I took out an offset mortgage with First Direct at the end of January as I had a large sum on deposit and wanted to have the benefit of this offset against my mortgage interest. However, my cash (about £80,000) is in an e-saver account, which apparently does not count towards the offset. Only certain accounts can be offset. I complained that this was confusing. First Direct said that it had sent me a text message on January 12, before the mortgage was in place, to explain which accounts are eligible for offset.

Even so, all the tiny variations in savings account names is confusing. First Direct said that it would “raise my concerns” but gave the strong sense that it would go nowhere.

The bank relied on text messages and small print rather than telling me directly. I am consequently out of pocket for the interest savings I would have made had my cash been offset against my mortgage balance (about £330,000).

I am not financially illiterate — I was an investment banker before becoming a thriller writer. But I have become a victim of a poor duty of care.

James Twining, London

This is the first time that Troubleshooter has received a complaint about First Direct, a division of HSBC. It is unusual because the whole point of First Direct is to offer better customer service than any other bank, and it pretty much always does.

However, the bank should pay particular heed to your complaint, because it highlights how its efforts to offer an ultra-efficient service by sending information in a text message did you a disservice. You are right: a phone call would have been better.

A text message from a bank is easily ignored, primarily because anyone receiving one will assume that it contains boring marketing material and press delete immediately.

You are also right to suggest that First Direct should make it more clear that the e-Isa and regular saver accounts, two of the bank’s most popular, cannot be used for offsetting. It says that they cannot be used because the Isa already offers a significant benefit above other accounts, because it is tax free, and the regular saver has a higher rate than others because the amount you can save is restricted.

For published authors whose income often comes in large chunks — such as you — the difference that 1 per cent can make on an offset is worth making a fuss about.

True to form, when Troubleshooter rang, First Direct apologised for the confusion and admitted that perhaps text messages were not the best way to communicate crucial information about mortgages. It will reimburse you for the full amount you would have benefited from had your home loan been offset against your existing accounts, which it described as a “significant sum”.

I have a Barclays “Premier Life” account, for which it charges a monthly fee in return for a number of services.

On September 14 I called Barclays Premier about a blocked drain and was switched to the HomeSOS service. I was still on hold after 40 minutes.

I did get through eventually but was transferred to hold again. I then walked to my Barclays branch and spoke to the assistant manager. He told me that he could only put me through to the same extension, but that he would try to escalate my complaint and would call me in an hour or so.

He phoned about five hours later and I told him that I needed the work doing. He agreed that Barclays should cover the cost. So I paid £253 and claimed the cost.

I then received a letter from HomeSOS. It said that the average call time that day was three minutes and that there were no delayed calls. It offered me £25 as a gesture of goodwill, which I have not accepted.

The pity of it is that I never did get to speak to anyone from HomeSOS, otherwise all this would not have happened.

Ian Abrahams, Middlesex

When Troubleshooter called, HomeSOS backtracked and admitted that it was possible that you may have experienced delays, even though it had told the truth that the average call time on the day you called was about three minutes.

It has offered, therefore, to reimburse all the £250, with a goodwill gesture of £50 on top — and has most probably done an awful lot of grovelling to Barclays to keep its contract with the bank.

The letter explaining the decision was sent to you on Wednesday, but may have been delayed by the postal strike.

Sky disconnected our son’s telephone in August with no notice, although he pays by monthly direct debit. It finally agreed to reconnect the phone, but said that he would have to wait at least six weeks.

Our son is blind and disabled, and is trying to become independent in a flat of his own. His landline is therefore vital to him, something that has been made known to Sky. Can you get his telephone and broadband reconnected?

Sue Minchella, Swansea

BSkyB, in which News Corporation, the parent company of The Times, has a 39.1 per cent stake, promises to “urgently” reconnect your son’s phone. It blamed a lack of communication between departments and has thrown in a year’s half-price line rental for the inconvenience.

Readers to the rescue

“I have a NatWest credit card account that my wife and I use for as many purchases as possible to accumulate YourPoints. We can use the points as credit for travel through a company called ebookers, which has replaced the previous Airmiles scheme.

“I now have a Tesco credit card that offers Tesco Clubcard points in many shops. We want to earn enough points to hire a car or go on holiday. Which card should we use and when? Are there even better loyalty schemes out there?”

Francis Treuherz

Continue to use the Tesco credit card as much as possible. It has recently doubled the number of Clubcard points you can receive.

Also you should consider getting a Tesco Clubcard Plus account card, which offers double the amount a Tesco credit card offers for each purchase at Tesco. The drawback is that you have to pay the money into the account monthly by direct debit in advance.

Through the Airmiles website you can also apply for a Lloyds TSB Airmiles card, which at the moment offers a 500 bonus for first use.

David Fuller

£25 voucher winner

The best promotional card on the market in my opinion is the American Express Platinum Credit Card, which has no annual fee and will give you up to 1.25 per cent cashback on everything you spend (if your annual spend is over £7,500, or 1 per cent if your spend is between £3,500 and £7,500). You could then use the Tesco card for any transactions that do not take Amex.

By shopping smartly, you can get the most out of all your loyalty schemes. For example, if you shop online from Tesco by going through the Priority Club website and pay using Amex you can earn Priority Club points, Airmiles and cashback all in one transaction. My only caution is that these cards are not necessarily the best to use when shopping abroad so you may want to get a Nationwide card for holiday spending.

Jim Greer

I like Sainsbury’s Nectar card. If you combine it with a Sainsbury’s credit card, you double up on points earned. You get a £2.50 credit for every 500 points, and they soon accumulate.

Christina Economides

Can you help?

E-mail troubleshooter@thetimes.co.uk with your answer to the following problem for the chance to win a £25 bonusbond.com multi-store voucher.

My boyfriend and I are thinking of buying a house together but the property that we have fallen in love with requires a £10,000 deposit.

I have savings and can afford to pay for this myself; my boyfriend, however, has nothing. Additionally, my parents have offered to give me £5,000 towards renovations (rewiring, damp-proofing, etc).

How can I safeguard this £15,000 so that, in the event of my boyfriend and I splitting, I can reclaim this from any equity after the sale of the house?

Emma Clarke

On the bright side

Thom Hutchinson, of Bath, writes: “You can bet on excellent service from the Bath branch of Topping & Company, a bookseller (www.toppingbooks.co.uk).

“It’s a decent service not least because it seems based on a deep love of books and a willingness to talk about them.

“Countless times I’ve bought something from Toppings and been shocked that the chap at the till has actually read it already. This almost never happens in the chains.”

To tell us your problems, visit timesonline.co.uk/troubleshooter or write to Troubleshooter, Times Money, Times House, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TB. Because of the high volume of correspondence, Troubleshooter cannot guarantee individual replies.