Lots of us save money by buying medicines, including herbal products and food supplements, from the internet but of course there are no rules on the net, so we need to know how to make sure we are not being scammed. This is especially important since we left the EU as we lost the protection of the European Medicines Agency when we did so. The Royal College of Pharmacy has recently published a short guide to help you at www.rcpharm.org, search for ‘buying medicines safely’.
Bursaries for apprenticeships
The government has launched a bursary scheme for families on benefits to encourage family members to take up apprenticeships and other opportunities without the family losing income. For further details and eligibility criteria see www.gov.uk, search for ‘Government invests in young people’.
Hate crime awareness week 10th-17th October
What are hate crimes? Anyone can be the victim of a hate crime – after all, any one of us can be attacked or made to feel unsafe based our perceived disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or possible transgender identity. Hate Crimes Awareness Week is coming up but we should always be aware of how people around us treat others and, if necessary, report them. No one wants to live in a country where, for example, A&E staff are attacked because of their appearance, but by reporting this sort of behaviour you can help stop it.
There is an online form available at www.police.uk/ro/report/hate-crime or you can call 112 or if it’s serious 999. British Transport Police can be texted at 61016. You can also report incidents via Citizens Advice, and we can help you with this. If you’re not sure if something is a hate crime check on our website, www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
Solar panels
Plug-in solar panels are now available to buy. They don’t supply as much electricity as a full installation but they are much cheaper and are portable, so of benefit to renters. They connect via a standard electrical socket but beware of panels sold without a UK three pin plug – they may not be safe. The panel should come with a ‘declaration of compliance with UK standards’ and be sold with all the information necessary for safe installation and usage. You will need to inform whoever you pay for electricity but again the panel should have instructions on how to do this. And if you rent always get your landlord’s permission before you buy.
Remember the Golden Scam Rules:
- Never give anyone your bank details in response to a text or email
- If it seems too good to be true then it isn’t true!
Don’t sit there and worry, give us a call and we will do our best to make things better.
- Surrey Adviceline: 0808 812 7087 (Freefone)
- National Adviceline :0800 144 8848 (Freefone)
- Citizens Advice consumer service: 0808 223 1133
- Online: www.catd.org.uk or www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Citizens Advice is an independent charity, free to the user, confidential, impartial and independent. We don’t judge, we just want to help.
