It's no use just hoping it'll all come out in the wash

In July 1997, I bought a dishwasher from Scottish Power and took an extended insurance warranty for four years costing £129.99. It was a cashback deal so I could get this returned if I did not make a claim.

To register, I had to return a slip to receive a validation form. I did this but received another certificate of insurance rather than a validation form. I phoned several times and eventually received a third certificate. I therefore assumed this was all I needed. I am now told I cannot have the cashback because I don't have a validation form.
LB, Wolverhampton

Powerhouse took over Scottish Power's showrooms and responsibility for the cashback scheme in August 2001, at which point everyone seems to have lost interest in the scheme. Some readers' problems take weeks to sort out. This one has taken four months.

Last October, Powerhouse told me to tell you to send in your information again, this time to the appeals panel, and on 4 November said you would hear the full findings 'in the next few weeks'. Throughout January I was promised phone calls that did not arrive. In February Powerhouse said only that it couldn't tell you anything. It blamed the administrators of the scheme, London General Holdings, and reckoned it could do only what LGH wanted.

LGH said it was just the administrator, carrying out Powerhouse's wishes, but it did investigate your case. It insists you received an original validation form and then asked for a copy, but admits that it failed to send this and that it had an incomplete record of your claim. Finally it accepts your claim is valid. It is refunding the cost of your warranty.

Is property a safer bet than a pension?

I am 46, self employed and have a personal
pension into which I pay about ?9,000 a year.
Initially this seemed to provide good cover for my
retirement but low annuity rates and falling
investment values are causing me to worry about
the actual worth of the pension. My partner
suggested I freeze my pension and put the
equivalent into property. Would you advise this?
GC, Leeds

This is a difficult question. Pensions have the
advantage of tax relief, assuming the rules don't
change by the time you retire, but the drawback at the
moment is poor value.

Sooner or later the returns will improve, but that may
not happen this year nor for some years yet. You are
five years too late to make a quick profit from property
and indeed house prices could fall as share prices did.
There are costs involved in renting property, and a large
proportion of your money is tied up in bricks. You
could invest in a specialist property fund instead, or in
a cash fund or bond fund, inside a pension or not.

Thief snapped up my camera

I sold my camera for £1,200 through a classified ad. The buyer gave me a First Direct bankers' draft with that day's date. I asked for her ID and she showed me a medical card. After she had left, I checked and discovered the bankers' draft was a fake and the ID was stolen. I contacted the police. I have a professional photographers' insurance policy with Chubb but they initially refused to pay, saying I had willingly handed the property over to a third party. I pointed out that it was the same as being robbed in the street. Then Chubb said the policy did not cover contractual losses and it was like lending the camera to a friend who did not return it or accepting a cheque that bounced.
MC, London

On this occasion, seller beware. If only you had known that First Direct does not issue bankers' drafts as all of them go through its parent HSBC. All First Direct bankers' drafts are automatically fake. It seems a silly mistake for crooks to make but they are obviously getting away with it as First Direct is aware of several cases and is co-operating with police investigations. Chubb says it turned down your claim because the policy was intended to cover cameras while on a shoot or in the studio and not in other circumstances. Fake bankers' drafts had obviously not occurred to them. When you queried their decision, they took legal opinion which told them that the wording of their policy was too wide to refuse you. If it had gone to court, Chubb would have lost. You should claim the camera's replacement cost rather than the lower price you sold it for.

I deserve a second chance

I satisfied an individual voluntary arrangement in October 2001. I have an interest-only mortgage with Southern Pacific for £47,000 which costs 3.75 per cent above Libor rate of 4 per cent and I have never been in arrears. I reckon my house is worth £75,000 and I want to remortgage for £58,000 to pay off a £5,300 car loan.

My IVA was the only way for me to live after my ex-wife had an affair and left me with the debts. I feel now I should be given the opportunity of a fresh start.
AB, York

Most high street lenders would not talk to you until you have satisfied an IVA and shown a clean record for at least four years. Some little known lenders specialise in what they call the 'sub prime' market and provide mortgages to people still in IVAs but at a price.

Bristol & West will consider an application from you but would treat you as 'mid prime' and charge 2.05 per cent above base rate. You could also approach Birmingham Midshires, owned by the Halifax, or Kensington Mortgage Company.

The down side is having to pay Southern Pacific an early redemption penalty of 4 per cent of the outstanding balance. As you have been repaying only interest, this comes to £1,880.

However Southern Pacific says with your IVA satisfied more than a year ago, you now qualify for one of its Prime mortgages, starting at 4.99 per cent.

You would have to pay a £395 arrangement fee but it might waive the penalty charge. What a shame Southern Pacific did not promote this. Talk to them now.

Should we leave legacy in US?

My wife and I are about to inherit $35,000 from a deceased relative in the United States. If we had received this 12 months ago, it would have yielded £24,000. If the cheque arrives tomorrow, it will convert to only £21,000. Should we open a foreign currency account and wait for a better exchange rate, but earn interest of only 0.125 per cent? Or change the cheque at whatever we can get and invest in a sterling account at, say, 4 per cent?
GG, Carlisle

Forget the fact that you will get less today than a year ago. Forecasting exchange rates is largely speculation but, with war looming, more so than ever. The dollar/sterling rate could go either way.

If there is any chance you might spend this money in America, keep it in dollars. If not, you might as well exchange it now and earn a better rate of interest.

· 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.