Questions of Cash: B&Q needed two attempts to get our kitchen right. Then there was a problem with the wiring

An Independent reader has repeatedly contacted B&Q about the fault, with no success

A nasty surprise was in store for a reader who bought a kitchen from B&Q (Getty Images)

Q. We bought a kitchen from B&Q five years ago. When it was delivered, it was of poor finish and not what we ordered. We requested remedial work to bring it up to standard.

We repeatedly contacted B&Q and were always promised return calls, which never came until I contacted Questions of Cash – when suddenly a very helpful man from its head office contacted me, the work was rectified and some compensation paid.

We then had some wiring done and the electrician said our house was not properly earthed – which should have been picked up when the kitchen was done and a certificate of electrical safety issued. We sought a second opinion from another electrician, who agreed and warned that our home insurance policy may be invalidated. We had emergency work carried out.

Both electricians said the certificate of electrical safety contained errors, with the signature inconsistent with the name of the person printed as signing it.

We have again repeatedly contacted B&Q, without it returning our calls. AS, Shropshire

A. A B&Q spokeswoman responded: "Following a home visit with the original qualified electrician and the customer, it was agreed that the B&Q Homefit work carried out in 2011 was highly unlikely to be a contributing factor. The fault appears to have occurred due to the existing earth rod corroding since the Homefit electrical work took place. However, this could not be confirmed without lifting the floor.

"But as a goodwill gesture, B&Q has agreed to reimburse the cost of installing a new earth rod, which has been gratefully accepted by the customer."

You do not totally accept this version of events but have agreed a solution with B&Q, including the reimbursement of £260 for electrical work you paid for.

Left up in the air by BA over duty refunds

Q. I book a lot of family trips with BA well ahead of the flight date. On 1 May 2015, children under 12 – of whom I have two – were made exempt from air passenger duty. I was alerted to this in your newspaper. For bookings made before then but for travel after that date, when tax was paid at the time of booking, BA should have refunded me. Its website at the time included a notice that the card used to pay would be refunded within a month of travel.

But for five separate bookings in May and August 2015 this has not happened in my case. The complication is they were all flights paid for with Avios air miles. I have been stonewalled by BA for several months. GB, London

A. BA has promised us that it is making the refund "as soon as possible".

Where do we stand on the new stamp duty?

Q. As well as our main home, we have a seaside flat that we use for short breaks for ourselves, family and friends. Does the Chancellor's announcement in the Autumn Statement of a 3 per cent surcharge on second homes mean that if we sell our main home after April, we will have to pay 3 per cent extra stamp duty on our new home if we still have our holiday flat?

Or will there be provision for nominating a home as the main residence, as is currently the case for other tax purposes? SE, by email

A. Gill Smith, tax partner at the accountancy firm Moore Stephens, said: "The basic rule is that the 3 per cent surcharge applies if the purchaser owns more than one residential property at the end of the day of the transaction. Under current plans [which are still subject to consultation], the surcharge will not apply if the new property is replacing a property that was your main residence at some time within the 18 months prior to the purchase, and which was sold within that period.

"If the new property is replacing an existing residence that is not sold until later, the surcharge will be chargeable initially, but will be refunded if that sale takes place within 18 months after the purchase."

Why did it take so long to transfer my isa?

Q. I recently requested the transfer of my stocks and shares Isa to Virgin Money from Nationwide. To my surprise, Virgin required the transfer to be made by cheque. This was issued on 12 October, but the funds were not credited to my Virgin account until 28 October. Surely the transfer should have happened on consecutive days? YR, London

A. Virgin Money said it sent the transfer request to Nationwide on 6 October and sent a reminder on 19 October as it had not received the funds. It received the cheque on 28 October, crediting your account on the same day. The cheque was dated 12 October.

"Stocks and shares Isa transfers should take no longer than 30 days to complete and, in this instance, the transfer completed in 26 days," said a Virgin Money spokesman.

Nationwide said the request for transfer was received on 8 October, for a transfer of your funds on 12 October, the maturity date of your fixed-term Isa. It explained that the cheque was issued on 12 October and posted the same day first-class, but the funds were not credited to your Virgin Money Isa until 28 October.

The assumption has to be that the cheque was delayed in the post. As the transfer was conducted within the necessary timeframe, there is nothing more to be done.