Latest news with #DeanDunham
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Did you reserve train seats only for someone else to sit in them? This is how you could get ALL your money back... and even compensation! DEAN DUNHAM
I bought train tickets with assigned seats for me and my friend but, once on board, people were sitting in them and refused to move. It was packed so we couldn't sit together. What are my rights? J.F., Bath. Dean Dunham replies: Generally speaking, consumers should always get 'what it says on the tin' – so, as you reserved specific seats, they should have been made available to you.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
I paid builder a deposit but he won't start work, what can I do? DEAN DUNHAM replies
I've paid a deposit to a builder – now he can't start for three months. Am I entitled to my deposit back? A. T Dean Dunham replies: It depends on what you agreed and the specific terms of the deposit. If you have a written contract with the builder, you should be able to find the answer within that. Look to see what the contract says about the completion date and if it provides the builder with any excuses to delay. If you have no written contract, which is usually the case, you will have to think about what was said between you and the builder in relation to the start and completion date, and what promises were made to you. Any such promises will, therefore, form an oral contract. In the absence of a written or oral contract, the default position will be what is reasonable. This means if you went to court over the matter, the judge would consider if it was reasonable for you to wait three months for the work to commence and if it would have changed your decision to instruct the builder had you known from the start that he could not start work for that long. However, courts will be your last resort, especially because this route will likely take nine to 12 months – sometimes longer – which defeats the object when you are disputing a three-month delay. You should, therefore, try to negotiate with the builder to see if an amicable solution can be reached. As part of this, you could ask the builder to commit to new start and completion dates in writing. Also ask him to agree a written term in the contract so that if he misses the start date, you can have a full refund and terminate the contract – and if he misses the completion date, there will be a financial penalty.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
I ordered a shirt online, but the shop accidentally sent me two - do I have to send one of them back? DEAN DUNHAM replies
I ordered a shirt online, but the shop accidentally sent two. Do I have to tell them? R. E., via email. Dean Dunham replies: When you receive goods that you did not order, they are classed as either 'unsolicited goods' or 'goods sent by mistake'. The distinction is very important as this will dictate the legal position. Items that firms send to you, but you didn't order, are classified as unsolicited goods. In these circumstances, the law, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, says you have a right to keep them. You, therefore, have no legal obligation to send unsolicited goods back to the company or to pay for them. If you receive a demand for payment for unsolicited goods or services, you can ignore it – sending one is a criminal offence. But it's a different story altogether if items are sent to you by mistake, which is the case here with the extra shirt. In these circumstances the law recognises a mistake has been made and the goods remain the sole property of the trader. This means you will have no legal right to keep the extra shirt you have received and have to either pay for it or send it back. However, the trader's mistake should not leave you out of pocket, so the onus is on it to arrange and pay for the goods to be returned. So, when you receive goods in error, my advice is to notify the trader as soon as possible in writing and ask it to arrange for them to be collected from you. You should provide a reasonable deadline for the collection to take place, say seven to 14 days, and tell it that after this date you will dispose of the goods or charge it storage. At this stage, depending on the value of the goods, some traders will tell you to keep the goods. Finally, a word of warning. If you decide to ignore my advice and simply keep the goods regardless of the trader's wishes, it will be able to use a principle called 'unjust enrichment', which occurs when one party unfairly benefits at another's expense, and the law requires restitution to correct the imbalance. It typically arises in situations where a person receives money, services or goods mistakenly or without a valid legal basis, and in these situations the courts nearly always side with the trader. Paid builder a deposit - but he wont start work I've paid a deposit to a builder – now he can't start for three months. Am I entitled to my deposit back? A. T., via email. Dean Dunham replies: It depends on what you agreed and the specific terms of the deposit. If you have a written contract with the builder, you should be able to find the answer within that. Look to see what the contract says about the completion date and if it provides the builder with any excuses to delay. If you have no written contract, which is usually the case, you will have to think about what was said between you and the builder in relation to the start and completion date, and what promises were made to you. Any such promises will, therefore, form an oral contract. In the absence of a written or oral contract, the default position will be what is reasonable. This means if you went to court over the matter, the judge would consider if it was reasonable for you to wait three months for the work to commence and if it would have changed your decision to instruct the builder had you known from the start that he could not start work for that long. However, courts will be your last resort, especially because this route will likely take nine to 12 months – sometimes longer – which defeats the object when you are disputing a three-month delay. You should, therefore, try to negotiate with the builder to see if an amicable solution can be reached. As part of this, you could ask the builder to commit to new start and completion dates in writing. Also ask him to agree a written term in the contract so that if he misses the start date, you can have a full refund and terminate the contract – and if he misses the completion date, there will be a financial penalty.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Daily Mail
My neighbour's pointed a camera at my garden and is filming my every move... what can I do? DEAN DUNHAM replies
My neighbour has installed CCTV and one of his cameras points directly into my garden. Do I not have any right to privacy on my property? R.M., via email. Dean Dunham replies: You do have a general right to privacy in your own home and garden. As I always say, never fall out with your neighbour unless it is absolutely necessary, so as a first step explain your concern to them and ask politely if they will adjust the camera angle or take other measures to ensure it does not capture your property. If this does not work, you will need to adopt a more formal approach, and the good news here is that the law is on your side. Your neighbour is obliged to comply with two laws due to his CCTV capturing your garden and these are called the General Data Protection Regulation – commonly known as GDPR – and the Data Protection Act 2018. Under these laws your neighbour should have informed you that he was using CCTV and that your garden is within its sight. In addition, these laws give you the right to request access to the footage of your garden or to ask for it to be deleted and your neighbour must comply. If your neighbour ignores his obligations under these laws and you are unable to resolve the matter amicably, your next step would be to file a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection laws. The ICO will send a letter to your neighbour setting out the law and asking him to fall in line with his legal obligations. However, contrary to popular belief, the ICO will rarely take any enforcement action against a homeowner, so if your neighbour ignores this you will have to either take legal action yourself or report the matter to the police. In either case, this will need to be something you consider carefully and you will need to be able to demonstrate that this is causing you a fair amount of distress and that you are feeling 'harassed' by being captured on CCTV. Insurance firm is blaming my guttering for leak A few months ago water leaked into my home after a very heavy downpour. My insurance claim has now been denied on the basis that my guttering was at fault as it had not been installed correctly. What are my rights? P.J., via email. Dean Dunham replies: I always warn that if an insurance provider can find an excuse to wriggle out of a claim, it will, and on this occasion a poorly installed gutter could indeed potentially be such a valid excuse. Firstly, you need to ascertain from your provider why it has concluded that the guttering has been installed incorrectly. Usually this will be down to the pitch being wrong – gutters, therefore, must be installed with the correct slope to ensure that water flows smoothly towards the downspouts. It might be as a result of inappropriate materials being used, for example, not using sufficiently durable materials on a house near the sea, or having issues with joints, as too many of these can leave the guttering susceptible to leaks. Once you have ascertained which of these issues your provider believes is the problem, you should obtain the advice of a roofing/guttering specialist and effectively seek a second opinion. If they agree with your insurance provider's findings, then there is going to be little you can do, as your provider will almost certainly be within its rights to deny the claim. If you had the guttering installed in the last six years, or if it is still within a guarantee period, your best route of redress will be via the company that installed the guttering. You will have a claim under the Consumer Rights Act, which says that services, such as installing guttering, must be performed with 'reasonable care and skill'. If, however, your guttering expert disagrees with the insurance provider, raise a complaint and make sure you provide a copy of the report. If it continues to deny your claim, file one with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
