Jill Insley

England

Freelance Journalist and Writer at Freelance

Jill Insley is a freelance personal finance and consumer writer and financial agony aunt for the Sunday Times

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Articles

After 10 years fighting for you and £10m won, it’s goodbye

Nov 23, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

Sadly this is my last Question of Money column for The Sunday Times. I have loved helping to resolve your problems and get your money back — over the past ten years it has amounted to more than £10 million. But all good things come to an end and I suspect several companies (Barclays, British Gas and Phoenix to name but three) and the Department for Work & Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs will be glad to see the back of me.
RAC mangled my car and won’t cover the repair

Nov 16, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

I am having problems with RAC. The issue started after I left my university accommodation in Bournemouth last March to go home for the Easter break. When I filled up my car at the local petrol station, the key got stuck in the cap. I finally got it out after half an hour by using some WD40. I wiped the key clean and put it in the ignition, turned it all the way round but the car wouldn’t start. The key then got stuck in the ignition. I finally got it out, but the steering locked.
New Samsung oven left us cold - and hungry

Nov 9, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

I bought a Samsung series 6 dual flex oven from Marks Electrical at the end of April for £749 but it wasn’t installed by an electrician until July 22 because my kitchen was being refurbished. For the first two weeks of use we noticed that all meals were undercooked. This was particularly worrying if they were frozen because of the safety aspect but, more generally, the food was ruined.
GetTransfer firm is taking me for a ride

Oct 26, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

The taxi arranging service GetTransfer.com has £270 of my money which it will not refund, saying that I have to spend it as credit. When I have tried to use the credit, I am quoted ridiculously high prices that are hundreds more than the balance. I need your help in getting this money returned to my card or bank account. I first got involved with GetTransfer in September 2022 when I booked and paid for return taxis from my home in Bath to Bristol airport.
Mum’s home was flooded. Hastings made her wait months for £71k payout

Oct 12, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

My partner’s 90-year-old mother is having problems with her Hastings home insurance. In December 2022, she had a major flood in her house and now, seven months after returning home, her claim is mostly still outstanding. Her Hastings policy was “new for old” and provided £75,000 cover. To date Hastings has made one payment of about £20,000, despite the claim being for £71,000.
Help our £2,500 has gone walkabout from an Aussie bank

Oct 5, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

By mistake I sent about £2,500 to an account with the wrong bank in June, and I am struggling to get it back. My wife and I, together with some Australian friends, were using a travel agency in Australia to assist with a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to South America next year. Having made the arrangements, the agency asked us to pay a deposit of A$5,120 and we decided to pay online from our HSBC account to the travel agency’s account at ANZ Bank in Commercial Road, Fortitude Valley, Queensland.
We want the top surgeon for 92-year-old mum, but Axa won’t pay up

Sep 28, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

My mother, who is 92, very severely disabled and has multiple serious health conditions, has private medical insurance with Axa. Last year she fell over on a stone floor and broke her hip. She had to have urgent surgery on the NHS and a screw was fitted in the hip. Since then she has been in excruciating pain because the screw came out of place and her hip has not healed. My brother is a doctor based in Florida.
Broker error on my late husband’s life insurance cost me our home

Sep 19, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

Our consumer champion Jill Insley vents her fury at LifeSearch after its error left a widow underinsured and tackles BT and British Gas over poor service
British Gas left my 94-year-old neighbour in tears

Aug 10, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

I dropped in to visit my 94-year-old neighbour two weeks ago to find her in floods of tears and at a loss as to what to do about a threatening letter she had received from British Gas. The letter said that if the company didn’t hear from her soon about her outstanding bill it would pass her details to a debt-collection agency.
My Esure car insurance claim took months after hit-and-run

Aug 3, 2024 | thetimes.com | Jill Insley

My car was hit while parked at work on February 24 by a driver who did not stop or leave details. Luckily, there is clear CCTV footage showing the incident. At first my insurance company, Esure, was quick to respond but I am now four months on, my car is not fixed and it feels as if Esure has lost interest and is waiting for me to give up and drop the claim. I filed a claim and Esure deemed the car to be repairable. The worst damage was to the rear bumper, broken rear light cluster and fog light.