If Portsmouth win, I've still lost

In July I used my NatWest credit card to place two bets online with Netbet Sports. Shortly afterwards, the web page became 'temporarily unavailable due to technical problems' and I was worried that the company had ceased trading. I contacted NatWest to check if the firm was still in business and, if not, to claim a refund. NatWest repeatedly misunderstood my question and has failed to give me an answer.

Both wagers, totalling £60, related to the forthcoming football season, so I was not trying to obtain a refund for a losing bet. As a life-long supporter of Portsmouth FC, each year I bet on them to win the first division championship, normally with little prospect of success - but this year is turning out to be quite different.
SB, Monmouth

Placing bets is no different from making any other purchase with a credit card so, under the Consumer Credit Act, NatWest is obliged to refund money handed over to a betting firm that goes bust. It is liable only for the value of your stake, not any potential winnings, and, importantly in your case, the Act applies only to purchases over £100. To qualify, each bet would have to be more than £100.

NatWest says the onus is on customers to prove that a company has gone bust, although it admits it should have helped you more.

The bank has checked with Companies House and found that Netbet Sports is not listed. It has also learnt from Netbet's own bank, Barclays, that Netbet closed its account in January, leading NatWest to suspect Netbet has gone into liquidation.

As a gesture of goodwill, it has agreed to refund your £60 - and credit your account with another £50 for scoring an own goal.

After 21 years together, would my retirement be better if we married?

I am 45 and have lived with my partner for 21
years. We have a joint mortgage and two children
in their teens. I'm regarded as in a partnership if I
apply for family credit and family tax credits, but
for a pension I am a single woman in the eyes of
the state. My partner is in the teachers' pension
scheme and I am nominated as a beneficiary on
his death, but I understand that I won't necessarily
get his full pension when he dies.

All in all, I am heading for a poor retirement.
Would I be better off getting married? I am
reluctant to do this, but the pension is tempting.
JT, Northampton

As his nominated beneficiary, you would receive a
lump sum death grant from the teachers' pension
scheme if your partner died while still working. If he
died after retiring, you would get nothing because you
are not married. Even if you were, you would not
receive his full pension because legal widows inherit a
maximum of half a teacher's pension. So there is no
financial benefit in marrying before he starts drawing
his pension.

Most other company schemes treat unmarried partners
the same way, although more enlightened employers
are starting to include them and same-sex partners. If
the teachers' scheme has not updated its rules by the
time he retires, that is when to weigh up the benefits of
marrying.

Uninsured trousers

I train a group of new women members at my running club each Tuesday evening. While out with my group, some of my personal items were stolen from the men's changing room. We think the thieves hid in the toilets and, when we had gone, made off with the goods, including my trousers, via the fire exit.

I claimed on my Co-operative house insurance policy, but they would not honour my claim because there had not been a break-in. Please help, I need my trousers.
WG, Tolworth, London

The Co-operative should not have rejected your claim out of hand because, even though there was no break-in, you can claim for your keys and new locks to your front door, but unfortunately not for your trousers or watch. You could have claimed for your watch and other valuables if you had paid extra for 'all-risks' cover with your house insurance.

Co-op is sending you a claim form for the keys and to check what else might be covered. It accepts that you did all you could to protect your property and it was bad luck that the thieves struck in the one way that negated your insurance. It is sending you £150 to reflect your long, claim-free relationship with the company.

Tangled up in the laundry

I asked Norwich Union to pay the proceeds of a matured with-profits policy by automatic transfer to a major UK building society savings account, supplying the sort code and account number. The account was not my own but my wife's. NU asked for written proof of residence of the account holder for money-launder ing reasons. Had the payment not already been overdue I don't suppose I would have bothered, but it set me thinking about the logic for the additional delay.

Before opening any UK bank or building society account, everyone must supply proof of residence and identity. Ipso facto, all UK accounts are legitimate. I cannot see how it is the responsibility or concern of Norwich Union to further validate the account.
RG, London

We are only obeying Financial Services Act regulations, says Norwich Union. Anytime anyone starts a relationship with a financial institution, they must satisfy the money-laundering rules. So, if NU had paid the money into your bank account and you bounced it over to your wife, there would be no problem. But because NU did not know your wife, it had to go through the checking palaver.

The cheque the computer lost

Last July, I paid off my Halifax credit card. Four months later I received a spate of phone calls instructing me to settle the account, followed by calls from a debt collection agency. I told Halifax it had already cashed my cheque. The reply was: this is not showing on the computer.

They told me to take my bank statement to the nearest branch. I live on a farm and this involved a 32-mile round trip. Then they would not accept the statement and wanted a copy of the original cheque, refusing to reimburse the cost of getting this. After making a formal complaint, Halifax admitted letting me down and, on 19 November, promised to send me £50 as a gesture of goodwill. I am still waiting.
RP, Drymen, Scotland

Your payment was credited to someone else's account and it took Halifax until November to work this out. It then forgot to enclose the £50 with a letter of apology. You wrote and phoned again, but the money had not arrived by the end of January. At last it has.

· Email Margaret Dibben at money.writes@observer.co.uk or write to Margaret Dibben, Money Writes, The Observer, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. Letters are selected for publication and we cannot give personal replies. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.