EVERY Saturday, The Consumer Crew are here to solve your problems.
Mel Hunter will take on readers’ consumer issues, Jane Hamilton will give you the best advice for selling your home and Judge Rinder will tackle your legal woes.
Jane Hamilton, property expert
4
WHY spend when you can recycle? Research from Ikea shows we splash out an average of £886 a year re-decorating our homes, peaking at £1,364 a year in our thirties.
But an increasing number of interior designers are focusing on making the most of what we already have. The trend is huge on Pinterest and Instagram, with thousands of easy-to-copy ideas.
This week is National Recycle Week, so here are a few tips to get you started – and save hundreds of pounds on your new-look home.
- Don’t throw out your old curtains – turn them into a cosy throw instead. If you have enough material, run up matching cushion covers, too.
- Almost every home has old glass jam jars. Upcycle yours into candle holders or pretty hanging lamps. They look stylish inside or outside.
- Clean up old food cans, scrape off the label and carefully take off the lid. They make trendy pencil containers that teens and tweens love.
- Found an old suitcase in the attic? Pad it with blankets and you have a new dog or cat bed. If you have a stylish old leather case, they can make a trendy coffee table trunk.
- Old umbrella ends can be turned into handy hooks for coats – they look lovely in a long line.
- Use old book pages instead of wallpaper to create a stunning feature wall
- Feeling crafty? Custom-dye old T-shirts, cut them into strips and tie to make a shaggy rug.
Deal of the week
COSY up for autumn with a faux fur cushion. This oh-so-soft luxe faux fur design was £12.95 but is reduced to £9.60 at Homebase.
SAVE: £3.35
Judge Rinder
4
Q) OUR neighbours opposite installed two security flood lamps which often switch on between 3am and 5am, waking me.
When I have looked out of my window I have not seen any human or animal around which could have set them off. I have come to the conclusion the lights are controlled by a smart phone or similar and therefore the neighbour is switching them on through sheer malice.
I looked online and found some videos from the US of people filming their neighbours’ floodlights so they can prosecute them under “light trespass” laws but I do not know if such legislation exists here.
I have kept a log of all the occasions this has happened. What should I do next?
John, Kent
A) I understand why you are angry but I must emphasise that you need to do everything you reasonably can to resolve this issue with your neighbour without getting into litigation.
I know you believe your neighbour is deliberately switching the lights on to be a nuisance but, in all likelihood, there is probably a technical problem which could be easily resolved.
Bring this issue to your neighbour’s attention in a calm and helpful manner. Ask them to have the light looked at by an expert and, if it can’t be fixed, for it to be removed.
Only if your neighbour refuses to respond to your request should you take this further.
At that point you have a variety of options. You could take your neighbour to court for nuisance and harassment and, if you have evidence they are doing this on purpose, could even report the matter to the police.
These options are absolutely your last resort. A kind word and a thoughtful request is best. This may not be what you think it is.
Jailed landlord
Q) I RENTED a property in 2009 through an estate agent. I paid a £550 deposit and still have the paperwork.
Then I found out the owner of the estate agents had been jailed for fraud and the company shut down.
My tenancy agreement lasted until January 2013. When I moved out I asked the property owners for my deposit back. Everyone denied responsibility and no one would pay me. I feel I am still entitled to it.
I have tried Citizens Advice and contacted the tenancy deposit scheme but several years later I still don’t have the cash. What can I do?
Lisa, Birmingham
A) It was the landlord’s responsibility to ensure your deposit money was put into the tenancy deposit scheme so it is the landlord who must return it.
The problem is it all happened years ago so a court may prevent you from bringing a legal action.
A claim for breach of contract must ordinarily be made within six years from the date of the breach.
Contact the landlord again making clear your deposit was their legal responsibility and that you are prepared to take this matter to the small claims court. You might also be able to get help from one of the free law centres found online.
Q) MY brother died last year. I had Power of Attorney and, on his death, became executor of his will, the sole benefactors of which are his son and daughter.
Before his death, his daughter got it into her head that I had been stealing his money which is total nonsense and can be proven very conclusively.
She has since placed a caveat on probate of the estate but is refusing to be specific about any allegations that I or the solicitor can make any sense of.
Legal proceedings are consuming large amounts of their inheritance. As his son is not part of the action can he claim the wasted costs from his sister’s behaviour as all the costs will come out of the estate?
Clive, Milton Keynes
A) Cases like this are a nightmare because the cost of fighting them comes out of the estate so the only winners are the lawyers.
If it appears to the court in due course that your late brother’s daughter has brought an entirely vexatious legal action against you which has depleted the value of the estate, the other beneficiary (your late brother’s son) could theoretically sue her.
I doubt whether this would be worthwhile because the estate (meaning you as trustee) would be entitled to claim any costs against this woman.
You need to do all you can to keep the estate’s legal fees to a minimum and to follow the advice of your expert solicitor.
Contact
- Got a question for Judge Rinder? Email judgerinder@thesun.co.uk
- DO you have a consumer issue? Email readers.champion@thesun.co.uk
Maddy Tooke, Coupon Queen
4
My top five freebies this week
- Ten-day Clinique foundation sample from Boots. Show voucher from bit.ly/freecliniqueboots. Available while stocks last.
- LEGO advent calendar, worth £24.99, when signing up to Topcashback at bit.ly/freelegoadventcalendar. Offer ends when all 1,000 are claimed.
- RSPB Wildlife Pack to help welcome wildlife into your garden. Request your guide from bit.ly/rspbwildlifeguide.
- Bodyform sanitary towel sample pack. There are 115,000 available. Request yours from bit.ly/freebodyformsample.
Top 10 deals
- Save £30 on beauty orders over £150 from House of Fraser with code BEAUTYEVENT. Offer ends Wednesday – houseoffraser.co.uk.
- Get ten per cent off all Yankee Candle orders with code SEPT10. Ends October 10 – bit.ly/yankee10off.
- Save ten per cent on Ben Sherman orders with code TGRN10. Ends October 6 – bit.ly/10offbensherman.
- There’s £10 off Interflora orders over £65 with code 10OFF65. Ends tomorrow – bit.ly/10offinterflora.
- Students get a free £5 Amazon voucher when spending 99p at McDonald’s. Plus, show your student ID when orering an extra value meal to get a free cheeseburger or Mcflurry. Upload your receipt to your Vouchercodes.co.uk account to claim the £5 Amazon voucher. Ends Monday – bit.ly/freemcdonalds£5amazon.
- Save 50 per cent on Saw It First orders with code LOVE50. Order through Quidco.com and earn one per cent cash back. Ends tomorrow – bit.ly/isawitfirst50off.
- Get per cent off at Hot Diamonds with code MSE30. Ends Tuesday – bit.ly/hotdiamonds30off
- Free wedding stationery samples from WHSmith while stocks last – bit.ly/freeweddingstationery.
- You can get an extra ten per cent off first orders at Debenhams. Ends Tuesday – bit.ly/debenhams10off.
- Pay £40 to get a £50 Prezzo E-Gift voucher with code PZGIFT50, or £30 to get a £30 voucher with code PZGIFT30 – bit.ly/prezzo10off.
Mel Hunter, Reader’s champion
4
Q) I PARKED in an Asda car park, did some shopping then went to the car but it wouldn’t start – I was out of petrol. Just within the two-hour parking limit, I read a notice in the car park from Parking Eye on getting extra time, which said “see a customer service colleague in store”.
I went into Asda, told a lady at the kiosk my problem and gave her my registration number. She told me to put a note on the windscreen.
I did this on my way to get £5 of petrol. I thought no more until a £40 fine arrived. I appealed the fine, but without success.
Peter Smith, Stockport
A) Companies like Parking Eye are money-making entities and, judging from my postbag, all too often use little common sense or kindness when dealing with appeals.
You did what Parking Eye’s notice told you to do, but the firm dismissed this. It’s one of my biggest bug-bears.
It uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition, clocking your time in the car park, so leaving a note would have made little difference. But your circumstances should have counted on appeal.
I voiced frustration to Parking Eye, which this time agreed to cancel your fine. It claims that, in your appeal, you didn’t outline that you’d spoken to someone in store. But you believe you did tell them this.
Q) I HAVE been trying to gain online access to my Sky account to see my bills for nearly five years.
I have spent many hours on the phone to Sky and changed email address at least fives times at its request.
When I log in online it says my bill will be displayed 14 days after installation, even though I’ve been with Sky for 20 years.
Robert Hughes, Spennymoor, Co Durham
A) Five years is a long time to have something lingering on your to-do list and I’m delighted to have finally ticked it off for you. I got on to Sky and at long last someone listened.
The team there found the problem, opened you a new account, sent you new viewing cards and kept in touch with you to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Q) I AM an 83-year-old man with a heart condition. I am simply trying to get a letter from Tui to prove that I did not go on a holiday that was booked and paid for.
Without proof of a “no show” I am unable to claim back the money from my travel insurers.
TUI repeatedly tells me that I was on the holiday and has even asked me if someone else could have used my boarding pass.
I desperately need this money back and have been writing to TUI for weeks now.
Michael Miller, Hants
A) You had been taken ill shortly before the holiday in June and had been unable to join the rest of your extended family in Turkey. That was upsetting in itself.
Struggling to get TUI to send out a simple letter only added to your stress.
You’d been trying to sort this out for six weeks when I got in touch with Tui
A spokesman told me there had been an admin error which had been resolved. But on the day they told me, you still hadn’t heard a thing from them.
In fact it was another week, and a lot of prodding from me, before Tui sent the letter, finally allowing you to make a claim.
