Our fixed-rate mortgage with Nationwide Building Society expired at the end
of October, so we arranged a new fixed-rate deal, to take effect from
November 1.
We had been making regular overpayments of £500 a month, which had been
reducing our monthly payments, but were advised that it may be better to
reduce the term. We asked that this should take effect from September.
This is where the trouble started. Somebody at Nationwide decided to
backdate this to include the August overpayment, which reduced the
redemption date from April 2022 to December 2021. After the September
overpayment, the redemption date was put back up to April 2022. We queried
this and have now dealt with seven different people. Since then, our monthly
overpayments have reduced the redemption date by amounts that vary from as
much as five months to as little as one month.
Alison and Paul Quinsey, Via e-mail
Your efforts to get out the calculator and sort this out are admirable, but
with so many conflicting statements, you were always going to be fighting a
losing battle. This was a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
After Troubleshooter contacted Nationwide, one person went through your case
and came up with a coherent reply. Your rate increased from 4.89 per cent to
5.78 per cent when you remortgaged - more than offsetting the impact of the
£500 overpayment and pushing back your redemption date.
As a result of the rate change, Nationwide acknowledged that it should have
set your monthly repayments at £217.49 to keep your redemption on track. It
has now offered you this, plus other options, and £50 to say sorry for the
mix-up.
I have been charged more than double what I was quoted by Alamo Car Hire. I
paid £272.50 for a 15-day car hire for my holiday in Florida and was told in
writing that I had “nothing further to pay”. I signed some paperwork on
arrival in Florida, but when I returned home, I noticed that another £272.97
had been debited. As the amounts involved are almost identical, I thought
that I had been mistakenly charged twice.
In fact, I had unknowingly “agreed” to the extra charges when I signed for
the car. But these charges were not explained to me.
Alamo in the UK said that it will not pursue the matter because I had
signed the paperwork. I then contacted Alamo in the US and it agreed to
repay half the money, but I believe I should be refunded the whole amount.
David Gardner, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire
Alamo US obviously knows that it was in the wrong, otherwise it would not have
refunded half your money. Unfortunately, there is little protection for
consumers once they have signed on the dotted line of a contract, so
Troubleshooter is not surprised that you have had difficulty gaining a
refund.
Alamo say that you made your reservation on its US website, alamo.com, rather
than alamo.co.uk, and that you did not state that you are a UK resident when
making the booking. Therefore, your initial rate was based on the assumption
that you are a US resident. It also says that its agents are “trained to
explain charges very clearly” and apologised for your experience. Alamo
advises UK customers to book through its UK site and “allow time when
picking up a car to check the rental documentation carefully before
signing”.
It has now refunded the entire £272.97 as a gesture of goodwill, but
Troubleshooter doubts that you will be using its services again.
Last year I routinely contacted my energy supplier, npower, only to be
informed that I was in the last stages of being transferred to
ScottishPower. This was completely without my knowledge or consent. It
caused massive inconvenience and months to reverse the procedure.
I complained to ScottishPower and its response blamed “an application on a
third-party website under someone else's name and details”. On the phone it
basically admitted that this was a rogue sales representative but has given
me no assurances of what it might change in its systems to stop this
happening to others.
I am flabbergasted that the regulations allow a transfer of supplier
without at least a second check with the homeowner.
Richard Fowler, Via e-mail
Your case is what the industry calls an “erroneous transfer” - where a
household is transferred to a different supplier without its knowledge. This
can happen when meter numbers or addresses are incorrect on application
forms, but often the reason simply remains a mystery.
Your implication that a ScottishPower sales representative may have
deliberately transferred you - presumably to gain his or her commission - is
a serious allegation of mis-selling and, if true, could lead to
ScottishPower being investigated and fined by Ofgem, the energy regulator.
ScottishPower says that the mistake arose because somebody wrote the wrong
address in an online application - most probably on a comparison website -
to switch supplier. No paperwork was sent to you to confirm the switch
because no paperwork is ever sent for online tariffs.
You have now resolved this matter, but if you remain unsatisfied with the way
in which ScottishPower handled your case, you should refer the company to
the Energy Ombudsman. For further details, go to
www.energy-ombudsman.org.uk, or call 0330 4401642.
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
Mrs J.E. Porter, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, says: “I e-mailed British Gas
last month because I had mistakenly asked to be changed from the Click
Energy 6 tariff to Web Saver 2, believing the latter to be cheaper. Not the
case; the gas was cheaper, but electricity was more expensive.
“I received a reply three days later, explaining the difference and saying
that I could be on the cheapest tariff for both gas and electricity. I
accepted and was switched immediately on receipt of my e-mail.”
Readers to the rescue
I was late for a meeting in Oxford, so boarded a train in London with the
intention of purchasing a ticket from an inspector during the journey, but
none came along. On arrival, I presented myself to staff to pay. Despite my
offer to pay, they insisted on delaying me while they completed a
penalty-fare notice. I do not believe it is fair that I have been fined. Is
there a precedent for waiving the penalty?
Simon Percival
On the Oxford-bound train you may have had a seat to sit on, but you haven't a
leg to stand on here. Forget that you presented yourself to buy a ticket,
the brutal reality is that you boarded a train without one because you
failed to give yourself enough time. Had the ticket office been closed and
the machines broken, you would have a strong case; otherwise I would not
take it further.
Frank Greaney
£25 voucher winner
Ignore the illogical “morality” of the posters urging you to pay
up. Instead, challenge the train operator to take you to court, and then
either look up or get advice on the law of contract, with special reference
to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Just as the
robbing banks shied away from judges in explaining their “charges” for going
overdrawn, so should the railways, if they know what's good for them.
Essentially, they suffered no loss and you didn't try to steal from them.
Tell them to get stuffed!
Emily Cotton
I had a similar experience. I parked at Freshfield station, on Merseyrail
Network, just as the train arrived. I boarded and searched out the guard,
who fined me but said that I could appeal. I then returned to Freshfield
station and photographed all the notice boards to prove that there were no
notices stating that it was an offence to board a train without the
intention of buying a ticket from the guard. I e-mailed the pictures with a
letter to Merseyrail and, after several weeks, I was reimbursed.
Mike Clement
We all run late sometimes, but it does not give us an excuse to demand that
the train is made to wait for us and definitely not to avoid going to the
ticket office and getting a ticket.Sorry, sir, shut up and pay up.
Andi Brown
Can you help? E-mail troubleshooter@thetimes.co.uk with your answers to the
following problem for a chance to win a £25 John Lewis gift voucher.
My daughter graduated last year and is now sharing a house with four
fourth-year students in Manchester. She is working on a one-year internship
on a mediocre salary and trying to repay her student loans. She has received
a bill for 75 per cent of the council tax for the whole property, even
though she rents only one bedroom. The other four are exempt from the tax.
This seems a grossly unjust system. Surely she should pay only a fifth of
the bill? Can she obtain any form of redress?
Liz Wiles
