Capital letters

And why would Henderson & Rockwell insist that you make a decision "quickly, and without telling anybody, as secrecy is important". You have even been sent a "confidential memorandum of non-disclosure".

You are not the first to hear from this company. Other holders of worthless shares including those sold by boiler rooms have also been contacted. Those who fall for this become double losers. It is a form of "stock swap scam". Once you have signed your agreement, Henderson & Rockwell will ask for an upfront fee, possibly called a deposit or margin money, allegedly to defray its expenses in this deal.

It may then milk you for more if it can. There is no buyer at any price - just unregulated brokers trying to get you to hand over thousands of pounds. Slam the phone down on this.

If you pay in advance, beware of the fit up

Q Last September I bought bedroom furniture from MFI, paying the full £2,070 in November. It was due to be delivered and fitted on December 1.

A bridging unit that holds the whole thing together was missing. MFI promised delivery several times over the following weeks but the unit failed to arrive. At one time it blamed a courier company. Without this part, the rest of the furniture could fall off the wall, so I have had to keep my three young children out of the room.

No one at MFI seems to want to know. Can you help? TL, Staffordshire

One of the problems of dealing with companies such as MFI is their insistence on upfront payment, so you can neither withhold payments nor find someone else to finish the job.

Your experience was customer disservice, made worse by MFI's failure to explain what went wrong. Following Capital Letters' intervention, MFI has now delivered the part and arranged for a fitter to complete the work.

It also promises to arrange suitable compensation - although it will not be drawn on what this might mean - once your bedroom furniture is fully fitted.

A high-rise investment can really fall flat

Q I inherited a former council flat when my father died in 1996. I have tried on several occasions to sell it but no one is interested. Now one of those companies promising rapid cash sales has made an offer. What shall I do? BM, Devon

Your father paid £5,500 for the right to buy the flat in 1988 and you are still paying the interest-only mortgage. This is a 10th floor flat where no mainstream lender will lend, so it is effectively unsellable to anyone other than a landlord. The council still owns most of the flats. It has an upgrade plan which will cost owners £20,000, which you do not have. But your tenants pay £350 a month - suggesting a £40,000 price tag at a 10% yield. A cash buyer offered £10,000, which is too low. As you are in no rush to sell, hang on for more.

Sue, when you get taken by the cleaners

Q A dry cleaner has ruined my £2,000 vintage coat with a fox fur lining. I took it for a repair, warning them not to apply heat or dry clean the coat . But they ignored this. What can I do? NB, London

Fur is difficult and whatever notices denying responsibility might say, dry cleaners must exercise reasonable skill and care. If care is absent, you should be compensated. Capital Letters put these points to Sayeed Hussein, at City Dry Cleaners in London WC2, where you took your coat. He told Capital Letters that the label did not say anything about steaming but you had told them not to apply heat. In any case, a dry cleaner should have skills beyond consumer labels. City Dry Cleaners could have refused the job if it was uncertain.

Hussein terminated the call when Capital Letters suggested he could claim on his insurance. Your best option is to sue through the small claims courts. Consumer Direct will send you a template for this.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008