Kicking the tyres on lifetime guarantees
A reader writes: "A few months back, we returned a Teflon-coated frypan with peeling coating to Farmers. It is a brand that is unique to Farmers, and it had a 'lifetime guarantee'. We had purchased it about two and a half years ago and although we no longer had the receipt, we could show a purchase date of an item of a similar value from Farmers on our Eftpos statement. I spoke to the manager and queried the concept of needing to keep a receipt of an item that had a 'lifetime guarantee' ... Surely, it was a simple situation of replacing it, no questions asked, especially as it was unique to Farmers. Farmers' receipts are the thermal type, which often fade over time. So, even if I kept the receipt, it would fade and be useless ... I was told that I should take a photo of the receipt and store the image in cloud storage for future reference. Do other people do this?"
Flint by name, flinty by nature
The Prodigy's iconic front man Keith Flint, 49, was found dead at his home in Essex this week. Fans paid tribute on Twitter, and one recalled this story: "Keith Flint kept a swear box above the fire in the pub he used to own. Whenever he put the logs and kindling in and someone piped up with the obvious joke, he'd point to it and charge them a quid."
