Your problems

Your problems

Twisted by the complexities of Euro cover

During A six-day Royal British Legion pilgrimage to Bavaria, I twisted my knee. The nurse called a German doctor, who prescribed painkillers and gave me a bill for €134.73 (about £94). I tried to claim for this treatment through the European Health Insurance Card, formerly the E111, but the Pension Service, which administers these claims, said that in view of the delay, it assumed a refund was not going to be made.

RR, Rochester

The Pension Service acts as agent for claims and the German authorities decide whether to pay. You were denied a refund because you were treated privately. Germany has several hundred large and small health insurances, only some of which are publicly owned. Another time, look for the sign 'Kassenärzte', which indicates doctors who work for public health insurers; or 'Alle Kassen', which means they co-operate with the publicly owned insurers. You should still be able to claim on your travel insurance policy.

Harley Street clinic failed to deliver

Our son has a broken nose from a childhood accident. He was teased at school, so we decided on a cosmetic correction with the Harley Medical Group (HMG). We paid a £900 deposit for rhinoplasty. The first appointment, in May, was cancelled after we arrived in London and the second was inconclusive because HMG had not asked for the.....continued below

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records of his previous NHS operations. Our son has now started at university, so has missed the opportunity for an operation at present. But HMG has not replied to our phone message, email or letter, so we still don't know if the operation is possible or if we can get our deposit back.

IN, Marlborough

My inquiry to HMG prompted someone to make contact and claim that it had emailed you in July to fix an appointment. You did not receive that email. Eventually, HMG put an offer in writing to perform the operation or refund your money. You chose a refund and, six weeks later, received a cheque for £900.

Granny's bequest was just too adventurous

In 1999, my mother-in-law left £1,000 to each of our three children for when they reached 18. An Allied Dunbar representative suggested that we buy single-life investment plans with the Allied Dunbar Life Managed Fund. With our eldest daughter approaching 18, we asked for a valuation. Her £1,000 is now worth only £977.

JT, Horsham

Money invested to comply with the terms of a will should be treated carefully, unless the will stipulates otherwise. This money went into Allied Dunbar's Adventurous Managed Growth Fund, an odd choice. The company justifies this because your file notes show that you wanted an adventurous investment. The documentation included the warning that the value of your investment could fall, but the adviser did not point out that you could end up with less than £1,000, which is what the trustees must now hand over. Nor do I understand why your children needed life insurance. Zurich, which now owns Allied Dunbar, stands by the advice, so I suggest you take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (call 0845 080 1800). There is some good news, though. Your daughter's investment has risen to £1,037, a 6.25 per cent increase since the June 2006 valuation.