ASK TONY: I'm trying to trace a lost pension from the 1980s but Yorkshire-General keeps returning my letters

I have written twice to Yorkshire-General Life Assurance about an old pension, but both times, the letter has been returned with a note saying: 'Not known at this address'.

The sum is hardly a fortune — but the firm appears determined not to pay out.

E. W., Dorset.

Yorkshire Building society appears unwilling to help one reader track down an old pension from the 1980s

Your pension with a former employer dates back to 1983 and was run by Yorkshire General.

Since then, the insurance industry has gone through many mergers and much consolidation. So now, it's a question of working out who currently owns it.

In fact, Yorkshire-General Life Assurance is now under the Aviva umbrella, along with General Accident, Norwich Union, Provident Mutual, Friends Life, Hibernian, London & Edinburgh and Commercial Union.

Once we knew where the pension was, it was fairly simple to track it down. And the news is good. While not massive in pension terms, you could walk away with a lump sum of just over £2,000 after tax.

Aviva has made several attempts to contact you by phone. Around June 2012, when the pension should have started, a retirement pack was sent to your former employer. It, too, has been trying to contact you.

Aviva apologises for the problems you have had and adds: 'We are sorry we didn't reply to the letter we received in October; on this occasion, we have fallen short of the high standards we set for ourselves.'

Aviva has now arranged for the appropriate documents to be sent to you. Your pension will be paid once you have completed and returned these.

Your letter highlights the importance of keeping in touch with former pension schemes to notify them if you move home or change your phone number.

Go to policydetective.co.uk to find out who now owns your insurance company.

I have been a British Gas customer for 48 years and, for the past 30, I have paid in the first week of every month using a swipe card.

Since I had started to build up a credit, I was told my payments would decrease from £100 to £54.78 from September 5.

I paid £100 on September 4 and another £100 on October 2, thinking that this would start to build up credit again.

But then I got a letter saying my September payment hadn't been received.

Then another letter said my payments must be made on the fifth of every month, or my plan would be cancelled. This has never been a problem before.

W. M., Uxbridge.

There has been some misunderstanding here, but the good news is that your card payment has been reinstated.

British Gas says payments can be made a few days before or after the fifth of each month, so you can continue to make payments on varying dates, as you have been doing.

The firm believes that the confusion arose when it wrote to you in July, explaining your payments needed to decrease from September. You appear to have mistaken this for not having to make any payment in August.

A reminder was sent, but as no payment was received, your plan was cancelled and British Gas refunded any credit you had built up.

British Gas has now explained what happened and reset the payment plan for £100 a month.

The complaints team has been in touch with you and, in recognition of the confusion, has offered a goodwill gesture of £30.

My 81-year-old husband received a call from Vodafone in early July, offering a contract at £18 per month. He was told he was currently paying £24 per month for pay-as-you-go.

But after the swap, he had problems with his phone.

On August 4, he took it to a Vodafone shop and was told it would be working by August 7.

However, it still did not work and, on September 1, he went back to the shop.

It was established that somewhere along the line, he had got caught up in a scam involving a weekly charge of £4.50.

His niece contacted Vodafone and asked it to terminate the contract, so he could return to pay-as-you-go. She was assured this had happened.

But on October 5, he got an email to say his account had been suspended because he had an overdue balance of £36.

On October 30, he received a letter from a debt collector, asking for £59.

E. W., by email.

Vodafone has been trying to get in touch with you to apologise and offer a solution, but so far, it has not found you at home.

It has, however, left a number for you to call back.

I have also tried to make contact without success.

Vodafone wants to credit your husband's account with the outstanding balance, to wipe out the supposed debt.

It is also offering to waive any fees for terminating the contract, which runs until the end of July.

This will allow your husband to return to pay-as-you-go if he feels that is the best option.