From legal representation to selling your home in 45 minutes – our experts share advice and deals
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, Maddy Tooke rounds up the best coupons to save you money and Judge Rinder will tackle your legal woes..
Judge Rinder - The Sun's legal expert
I HAVE responded to hundreds of readers’ questions over the years and often say the same thing at the end of my advice: “You need to find a lawyer, ASAP.”
The problem, of course, is that lawyers cost a lot of money — too much, if you ask me.
It is a source of genuine frustration that, week after week, even though a Sun reader might have an important legal claim, the chances of them persuading a lawyer to deal with their case free of charge is about as great as Diane Abbott getting her sums right.
Two thirds of the UK population do not know how to get affordable legal advice and 13million people who live in poverty can’t afford to pay for it, which is why I showed up with 12,000 others this week to try to raise money for the London Legal Support Trust.
Cuts in public funding, particularly legal aid, have forced many free legal advice centres and firms, who used to take on this work, to close.
I totally understand why it is difficult to make the case that the taxpayer — you and me — should pay for lawyers when the NHS is hanging by a surgical thread.
But here’s the thing.
People who need free legal advice are the poorest.
It is as simple as that.
This isn’t about fat-cat lawyers suing our Armed Forces — trust me, I have a very strong view about them.
This is about the most vulnerable members of our communities being denied access to justice to challenge unfair decisions, to protect themselves from rogue landlords, to deal with serious debt issues or to ensure elderly people are given the support they are legally entitled to.
There are some heroic places, such as our marvellous Citizens Advice Bureaus, where free legal advice is still available, but their resources are increasingly stretched and firms who do pro-bono work can only take on a fraction of the demand.
We need to change this.
If we care about justice then we need a legal system which is open to all of us.
When I talk to students about our legal system I proudly tell them that ours is the envy of the world, that the very poorest are entitled to the same justice as the most powerful among us.
The sad fact is, this is increasingly no longer true. .
SUMMING UP
Q. MY dad died in 2005 and in his will left me two figurines – not worth much apart from sentimental value – and a photo album of myself as a child with various family members.
My stepmother did not give these to me.
In 2006, my stepmother died, and in her will left everything to her two kids including the bungalow where she and my dad had lived.
Since her death I’ve been trying to get my items.
Apparently her daughter has them but her son won’t give me her address and I don’t know how to get in touch with her.
The son also said he and his sister found two letters in my dad’s loft addressed to my son and daughter from my dad.
They opened them and read them, which I thought was out of order.
They claim these have since been lost.
What should I do about getting these personal things back? I am a pensioner so cannot afford expensive fees.
KAY, Milton Keynes
A. This is actually a rather thorny problem.
Unless your father specified in writing that you were to be given the figurines and the photo album then attempting to get this property back will be difficult.
But if the ornaments were set out in the will with the instruction that they were to be given to you when your father died then the trustee of his estate was under an obligation to give you these things immediately.
It seems to me that you should write to the son and explain why these things are of value to you, that you are the legal beneficiary of the items and require them to be returned to you within 28 days.
In the event that he refuses you will need legal assistance.
The Citizens Advice Bureau will point you in the right direction.
- 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 getting independent legal advice.
Got a question for Judge Rinder? Email [email protected]
Amanda Cable – Property expert with the best advice for your home
Aaron's such a fast mover
LUCKY Aaron Parry is celebrating a record- breaking house sale – accepting an offer just 45 minutes after placing his home on the market.
The 42-year-old dad of two invited Purplebricks’ Nicola Corten-Southern to value his three-bed home in Ilkeston, Derbys, last month.
Aaron who fits blinds, said: “I’ve sold a house before, and it took several months, so I wasn’t expecting a quick sale.
“Nicola took pictures while I entered details of the house online.
"I pressed a button for the house to go live on the website and just 15 minutes later, an email arrived requesting a viewing.
“The couple lived just around the corner, and asked to see it immediately, so I just had time to clear up before they arrived at the door.
“I showed them around and 15 minutes after they left, they emailed me to offer the asking price of £140,000.
“The entire process had taken 45 minutes – and I was stunned but delighted.
“My partner Angharad and I had to race to find a new home ourselves but we found our dream place in just a week – and for a fee of £849, I’m delighted.”
Nicola said: “The sale is progressing nicely.
“I knew the house would sell but not in under an hour!
“It is the fastest sale I’ve ever heard of.”
- HIGHCLERE Castle – better known as Downton Abbey – is Britain’s dream TV home.
The stately pile took 16 per cent of votes in My Home Move’s poll.
JR Ewing’s Southfork Range, from Eighties soap Dallas, was second with 14 per cent while 13 per cent chose Harry Potter’s Hogwarts school.
One in ten picked 221b Baker Street, the residence of Sherlock Holmes, and nine per cent named Monica and Rachel’s apartment in Friends as their perfect abode.
In the same survey Nick Knowles was voted the UK’s top property TV presenter – and his show DIY SOS the nation’s top homes programme. - APRIL normally sees blossoming property sales. But UK mortgage sales fell by £2.62billion last month, analysis from Equifax Touchstone has revealed.
The north and Yorkshire region saw the biggest slump in sales, followed by London and the Home Counties. The south coast and north-west fared slightly better with smaller drops.
John Driscoll, Director of Equifax Touchstone said: “Mortgage figures have nosedived.
“Government measures to cool buy-to-let property sales, coupled with uncertainty around the election, means we may see more volatility in the coming months.”
Got a question for our experts? Email [email protected]
Mel Hunter – Readers’ champion on fighting for your rights
O2 row ruined credit rating
Q. WHEN going through our bank statements we found a payment to O2 each month, although I’d left them in 2014 and moved to Giffgaff.
I phoned O2 and asked for my money back.
They said they had no record of me cancelling but that they would stop my SIM card – which clearly hasn’t been used for more than two years – and send me a final statement.
I’m now getting letters saying I owe £417.74 and my credit score rating with Clearscore – which I had increased from 380 to 510 – is 358.
GARETH JONES, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
A. You believed the money had been taken without your consent and asked your bank to claim the money back.
It did this, but unfortunately that meant that in O2’s eyes the balance remained owing – hence your bill.
O2 then instructed debt collectors to chase the money.
When I got involved, O2 maintained the charges had been valid but agreed to clear the balance and close the account.
They said it would take a month for your credit score to reflect the change, but as yet it remains poor, which could make it harder for you to borrow or get good deals in future.
I hope it’s just a case of waiting until your score reflects the resolved situation with O2.
Q. EVERY year we go to the same hotel in Mallorca, and in January we booked this year’s stay for £2,055.
In April, Thomas Cook phoned to say the flight had been cancelled due to low passenger numbers.
It said we could either change airports or travel a day earlier. We agreed to do the latter.
That meant Thomas Cook had to check we could book into our hotel for that extra night, but so far it hasn’t managed to get hold of the hotel and it has asked if we want to cancel.
JENIFER PICKFORD, Buxton, Derbys
A. This seemed crazy. Because of a major change in flight schedules, your whole summer holiday had been thrown into doubt.
Once I got in touch, Thomas Cook were able to make more progress.
As well as finally getting the booking confirmed, they agreed to give you a discount on meals, and an extra luggage allowance.
They should have sorted this out sooner for you.
EasyJet shame
EASYJET is the least punctual UK airline, according to new figures.
Which? found just 66 per cent of the budget carrier’s flights arrived within 15 minutes of the time they were scheduled to land.
The worst overall is Air Transat, with 45 per cent, while KLM is the best with only one in ten flights arriving late, according to data from 35 airlines on inbound flights into the UK.
Flybe, which has 82 per cent of flights on schedule, is the best of the UK’s flyers. Three-quarters of BA’s flights and 77 per cent of Ryanair’s kept to time.
Passengers from a European airport or with a European airline who arrive more than three hours late can claim compensation unless delayed by weather or strikes. Keep receipts and tickets. See .
Do you have a consumer issue? Email [email protected]
MOST READ IN MONEY
Maddy Tooke – Coupon Queen finding you
the best bargains
10 best deals
- Get 25 per cent off National Express with code CRMSAVE_25. Expires June 4. Valid for return travel until June 11, excluding May 26-29.
- Kids eat free at Las Iguanas until June 4. Offer is on HotUKDeals. For each adult meal bought, get a free kid’s meal. Doesn’t include lunch menu.
- Save £5 on Fragrance Direct orders on spends of £50 or more. Get a code at and use at the checkout. Expires Wednesday.
- Get 20 per cent off orders over £75 at River Island with code SUMMER17. Expires Monday.
- Save £15 on orders over £100 or more from Matalan with code 15100MAT. Valid until Wednesday. Not valid with any other offer.
- Get 20 per cent off at Miss Selfridge with free delivery with code VCUKFDMAY from from May 26-29.
- Kids go free with every full-price adult ticket, at Thorpe Park with code kgfmay from . Child classed as aged 12 or under. Expires June 4.
- Get 40 per cent off everything from La Redoute with code BIG40. Order via and new customers can get an extra 15 per cent off. Expires Tuesday.
- Spend £9.99 at H Samuel before June 11 and get a £15 off voucher for your next purchase of £75 or over. Valid June 4-18.
- Make half-term memorable with £20 off when you spend more than £120 with Red Letter Days. Use code CL20MAY at the checkout. Expires May 31.
Five top freebies
- FREE Children’s Day party at all Toys R Us stores ony Monday, noon till 3pm. Freebie found at hotukdeals.com.
- New members can get £10 of beer or cider free from any UK store to celebrate the FA Cup. Sign up to at , buy beer or cider and upload the receipt at Topcashback to claim.
- Free pint of Carling or Stella, or a bottle of Rekorderlig at participating pubs. Enter your details at to find the nearest pub and claim. Must be on mobile or tablet to redeem. Expires May 29. Not Scotland.
- Free sample of Super Protein drink from Racing Greens, created for athletes and cyclists. Enter your details at to take advantage. One per person, while stock lasts.
- Free Dr Beckmann Colour & Dirt Collector sample. Request sheets from . While stocks last.