Your car colour could raise your insurance

1. This is what your car colour choice is telling your insurer about you

Did you know that the colour of your car impacts your insurance premium?
And not because lighter cars are more visible on the road than darker ones.
White and silver are considered conservative colour choices, while black and red, in particular, are regarded as  “more racy”.
“So someone who chooses to drive a black or red car is deemed by insurance actuaries to be more aggressive drivers, and therefore more likely to have an accident. And that’s reflected in their premium.

2. Before you try to fix your less-than-perfect new purchase, consider this...

If something you’ve bought breaks in some way within six months, don’t attempt to repair it yourself.
If you do, you will invalidate your Consumer Protection Act (CPA) right to your choice of refund, repair or replacement.
Section 56 of the CPA warns that you give up that right if you alter goods contrary to the instructions”.
Same goes for changing the plug which comes with an appliance.

3. You’re paying a cellphone insurance premium every month. But is your phone covered?

When you upgrade your phone, if you already have cellphone insurance with your cellphone provider, update your policy with your new phone’s details at the same time. 
For a claim on those insurance policies to be valid, the listed SIM must be in the device at the time of the event.
Also: check the replacement value of your insured phone. The best way to do this is to ask what phone would be replaced with should it be lost or stolen. You could well be over or under insured.

4. You need a UK visa even if you won’t leave the airport

I hear from so many people whose holidays were spoilt because they didn’t know that you need a UK transit visa when flying to a European destination via London.
Even if you don’t plan to exit Heathrow airport.
Rosalie and her family arrived at OR Tambo for their flight to Portugal via London recently but were denied boarding by British Airways staff because they didn’t have UK transit visas. 
So they paid for new flights on Lufthansa with a Frankfurt stopover.
A very expensive lack of information!

5. Fabric softeners: a waste of money?

Yes, according to both Australia’s consumer watchdog CHOICE and the USA’s Consumer Reports, who spend a lot of time and money testing these kind of things.
They can irritate sensitive skin, and aren’t great for your washing machine either, contributing to a gunky build-up known as 'scrud', which can be redeposited onto your clothes.
They also reduce the water absorbency of towels and fitness gear as a side effect of the softness – so the softer your towels come out, the less useful they'll be for actually drying you. 
The only real plus, according to Consumer Reports: “They are really good at making your clothes smell like your Granny’s house.

Listen to more Consumer Hacks below:

Contact Wendy Knowler:

Get in touch with Wendy via her website or her Facebook page. Please note that Wendy is not able to personally respond to every email she receives. If she is able to take up your case, she will contact you directly. Here are other avenues for you to consider.