Renewal problems just won't subside

When Eagle Star asked for £631 to renew the insurance on our suburban semi, I found a cheaper policy with Norwich Union. In 1977 we suffered subsidence, and the back of the house was underpinned. I declared this on the proposal form, but Norwich Union asked for an engineer's report.

The structural engineers we commissioned advised us to go through the motions of making a new claim, so Eagle Star would send a loss adjuster. Our engineer just inspected the property visually, but the loss adjuster dug holes and took soil samples.

Both told us they could find no evidence of any further subsidence, but the written reports were so carefully worded, in order not to commit anyone, that Norwich Union would not accept us. We appear to be stuck with Eagle Star, which refuses to reduce the premium.
MC, West Kirby

You have been given appallingly bad advice by your own engineer, which has left you worse off than before. You might think that, because there was no new subsidence, you have a clean bill of health which is attractive to other, cheaper insurers. But making a false claim has done the opposite. Even though this recent claim was a dummy, it counts as a real claim on your file. Although Eagle Star did not have the expense of structural repairs, it had to pay £1,000 for the loss adjuster's survey.

Whenever you apply for building insurance in future you must now declare a second subsidence claim in 2000. There is no point explaining to a new insurer that it was only a mock claim because that makes you look dishonest.

The second claim does not increase your Eagle Star premiums, but you'll be unlikely to get another insurer to take you on with two subsidence claims on your record. You should complain to the engineer about this bad advice and, if that gets you nowhere, contact his trade association.

Transfer value: Members only

I took out a Scottish Life endowment policy with my Halifax mortgage in 1986. In 1994, I paid off the mortgage but kept the policy going, and it was reassigned to me.

I've been paying into the policy for 14 years and it has been in my name for the past seven, yet Scottish Life says I do not qualify as a member and will not qualify for £500 compensation if the proposed transfer to Royal London takes place.
MH, Birmingham

Norwich Union, Scottish Widows, Scottish Amicable and Scottish Equitable paid benefits to mortgage endowment policyholders when they demutualised. Scottish Provident and Friends Provident will when they convert later this year.

Yet Scottish Life policyholders lose membership when a policy is assigned to a lender and cannot be reinstated. The insurer acknowledges that its rules are unusual, saying this was deliberately done when it mutualised in 1968 to repel approaching asset strippers.

Some Scottish Life customers benefit from the oddity: unlike other demutualisations, those with non-profit and unit-linked policies and both holders in joint-life policies are treated as members, assuming the policies have not been used as security for a mortgage.

Scottish Life could allow policyholders to vote for a rule change but those with an assigned policy are not members, so cannot vote; the rest would be voting to dilute their own payouts.

But it is not all bad news. Your policy will earn extra bonuses on demutualisation, worth around £3,500.

Service contract: Cooking with gas

In January, I realised that I had not had my annual British Gas 3-star service check for 1999/ 2000. The documentation said it would be arranged by British Gas. I was offered a £30 refund but only as a discount on next year's contract.
PS, Banstead

British Gas confirms that it takes responsibility for contacting customers to arrange the annual service, but admits some fall through the net.

In compensation, the company is sending you a cheque for £60, double the original offer. It will treat the service you eventually arranged in January as last year's missed visit and will give you another service next November.

Mail order: Sign of the times

I cannot get to the shops and often buy by mail. Recently Parcel Force made me sign on an electronic gadget where one can see neither one's signature nor what it relates to.

Parcel Force will not accept a manuscript signature: if I do not sign, it returns the parcel to the sender. In all my 85-and-three-quarter years I have never signed anything without seeing what it was.
PJ, Crediton

Parcel Force says you ought to be able to see your signature, and the number of parcels you sign for, on the handheld computer as the text is larger than on the old printed sheets. If you have a problem seeing the writing, ask the driver to adjust the contrast on the screen.

Before you sign, the driver swipes the barcode on the parcel on to this gadget and types in your name. Your signature matches up with that information, which the driver transmits back to the central computer.

During transmission, the information is encrypted so your details are kept secure. No one can intercept the message or copy your signature.

Foreign banking: Can Tessa travel?

I have a Tessa with Bank of Ireland but, after reading about the difficulties of closing overseas savings accounts when someone dies, I wonder if I should move it when it matures. I do not want my family to pay charges to access my money after I die.
AF, Motherwell

You will not have a problem with Irish accounts. Bank of Ireland says there are no charges for closing any of its accounts when an overseas customer dies.

If your total estate is less than £5,000, your executors do not need to produce letters of administration or, in England and Wales, probate.

Tessas are a UK-only product (Bank of Ireland's is based here) so the issue does not even arise.

• 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.