According to research carried out by the Office Fair Trading (OFT) seventy percent of new homes are faulty.
The OFT has been investigating the housebuilding industry for over a year and has just released its initial findings. The study not only investigated quality issues, but also covered consumer satisfaction and house supply issues relating to [...]
Archive for Tony
Majority of New Homes Defective
What about promises made verbally?
Many disputes arise due to statements or assurances made verbally during the negotiation stage, but not incorporated into a written contract. This does not mean they are not legally binding, but they are harder to prove. If you have been promised something which causes you to enter into a contract, which then turns out not [...]
June 30th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
Guide to Shopping Online
Most people do not realise that when they shop online from a UK retailer they have additional consumer protection and unfortunately that also includes the traders.
Online purchases are covered by the Distance Selling Regulations (DSR) which provide shoppers with a seven day cooling off period. This is because you the purchaser has not had an [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Raided by Office of Fair Trading
According to an article in Edinburgh’s Evening News Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland are being investigated for anti-competitive behaviour which results in the head offices of both banks being raided by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading).
June 8th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
Instant Bank Transfers
Well nearly, from next week you will be able to tranfer money between bank accounts using a new system. Transfers will be nearly live taking up to two hours, which is a massive improvement over the two to three days that it currently takes. According to the OFT the banks made £30 million [...]
May 26th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
Bank Charges Appeal
Last week Mr Justice Andrew Smith gave the banks the go ahead to appeal the ruling against them for unfair bank charges, which means that bank customers wanting to make a claim may now need to wait years and may not be able to claim at all if the banks are successful. [...]
May 26th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
Save Money on the Road
Some predict that unleaded fuel will reach £1.50 per litre in September, unless the Government caves in to the mounting pressure to reduce fuel taxes and duties. So what can you do in the meantime to reduce your fuel bill?
Shop locally, rather than driving to the super store and try to walk. [...]
May 17th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
Money Saving Expert
Money Saving Expert is a great consumer resource set up by newspaper columist Martin Lewis way back in 2000. The site now gets in the order of 6,000,000 visitors per month which is absolutely staggering. The site claims to be advertising free and this is used as one of its unique [...]
May 17th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will remain free
It is brilliant news for consumers that Lord Hunt’s review has recommended that the Financial Ombudsman Service FOS remains free to consumers. Charges would discourage people from using the FOS, especially those in financial hardship.
Lord Hunt’s principal recommendations are as follows:
FOS should make a significant, and properly targeted and evaluated, increase in [...]
April 19th, 2008 | Tony | 0 comments | Continued
HDMI Cable Con
In the past when interconnects for audio and visual equipment were analogue the quality of the cable would make a real difference to image and sound quality. However, the same cannot be said of digital interconnects such as HDMI cables. These either work or they don’t work; and there is no difference between [...]
April 6th, 2008 | Tony | 2 comments | Continued
