Accidents in Public Places
24 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Consumer Tips, Family Information, Health Tips, Legal Tips Tags: Accidents in public, Trips and falls
It doesn’t matter how carefully you try to avoid it, sooner or later most of us have an accident in a public place that wasn’t our fault. A large percentage of us are lucky and escape with only our pride seriously injured and nothing more then a twisted ankle, a couple of bruises or some stained clothing to show our misfortune. However, not all are so fortunate.
There are many public liability solicitors available to advise you if you find yourself injured after a serious slip, trip, or fall in a public place, but there are things you can do to assist them, and yourself before you even leave the scene of the accident.
For a public liability compensation claim to be awarded, you need to prove that the accident was not your fault but that the owner of the property where you were injured was the one responsible.
The first thing you (or someone who is with you, if you are too badly hurt to do it yourself) should do after seeking the relevant medical aid, is to report the accident to the owner of the property or a member of staff and ask to put a record of the incident in their accident book. If it is possible to gather the names and addresses of anyone who witnessed the accident, then it is best do so.
It is also a good idea to take photographs of the area where the accident occurred (your mobile phone is useful for this as many these days have in-built cameras) and if it was a trip then try and put something next to the hazard to help gauge the height/depth of the fault later. Ideally this should be a ruler, but a coin also works well and is something you are more likely to have upon your person at the time.
If you have any visible signs of injury then make sure you photograph those too, this includes any bruising that may develop later on – again using something like a coin to help show the size of the wound/injury.
If once you have spoken to a personal injury solicitor they have advised you to claim for expenses as part of your public liability claim, you should make sure you keep any receipts for travelling costs and prescription charges.
You can find a solicitor a number of ways, either using the phone book, or by looking for public liability solicitors online. Many will take the case on at a “no win, no fee” basis.
Do I really need life insurance?
03 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Consumer Tips, Family Information, Health Tips Tags: do I need insurace, Life insurance
None of us like to admit we are growing old and may need to think about life insurance, but sadly with the exception 
of Peter Pan, it is something that happens to us all. As part of getting older, we have to take responsibility for our own finances; this especially comes into to play when we have a family of our own or buy our first home. In the excitement it is easy to overlook the boring but essential details. When you are playing with your new baby, or standing in your new hallway, the last thing you are thinking (although somewhere in the back of your mind you probably know you should be) is what would happen if anything un-expected were to happen to you or your partner – if you haven’t already, now is the time to be thinking of getting life insurance.
The truth is, less the half the UK population currently hold life insurance policies, which when you consider the peace of mind it could give their loved ones, is a simply mind-blowing figure. So why do so few of us have it, especially when the premiums can be very reasonable.
Well, lets face it – it isn’t exactly the most exciting thing to buy, and with all the press horror stories about companies that wouldn’t pay out for this or that, we kind of let slip from our minds the positive benefits it provides. This combined with our “it will never happen to me” attitude is why so few of us bother, putting off till tomorrow what really should be done today.
So, you, like many others are probably sat here thinking, “Ok, so maybe it is important – perhaps I should look into it…” but now where. Luckily there are a multitude of helpful and friendly sites to help you work out what policy, and level of cover is best for you, your family and your situation. Companies are starting to wise up to the fact that one of the main reasons people don’t take out life insurance is because it all seems just too complicated and are more increasingly using site designs that allow you to just feed your details in and it gives you a quote. Which if, like me, you are easily confused are ideal and as they only take a few minutes to fill out, removes the “I haven’t got time” excuse.
No more long, boring meetings with financial planners, no more confusing jargon, just you, a keyboard and a mug of coffee (or tea if that is your preference) during a break and you are set. It really is that quick and easy to arrange your life insurance, so what are you waiting for…
Staying Safe From Rogue Traders
25 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Consumer Tips Tags: Door-2-Door, Keeping Safe, Rogue Traders
They have always been with us and probably always will be but how do you stay safe from rogue traders?
You know the ones, the doorbell rings and when you open it there is some one outside offering to tarmac your drive / fix your roof (there always seems to be a tile missing) / tidy your garden / double glazing / kitchenware / electricity/gas sales persons (not meter readers) or they have seen something else that needs doing. Or it may be that they are “from the water board and need to check the water pressure” (the author knows several people that have been caught by this one include elderly family members).
Listed below are a few “do’s and don’ts” that will help to keep you safe from doorstep callers :-
1. The most important thing is if in doubt don’t let them in.
2. Don’t keep a lot of cash in the house – one of the reasons that older people are often targeted is that they tend to keep large amounts of money in the house. You should think about keeping the money on a bank / building society or even the Post Office.
3. Fix a security chain to your door and make sure you use it before answering your front door, another method if you have a dog of a reasonable size is take him/her to the door while holding their collar.
4. Make sure you ask for identification and check it is genuine. Does it look correct – most will have a photo on them
- Is there a telephone number on the card ?
- Tell the caller that you will ring their company to check that they are genuine (and check the phone number in the telephone book, not from the ID card)
- If you have registered with some utility companies they operate a password scheme – does the caller know the password ?
5. Never be pressurised into having work done or buying goods – a genuine trader will allow you a cooling off period. If you feel you have been pressurised into agreeing something, then call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 to report them.
6. By law you must be given cancellation rights for goods or services over £35 – even if you have agreed to the visit beforehand.
7. Consider paying for goods and services that cost over £100 by credit card – you will have extra protection and most repetable companies will have the ability to take a credit card.
8. You can always say “No I don’t buy at the door” and ask the seller to to leave – if they refuse ring the police.
9. Think before you buy, ask yourself the following:
- Do I want it?
- Can I afford it?
- Do I know and trust the seller?
- Do I know how to contact the seller or have I only got a mobile telephone number?
- Do I have the right to cancel?
- Is this offer too good to be true (they rarely are) ?
Some local councils and police forces operate a “no cold caller” scheme that can give you a sign for the window that explains that you do not buy from people that call at your home, experience shows that people see these signs and do not even attempt to ring your doorbell. It would be worth contacting your local trading standards office to see if such a scheme operates in your area.
Buying Multi-Trip Travel Insurance
21 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Consumer Tips Tags: Buying Travel Insurance, Multi-trip, Travel Insurance
When you are getting ready for your holiday, if you are anything like me, you tend to almost forget about your holiday insurance and rush out last minute to pick up a policy to cover you for your trip. For one-off trips this is fine, however this is time consuming and unnecessarily expensive if you are a frequent traveller.
Annual multi-trip travel insurance is aimed at those of us who for work, or pleasure travel on international trips at least three times a year, but if you hunt around some providers can provide you with multi-trip insurance that can even be cheaper than buying just two single trip policies.
By buying multi-trip insurance, you are covered for an unlimited number of trips, providing the trip falls within the time limit specified by the insurance provider – the sort of limits can be for specified areas of the world, certain activities, and length of trips.
Getting a policy like this works particularly well for people who are asked to go away suddenly for business trips on short notice or who regularly take advantage of last minute deals and may not have time to organise insurance before they go. Some advantages of taking out annual multi-trip insurance include:
- Time is saved booking insurance before each trip
- The insurance can be more suited to the adventurous traveller than other types of insurance, as standard Annual Multi-trip policies provide cover for eventualities that may not be deemed likely to occur for single trips
- There are very often discounts given for couples and families with some providers even offering attractive “kids go free” deals
- The cover is continuous: once it is taken out travellers can rest assured that it will last the whole year regardless of where they go or how often they travel
- Multi-trip insurance usually covers a wide range of sports and activities for a limited amount of days (e.g. golf, weddings, winter sports) although year-round cover for these activities can generally be added under a more expensive premium.
- Multi-trip policies are very flexible and allow travellers to customise the cover according to their own specifications
- Many providers allow multi-trip insurance to be combined with family policies, so that family members travelling regularly are also covered
Some disadvantages of multi-trip insurance include:
- Some policies can have hefty excess levels
- Many providers have a blanket exclusion policy for all terrorist activities and “acts of God” such as disruption caused by ash clouds for example
- Manual workers are usually excluded from business cover options
- If you go on a small number of sporting trips (e.g skiing, rock climbing) it may work out cheaper to buy single trip insurance as annual cover for activities can be very expensive.
- Many multi-trip policies won’t cover people over the age of 65 unlike single trip policies which rarely have an age limit
- Multi-trip insurance can work out unnecessarily expensive if fewer trips are made than predicted at the beginning of the policy
Many insurance providers will offer to cover different “extras” under your policy for an extra fee. The sorts of areas that these could include are:
- Emergency assistance 24 hours a day
- Hospital benefit
- Wedding cover
- Cover for mugging, hijack or other situations
- Acts of terrorism cover
- Business cover
- Scheduled airline failure
- Trip postponement
- Travel delay
- Stolen or Lost luggage
- Loss of valuables
- Pet care if you have to extend your holiday due to unforseen circumstances
- Cost of skiing if missed through illness (usually only applies with extra Winter sports cover)
- Piste closure (usually only applies with extra Winter sports cover)
In addition to the various “extras” covered by different policy providers, each insurance company offers different way of customising the multi trip policy, again for a fee, which varies depending on the customization required. These could include:
- Winter sports cover which includes piste closure or ski costs incurred through illness or injury.
- Golfing cover.
- Wedding cover.
- The option to exclude cancellation and curtailment, baggage and/or personal money cover for a discounted rate.
- The option to customise the number of days trips can last for (e.g. 45 days/ 60 days as opposed to the standard 31).
- Increased personal baggage cover.
- Cancellation top-up cover.
- Couple or family insurance (this normally works out cheaper than policies for two individuals).
- Option to waive excess.
So the benefits of an annual travel insurance policy are fairly clear, and well worth looking at if you have two or more trips planned for the coming year. There are several ways you can get insurance quotes these days, going into a broker’s office, calling various companies by phone, but perhaps the most common way these days is to go online and get online travel insurance quotes – which tend to give you a faster response, and many brokers allow you to buy your insurance online as well.
Choosing the perfect perfume
12 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Beauty Tips, Consumer Tips Tags: Buying Perfume, Choosing a Perfume
When choosing a perfume, be it for yourself or for a loved one, there are some tips you can keep in mind to help you through the ever growing maze of perfumes available. Despite this perfume’s still remain a popular gift for many occasions. It is important to remember a perfume is a very individual thing; everybody has a different body chemistry and just because it smells amazing on your friend or sister, doesn’t mean it would work for you. Where possible, test the perfume on the inside of your wrist (obviously if you are buying as a gift this is harder).
There are however some things that you can keep in mind to help you choose, and may give you pointers so you know what to keep an nose for when you are around the person you want to buy for.
Perfumes tend to come in a few base groups:-
Floral: – Scents with a floral base tend to be viewed as romantic and have a timelessness about them that makes them popular with many age groups. For example, Flower, by Kenzo.
Fruity: – These normally use the citrus fruits for a base and tend to be fairly light and sweet smelling, making them good for everyday wear. For example, Hugo Woman by Hugo Boss.
Woody/Musky: – These scents tend to be heavier, and suit a more mature woman or be reserved for evenings out. For example, White Musk by Alyssa Ashley.
Oceanic: – Fresh scents tend to try and mimic the tang of the ocean air and are again a good choice for everyday wear. For example, Ocean Dream by Giorgio Beverly Hills.
Oriental: – Oriental scents tend to be fairly heavy, and rich with spices and heavier scented flowers making them superb for evenings out. For example, Loverdose, by Diesel.
Green: – Green scents are the ones that remind you of the outdoors on a summer’s day, and tend to be favoured by younger women. For example, Gucci by Gucci.
As well as the basic groups, remember that perfumes have three distinct layers of scent. The first, referred to in the trade, as the “top note” is the burst of scent you get right away after applying the perfume. It isn’t wise to base your choice on this note as it fades quickly. Citrus scents tend to be used for a top note.
The second layer, or “Middle note” tends to last a bit longer, normally ranging between a few minutes or even as long as an hour, they tend to be the floral, spices or heavier fruit scents like plum.
The “base note” is the final layer of the scent, and tends to be the heaviest, containing the woody, musky scents or heavier blooms and fruits like Vanilla or Magnolia. Most base notes take a minimum of 5 hrs to fully develop on the skin but start to mix with the middle note after about half an hour or so to provide the main body of the perfume.
Because of this, most reputable perfume sellers would suggest that you leave the scent on your skin for a day, so you can see how all three layers appeal to you. The chances are if after this time you still love the scent, then it is the one for you.
Don’t be afraid to take your time in choosing the perfume that is right for you, it is a choice that is likely to stay with you for many years. Once you have decided on the scent that is right for you, there are a couple of other factors you need to bear in mind.
Some perfumes can stain your clothes if they have an added colorant in them, so it is best to check the ingredients in case of a mis-spray. Also, some of the oil based perfumes may also stain even if they have no colour in them – in this case, put the perfume on a handkerchief in your pocket instead of directly on your skin or clothing.
The other thing to consider is would a parfum or eau de toilette suit you better, and this really depends on how you like to wear your perfume. If you like to spray all over, then an eau de toilette would suit your needs better as it would be less over powering used that way. But you would need to “top up” again during the day, as it doesn’t last as well as the heavier parfum, which is better applied to the pulse points where your blood can warm and nurture the scent.
The most basic trick to choosing a perfume is simply to go for something you like the smell of, take your time, smell it through its various stages and if at the end of the day, you still love it, you have found the scent for you. Of course, once you have settled on the perfume you like it is often cheaper to buy your perfume online, allowing you, in most cases, to save money on the recommended retail price.
What rights do I have when buying goods?
22 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Consumer Tips Tags: Consumer Rights, Trading Standards
With Christmas just around the corner, our thoughts turn to buying gifts, but what are our rights when buying goods in the UK? Well, the “Sale of Goods Act 1979″ (as amended by the “Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994″) states that all goods sold must be of a satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose that they have been sold for, and are as they have been described – but what does that mean?
It basically means that you have the right to expect that any goods you buy are made to a standard that any reasonable person would consider acceptable when taking into account the price of the item, any description that had been given, plus any other information that could be relevant. In addition to this the item must be as it was described in the advert, so for instance, if it has been advertised as new, there must not be signs of wear. Lastly, the item must be fit for the purpose it was sold for – so if you buy a new phone and specify that it must be able to run Facebook, the seller must ensure that it CAN run Facebook before selling it to you.
It is important to keep your receipts as your proof of purchase in case of a later issue, but if for some reason this is not possible credit card bills or bank statements can be used instead. If you have ordered an item, but not yet paid for it, and when it arrives you feel it doesn’t meet the criteria above, you have the right to refuse it.
Under the same act, if any goods you have purchased are faulty, you are entitled to have the goods repaired instead of receiving a refund or having them replaced – you can ask for a repair at anytime up to six years after time of purchase. If it isn’t going to be economical to repair the faulty goods, you are entitled to a replacement instead.
If the faulty goods cause damage to other items, or if you have been caused a significant inconvenience by the amount of time taken to make the repair then you may be entitled claim for “out of pocket” expenses.
If you have a complaint about an item you have brought your first point of contact is the seller you brought it from, though it can also be worth contacting the manufacturer as you may have additional rights given from the manufacturer guarantee. If you do not get an acceptable reaction from the seller, you could try contacting the Trading Standards Institute for advice who may suggest that you contact a solicitor specialising in consumer law.
