In the news this week
According to the Mental Health Foundation, Britons are more fearful than they were ten years ago and suggest that media fixations with bad news, the credit crunch and the thought of looming global depression could be to blame. So it's good to see that many things are looking up for UK consumers this week - the pound rises to a three-month high, mortgage lending 'rises slightly' and motorists could get up to £5,000 in subsidies if they buy an electric car. Is this enough to make you change the car you drive? Watch an electric car in action and tell us what you think.
Plus, the best news of all, Julia Bradbury is to return to Watchdog this week after being cleared by an inquiry into ''suspicious'' Virgin Atlantic air miles activity. Read Julia's statement.
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Your comments
Last week Watchdog asked are you paying too much for water? Lots of you think you are but have solved the problem.
Comment 5 - Engeeacm says: "I faced this problem with Southern Water where the whole estate were being charged for rainwater collection where the water went to soakaways? I wrote to them to say they'd be charging me for this service since I bought the property and the outcome of this situation is that I did receive a full rebate for my ten years of ownership."
Comment 12 - Koala girl wrote: "I used to pay [for service water] and it showed as a separate charge. I provided proof that I had disconnected myself from the surface drain and now the charge is not shown on the bill. Simple."
However, Comment 14 - mad_raver says: "Even though the water from my roof does not enter the main foul sewer it would appear that if any water from your drive enters the gutters in the street and is drained away via this method then you are still eligible to pay the surface water charges. I am unsure if to pursue this or not and think the programme was a little misleading in how easy is was to reclaim this charge and obtain a reduction on your bill, any comments on this would be useful."
Watch the full report and have your say.
Coming up on the programme
Next week on Watchdog we're looking at property management and ask if it's time to change the law. If you own a flat and live on a private estate the chances are you're paying an annual fee to a management company. We've heard from hundreds of owners who are stuck paying for services they're not getting and are fed up that they can't seem to do anything about it. Isn't it time for a change in the law? We invite MP Jim Davarney into the Watchdog studio to ask how a change in the law may help people.
And after the Watchdog report about minis that had problems with power steering, lots of you wrote in with more complaints about more frightening faults with the car.
Watch the programme on Monday 7.30pm on BBC One, then come back to this Watchdog reports section and join in the discussions.
On the programme - Monday 20 April
According to the Mental Health Foundation, Britons are more fearful than they were ten years ago and suggest that media fixations with bad news, the credit crunch and the thought of looming global depression could be to blame. So it's good to see that many things are looking up for UK consumers this week - the pound rises to a three-month high, mortgage lending 'rises slightly' and motorists could get up to £5,000 in subsidies if they buy an electric car. Is this enough to make you change the car you drive? Watch an electric car in action and tell us what you think.
Plus, the best news of all, Julia Bradbury is to return to Watchdog this week after being cleared by an inquiry into ''suspicious'' Virgin Atlantic air miles activity. Read Julia's statement.
*
Your comments
Last week Watchdog asked are you paying too much for water? Lots of you think you are but have solved the problem.
Comment 5 - Engeeacm says: "I faced this problem with Southern Water where the whole estate were being charged for rainwater collection where the water went to soakaways? I wrote to them to say they'd be charging me for this service since I bought the property and the outcome of this situation is that I did receive a full rebate for my ten years of ownership."
Comment 12 - Koala girl wrote: "I used to pay [for service water] and it showed as a separate charge. I provided proof that I had disconnected myself from the surface drain and now the charge is not shown on the bill. Simple."
However, Comment 14 - mad_raver says: "Even though the water from my roof does not enter the main foul sewer it would appear that if any water from your drive enters the gutters in the street and is drained away via this method then you are still eligible to pay the surface water charges. I am unsure if to pursue this or not and think the programme was a little misleading in how easy is was to reclaim this charge and obtain a reduction on your bill, any comments on this would be useful."
Watch the full report and have your say.
Coming up on the programme
Next week on Watchdog we're looking at property management and ask if it's time to change the law. If you own a flat and live on a private estate the chances are you're paying an annual fee to a management company. We've heard from hundreds of owners who are stuck paying for services they're not getting and are fed up that they can't seem to do anything about it. Isn't it time for a change in the law? We invite MP Jim Davarney into the Watchdog studio to ask how a change in the law may help people.
And after the Watchdog report about minis that had problems with power steering, lots of you wrote in with more complaints about more frightening faults with the car.
Watch the programme on Monday 7.30pm on BBC One, then come back to this Watchdog reports section and join in the discussions.
On the programme - Monday 20 April