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Automated dialling - a fine way to find wine investors
I was phoned at home before Christmas by a firm called European Fine Wines (EFW). It wanted me to invest in wine which, it said, would grow substantially in value. It also said gains would be free of all taxes.
There was background noise during the call so I may have missed something, but I know nothing about wine. Where did it get my name from? And should I invest?
DA, Northamptonshire
EFW says it is "a team of wine merchants based in London who specialise in fine wine investment, namely the top Bordeaux wines". Its literature gives an address in Lombard Street, City of London, but your call came from a call centre in Bromley, on the outskirts of London (hence the background noise) which, since April, has been using call lists "to automate all outbound dialling" (that's calls to you) and "eliminate manual dialling". EFW chairman Scott Assemakis says: "Call costs have been cut by a staggering 74%, from £9,500 to £2,500 a month," with agents' call rates increased to an average of 50 calls an hour. This would explain why you were called: you're on a dialling list.
EFW claims that "the combination of our expertise and our established global links places us at the forefront of our trade". There is no wine trade forefront league to check but as Assemakis is only 23 you may wish to enquire how one so young has advanced so quickly. The other director, Jonathan Barr, is a more mature 27.
As for tax-free, the Revenue is considering whether wine still fits the "wasting asset" (something with a life under 50 years) definition for capital gains tax.
EFW says wine has a finite supply. That argument, used by champagne sellers a decade ago, does not hold water. Wine is not immune to recession; production can go up and down - and in hard times, people can trade down to lesser clarets or even limit themselves to Bulgarian red.
TalkTalk cut off my disability alarm
I am a retired insulin-dependent diabetic and a double above-knee amputee. So I am wheelchair-bound and need my phone, provided by TalkTalk. Six weeks ago the line went dead. I tried getting hold of TalkTalk by email (from the library) and using call boxes, which are costly as faults are reported on an 0870 number. These all produced no response. I am desperate, so please help.
CM, Derbyshire
You rely on your phone - for your Carelink alarm as well as calling - so what do you do when it fails?
TalkTalk did not offer a coherent answer. Local social services tried on your behalf but, despite outlining your plight for 45 minutes, their appeal for help was rejected as they were "not the bill payer". And you would have been left phoneless at Christmas had Capital Letters not intervened.
Within an hour of our call, a BT Openreach van came to your home and, 30 minutes later, the engineer had found and repaired the fault, which was on a nearby telegraph pole. Your phone is now working, as is your £30-a-month alarm facility.
TalkTalk has apologised and offered £184 compensation, but has not yet explained why the problem occurred. You will now switch back to BT - and register your disability with it.
Bank account cleared to pay for credit card
Barclaycard has cleared out my bank account, leaving me without money - and, along with my flatmates, in trouble with our landlord. I collect the rent each month from my flatmates and, adding my housing benefit to their cash, pay the landlord.
But just before the rent was due, Barclaycard took - without any warning - the £1,094 in my Barclays bank account. Barclaycard refuses to repay it, claiming the right to offset my outstanding Barclaycard balance from my bank account.
I owe Barclaycard £8,800 but fell behind when I stopped work due to illness. I had arranged a £5-a-month repayment deal, but now all the bank offers is a £1,000 "reserve account" costing me £22 a month. Can you get my money back?
KK, London
"Offset" allows a bank to raid credit balances to repay loans if both are with the same bank. Barclays did this as you missed a £5 payment. It says offset should leave you with £100 and cash for direct debits.
As the rent arrangements were informal, it took the lot. It has now returned your money including state benefits in full and has reverted to the previous £5 a month repayment arrangement. It promises not to do this again as long as you keep to the monthly deal. But to protect yourself, open a basic bank account at another bank for your benefits and rent that is out of Barclaycard's reach.
In a mess after caravan holiday firm goes bust
I bought a mobile home and a seven-year site rental agreement in Spain in July 2006 from Breakaway Homes, paying £9,200 up front for the rent.
The caravan eventually appeared a year later after long delays. But when I went to use the mobile home in November, the site owner presented me with invoices for the rights dating back to the time when the caravan first arrived.
The site owner said he had no knowledge of the Breakaway deal. I then discovered Breakaway had kept my money since July 2006 and nothing had ever been sent to Spain. Breakaway promised to rectify this but failed to do so. Just before Christmas, it went into administration. Where am I left?
IP, Sheffield
In a right mess. The site owner rightly wants paying and - again rightly - has threatened to sell your caravan if you fail to pay. Catching up on what you owe is now even more painful because of the weakness of the pound.
Breakaway Homes is a UK company based in West Sussex. Despite its financial collapse into administration, its website is still functioning. It promises you can "live the dream in your own luxury, full furnished mobile home" in a "stunning village development". It even offers an "affordable friends and family purchase scheme".
Capital Letters asked Breakaway Homes director John Richard Jayne, 64, why no money had ever been sent to Spain on your behalf. He did not answer but referred us to the administrators, who will treat you as one of the unsecured creditors. You are not likely to see much, if any, of your cash back.
Jayne has not been too lucky with directorships recently. Breakaway Manufacturing was dissolved in 2006, while his Walnut Grove International ceased trading in 2004. Capital Letters asked him why Breakaway Spain was now five months overdue with its accounts. He refused to answer.
Mind the gap when you get a Freedom Pass
As I reached 60 and Freedom Pass age, I asked at a tube station for the value of my annual Oyster travelcard as I only needed to pay for tube travel in the mornings. I was told £97. But when I came to apply formally for a refund, I only received £53. Why was there a gap?
RJ, London
When you cash in an annual season ticket, the refund has to take account of what monthly or weekly tickets would cost, not just the value of the remaining days. Otherwise, the annual discount could apply on shorter periods. It's like asking for a motor policy refund part-way through the year. So TfL is right. The good news is that now you can use your Freedom Pass all day.
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