On Your Behalf

Linda McAuley champions the cause of consumers in Northern Ireland, helping them to solve their problems, make the right choices and avoid the pitfalls - contact the show with your consumer and benefits queries:

Write to: OYB

BBC

Ormeau Avenue

BELFAST

BT2 8HQ

We're talking about the move from landlines to Digital Voice BT's new digital phone service.

Linda visits the BT roadshow to find out what happens if there's a power cut or if you have a personal safety or burglar alarm.

We're talking about the cost of childcare and about the challenges for childcare providers with Aoife Hamilton from Employers for Childcare and Becca Harper from Melted Parents.

Also the experiences of blind and partially sighted people who are also living with cancer and the additional barriers they face.

And if there's a young adult in your household there may be a pot of gold waiting for them from the Child Trust Fund.

The Car hire traps that can cost you thousands of pounds – if you are 59 minutes lates then they can cancel your booking. Linda talks to Guy Hobbs from Consumer group Which.

She also joins the Commissioner for Older People at a roadshow in Armagh and helps the listeners bumped of a flight by Loganair. And in the biggest change in a generation

James Stinson from OFCOM tells Linda how the move from copper wires to broadband for phonelines will work.

The Leaky Caravan that didn't do well during the wettest July on record, the listener still being charged for a bed that was never delivered and the tax refund that shrank when an online firm got involved.

Also can a shop change its mind after you have bought and paid for something?

Consumer Guru Jimmy Hughes joins Linda to sort out our listener woes.

Its back to school this week with School uniforms, mobile phones and everything in between - it all adds up to a big bill for parents.

Siobhan Harding from the Womens Support Network and Matt Cole from Advice NI join Linda to talk about the help that is available.

Also on the programme when should kids get mobile phones and are earbuds destroying young people's hearing? Audiologist Feraz Ashraf is worried.

And if you were caught up in this week's flight chaos can you get compensation. Andrew McConnell from the CAA says the answer is Yes and No!

Finally jump aboard the Tardis with one of our listeners whose Broadband Connection is taking him back to the 1990's.

Some anglers at Loughgall Country Park aren't happy with changes that mean going fishing can't be a spontaneous decision but now needs 48 hours notice to access the lakeside. If you break down on the side of the road in England will your breakdown cover get you and your vehicle home? We hear from one family whose van has been in limbo for three and a half weeks. And with GCSE results out this week, child benefit will stop for some children unless parents tell HMRC that their children are staying in education. Linda McAuley finds out more.

Linda McAuley hears about a library that can help your next DIY job. What financial pressures are parents under with uniforms and other charges in the run up to schools going back? A listener's car was recalled with an airbag safety issue, but the dealer was slow to fix it. And do you need a licence to listen to music in work?

Linda McAuley is joined by a panel from Further and Higher Education colleges, and from Housing Rights, to discuss the options facing students who are hoping to enter third level education in September. How does clearing work? What pitfalls should be avoided when signing up for accommodation? Tips for financial management? And how courses – vocational as well as academic – can be accessed in different ways, at different ages and stages, not just when you’re 18.

The changing face of The Post Office as they move from stand alone buildings on the high street to being incorporated into filling stations and local shops. A new ‘Sensory Xperience’ for autistic children and adults has opened in Armagh. Why a local football club is 3 thousand pounds out of pocket because of flight delays and E-Bikes and E-Scooters and the danger of lithium-ion battery fires and what can be done to charge them safely.

Richard Williams from the Consumer Council explains your rights whether you're travelling by ferry or flight. Sinéad Campbell from Advice N.I. has some financial advice for parents struggling through the school holidays. Mark McAllister from the Labour Relations Agency explains why the Flexible Working Act isn't being implemented in N.I. and Philippa McKeown-Brown from the Consumer Council on people with food hyper-sensitivities.