Q I arranged for my daughter to be a second cardholder on my Visacredit card while in Brazil. While inquiring about a flight home, atravel agent asked for an imprint of her card to establish her creditworthiness. The agent charged GBP 557 to my account and Halifax saysthat, as my daughter gave the card details, she authorised this.
AC, North Berwick
A There are three possibilities. First, without intending to doso, your daughter made a reservation. If so, the travel agent isentitled to the GBP 557. Second, this is a wrongful charge by theagent. Can he show that your daughter signed a booking form? Can hename the airline and what does it say about this?
But the third possibility is the most likely. Under a systemcalled "pre-authorisation", which is used by many hotels and car hirefirms, particularly in the US, retailers guess how much a customerwill spend and charge their credit card, often without thecardholder's knowledge.
The idea is that the customer can't then run up a big bill thatwon't be covered. Perhaps your daughter's travel agent wanted to findout whether her card would cover the GBP 557 but "forgot" to cancelthe charge when she didn't confirm the booking. Put this to theHalifax, but if you get nowhere and your daughter is sure there wasno misunderstanding, then complain to the Financial Ombudsman, SouthQuay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR.
Q I held 3.50 per cent War Loan from 1953 to 1969. I encashed itwhen I reached 18. On a financial programme recently, a man with thesame stock said that he gets interest twice a year. I did not receiveany interest, so are all holdings not the same?
Mrs JA, Kirkcaldy
A All holdings of 3.50 per cent War Loan pay interest, withoutexception. Whoever was looking after the stock for you when you werea child would have received two payments each year. I imagine thestock was registered to your parents or another relative. Perhapsthey paid the money into a savings account for you without yourknowledge?
Q I am a pensioner. How much money I can have in the bank before Istart paying income tax on it?
JW, Glasgow
A There is no tax to pay on your savings, just on the interest themoney earns. And whether or not you need to pay tax depends on age,total income and tax allowances.
For example, if you are between 65 and 74, single, and your totalincome does not exceed GBP 17,900, then the first GBP 6,100 of yourannual income is free of tax. If you are older, or married, or yourtotal income is above GBP 17,900, then the tax-free limit will bedifferent. Any local income tax office can give you a free pamphletlisting the various tax thresholds.
Q I took out a National Savings bond for my daughter when she wasa baby. It is to be redeemed shortly, so where do you recommend forreinvestment? My daughter will probably go to college two years fromnow.
MM, Newbridge
A With only a short timetable, you should not take risks byinvesting in anything linked to the stock market and as interestrates look likely to rise soon, do not tie yourself to a fixed rateaccount, which will get left behind. An instant access Tracker Onlineaccount from Northern Rock (www. northernrock.co.uk) pays 4.5 percent on GBP 1 upwards. Or leaving the internet aside, consider a 60-days' notice account from Scottish Widows Bank (0845 845 0829),yielding 4.1 per cent on GBP 100 to GBP 9,999.
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