Hi...when I worked for the DSG firm (Curry's, PC World & Dixon's stores) it was called MasterCare Cover Plan and it did cover accidental damage and policies could be 3, 4 or 5 years. I know they changed the policy shortly after I left due to it being miss-sold by badly trained staff (unlike me who whent on a one week brain washing course on how to sell cover plan and then product trained for the next five years) now it seems they are just taking in staff and not training them! I can still go into a store now and know more then the staff, even though products have changed & moved on since I was last working for them! I would recommend going into the store and talking to the store manager...after all an accident is an accident and if you have bought the cover they should honour that no questions ask. We had cover plan on our telly when it finally gave up the ghost they came and took it away, I got mum & dad a loan set in the meantime. Three weeks later I called up to find out what was happening as I knew for a fact it was probably just sitting on some work bench with nothing being done to it. I managed to get them to write it off and got my mum & dad their replacement vouchers. It does pay to be persistant...for me I am lucky as I can say I worked for the company (customer services and sales in the past) and know exactly what happens behind the scenes...lol. I wish you luck and just remember be persistant and if that fails Trading Standards! Crystal

Hi...I had this problem in the first few months of being with Sky but now everything is running smoothly... Here is what I did to sort it out...after several calls to engineers etc 1) Unplug all your Sky+/Sky boxes and make sure you have a microfilter attached to your phone point. 2) Just plug in your phone & modem. 3) disable any icons relating to the internet/network connection and switch off the modem. Then plug the modem back in and go into control panel/network connections and re-enable the modem connections. 4) Once modem lights are green open internet explorer and type in the address box 192.168.0.1 and at the info box type User Name = admin and Sky = password. If you do not see an IP address get in touch with Sky if you do see one but are having problems do the next steps... 5) Look down the page on the left and click where it says Advanced/UPnP. Where the box says Turn UPnP On make sure there is no tick in the box, save & exit. 6) Now right click on your Internet Explorer link in your start menu or desktop. You need to go to Internet Properties...go into the Security Tab and go through each option setting it at the Default Level. 7) Next go into Control Panel/Network Connections/Local Area Network and right click and select Properties...highlight the fourth item on the list Internet Protocol TCP/IP then click properties...in the first window that comes up click on Advanced button. The first Tab/Window should show IP Settings, go down to where it says Default Gateways and click add...type in the following 192.168.0.1 and save it. You can then close down all the windows. Try this for a few days and log down any drops in your connection. I was having drop outs every 10 - 15 minutes now I have none. I can surf all the time and I am really happy with the service. I did ask them to cap my line at 3.5mb as I felt the fact that the line was speeding up & slowing down all the time was causing the drop outs. Maybe you need to ask them about the max your line can take and go just slightly below that until it becomes stable. Also having several Sky boxes on your line can screw it up, also worth checking is if you have a Thompson box because some of these cause problems apparently, it is due to the dialing software or modems in the boxes. Hope this helps, Crystal

Hi...I am on benefits (Incapacity Benefit/Long Term Sick) and NatWest have been taking bank charges off me for times I have gone overdrawn or had a direct debit returned. All this week I have been looking up this subject due to the fact that at the beggining of the week they took £250 in charges from my £398 Incapacity Benefit...leaving me with very little to live on for the rest of the month (I have three weeks to go before my next payment) I contacted Financial Service Ombudsman who will send the bank a letter on my behalf but this will take up to eight weeks and doesn't help me right now! I found the information about the Social Security Administration Act 1992 stating banks cannot take charges from benefits but I need to know if this refers to the whole of the UK or just Scotland, also a direct link to this information (full legal jargon) would be appreciated. Also after speaking to someone at my local CAB they seem to think the banks are in the right to take charges out of benefits as there is no exemption...so I am more confused then ever. I will point out I am in South Wales, UK as sometimes laws are different. I did go into the bank and speak to a representative, the meeting went well. I put my points across stating I was on benefits & in financial hardship and that the taking of charges can induce a knock on effect of which I would never be able to recover...hence putting me into more debt & then the bank would still not get their money, ie if I don't have it they can't have it (in not so many words). My letter is to be passed up to their head offices in Edinbourough and hopefully I should hear back from them in 4-8 weeks time. The person who helped me also said they will look into trying to get one of the charges refunded (I am personally hoping for the £114 one but I bet it will be the £38 they refund instead). So at the moment I am twiddling my thumbs wondering what I should do now...I have borrowed money from a relative, which I will have to pay back but even then I don't know if it is enough and am dreading going into the red again and incurring more charges! Should I get in touch with the DWP and tell them? I don't want to take more money of the state as I feel what I get is enough for someone in my situation (luckily I don't have a massive family to feed, I still have bills/direct debits but I don't smoke, drink or go out so I should be financially secure - it is only when I go overdrawn for a day or so that the trouble starts) Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has been in my situation and what they did about it...also was interested if anyone got their money back from NatWest... All the best for now, Crystal