Jasmine Birtles

Yes, good idea.

We use 555 Animation, which are really good and well-priced. We’ve just done a set of videos about saving with then which will be published soon!

Good question! Generally this would be something that I would suggest you speak to your insurers about but it’s not necessarily the case that your policy would cover you. Different insurers are offering different packages when it comes to COVID-related cancellations.

It’s unlikely that you could get a refund from a holiday just because you can’t get there, but it’s possible that if you call up your holiday provider and tell them the problem they might move the package for you, just to keep good relations.

This sounds dreadful and I think you should go for it. I know what you mean about the time factor but with a shock like that it can take people a while to get strong enough to take something like this on.

I suggest you go first to your local Citizens Advice, let them know the situation and see what they say.

You can also speak to the people at Shelter because they deal with rogue landlords a lot, as you can imagine, and they will be able to give you ideas.

You should definitely pull together as much evidence as possible of everything that she did and everything that you did, including bank statements, any written (or emailed) notes you got from her, any copies of the contract etc. The more evidence you have, the better. What a shame the police didn’t do anything. It sounds like something you should tell the Council about once you have had satisfaction from this nasty landlady.

I agree. I’m a big fan of cash (although, being an urbanite, I use cards a lot more). My interest in cash is that it is anonymous and ‘they’ (the Government, the big tech companies and others) can’t monitor our use of it as they can with cards. I think it’s very important to keep cash going if we as individuals are to have any autonomy over our lives.

I also feel that it would put us all in a vulnerable position if we became a cashless society. Think of how easy it is for a country like, say, China to do a big hit on our web and broadband systems. There was a day a couple of years ago when the O2 system went down and shops, taxis and more couldn’t get paid with cards. This is all too possible and I would like us to have a back-up of cash. I think the Swedes are wishing they hadn’t gone cashless.

If your contract says that you have to give 21 days notice then it’s unlikely that you can get the money back now. You could speak to your insurers and see if they could help. When it comes to chargeback on your credit card they could help if the campsite had said that you could give just 48 hours notice and then didn’t give the money back. But if they have actually stated in the contract that it has to be 21 days then they wouldn’t be able to help either.

I’m afraid it’s unlikely. If you had bought this as a package deal then you would be covered by the Package Travel Regulations (https://www.abta.com/tips-and-advice/is-my-holiday-protected/new-package-travel-regulations) which would enable you to have a refund for the whole thing. However, as you have bought them separately you don’t have the right to a cash refund here. 

You could get in touch with the airline you were going to use, though, and see if they would move the flight or give you a voucher. Some of them are. It’s worth an ask anyway!

hi there ‘Monica. Very good question and thank you for asking it. I think a lot of people are unsure about these companies.

I haven’t personally used these companies but I am reasonably well acquainted with Klarna. As a point of sale lender they seem to be pretty transparent and fairly reasonable in their dealings with people. I have to say, it’s not the sort of service I would want to use unless I really really needed something and didn’t have the money. But then I feel like that about using credit cards. As you know, if you buy something with a credit card and you can’t pay off the debt before the interest kicks in, that thing is going to cost more than the original price-tag because you have to pay the interest as well!

I asked my friend Angela Clemments, founder of Fair For You, a charity-backed loans company that deals with customers fairly, to see what she thinks. This is what she said:

“I would always use a credit card because you have the insurance in it. If you are buying on line and you have a credit card, then we would always recommend using that as it gives you additional protection if you have any problem with the retailer or the items being sold to you. & with so many retailers experiencing trading issues, its well worth having a credit card to use for on line purchases.  

 Klarna are a global finance company, based in Sweden, & really popular in the UK for point of sale credit. It is a well known brand, and entirely reputable. It is indeed interest free so long as you pay on time. Its very popular with a lot of people who don’t have credit cards, because it is a flexible and cheap way to spread your purchase. There have been stories in the press about customers that pay late getting caught out with unexpected fees which are not very prominent on their website and so it is worth reading the detail of the terms and conditions, as you will pay interest and late fees if you miss your payment and can’t pay on time.: