Are you a Londoner who has to use the Tube? Or a tourist who has also been forced to travel on the underground network of horrible iron snakes? Nasty isn’t it? But did you know that if your harrowing snake ride is late by 15 minutes or more, you are entitled to a voucher refund of your journey cost? Well get this – you are!

Back in July, 31,356 people applied for refunds, bagging themselves a total of £84,661. But crucially, almost a million more passengers who were victims of late Tube journeys didn’t try and get their money back, either through lack of awareness or because the process was too laborious.

Helpfully, there’s a website that supposedly acts as a one-stop shop for late journey claims – mytubewaslate.com. The site lists all late Tube journeys and once you find the one you were on, click on it and they’ll do the rest for you. Then you simply sit back and wait for your compensation vouchers, that you can then use on another cramped, uncomfortable trundle through the darkness of our capital’s detestable rat-infested underground network.

It’s only been a few days since the US Library of Congress determined that jailbreaking the iPhone could be regarded as ‘fair use’ and now there’s a browser-based service that allows iPhone owners to do just that.

JailbreakMe 2.0 has been upgraded to cover the iPhone 4 and allows phones to be jailbroken just by visiting its site – previously, iPhone users who wanted to fanny about with their handsets had to download and run a programme.

This theoretically makes it the simplest way to get into Apple’s ‘walled garden’ and enhance your iPhone, but users of JailbreakMe are reporting problems with MMS and Facetime on jailbroken iPhone 4 handsets. Fixes for the glitches are almost certainly being worked on right now, so it might be worth waiting for.

Also, the ruling from last week covers the US of America, so jailbreaking your phone in the UK is still technically in breach of Apple’s terms and conditions and could void your warranty. Be careful out there kids.

[Thanks to avid HotUKDeals member robc11]

A word to the wise if your bank has switched your Maestro card for a VISA Debit card in the past couple of months; watch out for unexpected fees when buying currency. It’s a change that’s bound to affect thousands of consumers about to head away for their summer holidays.

Natwest customers recently saw their Maestro debit cards phased out and replaced with VISA Debit cards, but unless you picked through their regular mailshots of changes to terms and conditions of your account, you’ll have missed the fact that VISA Debit treats currency purchases very differently to the previous debit-style transaction:

“When you purchase currency from a travel agent or bureau de change it is treated, under the Visa Scheme, as a cash purchase. To process this transaction we pay a fee to the merchant (be that a travel agent or bureau de change), therefore we have made a decision to make a charge for this type of transaction.”

While Maestro never carried a charge for buying currency, cash purchases of currency using VISA Debit attract a 2% transaction charge, from a minimum of £2, up to a maximum of £5. Wheras a couple of months ago, you might have thought nothing of sticking your Maestro card in the chip and pin machine at the bureau de change, now you’ll be better off withdrawing the money from a cash machine before you reach it.

What about the iPhone 4 eh? All that time and effort that went into developing it and it turns out it doesn’t work so good if you erm, hold it.

It’s an utterly laughable state of affairs but fortunately, rival mobile manufacturers have sympathised with Apple and haven’t used the glitch as an excuse to make sneery fun at their expense.

Well, apart from Nokia that is. Their official blog includes a feature called ‘How do you hold your Nokia?’ and as you’d expect, it shows lots of different methods for holding your Nokia without it malfunctioning.

Oh, cheeky Nokia! (Bitterwallet ruffles Nokia’s hair playfully)

If you’ve purchased an unlocked iPhone from the Apple Store you may have had a slightly unpleasant surprise when it showed up yesterday. As with the iPad, Apple have eschewed the normal SIM card for the new micro-SIM format. So if you went to pop your current sim into the new iPhone 4 you’d have noticed it doesn’t fit into the sim tray.

If you’re on o2 or Vodafone you can request a new micro-SIM replacement but many stores are currently short on micro-SIM’s or just not helpful about replacing them.

Fortunately although the new format is physically smaller (12mm x 15mm) the chip contact points are exactly the same. All you need is a small sharp knife or scissors and five minutes later you’ll have a working micro-SIM to pop into your iPhone (or iPad).

What you need:

1. Download this template and print it onto an A4 sheet of paper
2. Tape your normal sim firmly onto the guide.
3. Line up a ruler on the line guides and cut across the sim.
4. Round off the corners (the iPhone sim tray has rounded corners).
5. Pop your newly created sim into the sim tray and put it in your iPhone!

If you later need this microsim to be a normal sim you can buy a cheap sim converter that you pops around the microsim to make it standard size.

A CEO, yesterday

This might be common knowledge to some of you, but it’s one that we like to mention here now and again. If you’re having trouble with a consumer complaint and the normal avenues have all been exhausted, you could do a lot worse than express your grievance to the CEO of the company in question via email.

Sounds complicated, but it isn’t if you use this directory of UK CEOs and their contact details. Ta-daa! Obviously, we recommend that you be courteous – a flame-attack isn’t going to help anyone. And include as much information as you possibly can – dates, order numbers, a full timeline of your issue with the company.

You never know, you might get lucky. Or if you’re complaining to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, you might get hit with the threat of a cease-and-desist order. It’s a lottery.

This thread has been bobbing about on Hot UK Deals for a couple of weeks but we’ve just noticed it; there is a dial-through number for Orange contract customers to get free international calls to any country from the UK included in your inclusive minutes.

Some other details:

• You need to have an Orange contract
• It needs to have a free inclusive minutes package
• Inclusive minutes still need to be available when making the call, and the call length comes out of those minutes
• Don’t make calls longer than the inclusive minutes available

The poster of the information, zigs71, promises there’ll be no retribution for using the number, only that the service will be discontinued at some point.

We can’t make you the same assurances and won’t vouch for the claims made, but you can read more information about the hack for yourself (and get the number in question) on Hot UK Deals. If you try it, remember to let us know how you get on.

Finally – a product that will guarantee a no-tears experience when chopping onions. It’s the Onion Bully – sounds as though it sets about the offending piece of vegetable with a pointed stick, but in fact you put it in your mouth.

It’s all about tear science you see – when you put the Onion Bully in your pie-hole, it TELLS your brain to man the fuck up and stop crying, allowing you to chop away to your heart’s content without looking as though you’ve just been watching a triple bill of Titanic, Beaches and Ghost.

Ten dollars plus shipping is a bit steep for what is essentially just a thin strip of metal though, surely? Tell us Bitterwalletketeers – what is YOUR tried and trusted method of fending off an attack of the raging sobs when you’re chopping onions? Best one wins an onion voucher.

[Geekologie]

As announced earlier in the week, Google are bringing their gmail email addresses to the UK – a copyright dispute meant that the unwieldy ‘googlemail’ had to be used on these shores instead.

But if you’ve got an Android phone, the change could send your world spinning into meltdown. Avid Bitterwallet reader Munkeycop is a mobile phone repair guru and has explained what’s going on and how you can sort it…

“All day yesterday I was unable to download any Android apps from the marketplace, it was very annoying. The phone would constantly say ‘preparing download’ and that was it, there wasn’t even an error message. It turned out the problem wasn’t with the phone but it was to do with a change that Google made to their email service this week.

All over the world googlemail.com is known as gmail.com, here in the UK it is called googlemail.com due to a copyright dispute. However, Google sorted out the legal stuff and this week offered all UK users to move over to a gmail address. They claimed the switch over would be seamless but it would seem that they’ve overlooked Android handsets.

Once I changed over to gmail.com my HTC Desire was suddenly unable to download apps from the Android Marketplace. The issue is with the ‘Talk’ application on the handset (Talk is Google’s equivalent of Windows Instant Messenger). When downloading from the marketplace, in the background, ‘Talk’ signs in on your Google email address and that is what authenticates the handset to commence the download.

In my example it was still signing in on my old googlemail.com address but this no longer existed (I was also getting an error message stating that Google Talk would not authenticate, a telltale sign of this problem). This is why I was unable to download anything.

What doesn’t help is that there is no option on the handset to change the settings for the Talk application; you are stuck with the settings you already entered when you set up the phone for the first time.

So either you A) remove your googlemail.com account from your phone then add the new gmail address. The problem here is that removing your googlemail.com account from your phone requires a full phone reset, this involves losing EVERYTHING on your phone and starting again from scratch. Not good.

or B) go into your google email account settings (via a computer, not your handset) and switch back to your old googlemail.com address. The second I did this and restarted my handset’s internet connection the applications started downloading again.

In order to refer Gmail back to googlemail.com

• On a computer, log into your gmail.
• Click Settings (top right)
• Click Accounts and Imports
• At the bottom, next to ‘Change Account Settings’, click on ‘Google
  Account Settings’.
• On the opened page it will tell you near the top whether you have a
  gmail or googlemail address.
• Go back to the previous page, next to ’send mail as’ there is a small
  ’switch to gmail?’ link, click this.
• Then, click the link that says ‘go back to googlemail’, then on the next
  page click the next button to confirm (I think it’s the big blue
  button).
• Then click on the ‘Google Account Settings’ link from the earlier step,
  this should now confirm you are back on a googlemail account.”

So in summary, anyone thinking of going Gmail who owns an Android phone should think twice. Thanks Munkeycop!

If you’ve got a hefty Sky TV bill every month, you might be able to get it reduced over the summer months, as a Sky call centre insider has tipped us off about a new, top secret deal they’re prepared to offer you if you call up and plead poverty.

Our snoop says:

Sky are planning to introduce a new saver tool for the impending loss of Sports channels when the footy season finishes.

Basically, anyone who has the whole sodding lot of its content – i.e films and all the 6 mixes can keep it for free until the football season starts again. Anyone with all the sports and no films can save £15 p/m and if you only have half a sports or ESPN they’ll try and offer you it for free.

Its supposed to be randomly generated but they know that everyone will ditch the Sports package for the World Cup. Best way to get it is to not directly ask for an offer but mention you’ve been a loyal customer, never missed a bill etc.

Sky sometimes go easy on customers who threaten to cancel their contract and go elsewhere, but it looks as though just threatening to downgrade could see you coming up trumps.

Robert Mugabe - always popular in an election for some reason.

The election then. You’re probably already bored rigid with talk of it even though it’s not happening for another three and a half weeks.

You might be one of those non-voters, giving it all that ‘Yeah, doesn’t matter who you vote for, the government still get in,’ and ‘They’re all a bunch of trough-gobbling cock-heads’ and ‘I heard a rumour about my MP – turns out he’s into snuff, sailors and Saturday Night Fever.’

That’s fair enough, but it turns out that if you’re so apathetic that you haven’t even bothered to register to vote, you’re probably affecting your chances when it comes to getting credit for yourself.

You know, borrowing money that you’ll spunk away on cars and electronic goods you don’t need, and then blaming the government when you can’t afford the repayments and your house gets repossessed.

But not being on the electoral roll can affect your credit score – being registered to vote helps to verify your identity and will work in your favour when it comes to obtaining those consumer goods that you’re only buying in order to fill a hole caused by a chronic lack of self-esteem. You complete tit.

Anyhoo – you’ve got until 20^th April to register  if you want to vote on May 6^th. Get yourself along to www.aboutmyvote.co.uk for a sniff of what it’s all about.

Easter is when the Smith family begins booking the summer holiday. It takes the best part of the day, as different combinations and permutations of dates and deals are checked against one another, and decisions are made about how far we can be arsed to travel for a deal.

You’ve probably have loads of other cheats and tips the cheaper summer holiday, so if you don’t mind sharing them, stick them in the comments.

Flights
Flights are far trickier to book than hotels, because depending where you live you’ll either enjoy a glut of budget airline options, or sod all, or a few choice budget airline options. Here’s some general hints and tips when booking flights;

- parking, fuel, overnight stays and food can screw with your plan to travel for the budget flights. Luton might only be four hours drive away, but it might stick £200 on those budget flights you’re after. Work it all out before you disregard flying locally.

- if money is an issue don’t try and book flights to fixed dates; start broad and see what prices you can get; flights to the US are nearly always cheaper midweek to midweek – you’ll save several hundred pounds by starting and ending your holiday on a Tuesday or Wednesday

- if you live outside the major airport hubs, then flying indirect from your regional airport can be far more cost-effective and faster, too. Sounds like common sense, but some people don’t realise that flying with the likes of KLM to Holland and then onto the US may be a better option than slogging it to Gatwick, or other UK airports.

- use the likes of SkyScanner to search all flight options, all at once – start with the ‘whole month’ option when setting the calendar dates to see all possible options, then narrow down your search; we’ve just found return flights from the UK to New York in August for £303. Once you have a few options, see if any of them offer Quidco cashback – the cashback is minimal on flights, so it won’t be a deal-breaker, but every quid counts.

- if you don’t give a toss where or when you go, then you should already be hitting up the new deals in the travel section of HotUKDeals or checking the travel agents, where you can still pick up a cheap package deal

Hotels
Depending on whether you want to slum it or stay classy obviously makes a world of difference to the price to your accommodation. The good news is there are plenty of bargains, meaning slumming it isn’t so necessary; right now, a cosmic encounter of sale offers and 12% cashback from Quidco means there are some very low prices available from Expedia. There are a few examples below – all of them based on seven nights from 2nd August to the 9th August:, just to prove it needn’t cost the earth travelling during the school holidays:

- 4 star family rooms (two adults and two children) in Gran Canaria from £496, plus 12% Quidco cashback means you’ll pay £436

- 4 star family rooms (two adults and two children) in Barcelona from £504, plus 12% Quidco cashback means you’ll pay £444

- 4 star apartment (two adults and two children) in Majorca from £692, plus 12% Quidco cashback means you’ll pay £609

- 4 star hotel rooms (two adults) in Manhattan from £1,037, plus 12% Quidco cashback means you pay £913

- 5 star hotel rooms (two adults) in Las Vegas (at the Trump International) from £445, plus 12% Quidco cashback means you’ll pay £392

Attractions
Never pay full price for tickets into attractions and theme parks. Ever. Everywhere runs voucher codes and seasonal discounts that mean massive discounts. A quick internet search will find dozens of discount options – keep an eye out on HotUKDeals for vouchers deals and there’s Quidco discounts available too;

- a PortAventura Plus pass for two adults and two children costs £209 with AttractionTix and6 % Quidco, or £238 at the gate

- admission to Legoland Windsor for two adults and two children costs £109 with AttractionTix and6 % Quidco, or £133 at the gate

Any more hints and tips for cheap summer holidays? Let’s have them in the comments please.

The sun - literally spunking money at us

In the week when doomsayers predicted that the cost of gas and electricity would shortly rise to a level where it would be cheaper to have liquid platinum piped into your house instead, the government have launched a solar power initiative that could save the lives of millions of penguins and make you some hard cash.

From 1^st April, the government will pay new users of solar power for the electricity they generate, even if they use all of it themselves. Obviously, you’ll need an initial outlay for the photovolatiac (PV) solar panels (between £10k-£12k) and a south-facing, obstruction-free roof.

But after that, you’ll be paid 41.3p per kilowatt hour generated, which the government reckon will earn you as much as £900 in payouts, not to mention a saving on your regular bills of about £140. Better still, the payments will be guaranteed for the next 25 years and will be linked to inflation.

Early adopters who have already installed PV panels will also be rewarded, but at a lower rate. As the clever man in The Guardian who we’ve sourced the story from says: “If the government offered to pay you £1,000 a year for the next 25 years, in return for an up-front investment of £12,500, you’d snap it up in a second.” And that, in a nutshell, subject to many, many boxes that you’ll need to tick first, is what you could be getting.

It seems the sun has got his hat on. Hip hip hip hooray! Or something.

Happy New Year, reader! It’s true, 2010 is already massively disappointing in its lack of anti-gravity boots and jetpack-assisted travel, but never fear – here’s another method for taking to the skies and saving a few quid in the process.

Avid Bitterwallet reader Emma has been in touch with tales of using Ryanair gift vouchers to avoid credit card fees – the hot topic of conversation of the Office of Fair Trading right now.

Emma says:

My friend Tom told me about his recent booking of a Ryanair flight. He saved himself a few quid by using Ryanair gift vouchers, instead of paying with his credit card at the checkout.As far as I can see, the credit card charge for booking a return flight is £10 per person, unless you are using a pre-paid Mastercard, which very few people have. However, if you buy some Ryanair gift vouchers first, then use these gift vouchers to pay for your trip, you won’t have to pay the credit card fee.

There are a few things to consider: there is a £5 admin fee to buy the vouchers, plus any unused amount in the voucher is considered void. The vouchers come in denominations of £25, so you need to work out if it will be a benefit to you or not.

For example, Tom’s flight for 2 people was totalling about £96. It would have been £116 with the credit card fees. Instead, he paid £105 for £100 worth of gift vouchers, used them on the flight, and therefore saved £11 for a few minutes work. He lost £4 in the value of the gift voucher, but still made a saving. It also depends on the cost of your flights to start with – but you should be able to work out the best option.

Two further points to add – the vouchers are worthless after six months so only buy them when you’re ready to book your flights. Also, the vouchers are dispatched by email; if, for whatever reason (and there are plenty) you don’t receive the voucher, you have to phone a premium rate number for assistance.

It’s hardly worth the effort if you’re travelling alone, but if you’re considering a family holiday for larger groups or even a city break for two of you, then spending a few quid on gift vouchers to avoid multiple credit card fees may be the way to go.

Lifehacker are running their top ten lists of 2009 and through them we unearthed this corking gem of a hack from The Washington Post, with some advice on what to do should you drop your mobile down the toilet, as several of you invariably will while pissed up at the Christmas party:

My friend told me to leave it turned off overnight in a bowl of uncooked rice.

Rice, he explained, sucks out moisture. After sleeping in a bed of rice, my BlackBerry functioned well on Sunday, except for the time function, which froze.

It was flimsy on Monday, fading in and out, but sprang back to life on Tuesday, after another night in the rice bowl.

The health benefits of rice will probably only extend a mobile’s life for so long after a swim, so it’s probably best to concentrate on the job in hand in the first place.

[Washington Post] via [Lifehacker]