Share your thrifty hints
It's easy to spend too much money at Christmas time and be strapped for cash in January. But there are plenty of ways to keep your finances in rude health.
Archives for December 2008
Dickensian Christmas party disappointment
The holiday season is a time for friends, family and, of course, the office Christmas party. But some unlucky workers found themselves all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Diabetic 'treats' not so sweet
Chocolate is the perfect gift for Christmas but for 2.5 million diabetics in the UK, it's not that simple. They have to carefully manage how much sweet food they eat, not just at Christmas but all year round. That's why two high street stores, Thorntons and Boots offer a range of chocolate labelled specially for diabetics.
The diabetic ranges offered by these shops may seem ideal but many diabetics steer well clear of them.
Online dating scam
Melanie Hamer was in the midst of a divorce, with two children when she set out to escape from her loneliness. Like millions of people, she signed up to an online dating site hoping to find someone special.
Watchdog Christmas updates 2008
After just three months into the current series, you've certainly kept us busy investigating your stories. You can read the updates to many of the reports below. Or send in your new reports to our Got a story? page.
Providence Properties update
In November, Watchdog ran a report on Tariq Zaman, one-time director of Providence Properties, a student lettings agency in Leeds. Tariq left students thousands of pounds out of pocket when he refused to refund their deposits. And his staff shared the same extraordinary attitude. Following further complaints to Watchdog we went back to see if anything had changed.
Energy prices web report - Christmas update
As wholesale gas and crude oil prices fall even further, the big six energy companies are coming under renewed pressure to lower what they charge all of us for our gas and electricity.
Boggle's narrow escape
Nicola Evans emailed us about a flight she took with Cyprus Airways to the Netherlands. With her was her pet guinea pig, Boggle, safely stowed in the hold, or so she thought.
Christmas credit crunch
Last year we spent £33 billion on festivities. But this Christmas there's more to worry about with mortgages, energy bills and whether they'll be a job to go back to in the new year. Unless you live in the North Pole, you'll know it's as much about interest rates and credit limits as it is about mince pies and Santa this year. So what does this all mean for how you're spending your money this Christmas?
Mobile phone owners misled over insurance
A mobile phone is stolen in the UK every 12 seconds, so for many people it makes sense to buy insurance for a new mobile in case anything goes wrong. But thousands of people who have bought mobile phone insurance are being misled into buying a second policy just days, or even hours, later.
Prison sewage floods garden
The Isle of Portland, just off the Dorset coast, is probably most famous for its distinctive stone used to build St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.
Gill Ward bought her house here in 2005. Her home has a beautiful view overlooking the sea and a lovely back garden for her and her mum to potter about in.
Gill's house is also about 100 yards from HM Portland Prison where inmates have been held since 1848.
Amazon Marketplace offering dangerous goods
In just ten years, Amazon has become one of the most trusted names in shopping. It has a reputation for being cheap, convenient and, usually, reliable. But the company has branched out, and unless it's careful, it could lose its hard-won reputation. Watchdog reveals the biggest - and perhaps most respected - name in online shopping is selling goods that are counterfeit, dangerous, and even banned in the UK.
A green solution to energy needs?
In the past year alone energy bills have risen by a staggering 40 per cent, and there's little sign of them coming down. But is there another way to tackle the escalating prices? Watchdog has received a number of complaints about a particular energy company whose claims are landing them in hot water.
Davenport Lyons - threatening letters
One of the fundamental principles of English law is that you're innocent until proven guilty, and if anyone should know that it's a lawyer. But it's lawyers who are sending many of you frightening letters which appear to assume you're guilty of something that you might not have done, demanding money, and threatening even worse if you don't pay up.
Lapland New Forest complaints
Watchdog update: the Lapland theme park has now closed down. There has been no official word so far from the people running the park.
The collapse of the MFI flatpack empire
In the week that troubled furniture chain MFI went into administration, we looked at the chequered history between Watchdog and MFI. The chain was one of the first companies to feature on Watchdog back in 1980 and appeared on the programme nine times in the past ten years. Time and again people complained about problems with one thing - its deliveries.
Setanta users experience viewing problems
Watching sport on TV is for many of us a great way to relax and spend time with friends and family. But over the past few months we've received a large number of complaints regarding one particular broadcaster, Setanta.
Pensioners paying for Government mistakes
Official figures say one in four pensioners live in poverty. The Government promised to put an end to that by 2020, but in the mean time, it's making some older people even poorer. Thanks to mistakes by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), a quarter of pensioners have been left either short changed or in debt.
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