ASK TONY: I was hit with a £900 bill from E.ON’s not-so smart meter

I changed to energy supplier E.ON in August 2019 and took up its offer of a smart meter. I think it installed the dumbest one they had in stock. From the word go, the ‘in house display’ has not worked. The engineer said it would take a few weeks to sort itself out. I rang … Read more

I bought a faulty hot tub from eBay, can I get my money back?

I was pestered by my family to buy a hot tub as we weren’t going on holiday this year, but I couldn’t find one anywhere, except on eBay. I bought a Lay-Z-Spa Maldives tub in mid-June for £1,425, with an advertised 24-month warranty, which turned up five days later. It arrived clearly new and unopened, … Read more

TONY HETHERINGTON: Where’s our rail refund cheque?

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.  B.S. writes: Great Rail Journeys, which is based in York, cancelled our £10,000 railway tour of the southern … Read more

Here’s how government must address the coming shock to the economy

An economic storm of toxic proportions is brewing in Britain. The UK is already in a recession of historic magnitude. Economic growth plunged between April and June by a record 20.4 per cent, following a contraction of 2.2 per cent during the first quarter.  It  could have been considerably worse without the support schemes rushed … Read more

ASK TONY: Vodafone hit lonely Dad with four-figure bill

My 89-year-old father went way over his monthly call limit during lockdown and, over three months, Vodafone has taken more than £1,000.  The company called him from an overseas call centre and he did not really understand what the person was saying.  He was advised to go to Vodafone’s store or website, but the store … Read more

TONY HETHERINGTON: Bank rejects ‘non-UK’ ID from Ulster

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.  T.T. writes: Before lockdown, we visited the Isle of Arran branch of the Bank of Scotland, as we … Read more

Our honeymoon to Sri Lanka was cut short. Why can’t we get a refund?

Our honeymoon was cut short in March and we had to return home early from Sri Lanka. Our travel agent – a local firm – told us this was not covered and we would have to go through our travel insurance to get money back. However, our insurers rejected the claim as we had a … Read more

Can booking sites add on cleaning fees after the hotel is already booked?

I booked a hotel room online for £82 but was told afterwards there would be a £44 cleaning fee: Is it allowed to do this? Travelers may find that booking sites add on fees after a reservation is made The CMA has previously investigated additional costs not being advertised Consumers are advised to read the small … Read more

My flights to France aren’t cancelled and my airline won’t refund me

My flights to France have not been cancelled despite the new quarantine restrictions put in place. I was due to travel next Monday but now my airline is saying the flights are still going ahead and I cannot get a refund. Me and my family are unable to quarantine for two weeks and also do … Read more