Customer

Great prices on all my favourite products and prompt service.

I took out equity release with more2life in early 2020. I then applied for an advance in 2022. It took them forever to process my application, creating immense problems for me.

I applied for another extension in September of this year. A valuation was done, and I waited for a response. The valuation was less than I'd expected, but I accepted it and waited for an offer.

Then the broker I have been dealing with told me that more2life had raised a query with the valuer about the roof construction as the valuer had down that the roof is constructed of asbestos tile rather than being cement based. He said that more2life were requesting this was amended as asbestos tile would be outside of lending criteria. He told me that he thought they had looked at the previous two valuations and seen the roof did not contain any asbestos and had gotten over it. I was obviously relieved.

Three weeks later the broker told me that more2life were having to go back to the funder to get approval as due to a change in lending criteria, they would no longer accept the tiles on my roof. I asked him what was wrong with the tiles on my roof because surely it wasn't that they were asbestos as that had been dismissed, but he couldn't tell me because more2life hadn't told him.

A week later, he told me that more2life had declined to accept the property on the product I am currently on claiming a change in lending criteria as the reason. He said they were saying the tiles are not acceptable and the flood risk level is not acceptable either. So now not only are the tiles a problem but there's also a flood risk.... that doesn't actually exist. I live 100m uphill from a small stream. If it becomes so large it damages my elevated home, it will truly be armageddon!

Today, I received a copy of the message more2life sent the broker. It said: "as the roof is suspected to contain asbestos, the property falls outside our current criteria, and we are unable to proceed with the application at this time."

So, as the first two valuations did not reveal that my roof has asbestos in it and the third one apparently does, one or two of them were wrong. Obviously, the surveys/valuations more2life asks its customers to pay for are not done with any skill or professionalism if the outcomes are so inconsistent, which implies that more2life are not professional.

more2life have said if I pay for an approved asbestos surveyor to look at my roof and write a report, they will 'consider' my application again. No guarantee they won't cook up another excuse not to approve my application. I think they should send someone competent to do another valuation or at least to look at the roof, which does not contain asbestos.

***Update: Having now communicated further with the broker, apparently, the first two valuations also said that the tiles on my roof were suspected to be asbestos, so at least the reports are consistent, though not necessarily right. What has changed is more2life's lending criteria in that they will no longer lend when the roof has asbestos in it. Why on earth did they not look at the previous two reports when I submitted the application and tell me that my roof would no longer be acceptable? Why did they send a surveyor to my home and then spend three months dithering over a decision? An email sent to the broker on 28th October, which I have now seen, was very misleading, meaning he inadvertently mislead me into thinking that the application would be accepted. Terrible communication from more2life that has lead to me wasting three previous months when I could have been attempting to obtain the money I need before I have heart surgery from another source and caused me a great deal of anxiety.***

The interest rate on my lifetime mortgage is just over 3%, which is below the BAE's base rate of 4% now and of 5.25% in 2023, presumably meaning my mortgage has been costing more2life money for most of its life. I think they are not offering me an extension on it because they hope I'll take out a new mortgage with a higher interest rate. They know I'm desperate to borrow some money to get me through surgery in the imminent future. If that's the case, it's a very unethical thing to do.

Oh, and two days ago, I sent a complaint to more2life via the email address they provide for complaints on their website, and I haven't even received an acknowledgement, so I have no idea if they've received it. If they had responded, I probably wouldn't be writing a review here!

I truly wish I'd taken out equity release with a different company in 2020 due to the stress and anxiety dealing with more2life has caused me. I would strongly advise others to avoid them because they are unprofessional and do not treat customers fairly or with respect.

I'm using the magnesium taurate and finding it really helps me sleep. I love that all the Ethical Nutrition magnesium supplements are non-buffered, so there's no cheap, poorly absorbed magnesium oxide in them. I'll be subscribing to a few more supplements from Ethical Nutrition soon as I feel I can trust the pure formulations and because of the excellent customer service. Great company run by lovely people!

As a former client of Peak Vets, which was once a great vet practice, I sadly know all too well that once Linnaeus (owned by Mars Inc.) took over Peak Vets (after one of the owners, Steve, left following a dog sadly dying alone in overnight 'care', according to a senior vet there) standards dropped and prices rose. One of my greyhounds suddenly started limping on one front leg at age nine, and I was assured it was arthritis by James. I just knew it was cancer, so I insisted on an MRI. He put in a non urgent referral. I got it upgraded to urgent, and they found an aggressive malignant tumour. She died a couple of weeks later. Another greyhound went in with a small pressure sore on his foot. They wrapped it in heavy bandages and vetwrap, which put more pressure on it and made it far worse. Then they wanted to cut the poor dog's toe off! I spent two months healing it with Manuka honey and then applying a colloidal dressing, used by the NHS, and wrapping in lightweight gauze every other day - cost a small fortune. They also had another greyhound under anaesthetic for three hours for a dental, which is far too long (I have the vet records). She died of kidney failure 6 weeks later. Linnaeus are still very aggressively pursuing me for payment for that treatment via their amoral and incompetent debt collectors. I was with Peak Vets almost from when it was set up by Steve and Greg, for around 15 years, and I must have spent £30-40K with them during that time as well as generating thousands more by sending the people who adopted dogs off me there. I wish to god I'd left sooner. I'm surprised that not only have the good vets that know all too well how Peak has changed since Linnaeus took over are not only still there but are also leaving 5 star reviews online. Shakes head. I was assured nothing would change. Hard lesson to learn.

Very fast delivery. Well packaged. Always great service and good prices.

I have insured several dogs with Petplan over the years. But since they moved their customer service centre overseas, the service has really become far worse. I just tried to insure a dog and needed to inform them of pre-existing conditions, so I called them. The person I spoke to couldn't understand what I was saying to her despite repeating myself several times in standard English. A very frustrating experience. I would hate to have to discuss a claim with them, especially if I were already upset about my dog being ill. I gave up and will insure him with another company.

Terrible service from Evri. Won't order from LF again if they continue to use Evri.

I put an order in a few days ago. Evri sent a message saying it would be here between 4 and 5 pm yesterday, so I made sure I would be in. Then I saw a message from Evri saying they'd tried to deliver at 2:40 pm but no-one was in. Well, that wasn't the scheduled time for a start, but I was in. So Evri were lying. I sent a message to LF about this, saying I wouldn't order from LF while ever they use Evri. I got back a bland, generic 'we're so sorry, your parcel should arrive tomorrow'. I've been shopping with LF for years. Time to shop elsewhere.

Over the years, I've been with a number of energy companies, switching regularly for a cheaper tariff. I moved to Octopus about 6 years ago, and I've stayed for the competitive prices, the great customer service and the user friendly website. No more struggling to understand my energy bills! I've been suffering from ill health for a while, and that's impacted badly on my income and ability to pay my bills. Whenever I've spoken to anyone at Octopus about this, they've been very supportive and understanding, and they've never put me under any pressure to pay more than I can afford. I spoke with Chris from the Sensitive Care and Affordability team last week. He listened to me as I explained what's been going on recently, especially in terms of my health, told me who I might speak more with to get advice and then offered me an amazing package of support that has really lifted a weight off my shoulders and given me back some of the hope I'd lost. I've since learned that Octopus have a hardship fund (Otto Assist) that was set up in 2021 at the start of the energy crisis to help customers struggling to pay their bills and that they're offering financial support to pensioners on a low income who can't claim pension credit so will lose their winter fuel payment. Octopus truly is a different kind of energy company; an ethical one with a social conscience. I'm so glad I switched to Octopus 6 years ago!

I ordered £237.20 of cosmetics from Feel Unique in early October 2019. I received no email confirmation of the order or receipt. On October 11th, I received an email to say that an attempt had been made to deliver the goods but as I was out, a delivery card had been left so I could reschedule the delivery. There was no card. So I emailed Feel Unique (there's no number to call on their site.... which always makes me suspicious). They said the goods had already been sent back. On December 5th, they have finally sent an email to say they are refunding my card for..... £219.60. So that's £18.60 short! I've emailed to ask why and for the whole refund. I'm suggesting that my goods were never sent out and that FU just took my money, invested it for a while, made a profit and are now sending it back minus a few quid, which they hope I won't notice. What a scam!

Update
Feel Unique are sorry I'm not happy with the service I've received. They're not sorry they gave me such poor service, but that I'm not happy with it! That's no apology! TWO WHOLE MONTHS TO GET A REFUND! I'm being sent a full one now after complaining. But during the two months I've been waiting, I've incurred interest charges on a credit card for no good reason and FU have presumably made a profit by hanging onto my money! Will you refund that money to me FU? And compensate me for the appalling service? If not, this still looks like a scam to me!

Fast shipment, everything as it should be every time I have ordered from Uttings.

I have just moved my 6 rescue dogs onto DWD grain free, and so far they are really enjoying it and it seems to suit them. The food is great value; I've seen the same formula for a higher price on other sites. I'd recommend it to others. So far the service has been good too, with the food arriving two days after I ordered it.

I sent a 60x40x40 box weighing 12KG. The Post Office fee for Parcelforce (express48) was £23+, whereas with Parcel Monkey it was £12+. If I'd have been sending 30KG, it would have been £43+ via the Post Office, but still £12+ via Parcel Monkey. And my parcel was collected, saving me taking it to the Post Office. I'll be using PM again.