Funerals needn’t cost the earth

Funerals are a lucrative business and it’s easy to be drawn into spending lots of cash. My Dad recently passed away, so I’ve learnt first-hand about the difficult decisions you have to make at a distressing time.

It’s a subject not often talked about, exacerbated by the fact that despite the huge financial outlay, it’s an unregulated industry. Here are some pointers I hope will help anyone in a similar situation.

• You DON’T have to spend lots to have a meaningful funeral. My Dad wasn’t a religious man so we had a simple, civil service. No one will notice what coffin you’ve picked or how you arrived. We made the service personal by picking his favourite music, readings and reliving stories. Lots of friends and family told us it was particularly special and memorable.

• Start by getting three quotes.It’s a daunting job arranging a funeral and hard to know where to start if you’ve not done it before. Grab a Yellow Pages or look online to find local funeral directors. Pick three and get quotes over the phone. We chose one recommended by a friend, the Co-op, for its ethical credentials and another.Fact-finding over the phone gives you a bit of space to make decisions before taking the plunge. We didn’t pick the very cheapest in the end, but went with the one we were most comfortable with.

• Find out the cost for a basic funeral. Most funeral directors offer fancy packages. But in reality, there’s little difference between them and the basic options, and it might include things you don’t want. Ask them to quote for the basic cost and find out the price of extras separately so you can make an informed decision. Industry codes mean funeral directors must tell you about these. Check if the price quoted includes disbursements – these are fixed fees for doctors, the crematorium, etc.

• It’s OK to think about price. You might feel churlish even considering the costs of a funeral. But there’s really no point in over-stretching yourself when in fact, you could pay far less for an identical funeral.

• Take your time. Once you’ve picked your funeral director, make sure you get a written quotation of what’s included. And if you’re asked to sign a contract, don’t feel pressurised into signing straight away.

• Consider buying a casket online for less. We decided we wanted an eco-friendly coffin as that fitted my Dad’s beliefs. However, that added an extra £900 on top of the basic package – just for changing the coffin type. It was only after leaving the funeral directors we thought about it.  So after a bit of research online, we rang back and asked if we could pay the basic cost and provide our own coffin.

  We ordered an eco-friendly wicker coffin from Natural Endings, which was very efficient. Most online companies ask for at least 48 hours to deliver the coffin (to your funeral directors or wherever you ask).  We had less time, but it was still delivered promptly. This saved around £400.

• Don’t be afraid to go it alone. If you have the strength and time, you can organise the funeral yourself without a funeral director. For example, instead of booking a hearse, a friend of the family had her husband’s coffin transported in the van him and his friend had spent many road trips in! Some crematoriums may not deal with you directly, though – only via a funeral director. Directgov has more info on arranging a funeral yourself.

• Ask for help.  Friends and family will be keen to help you in any way possible.  Dealing with practical matters allows them to feel helpful and alleviates some stress for you. We had a friend drive us to the service, eliminating the need for a pricey limo (which, for us, didn’t feel right) and delegated jobs like organising the catering.

• You have consumer rights. Just as you do with any other purchase. Surprisingly, this is an unregulated industry, but there are two trade bodies that funeral directors can belong to and it’s worth checking yours is a member of one before paying for anything. See the NAFD or SAIF websites to check.

  Being a member of these groups means they’ll adhere to industry codes such as displaying prices publicly and giving written quotes in advance. If you’re unhappy with the service you’ve had, complain to the trade bodies or the OFT.

Please add your thoughts and experiences in the MSE forum. It may help someone in a time of need.

Will David Cameron grant Ofgem the powers it needs?

Ofgem, the energy regulator, has recently stepped it up a gear. 

A few of the big six firms have been hit with hefty fines and raps over the knuckles. 

Npower was fined £2 million last October for handling complaints poorly, while British Gas has also been fined £2.5 million for the same thing.

According to Tory assistant whip Chloe Smith, Ofgem has collected around £34 million over the past 10 years, although not all of this loot has been in consumer fines.

Yet this cash goes straight to the Treasury’s treasure chest, the ‘consolidated fund’ — basically the Government’s main bank account. Not a penny goes straight back into consumer pockets, even though they’re ones who have been wronged.

Ofgem recently changed tack by negotiating a settlement with EDF over a mis-selling case. Instead of a fine, Ofgem hammered out a deal in which EDF paid back £3.5 million to consumers (see the EDF to pay £4.5 million story).

However, this form of redress is limited. Luckily, EDF co-operated this time, but that might not always happen.

Ofgem’s asked the Government for the powers to make it happen. It needs and wants the power to impose a settlement and force compensation for consumers. But something it hasn’t asked for is to dictate where this money comes from. 

Along with these extra powers, Ofgem should be able to stipulate it comes from suppliers’ profits. Otherwise, consumers may find themselves paying higher prices, a hideous prospect in an already pricey market.

So come on Dave et al, make it happen. It’s a no-brainer in my book.  

What do you think? You can reply in the comments below or in the MSE forum.

Is voucher mania good for Britain?

Money-off vouchers and their users have taken a kicking over recent days, but I feel that’s unfair.

After all, the vouchers boom over recent years has allowed many families on lower incomes to go out for meals and buy nice clothes they may otherwise have been unable to afford.

Unsurprisingly, many consumers use sites such as MoneySavingExpert.com to hunt for the best deals. After all, who would pay full price if they can get the same item for 50% off?

There are companies that give dodgy deals and there are consumers who share vouchers they are not supposed to. I’m not defending that, I’m defending genuine vouchers.

If you’re a voucher user, you may wonder why I’m stating what you consider to be the obvious.

Vouchers under attack

The reason is that a blog on the This is Money website last week suggested some users are "zealots" and derided the phenomenon as bad for Britain (read the This is Money blog for yourself).

Let’s be clear. This is not a dig at This is Money, which is an excellent website. It’s simply a chance to put the other side of a divisive debate across.

The key points in that blog were that the discounts vouchers offer are largely funded by higher costs for those who pay full price. Also that certain deals, especially some provided by daily deals sites, are unattainable.

It is true that some can’t always access daily deals discounts. These are problems we’ve also raised and they need addressing. But that doesn’t mean the whole vouchers phenomenon is a sham.

I’m not so sure on the other point about firms putting standard price up to pay for vouchers as I haven’t done the research. But I’m not sure anyone has, to be honest, so the jury appears to be out.

Has ‘king of vouchers’ Pizza Express really put normal prices up above food inflation, for instance? If you know, please let us know in the comments section below.

I have previously wondered whether pizza sizes there have shrunk, though that might just be my bulging appetite.

Why vouchers are good

My view is that, on balance, vouchers are a positive force because they enable those on lower incomes to do more on a tight budget. It is not a perfect industry, but what is?

I won’t pretend to be an expert on the economics of why companies offer deals other than the obvious reason to get more people through their doors.

But if deals are on offer and they genuinely help people live a little more of a luxurious life, we shouldn’t knock that. After all, when limited to buying necessities, life becomes boring.

Given most users are honest and are simply doing what virtually everyone else does at some point — trying to get a good deal — it would be unfair to call them "zealots".

When I defended the voucher culture on Twitter last week, virtually everyone who replied agreed with me.

I should point out that given who I work for, more people who share a similar view are likely to have read my tweet.

There are very different views in the comments posted on the This is Money blog.

It would be interesting to see who you agree with. You can reply in the comments below or in the MSE forum.

Legally Blonde for a steal (legally)

To say I love musicals is a gross understatement. There’s something about the cheesy dance routines, sequins and feathers that makes me want to break into song (I won’t).

But this passion of mine can get very expensive, very quickly, considering some musicals charge £60+ for good seats. So I’ve learned to never pay full price for a show if I can help it.

Here are a few things I do to grab bargain tickets. This doesn’t necessarily mean getting the absolute cheapest seats every time, but rather getting the best seats for the least amount possible.

Choosing the right seats/performance

There’s always one thing I check before buying tickets, and that’s where I’ll be sitting on Theatremonkey.com. It’s a nifty site that tells you how good the visibility is from your seat.

Sometimes getting the cheapest ticket isn’t worth it if you’re not going to enjoy the show. After all, I don’t want to be placed behind a pillar and miss the Mamma Mia grand finale.

Another handy piece of advice: be flexible. Going to a matinee (afternoon) performance during the week will be cheaper than going on a Friday or Saturday evening.

Buying in advance tips

If I’m booking far enough in advance, there are some good deals possible online. Sites such as Lastminute.com often have theatre sales with discounts of 50% off, sometimes more.

However, I always do a quick comparison on Compare Theatre Tickets first to make sure I’m getting the best deal.

Bear in mind there may be booking and transaction fees, so most of the time it’s cheaper to buy all tickets in one transaction to keep the fees at a minimum.

I also find picking the tickets up at the box office on the day is the best option. It’s free, plus they won’t get lost in the post.

What about buying last minute?

Theatres tend to sell tickets at a fraction of the price on the day of the performance. I went to see Legally Blonde in January and got top price tickets for a Saturday evening for £25 (usually £66.50).

Had I got up earlier and gone first thing (not likely on a weekend), I would’ve been able to snap some up for a tenner.

I don’t have much experience with ticket booths, though the concept is pretty similar. They phone the theatre on your behalf and ask what they can offer, but I find it easier to cut the middle man and go to the theatre directly.

Again, be flexible. Choose a few shows you want to see, in case your first choice is sold out. I live in London, so that’s easy for me, but if you need to plan your trip in advance, this might not be the best option.

Upgrading during the interval

Now this is a bit of a gamble, but I’ve had a 100% success rate. If a show has been running a few months, then chances of it selling out diminish, meaning there will be a few empty seats during a performance, especially midweek.

If I haven’t managed to (shock horror!) find a bargain on a good seat, I just get a bottom price one. Once the show starts, I have a look around to see if there are any better seats available.

It’s better to wait until the interval to try for an upgrade in case people are late and the seats aren’t actually free.

Plus there’s no point missing any of the good songs. During the break, I simply go up to one of the ushers and politely ask if I can grab a better, unoccupied seat.

A smile goes a long way as well. Because they won’t be selling any more tickets for that show, they usually agree.

If you’ve got any more tips, feel free to share them in the MSE forum.

I'm so sad... I look at eBay logos all day

My name’s Becca and I’m an addict, an eBay addict.

Like many of my MoneySaving comrades at MSE Towers, I’m partial to a bit of eBay action.

Actually, that’s probably a bit of an understatement.

I’ll rephrase: I am a self-confessed addict.

Though I’ve been a member of the online auction site since about 2005, it was only recently that I got bitten by the eBay selling bug. But boy, have I been bitten bad.

Yes, the great spring clearout is underway at Casa de Becca, and with the amount of stuff I’ve been selling, pretty soon I may have to move to a smaller flat, or face living like Old Mother Hubbard.

This is how bad it’s got…

I have spent whole evenings photographing and writing up item lots, patiently waiting for eBay to announce a free listing day.

I weigh all my items carefully, to ensure I charge the correct postage (there’s nothing more disheartening than undercharging someone postage and then having to dip into your profits to pay for your own mistake.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way, and then invested in a pair of scales).

Once the items are on the site, I draw up Excel spreadsheets to monitor the number of watchers, bids and my total sales.

I get excited when I see an item has a new watcher, and even more excited when someone actually bids.

The buzz I get from an ending eBay auction is indescribable.

So bad is my eBay illness that I’ve even been known to shove off home early when out with friends, just so I can sit in front of the laptop and watch as my items end and the PayPal emails start to flood in.

I know this has got to stop. Summer is nearly here, and I should be spending my evenings and weekends out in the fresh air, not hunched over my laptop, watching eBay bids like a hawk.

I need help.

Please use the comments below or the MSE forum discussion to help cure my eBaddiction.

My MoneySaving mobile dilemma

I’ve had a pay-as-you-go mobile for some time now. But with so many new all-singing, all-dancing phones available, it’s easy to be tempted into buying a new contract phone.

So I have a bit of a dilemma – stick with what I’ve got or take the plunge into high phone-bill territory?

I’m lucky enough to get mobile hand-me-downs from my husband, who gets a new contract phone each year. So I’ve rarely bought myself a new one or paid for a contract.

This is why:

• I can easily email people by computer, and I rarely use my phone for outgoing calls.
• When I call, they only last a few minutes as I’m working or feeding the kids.
• I save longer calls for my landline, which I have to use a certain number of times a quarter for the £30 BT line installation offer.
• I keep texts to a minimum as I can easily email instead.
• I’m not the type of phone user who texts or rings someone if I’m seeing them in a couple of hours – unless it’s “we’re out of milk, can you bring some home”.

Until recently, my mobile bills have only been around £2 to £5 a month.

But now my eldest has started school and as her social life is busier than mine, I find I need to text a lot more often.

So in the last few months I’ve started a mental list of pros and cons for getting a new phone. Should I fork out much more per month for a snazzy new phone with all the bells and whistles?

Pros of spending on new phone

• Wouldn’t have to ring my other half to ask him to do a price comparison when I’m in the supermarket (he invariably doesn’t use MSE’s Megashopbot – grrr).
• I don’t have to stop myself texting someone if I just felt like it.

Cons

• Contracts are fixed monthly sums, while pay-as-you-go may be a lot less.
  I may not use my landline enough so may get charged extra under my current deal (that ends in May, though).
• I want to pay off my mortgage in 13 years.

So what’s the decision?

MoneySaving has won out over convenience. For the time being, I’m sticking with my trusted pay-as-you-go.

You can leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below or on the MSE forum.

As I’m still responsible for updating several guides on the site, such as the new and improved FAQ section of the PPI Reclaiming guide, this has taken some of my focus this month. My range of campaigning work has also consisted of:

Working alongside Which? on Payment Protection Insurance reclaiming

The Payment Protection Insurance projects with Which? have been developing nicely in the background. Martin and I met Which?’s executive director Richard Lloyd along with Lucy from its campaigns team to plan more of the strategy during one of our quarterly meetings.

Feeding into the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s Banking Experience booklet

Due to be officially launched in April, this good practice guide for the banking industry has tips and case studies to help financial companies assist their blind and partially sighted customers access their bank. Martin also contributed the foreword to the booklet, and MSE is working with RNIB’s Accessible Online Service Project to improve the accessibility of our own site.

Briefing colleagues on changes to the benefits system

Next month will see some of the biggest benefit cuts in the UK for years, affecting many of our site’s users. As well as watching the progress of the Welfare Reform Bill, I have summarised the main changes to my colleagues so everyone in the editorial team who may need to write about the changes is up to date.

Meeting with our forum team and the development and editorial teams at Citizens Advice to discuss it having space on our forum to give advice

Citizens Advice is looking at ways of developing the online support that it is able to give to individuals in England and Wales. As we’re one of the UK’s biggest social networks, discussions are under way with Citizens Advice about piloting a CAB-branded section within our forum for trained CAB advisers to respond to questions from the public.

Liaising with the Consumer Action Group about changes to the Lloyds Banking Group pet insurance

At the start of February, Lloyds Banking Group stopped renewing its pet insurance policies, leaving customers owning a pet with a pre-existing medical condition unable to get new insurance elsewhere. We have been sharing evidence with the Consumer Action Group on how Lloyds sold the policy as "life-long" cover, to help affected consumers complain.

Sharing ideas on the Cabinet Office’s public services Open Data project with various organisations

The Cabinet Office is working to increase access to public sector data via its Open Data project, which it hopes will improve transparency and consumer choice in public services. I attended a meeting along with other consumer groups and organisations to discuss the issues surrounding using public sector data for these purposes.

Highlighting the result of the Department for Business’s student loans early repayment consultation

After submitting a response to the consultation last year, we were very happy to receive the conclusion on whether students going to university from September this year should be allowed to repay their loans early without penalty. The outcome was, as we had suggested, that penalties would not be introduced. I issued a press release explaining our view, and spoke on local radio about the result.

Campaign-style meetings from other members of the editorial team

News editor MSE Guy attended a pensions and retirement saving partnership forum to help the Government formulate the way it communicates its new pensions regime, which starts later this year.

Web editor MSE Dan spoke to the risk department at the Financial Services Authority about what information providers of payment protection products (such as PPI) should provide to consumers to help them decide what to buy.

Campaign of the Week

This month’s campaigns have covered bailiffs, Fairtrade shopping, cash machines and young people and money. If you’re a charity, community group or organisation with a top campaign coming up, don’t forget to send us a Campaign of the Week suggestion.

• National Debtline’s ‘#bailiffblag’ campaign: Hundreds of tactics used by bailiffs were tweeted and shared with the debt advice helpline, such as “they say it’s the address, not the individual that has to pay”. Not true!

• Texting tips for teens via the Respect Yourself guidance site: Hundreds of top financial facts were posted by MoneySavers for non-profit site Respect Yourself to text on to teens.

• Citizens Advice survey on access to cash: The quick survey looking at how we access our cash will help shape recommendations for CAB’s research project later this year.

• Taking a step for Fairtrade: Fairtrade isn’t always MoneySaving. But during this fortnight, we were asked to take one step to help promote fair terms for developing world workers.

And finally…

Bank accounts remain one of those products that consumers fail to switch. Even though there are some really good products out there, competition is limited as too many consumers stay with bad accounts. The Move Your Money campaign aims to improve the banking system through strengthening one aspect of the market, the ethical banking sector.

While it’s not a topic we’d usually cover on MSE, I’d like to welcome this campaign as a way to improve the social responsibility of all organisations in the UK through consumers’ buying power.

Comment and discuss: A month in the life of MSE Campaigns – February

My super mutant ninja parsnips

Many of the MSE Team have their own areas of special interest when it comes to MoneySaving. MSE Jenny’s our resident eBay guru (see Saviour from eBay zombiedom) and MSE Penny’s the fashion queen (From the catwalk to Primark).

A bunch of us (if you’ll pardon the pun) have enthusiastically embraced ‘grow your own’ as part of our MoneySaving arsenal.

Now the growing season’s starting again, some are more likely to be discussing plant food tablets in Poundland (they have water gel crystals too, usually £5ish in garden centres and DIY stores) than the latest iPad tablet.

MSE Becca’s growing parsley, chives, tomatoes, courgettes and mixed salad in pots using every available space, and strawberry plants grown from runners donated by MSE Wendy last year.

No, Wendy didn’t donate an Olympic athlete, they’re the shoots that grow from your plants. Pop the nobbly bit in the soil to grow roots and, hey presto, you have a new one completely free.

And it was MSE Wendy who inspired me to try to grow garlic for the first time last year after seeing her fantastic home-grown, home-made garlic plait.

After last year’s bumper crop of super mutant ninja parsnips, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, rhubarb, garlic, onions, Swiss chard and a pumpkin, I took advantage of recent nice weather to get some of this year’s veggies growing. Tomatoes, radishes, spring onions and potatoes have been optimistically sown and planted, although they’ll have to be protected from the cold.

You may be thinking you don’t have room… but as that world-renowned celebrity gardener, Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, recently said (I’m paraphrasing), not using land you own to grow your own is a waste. Just look at his mushrooms.

I’ll be squeezing edible plants into every nook and cranny I can find. Last year’s best tomatoes came from plants we found growing in our front garden and just left there to carry on merrily growing.

They grew bigger and produced more fruit than the ones I carefully tended to in my back garden, so I’m tempted to chuck a couple of seeds on there this year and see what happens.

So, given this is a MoneySaving site, I should discuss how much it saves, at least in some part.

What’s a good value for money crop? The obvious answer is something you’d normally buy a lot of, but which is expensive in the supermarkets. Tomatoes are a no-brainer, especially the speciality types. But carrots and onions tend to take up a lot of room for something that’s relatively cheap to buy if you don’t have much growing space.

For time and MoneySaving I like anything that you just plant once and it grows every year – perennials like rhubarb or asparagus. Although I still haven’t practiced what I preach and planted my asparagus yet.

Of course, we have a fantastic Green-Fingered Forum board here on MSE where gardeners swap tips and ideas on what’s cheaper to grow than buy in the supermarket.

How much can you save? If you’re completely new to it, the initial outlay for compost, equipment, canes, trellis, etc can be large. How much you spend depends on how big a growing area you have. For example, on containers, bags or a veggie patch.

Here, sites such as Freecycle and Freegle are your friends (see the Freecycle guide).

Again, at the risk of sounding like a Poundland advert, it really is a gardener’s paradise in my book. You should find shelves full of vegetable seed multi-packs and onion and garlic sets. (They grow bigger if you plant them in the autumn but it’s still not too late, my new veggie patch produced some mammoth onions last year that I only started off in February.)

Poundstretcher is another good source of gardening bargains. I’ve found trellis less than half the price of DIY stores and garden centres.

Plus don’t forget the cheaper supermarkets. Aldi has a very good range of vegetable seeds starting at 49p, when you’d be looking at around £3 elsewhere. Lidl regularly has ‘gardening events’.

If you’re still unsure how worthwhile it is for you, as well as our Gardening board above, I’d hugely recommend reading Real Men Sow for inspiration.

So once you’ve grown them, what then? Quiches are a great way of using what you have. All sorts of veggies can go in or with them and are pretty straightforward to make. Especially if you cheat and use shop-bought pastry.

I’m a huge fan of the slow cooker, though, which more often than not turns out restaurant-quality food. Spend just 20-30 minutes preparing your ingredients in the morning before the school run, whack it in the slow cooker, leave it 8-12 hours and hey presto – supper’s done. But I digress.

It’s not something widely known by non-slow cooker users, but they’re perfect for making chutneys. So guess where last year’s tomatoes went?

I could waffle on about slow cookers, but that’s for another time…

You can leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below or on the MSE forum.

Kindle vs Kobo: Which is best?

As MoneySavingExpert.com’s resident tech writer, I often get asked: “Which is better, the Kindle or the Kobo?” My honest answer is: it depends what you’re looking for.

Many people (including MSE’s head honcho – who is firmly on Team Kindle, see his comment below) favour the ubiquitous Kindle, and it has been one of the UK’s most-wanted Christmas gifts for a couple of years.

But with the arrival of the slightly cheaper Kobo last year, a battle for the title of best e-reader began, sparking much debate on our Cheap e-readers forum discussion.

So, if you’re considering swapping paperbacks for something a bit more hi-tech, here’s my take on the UK’s two biggest e-readers.

Price

Cost is obviously going to be a big factor for many when choosing an e-reader.

Amazon’s newest Kindle (the wi-fi model, without keyboard) is £89, though it is often possible to pick one up for slightly less with a discount code from Tesco.

In contrast, the standard cost for the Kobo wi-fi is around £70, with the cheapest we’ve found at Asda (£59) if you bag it at the right time. For a round up of all the deals available, read the Cheap e-Book Readers guide.

My choice: Kobo

Books

The Kindle has space for around 1,400 books, and the Kobo 1,000. But this should be more than enough for even the fastest of readers.

If it’s not, the Kobo has an SD card slot, which can expand your library up to 32GB, or 10,000 books. The Kindle doesn’t have an SD card slot, but I’m not going to mark it down for this (who really needs more than 100 books, let alone 1,400?). And you can also store files on your PC to free up room on your reader.

Free e-books are available from a whole load of websites, including Amazon and the Kobo site, so there’s no need to spend money buying something to read. The Kobo even comes pre-loaded with 100 classic novels, such as The Hound Of The Baskervilles and Anne Of Green Gables.

If you do want to buy the latest Kinsella or Grisham bestseller, bear in mind Amazon’s Kindle store is competitively priced, offering a lot of the newest releases a lot cheaper than other online sites, so I’d suggest you compare e-book prices before downloading anything.

If you have a Kindle, unless you buy your books from Amazon’s Kindle store (as AZW files), you may have to spend time converting e-books to a readable format, as Amazon restricts the use of ePub files.

It allows for MOBI and PDF files though, so if you want to get books that aren’t available on the Amazon site (or are cheaper elsewhere), you’ll have to download a file convertor program. I’m a big fan of Calibre, which is really easy to use and transfers books to the Kindle in seconds, once converted to a MOBI file.

The majority of free e-books on the web are in the ePub format, which can be put directly on to the Kobo, but will have to be converted if using a Kindle.

Similarly, if your local library offers free e-books, you may experience problems if you have a Kindle, as they tend to be in ePub format, and copyright laws prevent you from converting them.

For me, the openness of Kobo’s file format gives it the edge over the Kindle in this category.

My choice: Kobo

Size

If you plan to use your e-reader while travelling, size is important.

And, if you’re used to reading paperback books, you may find an e-reader takes a bit of getting used to. Both the Kindle and Kobo have a 6-inch screen, which is a lot smaller than the size of a standard book.

At 170g, the Kindle is the lighter of the two though, weighing a lot less than the average paperback. And the Kobo is not that much heavier, at 221g.

The Kindle is also a fraction smaller, so will take up less suitcase space — meaning more room for flip flops/bikinis/inflatable crocodiles etc.

But neither e-reader is waterproof, so don’t attempt to read in the pool (or bath), unless you’ve got one of these.

My choice: Kindle

Look & feel

The e-reader is a big favourite with daily commuters (myself included), so being able to hold it in one hand while frantically gripping an overhead bar/briefcase/scalding cup of coffee is a must.

In my ‘holdability’ test, the Kobo came up trumps with its soft rubber finish. The raised pattern on the back makes it really comfy to hold, perhaps more so than an actual book, though it’s been a while since I’ve held a paperback.

As both devices feature a 6-inch e-ink screen, and both let you choose your font and size, there are no differences here.

Buttons were next up on my test list, which for me is where the Kindle lost serious brownie points. I am not a fan of the page turn buttons on the Kindle. There were way too many of them for a start.

I often lost my place in the book I was reading and found myself pressing the wrong buttons all the time. Annoying.

The onscreen keyboard on the Kindle was also slow, and a pain to type with.

The Kobo was a lot simpler, with the five-way controller doing page turns and navigating the menus.

When it comes to turning the page, Amazon claims the latest Kindle has 10% faster turns than its predecessor, the Kindle Keyboard, but to the naked eye — well, mine — page turns were still pretty slow.

The Kobo was even slower to load pages than the Kindle though, which I found broke my reading pace. I also didn’t like the way the Kobo screen flashed black and white with a sort of ‘ghost’ text when turning the page. Creepy.

My choice: Draw, but the Kobo wins for the daily commuter.

My verdict

With an RRP of £69.99, the Kobo is not only cheaper than the Kindle but I think better for books, with thousands of titles available to borrow for free at a growing number of libraries.

It’s not the Kindle, though, and that’s what most people seem to want.

If buying an e-reader for yourself, the Kobo wins hands down in my opinion. Save yourself the extra £20 and buy a nice case for it.

But if you’re buying an e-reader as a present, it may be worth spending that extra £20 and getting them what they really want. After all, you don’t want to be known as the person who gives the cheap Kindle substitute.

Do you agree with me? You can leave your feeback in the comments section below or in the MSE Forum.

The offending cards

I’ve been getting nasty stares as I enter my local train station over recent weeks, like I’m some kind of pariah, for the heinous crime of my Oyster card not opening the gates quickly enough in the London rush hour.

Now, I know every minute counts in the morning as we make that last minute dash to the train but, seriously, guys!

Anyway, despite that needless aside, the issue is I’m lazy and don’t take my card out of my wallet. Instead, I touch the wallet itself against the reader.

However, that didn’t initially explain why I was having problems all of a sudden, as it had always worked that way in the past.

I showed my Oyster card at the ticket booth and got the all-clear. So what could it be?

The lightbulb moment

Then I realised.

A few months ago Barclaycard sent me a contactless card to replace my old Egg Money credit card (as Barclaycard took over the Egg card business last year).

I didn’t initially keep it in my wallet as I use a different cashback card for spending on, but realised I ought to keep it as a back-up.

You can use the Barclaycard by tapping it against a reader at certain shops to pay for goods, so it obviously uses similar technology to Oyster, so was probably confusing the gate machines.

So, I moved the Barclaycard to a different part of my wallet and have remembered to touch my wallet on the same side as my Oyster over recent days.

Thankfully, I can now get through the gates immediately.

So the moral of the story is simple. Keep your contactless credit cards away from your travel payment card, to avoid others looking at you like you have the IQ of an amoeba.

Has this happened to you? You can leave your feedback in the MSE forum or in the comments section below.