From The Oscars’ Best Picture blunder to bagging the right flat, our experts share advice and the best deals on the high street
Every Saturday, The Consumer Crew are here to solve your problems.
Mel Hunter will take on readers’ consumer issues, Amanda Cable will give you the best advice for buying your dream home and Judge Rinder will tackle your legal woes.
Judge Rinder – The Sun’s legal expert
“AND the winner for Best Picture is La La Land,” announced Bonnie and Clyde, also known as Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Only they had got it wrong. Terribly wrong.
For those of you who — like me — stayed up to the small hours watching the Oscars this year (I did so despite my promise to boycott when Benedict Cumberbatch was robbed of his win for The Imitation Game), this was a nuclear-powered cringe moment.
Even the sanctimonious speeches didn’t come close to the bum-clenching horror of this monumental balls-up.
What had happened — it seems — was that Warren Beatty had been given the wrong result card which left the real winners (Moonlight) sitting there applauding and pretending to be happy.
Facing serious allegations of wrongdoing
Judge Rinder
By the time the mistake had been rectified, the producers of La La Land had already thanked their families (etc etc) only for the golden statuettes to be unceremoniously grabbed off them.
It was hideously embarrassing for everybody involved, none more so than for the company in charge of overseeing the Oscar voting process — PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
This mega-firm has, however, been facing far more serious allegations of wrongdoing and negligence than this in recent years, which its has — so far — settled out of court.
In this case, its mistake has not only left the firm with egg on its face (how hard can it be to hand somebody the correct envelope?) but it has also exposed it to serious legal problems.
Without reading the Academy Award Rules, it’s hard to come to any firm conclusions on the extent of its liability but you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be law suits.
Not least because, once the winner of a competition is announced, this is often final unless there are clearly defined rules saying otherwise.
It seems to me that the appropriate remedy is to give both movies a joint award — and for the Academy to hand the vote-counting over to a local primary school who could probably do the job just as reliably.
Summing up
I USED to be a landlord and rented a flat to council tenants.
The council in their wisdom decided that tenants should receive rent money from them and pass it on to the landlord themselves. But my tenant stopped giving me rent, claiming I did not fix a leak promptly.
I let the council know he was not giving any rent money to me. They stopped the money going to the tenant but I have not received any money back from the council, even though the tenant stayed for more than nine months without paying rent.
The tenant has now left. Do I have a case to get arrears from the council?
Stephen, Hackney, NE London
A - You did the right thing by requesting the Housing Benefit went directly to you.
These days most councils hand over rent money directly to landlords, especially in cases of tenants who are in receipt of other benefits.
The problem here is that I suspect the rent money destined for you may have been sent to your tenant by mistake.
If so, there is nothing you can do other than sue your tenant (although I doubt there would be much point in this).
On the other hand, if the council have simply failed to pay you, you are absolutely entitled to pursue this matter against them. Write to your local authority at once setting out the issue and ask for a reply within 28 days.
If they fail to respond, you may have to take this to the County Court.
Mr Rinder regrets he cannot answer questions personally. Answers intended as general guidance, they do not constitute legal advice and are not a substitute for obtaining independent legal advice.
Got a question for Judge Rinder? Email [email protected]
Amanda Cable – Property expert with the best advice for your home
AN Englishman’s home may be his castle – but it’s getting smaller.
When it comes to floorspace, research shows homes in England have the smallest average in Europe, just 71.2sq metres.
Wales, on the other hand, offers the largest amount of floorspace in the UK with 83.05sqm — more than 12sqm bigger than neighbouring England and 8sqm larger than Scotland.
But they all pale into insignificance compared to Canada — where the average house has a massive floorspace of 149.95sqm.
In fact, their average kitchens are the same size as an entire apartment in Hong Kong, which has the smallest home, averaging just 32.95sqm.
The research was carried out by flooring specialists .
— NOBODY fancies spending a night in the nick. But now you can BUY the place – cells included!
A Grade II-listed police station in Saffron Walden, Essex, is for sale, complete with interview rooms, cells and custody suites.
But at £1.2million, it’s not exactly a bargain. See for more details.
— FEELING the heat when it comes to buying a house?
A surge in the number of househunters means 11 buyers are chasing every property, according to the latest Housing Report from the National Association of Estate Agents.
The association’s chief executive Mark Hayward said: “January saw a surge in buyers looking to kick off the New Year with a new home. But competition is rife.
“The increase in the number of properties selling for more than the asking price could be a result of heightened interest and the fact there is simply not enough housing to met demand.”
— IF you fancy viewing a house which can be built in just 48 hours, standing at an edible bus stop made from plants and raw materials or viewing a virtual reality city of the future, head for Ecobuild at Excel London from March 7 to 9.
The show is for trade and build professionals only and no under-16s can attend.
But if you fit the bill, and you are building, designing or planning a project, register for FREE tickets at .
THE stars love their style – and now YOU can enjoy it in the comfort of your own home.
The people behind private members’ club Soho House has launched its own range of homeware. Check out the vintage-style leather chairs, hand-woven rugs, illuminating lamps and cutting-edge cutlery.
Go to for further details.
Mel Hunter – Readers’ champion on fighting for your rights
Q — I HAD a Vodafone pay-as-you-go phone for my holiday home in Norfolk. I sold the home in May and had not used the phone until I tried to do so around Christmas.
When I contacted Vodafone, I was told I’d been cut off because I hadn’t used it and that I’d lost the credit on it as a result.
Anthony Cass, Wickford, Essex
A — Your letter raises an issue I want other readers to be aware of.
If a phone isn’t used at all over 180 days (or six months), Vodafone suspends pay-as-you-go lines.
After a further three months, the number will be disconnected and given to another customer, with any credit on the phone lost. This is so that unused numbers don’t stay in circulation. Vodafone sends a text alert to tell customers after six months but if a phone is rarely used, clearly that isn’t much use.
Fortunately, when I rang Vodafone your number had not yet been recycled. So you are now back online and the company has given you £20 credit.
Vodafone says: “When a phone is inactive, we have no way of knowing whether it’s being kept for emergencies or has been disposed of. We recommend customers make a chargeable call, text or make a top-up every two months or so.”
I contacted O2, Virgin Mobile and EE – and found all had the same 180-day policy.
Q — FED up with BT broadband price rises, I decided to find another provider.
In your article on January 28, you said BT was letting existing customers leave their contracts without paying an early get-out charge – as long as they did so within 30 days of being told about the increase. But when my new provider notified BT, the latter told me I would have to pay a penalty of £151 because I was leaving.
Malcolm Hall, Crewe
A — BT told ten million customers in January about price hikes for broadband and calls, plus a £3.50 monthly fee for BT Sport, with the first increases kicking in on April 2. You faced a rise in your bill of £2.50 a month and opted to jump ship.
BT has admitted its error, confirming: “If a customer decides to leave because of the price change and lets us know within 30 days of receiving notification, they can leave without penalty charges.”
You were delighted to save £151.
Advice for energy bills
ENERGY prices are on the rise – so lower your leccy bills with these savvy swaps.
— OVEN v SLOW COOKER: Cooking a stew in a slow cooker over eight hours uses a third of the energy that a normal oven gobbles in just one hour.
— HALOGEN LIGHTS v LED: LED bulbs cost £3 a year to run compared to £12 for halogen lights – although LEDs cost five times more.
— BIG SCREEN v LITTLE SCREEN: Larger TVs consume more electric, regardless of energy rating. The Energy Saving Trust reveals that an A-rated 22in LCD TV costs £4 a year to run while an A-rated 60in TV costs £33.
— COMPUTER v TABLET: Laptops use 85 per cent less electricity over a year than desktop PCs. And cutting the time you leave your laptop on standby could save £16 a year. Tablets are even better – they use 70 per cent less power than laptops.
Do you have a consumer issue? Email [email protected]
Maddy Tooke – Coupon Queen finding you
the best bargains
- Get 20 per cent off orders from SHOEAHOLICS with code EVERYAFF20. Includes Ugg, Michael Kors and Converse. Expires Sunday.
- Save 20 per cent on orders from PEACOCKS online with code VCSPRING20 or in store with voucher from .
- Get 30 per cent off LA REDOUTE with code BIG30, order through Quidco and get 11 per cent cash back.
- Get £10 off TOPMAN orders over £60 with code Cash, till March 6.
- Sort Mothers’ Day with 15 per cent off all bouquets at Blossoming Flowers and Gifts. Use code QDGIFT15 at the checkout. Order through Quidco and get up to 23 per cent extra cash back. Expires tomorrow.
- Get 40 per cent off orders from THE BODY SHOP with code 14319. Order through Quidco and get an extra six per cent cash back. Expires March 6.
- Spoil mum for less with £20 off orders over £150 from H SAMUEL. Use code VCSAVE20 at the checkout. Expires March 31.
- Save £5 off orders over £5 from Paperchase with code SPRING25. Expires March 6.
- Get 50 per cent off and free delivery on personalised Mother’s Day gifts from PRINTERPIX with code MUMDAY17. .
- Sign up to ZIZZI email newsletters and get a £10 voucher when you refer a friend, your friend gets £10 off as well. Sign up at .
Five top freebies
— Mums eat free at Hungry Horse restaurants after 6pm this Mothers’ Day. Book your table at .
— Free Aero chocolate mousse bar from Boots with O2 Priority Moments. Just show the app in store at Boots to claim your freebie.
— Free Yeo Valley light and mild yoghurt, 450g, from Waitrose and waitrose.com with checkoutsmart app. Buy in store or online and upload a picture of the receipt to the app to claim the cash back.
— Get feet flip-flop ready with free heel balm sample at Dermatonics. Request at . While stock lasts.