From The Oscars’ Best Picture blunder to bagging the right flat, our experts share advice and the best deals on the high street

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Do you have a consumer issue? Email mel.hunter@mcb777.site