Trail of dotcom debit runs into dead end

In October 2003, my Tesco credit card statement showed a debit of £284 by Hotels.com. At the time, I was planning a New Year trip to Australia and Thailand and assumed it related to that. On returning the following January, I realised it didn't.

I phoned Hotels.com many times in the following months and finally last August was told that the booking, for a Manchester hotel, was not in my name.

Hotels.com said there was nothing it could do as Mastercard won't investigate frauds more than three months old.

I also called the credit card company for help but it insists that I obtain evidence from Hotels.com that the transaction wasn't mine. Hotels.com says it can no longer do this.
GH
Chester

Tesco insists its hands are tied by the Mastercard 90-day rule, but agreed to contact Hotels.com, which in turn asked its head office in Dallas to investigate. The records revealed nothing, but Hotels.com and Tesco between them have agreed to refund you the £284 as a gesture of goodwill, sharing the cost.

Hotels.com says it will continue to investigate.

Credit Suisse where it's due


I have assumed power of attorney over the financial affairs of an elderly relative. She had an account with Chelsea which I moved to a better-paying one with the same building society.

Recently Chelsea told me that Citibank had tried to pay £38 into the old account. Chelsea moved it to the new account but said I would be charged in future unless I sorted the problem out.

Citibank denied sending any money and said it would take action only if Chelsea provided evidence in writing. Chelsea has done this twice with no response. Now, because two banks cannot agree, my relative cannot receive money due to her.
MG
Bewdley

Chelsea quickly agreed to move the money to the new account manually and waive the administration charge until the problem was sorted out. Citibank eventually realised this was a corporate, not retail, account and that it was a payment from Credit Suisse Fellowship Fund.

That was the breakthrough we needed. Credit Suisse was already aware of your power of attorney and within minutes arranged to make future payments into the new account.

Cross purposes with my bank


I have been trying to open a bank account with Natwest for the English Schools Cross Country 2005. The bank has lost my application form, which I handed in personally, and a cheque for £1,000 to open the account. I had to obtain a duplicate cheque. Visiting the branch is difficult, phone calls are not returned and my letters to the bank have been ignored. Now I need to pay a bill from the account.
BB
Norwich

This was due to a complete misunderstanding by the member of staff who told you the papers and cheque were lost, says Natwest. They were not. The bank expresses disappointment at the slow start: the branch had no up-to-date forms each time you visited. But the paperwork then seems to have spent time wafting between branch, customer service centre and business centre. At one stage the bank says the forms were returned so that you could fill in the uncompleted sections but not returned.

All have now been brought together and the bank has sent you £50 compensation and two bottles of wine.

AVCs are first in the queue


I have heard that, if my company pension scheme collapsed, the money I have paid into AVCs would go into a general fund shared among everyone, even those who have made no additional voluntary contributions. Surely this cannot be right?
CE
Ellesmere Port

It can happen, but rarely does and only in extreme situations where a pension scheme is severely underfunded. Normally, when a company pension collapses, the statutory priority order puts AVCs first, ahead of all other commitments, including the main pension.

GM card got the boot


I have a GM credit card which gives me rebates on Vauxhall cars but, as a 71-year-old pensioner, I am unlikely to buy one. So I decided to get another card.

The new one allowed me only £1,500 credit, so I kept the GM card and used it once more. Unfortunately I overpaid the bill by £21.93. As I will not be using it again in the near future, I asked for a refund on 25 November and again on 6 December but had no reply.
VC
Beckenham

HFC Bank, which runs the GM card, says its log shows no contact from you until 16 December, but it did then send you the money within four days, which you might not have received until after Christmas.

· Email Margaret Dibben at money.writes@observer.co.uk or write to Margaret Dibben, Money Writes, The Observer, 3-7 Herbal Hill, London EC1R 5EJ 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.