Capital letters

· This is really Catch 22. You looked for better work abroad but then you are told you cannot claim on your return as you were a temporary worker in Australia. And then when you want to ditch the useless policy, HSBC would not let you as you did not have a job.

HSBC denies pressuring you to buy the PPI which cost 24% of your loan - or a total £2,548 in repayments over the five years. But why anyone would want to lock into a five-year contract, paid for upfront and attracting interest, when their circumstances could easily change is not at all clear. In your case, the maximum payment for any unemployment period was £2,124 - less than the cover's total cost.

After a Capital Letters intervention, the bank says it misunderstood your recent loan application, not realising that you wished to substitute a new loan for the old rather than borrow more.

HSBC initially rejected our appeal to cancel the PPI and repay your premiums. Then, following further negotiations, it has agreed to cancel your PPI for the remaining loan period, using the money saved to pay off a £400 overdraft and a £1,406 credit card bill.

You now have a PPI-free £6,500 loan with reduced repayments over five years. And you have just landed a new job.

Why won't NU pay my claim?

Last May, I was involved in a motor accident which left my car seriously damaged. The car was taken away for repair and I was lent a courtesy car.

The incident was not my fault. I contacted the other driver and my insurer Norwich Union, to claim the £100 policy excess which I had to pay the repairer and out of pocket expenses - a total £159.92.

In the summer, NU told me via a lawyer, that my claim was accepted in full. Since then, I have heard nothing even though I have written twice, copying both letters to NU's headquarters.

As a retired person who has been insured by Norwich Union or predecessor companies since 1952, surely I deserve better?

DH, Devon

· You do. You sent your letters to a Dundee address and to NU's Surrey Street, Norwich head office. Somehow or another, they all ended up going astray with the excuse that NU "is a big company." You might have thought big companies have systems.

It also seems that your letters may have been lost because you did not send them to a named person. But you did not have a name. A further complication was that the other driver has the same insurance company.

But following a Capital Letters intervention, your six months or so late cheque was sent out within hours. NU also sent you £15 compensation for your inconvenience. Following a further discussion with Capital Letters, NU will now send you £250 - £90 compensation.

Can you call off the SLC?

My brother, who has been seriously mentally ill since 1993, is being chased for a loan by SLC, the Student Loans Company. I act for him with power of attorney due to his problems.

I discovered he owed £4,500 to various organisations including SLC. His depressive state means he does not even open letters.

He cannot pay this back as he is incapable of earning, even doing low-paid work. I wrote to his creditors. All, except SLC agreed to wipe out the debts. But SLC took him to court, an action not defended because he does not open letters, and obtained judgment for £570.

It has now put in debt collectors who are chasing me. Can you help?

JR, Bristol

· Because your brother took out his loan in 1993, he is covered by old repayment rules which were similar to other forms of borrowing - students had to pay irrespective of circumstances.

Since September 1998, repayments have been contingent on earnings. On this basis, your non-earning brother would have been exempt.

SLC has been chasing you because it was possible that you held trust or other funds on behalf of your brother. You need to satisfy SLC that there are no such funds. And, if you can, backing that up with a doctor's certificate, it promises to stop hassling you.

Can you call off the SLC?

I took out a £4,000 student loan in 2002 to finance a postgraduate teaching certtificate course.

Even though I had then lived in the UK for 12 years, I asked what would happen if I needed to return to my home town in Crete. I was told the rules would still apply in Greece. In January 2004, I went back home as my mother had died and my father was critically ill.

In March 2004, I applied for a repayment deferment on earnings grounds. But this seems to have been ignored. I am now having letters forwarded to me from my old home in London to Crete demanding repayments which I cannot make. Please sort this for me.

CK, Crete

· Student Loans (SLC) accepts this is an unusual situation which it could have handled better on an individual basis, rather than leaving it to a largely automated system.

SLC accepts that its systems and Greek family structure and culture are not necessarily compatible. Capital Letters pointed out that its talk of your "signing on" at the Heraklion job centre was not appropriate. SLC also knows that costs will be high and the chances of success low if it tries to take you on in a Greek court.

It is now willing to defer your payments until (or if) you return to the UK and start earning again, provided you get a Greek official such as your town mayor's office to send a letter on headed notepaper, explaining your present status. This can be in Greek or English.

Have I won £25,000?

I received a mailing from The Winners Club which seemed to promise a guaranteed £25,000 pay-out. I realise this cannot be so. But could you tell me more about this organisation?

MH, London

· This mailing has been sent to hundreds of thousands over the past few weeks, appearing to offer big prizes in return for a £8.99 premium rate call which gives you a personal claim verification number. The form says you have 10 days to claim.

You can get a claim number by post without paying for the phone call but as this takes 28 days it is hard to see how it fits with the 10 day limit.

This is all about perception. The bold assertion of a "£25,000 cheque ready for despatch" may be true. But it probably won't be sent to you. Instead, it corresponds to one number that has been sent out. Most entrants win a book of discount vouchers. There are also 2,000 prizes of £10 - just £1 more than the cost of the phone call.

Last month, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld two complaints against the Winners Club over a previous mailing. This "implied recipients were luckier than they were and was misleading."

· We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Write to: Capital Letters, Jobs & Money, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER or email capital.letters@guardian.co.uk. Do not send original documents but do enclose a daytime phone number. Information is general and offered without any legal responsibility. Always take professional advice if in doubt.

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