WOULD YOU LIKE 10% OFF YOUR NEXT ORDER

Or Cashback? ‘Yes, please!’ seems the obvious answer but think about it.

If you have used your Credit Card to buy train tickets or book accommodation you may have had this offer. If you accepted you would have been signing up to a discount website such as Saversense. These ask you to buy On-line using their web-site and do give you the promised 10% discount. BUT, you register with them and pay them £10- £15 a month whether or not you use the scheme. A quick bit of arithmetic will tell you that you have to spend at least £100-£150 per month at companies which are part of the scheme before you make any money. The first month would have been free but then people are surprised to see a £10-£15 charge appearing on their Credit Card statements each month. Or they do not always check their statements and unwittingly pay for a scheme they do not use.

One woman had left her Credit Card Statements unopened for a year. She said she had not bothered because she had not used her card since booking at Travel Lodge early in 2014. She was horrified to find she had been paying £10 per month since then. It is obviously a good idea to check statements even if you would rather not be reminded of how extravagant you have been. It is bad enough paying for your impulse purchases without paying for something you do not need. This is not a scam. There are people who spend a lot on the registered companies who find it useful but I think the selling methods are very misleading.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau is at 7 Atholl Crescent. Drop in is 10am-12 noon, Monday to Friday or phone 01738 450581 for an appointment in the afternoon. If the line is busy you can leave a message and you will get a call-back. The number will come up as Withheld to protect your privacy. 01738 450580 is the Advice Line. Everything is confidential, even the fact that you visited the bureau. There is also a web-site run by the CAB. Adviceguide.org.uk covers many topics and is easy to use.