Consumer Awareness

The problem with Flexiplus+

Tue, 03/09/2019 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Last weekend was the busiest of the year for Eurotunnel, as holidaymakers from France and across Europe head back to Britain for the start of the school year.

As a result, some delays are to be expected.

The staff at Eurotunnel did a very good job at communicating with their passengers. They sent text messages both 2 days beforehand and throughout the day, and responded rapidly on Twitter.

However my tweet went unanswered, and that prompted me to dig a little deeper. Maybe they were just busy, or maybe the question was close to the mark.

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Consumer Awareness

Doorstep Clothes Bags

Mon, 12/08/2019 - 10:30 -- James Oakley

Now for a slightly different post.

Sometimes you get a bag like the one pictured above-right put through your letter box.

They are inviting you to fill the bag with old clothes you no longer need, and leave it out on the advertised day roughly a week later. They'll collect the bag from you.

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Consumer Awareness

KidStart: Unique cashback for kids from websites you use anyway

Mon, 20/05/2019 - 16:30 -- James Oakley
KidStart Logo

Edit: March 2020

Since writing the post below, Amazon and Next are no longer available on KidStart. If you read the post, you'll see that was one of their main advantages. Where retailers are available both on KidStart and other cashback sites, the others usually offer higher rates. I therefore now recommend you use TopCashback. John Lewis, however, is still uniquely available on KidStart.

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Consumer Awareness

Beware fake domain invoices

Thu, 15/03/2018 - 12:00 -- James Oakley
A fake invoice received by email

There are many scams doing the rounds. People must fall for them often enough to make it worth the criminals' time to keep trying. Here's one which you'll likely meet if you ever register a domain name. If you've just registered your first domain name, there's a risk that your lack of experience will make you vulnerable to panic and respond. So I'll post this to unpick how this works, and to put your mind at ease that you can safely ignore these emails.

Blog Category: 
Consumer Awareness
Technology

Don't Buy Games from Nintendo eShop

Sat, 03/12/2016 - 17:08 -- James Oakley

I don't normally moan online about things, but I think there's a cautionary tale here that's worth broadcasting.

You see something you can buy online, and you have no way of knowing whether it's a reliable purchase until you try it. In our case, the amount of money lost was small, but some people make much larger purchases, so I think it's worth making sure people are aware of the risks.

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Consumer Awareness
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