When you are alone, housebound and on a tight budget, it’s not just your mobile phone that’s precious but your number and the contract you have with your provider.

Reliable and fair are what matter most to customers in more vulnerable situations and if they are confident that they have that then the upheaval of change – although inevitable sometimes – is what they can do without. 

++ If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on maisha.frost@express.co.uk ++;

That was exactly the case for pensioner Edward Dunn who had been more than happy with his Rocket deal supplied by Tesco Mobile. Told in early October it was ending he was also reassured that he didn’t have to do anything and the transfer to an Essentials one would be seamless.

Even better a few days later was a text saying everything had been completed and as a goodwill gesture Tesco would cover his first monthly payment so the next one would be November. 

“But then another text warned me that my Rocket deal was running out and I should check that my balance had enough funds,” Edward told Crusader. “I knew I was in credit so thought it was a mistake and ignored it. This wasn’t wise as there was yet another text saying Rocket had run out and I would now be charged the standard call rate. The automated system didn’t seem to be working for me so I called customer services.” 

At first that worked with Edward getting another statement asking him to check the next day as everything should be correct.  “But it wasn’t, just another warning about the standard rate,” says Edward.

He persevered and so did Tesco. “But my next balance showed it was reduced despite my not having used the phone and that kept happening,” Edward added. “I just don’t know where I am going wrong. Now everything seems locked, I’m not even sure I still have the number.”

The moment we learned of Edward’s struggles, we alerted Tesco and there was a positive response with his account sorted within hours. [name has been changed]

Is your mini heater a wrong ‘un? New warnings for buyers 

Mini heaters – so tempting in chilly times as a way to warm your home or slash energy bills, but if you see or are sent an ad for one beware. 

Watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is warning these small plug-ins can be highly misleading by exaggerating performance or making false savings claims. 

“They often target people who are worried about heating costs during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis,” says the ASA.

“Our monitoring shows the problem is widespread. We found ads from 285 different advertisers, but just 10 were behind around 60% of the misleading content and two alone accounted for a quarter of all problematic ads. People should be on high alert.” www.asa.org.uk