Consumer Advice for November 2010
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Life made easy
online
Make the use of the growing number of online calculators
and convertors to help save you time and money. They take the
hassle out of so many elements of your daily life and they're
all free to use. These are our favourites:
- Find out how many miles per gallon your car is really
doing - Go to www.torquecars.com/tools and click on 'MPG
Calculator', then put in how many litres you put in the car
when you last filled up, how much you paid per litre and how many
miles it's done on that amount. You'll get back how many
miles per gallon it works out to be and how much per mile it's
costing you. Then try the recommendations to bring fuel use down -
the site remembers your previous results so you can compare to see
if you've saved money.
- See how much new mortgage repayments will be
using a repayment calculator. On www.moneysupermarket.com, one calculator tells you the
maximum you're likely to be offered and the other how much
you'll have to pay back each month on a repayment or
interest-only mortgage, depending on the total borrowed, the
repayment term and the interest rate.
You can do the same thing with credit cards on the comprehensive
calculator at www.moneybasics.co.uk. It gives you all sorts of
options, including a section where you own up if you make late
payments - or are likely to miss any. Add the balance and any extra
purchases you're likely to make. It works out how much you will
end up paying back and how long it will take you.
- Check what broadband speed you're really
getting to see if you're getting what you pay for.
Sometimes it's just not possible to receive advertised speeds
due to your location. Take the speed test at www.top10.com/broadband and see what others in your
area are able to receive; if it's better than yours, you might
want to consider changing provider - you can do this via the site,
too.
- See how far from the nearest TV transmitter you
are and you'll know what sort of aerial to buy for
your new TV. Go to www.oneforall.com/aerials and click on your
area to find out. If you're within three miles, you'll need
an indoor non-amplified aerial; up to nine miles away, an amplied
indoor aerial up to 40dB; up to 15 miles, amplified indoor up to
46dB and up to 30 miles, you'll need an outdoor aerial. And
don't forget, if it's Freeview you're after, most
indoor aerials - even those designed for Freeview reception - are a
bit hit and miss.
- Work out how much wallpaper you'll need to decorate a
room at www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk. Select the wallpaper you
like - the site boasts the UK's largest collection - then put
in wall, window and door measurements to find out how many rolls
you'll need. It allows for the repeat in its calculations so
takes all the hard maths out of your DIY.
If it's paint you're after, www.tescodirect.com has a calculator to help. Click on
DIY & Car and then Paint, Flooring & Tiling and Paint
Calculator.
- Set yourself a financial goal on www.money.co.uk. Sign
up and you can browse the goals available such as saving for a
special occasion like Christmas, reducing childcare costs or
sticking to a budget. Once you've selected your goal, work
through the steps to sort out a personal plan for yourself. This is
more work with pen and paper than an online calculator but the
steps are so thorough that it's worth looking at. Besides, the
site is very busy with members who offer support and advice, worth
having a look at.
- Find out which mobile phone provider offers the
bestcoverage where you are by clicking on the different
links at www.mobilephonecoverage.co.uk. All the main providers
are included so you don't have to trawl through the different
sites to compare them. It's also worth asking friends and
neighbours which network they're with and what the coverage is
like.
Q&As
Which sat nav?
Q: I'd like
to buy a sat nav but am not sure what to look for. Do you have any
pointers or recommendations?
A: The best sat navs are easy to set up and
give you clear, accurate instructions in plenty of time. The signal
should be steady and consistent to make sure it - and you - can
complete the journey and it should be able to reroute quickly if
you decide to take the short cut you know, for instance. Consider
screen size - 3.5 inches is the smallest and then there's 4.3
and 4.5 (and even a few 5 inch ones). A bigger screen size makes it
easier to see at a glance where you are on the map but a smaller
one is easier to pop in a pocket or bag when you're not in the
car. Most are now touch screen so there's no fiddling around
with additional buttons.
But there are so many other features to consider. How
about...
- Lane guidance - informs you which lane to take
as you approach a junction - useful on busy roundabouts.
- Which map? - you'll have UK and Republic of
Ireland ready installed but also want Europe. Some offer the
feature to have routes updated through your mobile or PC. Updates
are often free for an introductory period and then there's
likely to be a subscription charge - although by then you might
want to upgrade the whole thing. Some models come with maps of
Europe too but you'll have to pay more. Maps for
- Points of interest - when you're on
unfamilar territory this feature locates petrol stations, cash
points and restaurants for instance.
- Postcode search - much quicker than entering the
full address.
- 2D or 3D mapping - view your route in a
traditional, flat-map 2D way or get the more familiar, 3D view.
- Bluetooth - allows you to connect your phone to
the sat nav so you can go hands free and where relevant it can
update your sat nav maps via your mobile, though updates and
downloads can also be made from a PC and there's usually a
subscription though it may be free for an introductory period.
- Speed camera locations - if this
information's important to you, it might be worth getting a
speed camera function that can be updated, though there may be a
fee for this.
- Voice-recognition technology - just tell your
sat nav where you want to go and it works out the route.
- Want a different voice? - Let celebrities guide
you on your way - Ozzy Osbourne is currently the most popular at
www.nav-voices.co.uk, around £4.99 each.
SO WHICH ONE TO BUY: The Garmin Nuvi is a name that crops
up as a best buy in Which magazine's review and it scores well
in reviews on the Internet generally. Pay from £66.66
(www.ebuyer.com) for the cheapest model up to around
£250.
TomTom offers another popular range of sat navs that consistently
do well in reviews. Its Start model has a lot of features for
£119.99 from Argos or go for even more with the GO 740 model,
for £179.99 at www.play.com.
Transferring money on the cheap
Q: I urgently
want to pay my brother who lives in Ireland some money. What's
the easiest and cheapest way to do this? My bank wants to charge
£20 and says it can take up to two days.
A: The banks usually also offer a cheaper service for £9 or £10 but it will take four to five days and it sounds as though time is of the essence. Besides, the receiving bank will usually take a fee, too. Try transferring online instead. If you and the person you're transferring to have a PayPal account (which is free to set up), it's really easy to transfer money this way; you just need their email address. Log on and specify how much you want to send and in which currency - they operate in 18 with competitive exchange rates. You pay a 20p fee and the recipient has 3.9% commission taken from their money. For small amounts this is quite insignificant - £1.37 on £30 and £4.10 on £100 - but goes up to £34 on a £1000 transfer. The money goes into the recipient's PayPal account. They can leave it in there and spend online or move it to their own bank account.
If you want to transfer larger amounts - say £150 or more - try a currency transfer site like www.tranzfers.com. Sign up and add beneficiaries' details to your account. Pop in how much you want to send and in which currency - rates are up to date - and funds leaving the UK are available the next day for a flat fee of £7 per transaction.
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