Earlier this year, we had a burst pipe in our utility room, which flooded the downstairs of our house.
We made a claim with our insurer, Policy Expert. We had several problems along the way but they eventually came back with a figure of £4,611 for the repairs.
However, the quotes we got from tradesmen suggested it would cost more than double that at £9,553.
Cleaning up: But the agreed insurance payout was far less than this reader expected
They
Since February 2022, I’ve had the privilege of helping our readers fight for financial justice as This is Money’s consumer champion – and this week marks the 100th Crane on the Case column.
While it is a brilliant job, I can’t say I’ve loved every second of it. Having a call or email ignored for the seventh time by a firm that doesn’t want to answer my questions, or reading a company’s mealy-mouthed explanation of why it will weasel out
On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced the next general election will be on 4 July.
The economy is likely to take centre stage as both major parties ramp up campaigning.
For now, little is known about what the major parties are set to include in their manifestos but there have been hints over the last few months.
The Conservatives will hope that slightly better than expected economic indicators, and the prospect of rate cuts this year, will give them a boost,
Giving money is supposed to leave us feeling good – yet that’s not always the outcome of being generous: it can start arguments, be misinterpreted and end up leaving us wishing we’d never done it in the first place.
As a money psychotherapist, I have listened to plenty of clients who felt regretful, if not resentful, having given generously — and with the best of intentions — only to be met with indifference, ingratitude or even anger:
One father who
Laura Suter: What are the key tax bands and how do you defend your earnings if you face a bigger bill
Millions of people are being pushed into higher tax bands and face bigger bills because the Government has frozen allowances and thresholds to drum up cash from taxpayers.
Stealth taxes are affecting people all along the income scale, as their wages and pensions might have increased to keep up with inflation, but more of their money is getting swiped
Many married couples decide to split up and begin the process of dividing their financial assets in the New Year.
The first Monday falling on a working day in the new calendar year is dubbed Divorce Day because so many people choose then to start the formalities. This year, it falls next Monday, on 8 January.
Law firm Weightmans says the causes are Christmas stress, the financial pressures of the season, New Year resolutions to make a fresh start, and
Sales of gift cards are thought to have risen this Christmas, as many opted for a voucher as an easy present that is seen as more thoughtful than cold hard cash.
Britons bought £1.35billion worth of gift cards between January and June this year according to the Gift Card and Voucher Association, up 8.4 per cent on the same period in 2022.
And that will have ramped up during the busy festive period, meaning millions of us probably received a
From struggling to get parcels and letters delivered, to battling with madcap energy bills and being ‘debanked,’ there has been plenty for us to complain about this year.
As This is Money’s consumer champion and the writer of the weekly Crane on the Case column, my inbox has swelled under the weight of readers asking for my help standing up to retailers, banks, parking firms, airlines and more.
These are the firms which have yielded the most complaints from This
Sales of gift cards are set to rise this Christmas as many opt for a voucher as an easy present that is seen as more thoughtful than cold hard cash.
Britons bought £1.35billion worth of gift cards between January and June this year according to the Gift Card and Voucher Association, up 8.4 per cent on the same period in 2022.
That is set to ramp between July and December due to the festive rush – and post delivery delays
Scores of pensioners have been left with no way of contacting the outside world as BT’s digital landline switchover continues to be besieged with problems.
Customers have been left with no phone access for days, lifesaving alarms have been made redundant and numbers and area codes have been changed without permission – leaving many vulnerable people with nowhere to turn.
BT is currently switching all landline phones to digital that it serves in Britain’s 29 million homes, making them internet
