BEST OF BRITISH; Here are some of the reasons the country People's Champ of 2007.

Byline: The Judge

EVERYONE in Scotland already knew it... but 2007 was the year I was voted the UK's consumer champion.

My column beat every TV and radio show plus the other papers to prove that when it comes to fighting for readers, I'm your No.1.

The honour came just as I secured my biggest ever single victory - a payout of pounds 309,000 for widow Maggie McFarlane earlier this month.

She had been to hell and back after her husband Tom died from cancer in February and his life insurers Scottish Provident refused to pay up.

It made my year when I told her a huge cheque was on its way.

I am here to fight for you 365 days of the year and will tackle everyone from back street car dealers to large multinationals.

Only a few of the thousands of cases I deal with end up on my page but any firm worth its salt thinks twice before taking me on.

This year I have confronted big players such as Norwich Union, Carphone Warehouse, Anglian and Ladbrokes, along with small-time chancers and rogue traders.

Wide-boy Alex Miller - dubbed Bodge The Builder - left a trail of devastation when his construction firm went to the wall.

I exposed him as a cowboy in March and again in June when he took more than pounds 100,000 from customers then walked off jobs halfway through.

He claimed his firm, The Extension Company (Builders) Ltd, of Blackburn, West Lothian, had gone bust but I found he had operated under at least five different names.

Livingston MP Jim Devine raised the matter with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, calling for a change in the law to stop him in his tracks.

I secured a pounds 19,000 payout from Norwich Union for holiday hut owner Frank O'Hara after his place in the countryside at Carbeth, Stirlingshire, burned down.

The insurance giant claimed he was not the legal owner as he did not have an insurable interest in the property.

But I soon changed their tune with the help of the Ombudsman and Frank, 58, of Maryhill, Glasgow, received a cheque.

Carphone Warehouse customers were caught up in a mobile phone insurance rip-off which the firm seemed powerless to stop.

They were talked into paying for policies over the phone by fraudsters and only realised they had been stung when they went to make a claim. When I raised the issue, Carphone got on the case right away.

I caused a rumpus when window firm Anglian went back on their word after quoting musician Chris News pounds 8000 then pounds 14,000 for a conservatory.

They soon agreed to do the work at the original price - then went back on the deal. I'll be watching them next year.

Bookies Ladbrokes confirmed a couple's pounds 106,000 online win five times then blamed a software glitch and refused to pay out.

I got on the case and demanded they weigh in with a hefty wedge.

It's been a busy year - but you can rest assured that in 2008 I will fight harder than ever to win justice for readers.

JANUARY

SIX readers paid for breaks with TV Holidays, who advertised on Teletext and claimed to be ATOL registered. But months later, the firm - who rented ad space from a firm run by Mohammed Ashraf - disappeared. Janice and Robert Craig, of Glasgow's Gorbals, lost pounds 1168. Janice, 56, said: "I thought I'd be safe booking with Teletext. How wrong I was."

FEBRUARY

I TURNED up the heat on the Govern central heating scheme Mary Taylor, left, called me. Mary, 61, of Glenrothes, had been ignored by Scottish Gas for four months. I got involved and she had a system within days. Last month exposed a waiting list of more than 5000 OAPs and within 10 days an extra pounds 7million was made available.

MARCH

I I'D seen off two rogue shopping I channels when Pricebusters.tv disappeared leaving 2500 people out of pocket. I got some their money back but others like David Taylor, right, lost out. The dad, 40, of Dunfermline, paid pounds 82.99 for a car stereo. I also took Alex 'Bodge The Builder' Miller to task but he haunted readers for months.

APRIL 

I WENT into battle for widow Irene Small after her husband Donny, 55, left, an ex-Para, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Insurer AXA refused to cover the cost of a holiday they had planned to the Algarve, saying war was excluded under their policy. I got on the case and a cheque for pounds 1600 was sent. Fife-born Irene, 54, now of Bordon, Hants, said: "Thank you for fighting my corner."

MAY

OLIVE and Tommy McIlroy, of Renfrew, ended up next to a building site, right, during a week in Portugal. They took Direct Holidays to court and won but as the Scots firm had been taken over by English company My Travel, the decree could not be served. I got them pounds 791, the cost of the trip plus interest and expenses.

JUNE

I WON pounds 3532 for nursing sister Mary McKay, left, after insurer St Andrew's Group refused to cover payments on a pounds 6000 loan. Mary, 54, was left fighting for life when a gastric band operation went wrong. St Andrew's claimed a pre-existing condition, obesity, was to blame but Mary, of Springburn, Glasgow, her specialist and I argued the complications were separate.

JULY

SPACE Kitchens salesman Robert McElvar, right, spent seven hours flogging Gayle McKay a pounds 12,000 kitchen - from 7.30pm until 2.30am. She was then signed up to a finance deal worth pounds 32,430. When she tried to cancel they refused. I got to work and disciplinary action was taken against several employees. Gayle, 32, of Mosspark, Glasgow, had her contract torn up.

AUGUST

SERIAL fraudster John 'Gold-finger' Palmer conned thousands of timeshare owners, including Andrew and Helen Maxwell, left. He was held by police for fraud, money laundering, drug dealing and having weapons. The Maxwells, of Dalbeattie, were offered new accommodation or an unsecured claim in his bankruptcy.

SEPTEMBER

GYM tycoon Andrew Stewart disappeared after his Revive Spa in Glasgow went bust owing thousands to clients. I found him working in a sandwich shop in the city two months later. Some readers who bought treatment vouchers claimed the cash back from their credit or debit card firm. Others were not so lucky.

OCTOBER

JOAN Henderson, left, was paying a mortgage on a patch of grass after her local council demolished her home following a fire next door. The 48-year-old, of Renfrew, was paying a pounds 147-a-month mortgage to HBOS while her insurer and the council squabbled over who was liable. I soon knocked heads together and she is now negotiating compensation.

NOVEMBER

ANNE Summers failed to deliver a pounds 300 lingerie order to housewife Lynda Figus, 41, right centre, and her eight pals. I highlighted the skimpy service and the firm's chairman Jacqueline Gold quickly apologised, couriered the items to Lynda, of Crookston, Glasgow, and sent a gift to say sorry.

THANK YOU 309,000 TIMES

DECEMBER

IT made my year to secure a pounds 309,000 insurance payout for widow Maggie McFarlane.

The amount - the biggest single win in the history of The Judge - ended nine months of heartache for Maggie, who lost her husband Tom to cancer in February.

The nurse called me in when Scottish Provident failed to cover the pounds 300,000 death benefit she was due on his life assurance policy.

Maggie, 47, of Dowanhill, Glasgow, had struggled to pay the mortgage and suffered a nervous breakdown at the prospect of losing her home.

She said: "I am so stressed I have had to stop working. I've been patient long enough."

I tackled Scottish Provident and within three days they agreed to pay, plus interest. They refused to reveal the reasons for the delay but said: "Our thoughts are with Mrs McFarlane and her family and we hope the payout will make their future more secure."

Maggie, mum to Kieran, 16, said: "I can't find the words to thank you. You're wonderful."

Additional reporting by JANE BARRIE

CAPTION(S):

Victory: Maggie and son Kieran's life insurance battle is over after I stepped in Picture: VICTORIA STEWART