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I wonder if you can help me with a question about utilities. In the past it was all straightforward with only one option to provide each service locally - now British Gas are offering electricity, electricity is offering gas and companies in other areas seem to be able to provide you with what you need. So how on earth are we meant to choose who gives us what? And how can we be sure that we are getting the best deal? (please don't tell me we need to check this on a regular basis - I may cry!)

I'm on a fixed pension so I make sure I know exactly what goes where and when. But with Christmas and several family birthdays all within weeks of one another I find budgeting for this time of year difficult. Can you give me any tips about how to spread the load when there isn't much spare at any time of the year?

There has been a lot of talk about abolishing cheques. I gather this has now been postponed to 2018 but that some MPs are still annoyed about it because they think it is unfair on the oldest old people (like my mum) who simply can't or won't get their heads around direct debits and internet banking and so on. Wouldn't it be better just to let cheques die a natural death - which presumably they will, eventually?

I am thinking of investing in a new pension - I probably have about 10 years to go before retirement and could save during that time. But I am worried by all the bad publicity surrounding annuities and wonder if actually I would be better off with some other form of saving.

There seems to have been a muddle with my gar provider and their billing - the upshot being that they apparently 'undercharged' me for the first year I lived in my new home...then upped my direct debit to a ludicrous amount per month to make up what I 'owe'. I hadn't budgeted at all for this increase and although I obviously expect to pay for what I use had the whole amount been spread over the time I have lived here I would have been much better able to pay than to suddenly have it increased so dramatically. What, if anything, can I do?

(clearly that should have read 'gas' provider...)

Price comparison sites - are they worth using? I never know whether it's better to go directly to the provider or look on the comparison sites. Do you have any tips for making sure you get the best deal?
Insurance is the one that always seems to be confusing...

I like to pay bills when they arrive - that way I feel that I keep on top of my outgoings very precisely. But more and more find I am being pressurised to pay everything by direct debit. I don't want to do this for two reasons. The first is as above (ie I like feeling that i control what goes out and when) and the second is that I have heard they can just change the amount at any time depending on what the bills are and I worry that it makes it almost impossible to keep track. Can you reassure me at all?

I hate paying for something over the telephone and being asked to give the three digit security number from the back of my credit card to the individual on the other end. I know that this is needed when you are paying over the internet but somehow seeing the https or the little padlock makes me feel that it is a safer process. Am I putting my card security more at risk by giving the details to an actual person than entering them online?

I'm thinking of switching banks because my local branch has closed and I prefer to have somewhere I can actually go to. I have never done this before. Is it a fairly simple process?

What is the best way to send cash for Christmas presents? (not in cash in an envelope, presumably)!

A couple of years ago when I was in New York I was the victim of credit card fraud. Why is it that Americans don't yet have chip and pin? - you think of them as being so much more technologically advanced than us.

I always felt this was because my credit card was taken away for an impression (not done in front of me) in the hotel - though it was also taken in a shop.

I have noticed that in some posh shops in the UK, they do the same thing - take your credit card away into a little room and then return with a bill (in a fancy leather folder!) Why do they still do this and should I be worried about it?

We hear a lot about identity fraud. What are the best ways to guard against this? I shop on the web and I have internet banking, but I must admit that I do both with a suspicion that I am laying myself open to fraud.

- And a second question: if you are the victim of identity fraud, who is liable? Will someone restore any money that is stolen?

There's been a bit of publicity recently about utilities companies charging a premium to people who pay by cheque. Is there going to be any redress over this?

And is there going to be any pressure on the utility companies to make their charging structures more transparent, generally speaking? I simply have no idea how to work out whether I'm on the best tariff. Every time I try to look into it I get a headache!

I have several 1 year fixed rate bonds with different providers in my name, as i retire next month, can I, as the bonds mature take out the money, put it in our joint bank account, and re-invest in fixed bonds in my wifes name as she does'nt pay tax. I pay tax at the standard rate of 20% on my private .pension