggle.
- Get 20 per cent off orders at Puma with TAKE-20-OFF-N5A5. Ends February 14. See bit.ly/20offpuma.
- Save 20 per cent on orders from FitFlop with WINTER20. Offer expires January 31. bit.ly/20fitflop.
- Get £100 off holiday bookings over £750, £150 off holidays over £2,000 or £200 off bookings over £3,000 from First Choice with code SALE. Valid on departures from March 1 to October 31. Book by January 31. bit.ly/firstchoice100.
- Save 10 per cent on Simply Be orders over £30 with code HEY10 until March 1. See bit.ly/10simplybe.
- Get £5 off WHSmith orders over £25 with SALEFIVE. Expires Monday. See bit.ly/whsmith5.
- Get £20 off orders over £60 at The Protein Works with VCDEC2060. Ends tomorrow. bit.ly/20proteinworks.
