Five Stripes

We had a gas leak which meant have our gas was shut off (no hot water or heat) and our floors opened up to find the leaking gas pipe. RAC consider this to be an emergency so I tried to make a claim on my emergency home insurance policy, which they told us (at first) should be no problem. In the policy t & cs gas leaks are not listed in the exceptions (unlike water leaks). The policy says it covers emergency repairs due to complete failure of gas central heating system or failure of hot water heating. But apparently gas leaks are an unwritten exception and we were told that actually they won't cover us. If gas leaks aren't covered it should say so in the policy t & cs.

Awful. My family were delayed 24 hours returning to Scotland from USA. Staff told us our UK flight would wait for us, as our connecting flight was delayed - but it did not. After waiting hours in Chicago airport we were given a hotel and vouchers for food in the hotel. The hotel was a dive with no food. It was dirty with stains and holes in the sheets, on the walls and floor and what looked like blood spattered next to the headboard. Ants were crawling up the walls and got into our bags. A notice on the door warned customers to lock both locks for safety and there was a side door to a neighbouring room. It was disgusting and did not feel safe or hygienic. We couldn't sleep and spent the whole of the next day in Chicago airport - staff told us not to leave to ensure we could be seated on the plane that evening. A patronising member of United staff laughed at us for paying any attention to what his colleagues had said and another told us that we should know never to buy flights with only 2 hours to connect, ie. we were blamed. We arrived in Scotland a full day late, missing work. United's website doesn't work, and conveniently doesn't allow you to submit a complaint / request a refund.

What has happened to Depop? They are now allowing new buyers with zero reviews to claim a parcel never arrived and are refunding them in full - despite proof of posting! My daughter has enjoyed buying and selling on Depop for almost two years, has 60 excellent reviews, but has just been defrauded £124 by a brand new buyer with no reviews who said she would not accept the parcel my daughter had sent and then complained to Depop it had not arrived. Depop sided with the scammer and took the money out of my daughter's account. Proof of posting is useless - if a buyer claims they never received it they get their money back. Do not use Depop anymore!!!!

SPSO is harming individual members of the public by hiding public service failings, victim blaming and providing comfort and protection to councils that harm children - thereby allowing them to continue. If you have a complaint about something serious that has caused real trauma and suffering, I would warn you against going to SPSO. Rather than acting to help the victim, find the facts of the case, seek a simple apology and improve services for the future, the opposite happens. In a meeting with the SPSO following our atrocious 2 year “investigation” we asked Rosemary Agnew what evidence they sought and found to show the council had followed policy in our case. They had none. Meanwhile there was plenty of evidence showing they had violated policy, including statutory policy. Rosemary Agnew argued that statutory policy is discretionary, that they were confused, that black is white, that they should have investigated things they had promised to, and that we should spend our time helping other families in our situation rather than pursuing accountability for our own. Prior to meeting SPSO, I had thought their failures were simply due to incompetence and disorganisation, but following it, it was clear to us that SPSO were deliberately covering up a school’s dramatic and chronic failure that did lasting harm to children. In addition, the council weakened child protections following our case, presumably to prevent other families evidencing failures in Duty of Care.

Many vulnerable people reach out to SPSO about the trauma they have just experienced within public services. The experience is that of being repeatedly kicked when you are at your lowest and can lead to illness. I believe it has led to suicide for some. SPSO needs proper oversight and overhaul, to right its many wrongs and compensate its victims.

Following a negative review, I am happy that Luxplus has refunded my 16 year old daughter who received an unexpected £8.99 charge after making a single £5.95 purchase. She never ticked any boxes asking to sign up to a monthly membership. She also never received an email from Luxplus explaining that she had been signed up for a paid membership and that she had x number of days to cancel. People should have to actively sign up for paid membership before they are able to make discounted purchases - and they should receive an email informing them they are going to be charged monthly unless they cancel. Otherwise, people understandably feel like they've been had.

I have used AnyJunk once only and they were easy to use and did a good job. From the point of booking I was able to pick a date the next week. They were quick and friendly and left everything swept clean. No complaints!

Goldcar lied to me and ripped me off. This company cannot be trusted. I booked a car rental with Goldcar via rental cars.com. I paid in advance in full, including additional insurance coverage. At the Goldcar desk in Spain I was given a document in Spanish to sign before I could collect my keys. I told them i needed no additional features or coverage and asked what the numbers were on the document. I was told I would be refunded in full if I returned the car with a full tank and no damage. This was a lie. I was only refunded a fraction and ended up paying more than twice the original price for the rental.