On October 24 last year my 83-year-old mother was persuaded in her local post office, in Kent, to change her telephone service from BT to Post Office HomePhone.

She has not received a bill since then. In May she received a letter saying that her phone service would be cut off. The staff then said that they were having trouble billing customers who had joined between September 2007 and January because of a promotion for cheap broadband.

Mum is of the “old school” who likes to pay her bills when due. I am a pensioner myself and can do without the hassle and expense of trying to sort this out.

VAL STEADMAN, Baughurst, Hampshire

For the second week in a row Troubleshooter begins this column with a letter about an old person being treated shabbily. It is deliberate. While she does not wish to imply that those above a certain age cannot take care of themselves, older people, who are often more trusting, maybe hard of hearing or less able to communicate forcefully, are naturally vulnerable to poor service.

This problem, called “financial exclusion” of the elderly, is recognised by Age Concern, which has published a set of principles for financial services. Whether it will make a difference remains to be seen. While Troubleshooter would not be so cynical as to think that companies mistreat older people deliberately, the letters in her mailbox do suggest that their problems are taken less seriously and dealt with less quickly.

In your mother's case, the Post Office's billing system issues did not have anything to do with age - many customers did not receive a bill. However, as a pensioner on limited income, it perhaps caused her greater anxiety. After Troubleshooter intervened, one year on, the Post Office finally sent her a bill for £65.35 - the cost of three months' calls and line rental.

The reason why your mother and a “small number” of other customers did not receive their bills was because of a software error. It is now sorted out, but luckily she does not have to pay the bill for the past 12 months because Ofcom's guidelines allow bills to be backdated only by three months. The Post Office's error has, therefore, saved her about £200 overall.

I have had a continuing problem with Tiscali's billing system. Despite four calls to customer services, the situation has not been resolved. In fact, Tiscali terminated my connection on September 4 and I have been left without a service I have paid for. I am advised that I cannot transfer to another internet provider unless Tiscali hands over a code. Is this correct?

ANN WILLS, Suffolk

Troubleshooter is amazed at the volume of correspondence she is sent about Tiscali, so she decided to conduct a little experiment. Instead of going through her usual contact, she sent a number of complaints from several different readers to the customer services team.

The results would be laughable were they not so horrendous.

First, staff called Troubleshooter “Mr Rebecca O'Connor”, obviously a typo, but sloppy nonetheless. Some respondents refused to give details of Troubleshooter's “client” or said: “I can confirm that you are not authorise [sic] on this account.” Encouraging as far as data protection is concerned, but on other occasions staff did give out details - showing inconsistency in Tiscali's approach to security. Each respondent quoted the same statutory, but useless, paragraph about how to call customer services. Another explained the complaints procedure, despite having already received the complaint.

In response to your specific query, Tiscali said: “If you wish to cancel or request a MAC [migraton access code], call our dedicated cancellations team on 0845 0774488 and select option 1.” Luckily, you do not have to bother, Since performing her experiment, Troubleshooter has sent the complaints letters to her handy contact, who has promised to resolve them all, including yours.

After a request to encash O2 shares, Equiniti, the registrar, sent a cheque for £1,240 to my old address, despite having my new one. I found out recently that the cheque was cashed in March 2006. I asked for a photocopy of it but Equiniti has gone quiet. Can you help me to obtain settlement?

BLAIN OLIVER, Edinburgh

Days after Troubleshooter's inquiry, Equiniti sent a copy of the cheque with a full explanation and apology. It said that the cheque was paid into Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and gave the account number. RBS is investigating. If this does not produce your £1,240, let Troubleshooter know.

To tell us your problems, visit timesonline.co.uk/troubleshooter or write to Troubleshooter, Times Money, Times House, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TB

On the bright side

Alison Thomas, of Guildford, Surrey, writes: “Some good news for once. Amid all the gloom, doom and greed I was delighted to receive a cheque from my tour operator last week.

“I am travelling to Norway in February with a company called Activities Abroad. Apparently, because the Norwegian krone has fallen in value against the pound, the company is making more money than they expected, so it has written to me and included a 5 per cent refund - unsolicited and unrequested. Almost unbelieveble.

“It seems that there are still some good guys around.”

Readers to the rescue: Prudential annuities

“Why do my two Prudential with-profits annuities, taken over from Equitable Life, continue to be reduced? With Equitable I suffered repeated annual reductions from 2000. This year Prudential is reducing my annual income by £67. As a pensioner this is unsustainable. My confusion is compounded by Prudential's letter, which states that I will receive 'a special bonus this year', suggesting that my income will increase.”

JO BRISCOE, via e-mail

Ray Lucas, of Timperley, Cheshire, writes: “I sympathise with Mr Briscoe. My wife and I have lost 60 per cent of our Equitable Life annuities since 2000. We hoped that the link-up with Prudential would improve matters; instead it's getting worse.”

John Chambers, of Tadworth, Surrey, wins this week's voucher. He says: “When Mr Briscoe took out with-profits annuities with Equitable Life the deals would have included an 'assumed bonus rate'. The lower the rate chosen, the lower the payments, but the greater the prospect of growth from bonuses. If the bonus rate in a year was, say, 3.5 per cent and he had assumed 6 per cent, then his income would fall year on year.”

Doug Adam, of Swansea, adds: “There is often a 'top-up' bonus each year, but in Mr Briscoe's case this was not enough to offset the fall in the regular bonus.”

Can you help? E-mail troubleshooter @thetimes.co.uk with your answers to the following problem for a chance to win a £25 gift voucher.

“I booked three flights with Ryanair, from London Stansted to Spain. I did not take them and called Ryanair before departure to try to cancel the bookings and request a refund of airport and government taxes. It says that it will charge a €23 administration fee, per flight, before returning the taxes. The tax for each flight is less than €20. Is this fee legal?

JAVIER SANZ, Reading, Berks

Do you have a problem you would like other readers to solve?

E-mail troubleshooter@thetimes.co.uk with your query and write “readers” in the subject line. Please also include the name of your town.