life blood of the world, bags of experience, all to often cast aside as the world and his dog focus on "young people"
lived through family disputes, world wars, hard times, and still found time to laugh and get by, isnt it time the UK put its retired community first? isnt it time that crimes against the elderly were seen as dispicable by all ages of society? isnt it time retired people were given support and help they desperately need? isnt it time that our society was built on the knowledge and experience of our elderly community?
a sad snapshot of life in the year 2008... developed world? dont make me laugh!
Denz on 10.31.08 @ 01:07 AM CST [link]
Thursday, October 30th
technology - failing?
* freeview tv - sat watching the tele last night on our freeview box, flicking through the channels as you do, when BBC minor channels went off saying "bad or no signal" within 10 minutes all the bbc channels were displaying the same message. after 20 minutes all the terrestrial channels had gone down, out of 70 channels only sky news and sky sports news were receiving a signal.
on my box, i have a signal bar which fills up depending on signal being received, for each channel when i turn over, despite most channels sending a signal to my box over half full, nothing. very strange.
* mobile phones - having full signal with the mobile in the past few weeks, text and picture messages keep failing to send. its not all the time, ill send 3 texts in 10 mins, and only one will send. no reported faults with the network, and the signal reads full on my phone. there are also some problems with calls - about 1in 5 calls, i have had to hangup and redial as the other person cannot hear me at all (which would normally be a good thing!) and sometimes the other person sounds like they are under water, with the sound getting more distorted the longer the call lasts, if i hang up and redial, everything goes back to normal.
* internet connection - i used to happily float around the net using dial up, then when i got 2 meg broadband... it was like a speed explosion... this got slower and slower over the course of a year or so, until eventually it stopped working and i was offered "upto 8 meg speeds with an adsl product!" at first it was fantastic more than 3 meg, downloads were fast, web pages opened instantly, it was great... but over 6 months the speed gradually started to fall, and was always slower than the old 2 meg service that stopped working and disappeared, and well below the company's own fault level set for my line. over 3 years of engineers, changing computers, virus checking, 6 different modems and routers, they have been unable to sort the problem in any way shape or form. to the point where theres now "nothing we can do" failing service is tough luck!
Not only is speed the issue - web pages are opened and im sat looking at a white blank screen for about 15 minutes if i dont keep refreshing it. ive done virus checks and cleared cookies and refreshed all the settings etc, on 3 computers... nothing works, all on major websites, then as fast as the problem arose, it disappears for a couple of days then comes back again!
why is technology failng? am i just unlucky? or are others experiencing similar problems? are there more sinister reasons for interference with our tech services?
i received an email last night from the penaltycharges website, informing me that they have removed the website from view and have closed down. the website has been replaced with a single image of the fax that has been sent to the website owner, which it explains, they have responded to but have received no reply.
you may remember the sites owner, stephen hone. this is the man who successfully went to court with his bank and won, after the matter was settled out of court, with of course no fault admitted. the story was all over the news programs and media and he set up his website to help others. ive been a member of the site for a long while and have always found it fair and unbiased, helping everyone who joined and asked for advice and help.
another website i sometimes visit, is the consumer action groups website this website is facing a personal libel action which they could defend, but the person who filed the action are said to be funded by "a very wealthy backer" and as such the site needs donations to help with its cause. all very mysterious!
im not suggesting at all that the two cases are linked, but im watching very closely as to which "people helper" websites are not involved or not facing any legal actions against them!
this is very worrying for the man in the street, as these websites provide excellent unbiased help on financial matters for people who are often extremely worried and simply do not know their rights under UK laws. once they are empowered, ie, given the information, these people use it and often win their case.
the websites provide a free service, whats that saying... knowledge is power?
Denz on 10.28.08 @ 10:48 AM CST [link]
Monday, October 27th
mental monday...
what a disastrous day today has been, first day of holiday it may have been, fun an games it was not!
dropped the car off for its MOT at dinner, no one was available to help me by giving me a lift. walked into town and hopped on the bus tocome home. its been more than 12 years since i was last on a public bus, back then it cost 50p to get to where i live... today it costs £2 - i thought public transport was supposed to be cheap? when will public transport costs reflect the oil price reduction?
anyways.... halfway home the bus pulled to one side to let some traffic come through a gap where some inconsiderate git had parked his van, blocking one side of the road. the bus engine then cut out, and it wouldnt start again, it sounded like it had run out of petrol!
so the 5 or 6 of us stranded on the bus had to wait for the next one tocome along for us to jump on.... 10 minutes later as it turned out. whilst we were waiting the driver of the bus decided he would stretch his legs and keep the doors open, filling the bus with cold air! the next bus arrived and on we got... so the two drivers decided to have a 10 minute conversation about nothing! finally got home an hour later, freezing cold... then the phone goes.. it was the garage... car failed mot on emmissions, just a front pipe needed, price it up and ring back. 5 minutes later call came back... the part is a manifold pipe with 4 pipes on it, at a cost of £176!
okays do it then, along with an mot and labour.. be looking at the best part of £250 ffs
so im sat online adding some vouchers to [[link http://www.denzil69.com/penny-pinchers/ penny pinchers}} when i gets an email...
dear denzil, its BT here can you let me know if there has been any increase in internet speed? i ran yet another test, nope still crap! an email arrived stating they have exhausted all avenues of repair, if i dont like it tuff, i could always complain to the ombudsman if i dont like it.
feckin rippin i was!
176 hours on the phone - 24 engineers visits booked (only 18 of them turned up) - promises of work on the exchange, my local cab, equipment changes and the like, all not done - engineers visiting our house saying what needs to be done, the "ill ask for the job to be given to myself personally" one liner that never sees them return again - the passing of the repair job from a designated engineer who knows the background of the fault, to one of the other engineers who has never dealt with the fault before - never managing to hit the default speed level for a designated fault as set by BT wholesale themsleves, etc etc etc...
then to top it all.. the other half is supposed to be there to talkwithand bouncestuff off tosort things... didnt wanna know cos she was watching some csi bull on the tele.
all in all, not a very productive day.
Denz on 10.27.08 @ 09:30 PM CST [link]
Gordon Brown - cut the bullshit!
what a complete tool this man is... how the hell did we end up with him in charge of the country?
"we are in a new world of global economics!" utter twoddle!!! we have traded with other countries around the world since the invention of the wooden ship. we have traded in shares, minerals, food, fuel, etc, the list is endless, we have traded these and more for virtually ever! the global economy isnt anything new at all.
his job as prime minister (and a government) is to represent the UK, taking the good from the world of business (ie what we need) and protecting us (not sure if thats the right term for it) from the things we dont need, that could make life difficult for us. HE HAS FAILED MISERABLY!
every economy around the world is different in some way.... this illusion that all countries can run their economies within one framework is pure fantasy. just as european countries have different needs and finances and business interests, (they cant all work to the same criteria) the countries of the world cannot work to the same regulations. some countries have a rich supply of oil, some have minerals, some have nothing, each country must take what they can from the world, improve it, whilst protecting their own population (who put them in office) from the dangers.
it really is that simple!
"the global financial crisis started in america and has spread around the world, causing a global recession!" pure fabrication!!! america did not have any part to play in our recession. america do not control our labour markets, mortgage markets, our drop in manufacturing, our interest rates, our borrowing laws and regulations, etc. THE UK GOVERNMENT CONTROL ALL THESE!
Apply the simple rule of government: take whats best for the UK people from others and protect the people of the UK from the worst
the reason we have a financial crisis, is because the government followed the usa model and allowed british banks to follow gordon browns own policies, whereby they hide borrowing "off balance sheets" the regulator of the industry - the FSA - sat back and did nothing for years, as banks over extended themselves, to make more profits and in turn, created a boom in cheap credit, to which most of the UK population and business' then joined in.
now that the banks and government have been caught out, the spark that set it all off was the sub prime problem in the usa, now the ball is rolling, the government and the UK economy is stuffed! banks dont know what other banks have "off balance sheet" as regards borrowing, so they are quite rightly holding onto the cash they have. the problems for UK people arise, as the banks are desperately increasing charges, increasing interest, increasing calling in outstanding debts, increasing pressure on mortgage holders and businesses, etc.
had gordon brown been doing his job (protecting britain from the worst - not blindly following the usa banking model), he would have stopped the cheap credit boom and instructed the FSA to use its powers to reign in the banks (that hes told us it was doing since he introduced it in 1997) and stop them from hiding borrowing "off balance sheet" HE FAILED - he thought it was more important for the british people to get into trillions of pounds worth of personal debt and over inflated a housing boom, which is now killing the economy, to win UK elections for his party!
"we have invested in the banks to give them liquidity so they can start lending to each other again!" total and utter bollocks! one of the biggest lies in british political history!
last week the govenor of the bank of england - mervyn king - who knows a thing or two about banking, told the world "the banking system in the UK was on the verge of complete meltdown" in plain english, if the government hadnt given billions of pounds to the banks, the banking system of the UK would have completely collapsed - it would no longer exist! to add to the complete thickness of this man.... hes now borrowed billions from the IMF under the disguise of "liquidating the banks so they can lend again" and hes using some of it to increase public spending and bringing forward building projects, etc, hes using the money borrowed for the banks to fund other schemes as the general election approaches.
only one person is responsible for this complete fiasco... gordon brown! he makes grandure speeches stating how experienced he is, how he "wants to change the systems of finance around the world" tells us all about how the "world is facing a global recession" etc, even cracking jokes about his experiences, about a situation hes allowed to happen!
i dont care that gordon brown has managed to sort out some funding for a third world country, thats not his job, first and foremost, the government's job is to improve the life of every UK resident, protecting us from harm, both physical and financial, and creating a climate so we can live our lives free of interference in a safe and prosperous environment. 99.9% of the UK people dont want vast riches, they just want to see their families grow and thrive and enjoy themselves.
as it stands, due to the policies of this government and past policies of gordon brown, we dont have time to enjoy life, we are too busy working just to get by, the UK people are hurting, every protection put in place to help us is being seen to be completely useless, as the businesses of the UK fall and investment leaves the UK, taking our jobs with it. we are left with debts that at present represent over £8000 per voting person in the UK, saddling our children and theirs, with a huge bill just to break even again.
how the hell did we get into this sorry state...... ask gordon brown!
Denz on 10.27.08 @ 11:44 AM CST [link]
Spin - dangerous stuff!
the art of "spin" is a very dangerous thing, a marketing gimmick, its the art of being able to present something that can have a negative effect on you, in a positive light, so it does not feel as bad as it ought to. increasingly, its becoming an everyday occurance now, affecting our lives on everything from shopping to our basic rights.
im allergic to "spin" i hate it in all forms, because it damages people in ways they dont realise until days, sometimes months down the line. it takes away fundamental rights that we should all have access to, it creates a "them and us" culture, so how an individual/group of people are treated will be lesser than another individual/group of people. it allows a party/person to give the perception they are something they are not, promoting something that its not, etc, but worst of all, it allows a wrong doer or doing (in whatever form) to escape blame - this is damaging on two fronts: 1 - the person/business/organisation gets away with it and is more likely to do it again to someone else. 2 - if you dont have any blame then who takes responsibility? 3 - "the system" cannot impart blame on the people it rules over (and the resulting actions it enforces), when "the system" itself (and the people enforcing it) dont recognise it maybe at fault on any given occasion!
over recent years, the "blame game" has been abolished in every walk of life. from the school playground to the halls of power in westminster, with the use of "spin"
the notion that when something goes wrong, the system or the people who introduced the system, are exempt from blame is ludicrous. how can anything or anyone advance and improve on their current position?
we all learn from responsibility, we all develop and learn from our experiences. as a child, when i broke a window showing off with a football, i froze when all around me scarpered. dad didnt belt me for it, very strange i thought, years later i asked why? "you didnt run off or try and make excuses and blame someone else, you owned up and took responsibility for your actions!" i got grounded for 6 months and lost all pocket money so it could be paid for, but that was all. no good hiding, no shouting, none of the expected discipline. a valuable lesson for an 11 year old to learn.
it disheartens me in todays world to see poepl and "systems" standing on everyday people who are punished for nothing more than not knowing their rights. - the young family paying £35 for a bank charge because a company decided to take out a monthly payment 2 days early and they cant get it back because of a court case out of their control, yet they have always been told the best way to pay bills is via a bank account and they are protected. - those retiring now on a pension worth thousands of pounds less, after theyve paid into it all their working lives, because of policies that have filtered off money from the money they have put aside for their retirement. - elderly people that have grafted all their lives to pay for their homes, then have to sell them to pay for their own care or sell them to unscupilous landlords who pay them less than the market value and rent it back to them, sometimes evicting them within months. - the school bully who throws their weight around then gets moved to a school where they have all kinds of excuses made for their behaviour and receive special treatment, whilst the kids they have bullied and made life miserable for have to knuckle down, and carry on regardless. - each one of us that buys insurance needed because of laws, then get stung for a higher price than others because of a job title or because we are not a "new" customer. - or myself, who had a few meagre shares to pay for his funeral, stashed safely away, then saw them halve in value in the last 12 months by a regulator that didnt (or was told not to) enforce the powers it had, to stop banks borrowing off balance sheet (the FSA) resulting in personal loss to myself and when i die, my family. - every one currently under 40, who will now have to work extra years of their life (until 68) because of policies introduced by a government (taking 5 billion pounds a year from pensions) i didnt vote for or want, who didnt listen to the warnings that the regulators and trade unions gave, regarding the countrys pension pot being drained.
the list is endless, and all we hear is "spin" saying that things have been done better than perhaps it would have been had someone else been in control of the "system"
will the spin ever stop? when will we the people get a fair crack and be put first?
Denz on 10.27.08 @ 12:06 AM CST [link]
Saturday, October 25th
a lot to answer for!
"we havent made the economy by over inflating a housing bubble!" yes you have! * you allowed (via the FSA's lack of regulation enforcement) banks to borrow money and hide it off their balance sheet (an act of business the government have done themselves, hiding debt and borrowing off balance street so they can borrow more from the IMF) - which is the reason that banks will not lend to each other, as bank A doesnt know what bank B has "off balance sheet"
"we have taken control of some banks and taken shares in others and pumped in money to get the money markets going again because of a a lack of confidence" utter rubbish! * you have pumped money into the banking system (at record levels) as the banking system was on the verge of a total meltdown and collapse - not my words, the words of mervyn king, govenor of the bank of england!
"we are seeing an unprecedented global financial crisis!" Yes many countries banking systems are in desperate need of cash, but not all of them! many western countries have taken a hit of around £20billion pounds, nothing like the hundreds of billions the UK has had to pump into the system just to stop it from collapsing! This further highlights my first point, that the housing market has been over inflated by this government, as countries in europe have laws that force banking systems to invest a minimum of 75% of their business in retail and manufacturing systems rather than the unlimited bank borrowings propping up our housing markets. exactly how, in these times of "global" problems can spain afford to buy up so many UK based banks?
we are seeing a global recession" recession around the world has different criteria. what is a recession in one country, isnt the same as a recession in another country. Think about it - if the mortgage market hasnt been over inflated, then why do the government tell us the recession is linked directly to global problems and the banking system?
"the recession is due to the financial crisis and fuel and energy prices rising and food prices rising" * so the policies that the government brought in over the past 10 years have had no bearing have they not?
- food - no coincidence that we grow far less of our food in the UK now and ship it in from abroad (where they are not under our own food standards guidelines) english apples from china for example. i would say that this policy is all well and good when shipping costs are cheap, but as soon as costs rise, we are held to ransom! grow our food at home again, then we wont be subject to higher food costs will we! - energy - why introduce a policy of meter reading once every 2 years instead of the previous reading of meters every 3 months? dont the government realise that this is leaving thousands of people with big arrears bills putting them in fuel poverty? introducing policies that allow the energy companies to store just 5% of our energy needs is ludicrous! this allows france to buy our energy cheaply in summer, store it, then sell it back to us for profits in winter! increase the storage capacity of the UK, then we wont be subject to huge price rises will we! - fuel prices - what exactly has gordon brown done to lower the price of fuel for the UK people? has he reduced the taxation? has he reduced the VAT? no he has not! its fine talking tough to the media, about lowering the price of fuel for us all, ive even heard him suggesting that he was "working to bring fuel prices down!" but the only two things he could have done, was to reduce direct taxation on petrol and/or reduce the VAT he charges on that rest of the price, HE CHOSE NOT TO DO! instead he did nothing!
now that alistair campbell and peter mandelson are back working with the government, albeit unofficially in campbells case, shows that the "spin" is back, and the people of the UK are being misled!
Denz on 10.25.08 @ 12:06 PM CST [link]
Tuesday, October 21st
Energy suppliers - price comparisons
I watched a cracking programme on channel 4 tonight - despatches, all about the energy industry in the UK.
whereby "an expert" working for one of the price comparison websites, advised two families on "saving money on their energy bills!" there was a lot of decent information on it for people, but also a lot of conflicting information and some information it didnt tell you!
Outline: there are 26 million homes in the UK, that are almost all using one or two of the six energy companies, that supply electric and gas. last year the shareholder payout was equal to around £70 (quoted by a professor on the programme) for each household in the country - close to £2 Billion pounds in total!
The person from the price comparison website highlighted how each household could save money by "shopping around" and changing the way they pay their bills. The program gave the overall impression that price comparison websites are good for us all and work well at saving the customer money.
I would disagree with this, here are some things to consider before you go hunting for that latest "best deal"
Is the price comparison (PC) website you are using, really giving out the best advice for YOU? there have been reports of PC websites, showing a particular company at the bottom of their ratings, because the energy company offered discounts per month as opposed to discounts in one lump sum! (this is money article)
How much is the PC website receiving in commission for switching your supply? often well hidden, the details of how much the PC website are being paid just because you use their link to the energy company to switch.
Who owns the PC website? this can have a bearing, not so much on energy quotes - but insurances, banks accounts, credit cards, etc, its well worth doing a bit of research first (try google). Is the PC website floated on the stock exchange (paying shareholders once a year) or are the PC website owned by a company within the industry you are searching? Times article on price comparison websites
Then we have the extra costs information that the price comparison websites dont tell you about: The focus always seems to point the individual towards paying via their bank account or direct debit, with the promise of BIG savings I have never trusted banks, and in light of recent events and some bank's conduct towards their customers, im a long way from changing this view!
Things to consider before switching your energy supplier and/or payment method: How much would it cost to get out of the 12 month deal early? (penalty charges) not that important? you are wrong! if you are saving £120 over the course of a year, and after 4 months you find the latest cheaper deal, add on a £50 fee to get out of your old deal to the price you have paid, and your saving doesnt look so good does it! - double this if you sign up to get both gas and electric from one supplier!
you have your "cheap" deal - you set up a direct debit... How much does your bank charge you for an unpaid direct debit? money will be coming out of your bank account on 12 occasions over the next year - on what dates? how much per month? 12 chances to charge you how much for a non direct debit payment?
the problem with many of these price comparison websites, is that they know that once you start changing your supplier, you are on a roundabout, and will have to return again and again to change your supplier. look at it from their point of view * you sign up for a cheap deal via their website - they receive a commission * perhaps you will find a better deal during the 12 months you are locked in - they receive another commission (and you pay a penalty charge to get out of your old fixed deal) * if the price goes up by 30% over one or two price increases (not uncommon) at the end of your fixed deal youll return to try and save money again - they receive another commission * BONUS - they can sell on your details or your clicks (ie, website traffic) and make even more money.
still think price comparison websites are good value? still think they are "independant?" its your money....
Denz on 10.21.08 @ 01:55 AM CST [link]
Monday, October 20th
another weekend gone..
as you get older (and dont worry sprogs you will!) the weeks fly by, can you believe we are about 10 weeks from christmas! not only do the weeks vanish into thin air, but the days go so fast you dont even notice them.
had a headache yesterdays, watched a film, pottered a bit watch some tele, before you know it, it was gone midnight! got up this morning, did a bit of washing watched a bit of tele, had some dinner and watched a bit more tele, now its 1am... the weekend has gone!
it never used to disappear this fast.. maybe its cos when yer younger you dont have as much "to do"? when your older you have more to do but less time to do it?
regardless.... long busy week for me next week.... hope your monday goes just as fast!
Denz on 10.20.08 @ 01:02 AM CST [link]
Sunday, October 19th
congratulations!
two stories for you, neither are anything to do with me tho:
i like this story, if the findings are accurate, it would make cuba 3rd equal to usa in the world on oil production! a major shift in funding for the country, which "could" be good for all their people, i wish them well. i especially like the part about how cuba trade oil at a lower price in return for use of thousands of their doctors, an excellent way to do business and helps out both countries.
home stuff: friday was a nightmare day, two companies im chasing for money on behalf of Penny pinchers friends, waited in all day for phone calls regarding their issues, and got totally ignored! even my own calls to sort the matter ended in promises of "urgent calls" being made, turned out to be nothing but hot air! well try again on monday!
finally got to help out in the classroom at my school, only to be struck down with a migrain not 30 minutes before i was due to start, a quick check on my tablets in the car, and they were out of date, so i had a mad rush on to get home and back to stop it before i ended up in bed with it. (as it was i made the classroom a little painful - but good fun as always - time flew by but head was very sore)
at the fourth booking, and with a new "fee" refunded, finally had them come out to fix the huge chip in the screen... turned out they couldnt fix it, as it wasnt a new chip, it was a previous chip repair that had been botched, and had the surface stuff washed away revealing a big chip underneath! back to the dealers on monday to get it sorted or return the car for a full refund. ... more hassles
BT continue to state that there is no problem on my internet after constant engineers saying there is. after waiting for two weeks, for their latest testing, reveals no improvement in service and speeds slower than the fixed service i had more than two years ago.. its been reported for the 400th time by yet another advisor who hasnt got a clue what they are doing....
today..... had headache all day.. shopping day is saturdays, (fresh fruit, veg and meat for the week) did find a couple of good things on my travels tho...
if you are looking for a more traditional advent calendar (instead of the star wars or barbie themed ones) check out Marks and spencers they are doing some smart advent calendars, search for them, a bit more expensive than the cheap ones, but cool none the less.
another thing to watch for is Woolworths who are running a promotion this weekend, on 3 for 2 on most toys... which was packed out with parents looking to pick up a bargain in my local store... however, the penny pinchers out there, will have known that if they had bought the same goods via woolworth's website they could have joined us for free and used a 10% OFF voucher code... saving even more money!
happy shopping bargain hunters.....
Denz on 10.19.08 @ 12:35 AM CST [link]
Thursday, October 16th
petrol prices
i am disgusted with the way petrol prices are being promoted and the actual cost of them.
if ever there was a more apt example of why Penny pinchers was set up, then i have yet to find it!
people across the UK are being ripped off and lied to by marketing scams of companies that ought to know better than to stand all over their customers!
yesterday, the news media was fed the line about "falling fuel prices"
tescos, asda, morrisons, sainsburys (all were named) have started a "price war" (phoney stuff heard all this before) on the price of filling your car up! prices have now fallen to less than a pound, at 99.9p per litre as the price of oil has fallen to $80 per barrel.
i drove past my local tesco last night the price was £1.05 a litre my local shell garage was £1.06 - our local total garage was £1.07 when i drove past tesco again this morning, it remained £1.05 a litre
scandalous exploitation of the very customers they claim to be helping!
the price of a litre of fuel last time the oil price was at $80 a barrel was considerably LOWER than the current price being advertised and promoted as a "price war" add to this that yesterday the price of brent crude oil fell to $68 a barrel! (how long before this reduction is passed onto the customer in full?)
how much was a litre of fuel at the pumps when the price of oil last fell to $68? i dont know.. cant find the information anywhere... i wonder why?
isnt it time the law stepped in and put an end once and for all to the misleading of the public? we should have laws that permit only a set price, dependant on the price of a barrel of oil (with a time limited delay - say two days - in which the existing fuel stored can be sold.)
lets have a clear graph - which shows once and for all that if oil price is XX per barrel - then within the time limit YY should be the price of a litre of fuel. it could also include a percentage TT% which shows what TT pence of the fuel is tax.
its time the customer was empowered again with the information to make an informed decision, of course the reason why we are not given details, is purely for the government and petrol sellers to make profits, whilst marketing their price/tax as "good value"
"global financial crisis" - "highest rise in unemployment in 17 years" - "pension funds disappearing" - "shares collapsing" - "small business' in need of investment" - "record food prices" - "official inflation rises over 5%" - "billions being pumped into banks" - "house prices falling" - "debts on the increase"
we have all heard these and other terms constantly for months.
but very little has been heard of what the powers that be, are doing to help the normal people of the UK out. I know i know... we hear plenty about the importance of banking structures, giving banks breathing space, pumping in money for liquidity, etc, etc.... we are constantly told how important banks are to our everyday lives and must be protected, but who is protecting us?
* there are people out there that cannot sleep at nights for worry of debts threatening their homes * people that dread the sound of the postbox going everyday, as it will be another reminder or a new bill * every knock on the door brings fear * people are skipping meals * people are worried about heating their homes this winter, or worried about elderly relatives * people are struggling to pay arrears bills on energy or water bills because the price has risen in between their payments * people are angry when they see a bank charge and extra interest costs take money from their accounts that they had planned to spend on heating or shopping, etc. * people being dragged through the courts to secure a charging order on their homes, to secure their previous unsecured (and more expensive debts) when they havent missed any payments via a court order
the list is endless.
how about an alternative way of dealing with financial problems? - end the practice of charging orders (with added interest to bills) being placed on a persons home without first being subject to a payment arrangement set by a local magistrate, to which they must default - end the practice of charging interest to people's debts - as it used to be - via the courts. once a judgement is made by a local magistrate, then all interest should cease. - equal rights for the individual against big business in the courts (if the business claiming monies do not have proof or paperwork - in some cases a legally binding contract - then the courts should throw the case out and wipe it out) - end the farce of the bank charges test case in the lords, to test for legal precident (which already exists and proves that bank charges are automated penalty charges) - enforce the administration of justice act 1972 automatically, which prevents companies from phoning and/or calling at peoples homes demanding monies. - take away the consumer credit licenses of companies who do not adhere to the law (this would stop suspect business practices in its tracks, once reported for them, ie,refusing to remove a phone number from an account notes or to stop calling people at work, etc, their credit license would be suspended until the complaint is investigated) this would end bad practice over night. - put an end to irresponsible lending, whereby a credit card or loan company increase the limit of lending, only to incorporate their own extra interest and charges before it goes to default and is sold on. - bring in a law whereby if a debt is sold on by a business, then the individual should get a reduced offer to clear the debt with a realistic timescale to raise the money to clear it. (ive known people who have their £7000 debt sold on to a debt collection agency company, for as little as £900 - the debt company buying it increases costs and interest then wins a court order to place a charging order on the persons home - when it comes to paying it off, this order incorporates yet more interest charges!)
there are many more instances where the individual needs the laws of this land enforcing and a return to equality many laws already exist to protect the individual and the company who is owed monies, but these are not enforced or adhered to in the real world.
over the past few years we have all been pushed and cajoled into using banks for more and more services, as over the counter options have disappeared, penalised for paying in cash, discriminated against for not having a bank account, or not having children, not being over 65, not having a parking badge, not having a child under 12, etc.
everything to parking a car or buying a loaf of bread to paying bills or the price we pay for car insurance (for want of an example) we are subjected to discrimination and inequality.
where is the protection for us???
banks have got us into this mess, they have shown they cannot be trusted, so why the hell are they supported and helped out to such an extreme that every taxpayer in the country will be funding their help, yet not one single official body or government department, bank, etc, is willing to bend a bit and help the individual out?
what about our families? we have couples in britain working flat out just to exist, elderly people working part time in retirement to make ends meet, parents working full time just to pay nursery fees and childcares costs. family units from the tip of scotland to the foot of england, need help.. and fast! people have lost thousands as their small business' collapsed with no prospect of getting the money back. people have lost thousands from their pension funds as investments fall through the floor, most of which has been invested on government guidance and recommendation.
as daft as it sounds, for a while now the best place to keep your cash - in my opinion - is under your bed!
stuff the banks and money markets to a degree, the current powers that be would do well to start remembering us... the little people!
never ceases to amaze me (it takes alot) if you are working too hard - she kicks in and makes you doze off and rest if you want something too much - its not going to happen until you have the right approach if you have something wrong with you - she finds a way to get rid of it, or stops you from carrying on as normal until its sorted
i firmly believe that all cures for disease - then mother nature has it, its just that we havent found it yet!
whilst all around us changes,in the background it always comes back to good old fashioned mother nature.... i may not like what she does all the time, but you have to hand it to her.... she doesnt take any messing about!
financial stuff... now that we all own shares in the banks... watch out for:
* extra spending in other areas (as they hide extra borrowing behind syphoning off money borrowed for the "financial crisis") * places on the boards of these banks that the government "will run at arms length" suddenly be taken up by labour supporters and donators * icelandic banking crisis suddenly agreeing terms with our government to return money to individuals/charities and councils who couldnt get their money out before they collapsed. (which will be lent to them by..... our own government!) this means we will pay interest on the borrowing and we will receive nothing for doing this.
have a wonderful tuesday....
Denz on 10.14.08 @ 01:19 AM CST [link]
Saturday, October 11th
discrimination - why?
i dont think we have ever had so much public money wasted on anti-discrimination ledgislation and official bodies that watch over the whole process. yet us normals, face untold discrimination at every level, why?
all discrimination is wrong i think - a person given an unfair advantage at the expense of another individual.
take my street for example we live in a cul-de-sac, each house pays the same base price for their gas, then on top of this a charge for their method of payment, discriminates against each and every one of us. the gas travels down the same pipe, comes from the same producer, etc, so why do we all pay different amounts for the same product?
house 1 - pays by direct debit house 2 - our house pays by prepayment meter house 3 - pays a quarterly bill house 4 - pays by direct debit but are elderly, so pay a lower premium house 5 - pays by direct debit but to a different company from house 1 and got a "new customer" sign up price
not one single house will have the same cost for their gas. put them in order of gas cost, once their base price plus payment method is added (not including those that use more gas etc) and you get a different list (cheapest cost 1st):
* house 5 - because they signed up to a different company they received a best price offer for "new" customers * house 4 - because they pay by direct debit and they are retired * house 1 - because they pay by direct debit instead of quarterly or pre payment meter * house 3 - because they pay a fee to pay quarterly * house 2 - because they prefer to pay in advance by pre payment meter
ill repeat, the gas is mined in the same country, comes from the same pipeline, the same gas terminal, using the same pipework, from the same pipe that runs under our street, why no equality?
example 2 you walk into greg's and buy a loaf of bread. it costs you £1.20, the person stood next to you only pays 90p for an identical loaf. the person next to you is elderly and its a wednesday whereby pensioners get a percentage discount. you are discriminated because of your age. it was made using the same flour, by the same person, cooked for the same amount of time in the same oven and displayed by the same person, yet costs you 30p more - it could easily be argued that all of us younger than pension age are paying an extra 5p per loaf, to cover the discount given to the elderly. wheres the equality in that?
example 3 two people go for a loan. person 1 - has an clean credit record person 2 - has a patchy credit record
person 1 will get the loan at a lower rate on interest than person 2 - some would argue that a bigger risk is taken with person 2 so the more expensive rate is charged? utter rubbish id say! what happens if person 1 has only been living alone for 6 months since leaving the family home? whilst person 2 may appear to be risky, but have lived in their own home at the same address for 30 years, and always paid off their debts, albeit slower than the companies wanted them to.
the same question can be asked of car insurance - the old ways used to look at car, engine size, crime in the area, where the car is kept, etc. now a whole host of circumstances must be provided, they all can be used to charge a higher price. * job title - how is a 25 year old company director less likely to have a claim over a 25 year old factory worker with the same car? * home telephone - sometimes a higher price is charged for paying over the year if the customer doesnt have a home phone due to being deemed more risky than someone who does. * a new customer - almost always faces a lower insurance price than a renewal quote! (under the excuse "we have to draw in new customers") at the expense of your trusted customers who have used you for a decade or more? a new customer also gets to pay over the year in installments for free, without any interest, etc. existing customers renewing, have to pay interest to spread the payments over a year. * online customers get an extra 10% discount * discounts also for on the basis of gender or if you are a student or ifyou are unemployed/employed. the list is endless, there always seems to be an excuse for the system discriminating against the individual, why is this allowed to happen?
example 4 in the courts - supposedly the guardian of equality, yet should you be taking action against a company to get money back, and not have the evidence to hand the case is thrown out, yet if a company is chasing you for money and doesnt produce the evidence, quite often, they are given more time and another hearing to produce it. why does the law not always apply equally to both parties?
tomorrow when you are out and about, just look out for how others are given preferential treatment over you, youll be amazed at how much it happens!
events at home have taken precedent of course, but i have been keeping an eye on the financial crisis (hard not to when its permanently on the tele)
some questions: - how can barclays buy huge chunks of failed bank lehman brothers - then tell the taxpayer (via the government) that they need bailing out? - how can lloyds tsb, buy out hbos, whilst at the same time plead poverty and go cap in hand to the government for more taxpayer money? for me this doesnt make any sense at all.. maybe im simplifying it too much? if you can afford to spend billions buying out other banks, then how can the government take on huge increases in borrowing from the IMF that will leave the taxpayer with huge bills for years to come and hand the money to them?
- when the bank of england was made "independant" days after the 1997 general election, why was the power to step in and sort out banks out early taken away from the bank of england and given to the FSA? the FSA was the regulator that would "protect consumers and the banking system" yet when banks started giving 125% mortgages and lending upto 6 times a persons income the FSA did absolutely nothing, not at the time or in the run up to it, when most financial reports were warning of dangers of over stretching and over heating the economy. there has been no acknowledgement what-so-ever that the policy of removing the bank of england's powers to step in and stop banks from going under when they over stretch, was a labour party policy that has failed with devastating effect"
- £200 billion pounds borrowed and given to the banks to "unjam" the system and stimulate the economy! lets be clear, this money is not to "stimulate" or "unjam" the economy... this money is to prop up the banks.
how is buying preference shares (ie new shares) in banks going to stabilise each bank? a bank has 100 shares worth £5 each - you own 2 shares, your investment is worth £10 over a few weeks, the shares fall to £3 each as the debts they have are unknown and buried or "toxic" your two shares are now worth just £6 (obviously you think about selling your two shares - they are worth less) the government lend billions to the bank and take up "preference shares" where if the bank collapses,the government get their money back before account holders and other creditors are paid out. the problem is, the bank now has 200 shares in it, effectively halving the share price (as there are now double the number of shares available in that bank - if the bank pay out a dividend to share holders, your dividend has just been halved!) will this not weaken the share price even more?
the problem is that people are pulling money out of the banks, they are not buying bank shares, so bad is the problem the share price is fast becoming worthless, so how is "diluting" the possible dividend payout for all shareholders actually going to encourage people to buy shares in the bank? i dont see how it can - the share price fast falls to alost nothing - this would have been fine in the normal world, where another bank could come in and buy it out, but there are no banks that are in that position - which means the share price falls to near zero - which leaves the bank with less money to do its business and the bank folds.
would it not have been better for each bank to announce a one off hit of the total amount of money the bank has lost? gordon brown (not being political - it was he who announced this) changed the rules to allow banks the announce losses in stages. instead of bank A telling us they had lost £15 billion pounds by over stretching, they anounced it quarter by quarter - £2.5 billion losses here, £1.8 billion losses there, to the point where confidence (which is what we are told should return to the banking system) is totally shot,no one knows how much each bank has lost or when its going to stop! it was a huge mistake... as now the taxpayer is taking on huge debts to pump billions into the banking system to "rebuild confidence" - a confidence that gordon brown's policy allowed to drain away. would a big one off hit not have been better to take? you dont get rid of cancer by cutting it out just a bit at a time...
the real world is seeing just how ruthless the banking industry can be now, as we as individuals have had to put upwith! business' across the board are based on borrowing from banks, the banks can threaten to call in those debts and the business has to renegotiate a loan and pay a higher price for it,which in turn means more losses in income and jobs, less buying power as well so they cant invest in new stocks. the banks will not lose,its the business, the mortgage holder, the saver, the individual who has to pay bank charges that are getting stung. the government have fallen on the side of banks against the individual, via the court system, regarding bank charges and unfair interest and penalty charges, etc. yet now businesses are facing the same battles, the government are throwing money at it like its going out of fashion... disgraceful!
the government dont care about the individual at all, they could enforce the law as it stands, instead they allow legal precedent to be challenged and dragged through the courts, etc, whilst the inidvidual pays the price - businesses get into trouble, the government see that this could put them out of office, (lost jobs, lower tax revenues affecting their schemes and programs) so they act by throwing money at the problem, again from the individual, in the form of more borrowing which will result in higher taxes/less services - either way each and every household in the UK, ie US, loses out
Denz on 10.08.08 @ 10:35 AM CST [link]
confusion
we have no idea here if we are coming or going, just as things settle a bit, another problem pops up, and everything hits the fan again.
thankyou for all the good wishes you have given us, (and for listening to me rant) hoovergerl and i really appreciate them.
we are generally all in good spirits, what will be will be, etc. it looks less likely to happen now - in the space of 5 days everything has turned around - but we are getting our heads around it now. we are still confused about what we are waiting for, what will happen, what could happen, next monday is taking an age to come around. today we had good news that the hormone count was really high at 13000, (fits in with my own personal theory about the official dates are wrong) but cramps and sharp pain soon got rid of any hope.
another teary afternoon, hoover is absolutely shagged out poor lass, never again will i mock women for blaming hormones! one minute youre riding a wave of hope enthusiasm and smiling like you have a coat hanger stuck in yer gob... next minute youre in the dark pit of despair and theres no hope or good news to cling to. this repeats itself about 30 times a day, im knackered just witnessing it!
hopefully tomorrow will bring better news, or none at all so we can get a decent kip at almost normal hours. have a good wednesday people... be careful out there!
Denz on 10.08.08 @ 12:23 AM CST [link]
Monday, October 6th
NHS - you have today lost a fan!
after the farce of trying to get a doctor's appointment this morning...
* midwife rang us back today 20 minutes for an appointment at hospital, for a hospital 30 minutes away at best. * turned up there, only to drive around for more than 30 minutes trying to find somewhere to park! * rang the department stating we were there and couldnt park, they said they would wait for us. evenutually found a parking space on the opposite side of a huge hospital, and had to walk for 15 minutes to get to where we should have been. (hoovergerl told to rest then dragged halfway around a hospital) * after 15 minutes, eventually found the department (who designs the layout of these places? blue zone/red zone wards all over the place etc) * woman at the desk hadnt a clue what we were there for, no records no information,told us to walk down a corridor and round a corner to a window. * went to the window, no card in the receptionists box.... wed have to go back to reception and find another window, knock and wait * found the window, knocked and waited, they gave us a card and sent us back to where we had just come from * handed in the card, told to walk down another corridor and wait there they would be right with us * 20 minutes later we were taken in for a scan... the woman doing the scan was very vague and seemed to be making excuses, she had no prior knowledge of why we were there or what had happened. * we were told to go back to another windowed office and wait.... * we found the other office and waited to which we got sent to another set of chairs outside another room and were told to wait * 15 minutes later a woman called us in, where she she didnt have many answers but suggested no more grape (despite the scan woman suggesting that it might have been too early for a scan) i asked could it still be possible, "i suppose so but not likely well have another scan next week" she took some blood and read the scan notes and then sent us on our way.
no information, no advice what to do, no suggestion of what might occur, just simply how mother nature would remedy the problem or how they could speed things along, nothing to say what might happen or what was going to happen etc.
and that was it..... just turn up in a week for the formal scan and then its end.
to top it all we had to pay £1.70 for the pleasure and wasted almost 3 hours having a 5 minute scan.
next time the NHS want more money or complain about something, and need support of people using the service, they can forget it. i used to support the staff of all NHS departments,but no more. from back up doctors service to midwifery and hospital support services, the amount of "taking the patient for granted" we have seen has been disgraceful.
how can you address a patient's needs when you dont listen to a word they say or ask whats wrong?
Denz on 10.06.08 @ 09:14 PM CST [link]
NHS - Welcome to the 21st century!
This is post directed at and for the benefit of, our beloved NHS in the year 2008, and the people that might think twice before proclaiming it as "satisfactory"
we were expecting our 2nd child, late last week my wife had a few spots of blood and was understandably worried. On saturday, we contacted our gp, to be put through to a call centre they proceeded to ask absolutely irrelevant questions, such as:
* has she got numbness of the mouth? * any bleeding from her mouth or gums?
then a further 10 minutes filling out an online form regarding her address, postcode, house number details. they then told us a nurse would be phoning back and ended the call. we waited. about 30 minutes later a nurse called us, (if indeed it was a nurse) and asked the same questions regarding address etc. we explained that an appointment was due with a midwife on monday. they stopped whilst turning over the sheet of paper they were reading from and advised rest. all day sunday she was confined to bed, where the bleeding got steadily worse.
this morning monday, we rang our excellent gp to try and fit an appointment around the midwife visit. after first being refused an appiontment by a receptionist, for ringing a minute (i kid you not) early, we rang back 17 times before finally getting back through. one appointment slot was available 10 minutes after we would have been at the midwifes. i explained the situation and was told that if we walked across town and waited another temporary doctor might be able to see her, i was rude to the receptionist and put the phone down.
in 15 minutes we hit the hospital which we should have done on saturday... stuff them complete waste of beaurocratic space.
if this is modern medicine then they can shove it where the sun doesnt shine!
Denz on 10.06.08 @ 09:16 AM CST [link]
Sunday, October 5th
no mans land
we are still waiting fingers crossed that things will be ok, but its looking more likely it wont be this time around...
rang the docs today to try to put hoovers mind at rest, they arranged a nurse toring back,she rang back and said "everything is ok at this stage!" - it clearly is not we were then told to visit the docs on monday.
when hoover got off the phone, she was a bit upset,understandably as the "nurse" hadnt even asked her what was wrong! she simply went off the notes that i gave the call centre bloke which answered the call to the docs earlier. from what hoovergerl tells me, the nurse kept stopping her talking whilst she read something and appeared to be more concerned with logging her "notes" rather than LISTENING to her patient.
after the call we are even more confused than we were when we rang up originally, stupid pillocks.... once again all we can do is sit tight until we get to see our brilliant doctor on monday (providing we can get an appointment) needless to say, we are both stressed out and hoover is very upset. its ok though NHS, we can sit around and wait for the next 48 hours until we can try and get an appointment with our doctor....dont worry about us will ya! useless feckin idiots!
are people really that gormless??? watching the X factor tonight, i know i know.... i was bored alright! i noticed several things that made me ask aloud "are they in the real world?"
* one of the gerl groups decided to sing that world reknowned song.... wonderwall, by the famous.... "ryan adams!" - forget about oasis then or mike flowers - bellends * the girl singers on seeing that one of girls aloud would be their mentor and advisor for the finals, screamed even more when they found out that helping her out and "advising" her (i kid ya not) would be ...... another member of girls aloud! (you couldnt make this stuff up) * simon cowell (steady anne!) asked that lad who told the world he was adopted at 4 years old and never knew his real parents - then his dad was in the papers saying he rang him regularly - told simon cowell his story was true - simon said he believed him - then walked away looking as though hed just had his watch nicked! (one question - if you dont know who your real parents are and havent had contact with them since you were 4 years old, how did dad manage to ring you up and tell the media where you lived? seems odd that dad would even know who you were?) * why do they all have to have a sob story? or if they mess up singing a song... walk away in tears and fall over in a heap saying they cant go on? - their whole life depends upon it? - they want to make [insert family member here] proud of them.... like they wouldnt be proud of them?
if i got to the last 6 id ENJOY it... take a football hit the beach enjoy the occasion etc, not bawl and scream like a three year old whose just dropped their ice cream.
the last one is best of all....
helping louis walsh out was one of westlife (shane i think) after one of the groups came in for their final song, for some random reason, louis asked how much rehearsal they had done, with members living in ireland, nottingham, liverpool and blackpool (do you have "close" friends that live that far apart?) - they answered two days and did their song. when they had left the room, shane from westlife says to louis...
"2 days rehearsal? geez this is a life changing moment!"
so it ranks above having a baby, getting married, a parent dying, an olympic medal, etc, does it? what a prat!
iof you really want to "sell out concerts" or "singing/my music is my life" for £250 you can go into your local sound studio, cut your own album then see if it sells! - or if you cant afford that, you can record your singing and sell it over the internet.... it really is that easy to do... if you are any good someone will buy it.. otherwise... shut the smeg up and get off my tv!
very stressful times here in hoover towers, everything is crossed hoping that all will be ok with our little grape... all we can do is sit tight and wait.
its been an "all over the place" kind of day, but we can do nothing but hope. mother natures way of sorting stuff is wonderful, but if she fixes an outcome that you dont want, it can be the most painful thing...
lets hope she smiles on us, the next 48 hours are crucial.
how do you stop someone worrying? ive tried to encourage, kept oining, smiling, hugs, reassuring, etc easiest thing in the world to say "try not to worry" but helping someone to not worry is nigh on impossible.
eyes down for one of the most nerve racking weekends ive had in along time!
Denz on 10.04.08 @ 12:32 AM CST [link]
Friday, October 3rd
good times....
many an hour spent in front of my fav downloader.... not being able to find any decent tunes to download...
not today people...spent a good hour or two at it today and found some corkers!
Gordon Brown promised Britain a "new Government with new priorities" when he became Prime Minister this afternoon.
Arriving in Downing Street after accepting the Queen's invitation to form a Government, the man who has stood in the shadow of Tony Blair for 13 years, first in reforming the Labour party, then in office, said that he would bring change to the country and invite talented people from across the political divide to help him.
"Now let the work of change begin," said Mr Brown
after the disasters of losing by elections, council elections, european elections and the london mayor elections, It would appear that even gordon brown doesnt think his "change" has worked or improved the country.
Labour spin doctor - alistair campbell - has been advising the brown camp recently and he has popped up around recent by elections. news reports today, are stating that peter mandelson might move to the lords so he can come back into the government (he no longer has a parliamentry seat) - margaret becket the old stalwart of labour cabinets is to return - just one question arises from all this (should it be true of course)
how is bringing back the people and spin doctors from the past government actually "change?"
supermarket news: interesting to note this week that tescos have announced a 10% profit growth for the first half of 2008. the really interesting part in all this, that was not widely reported, was that this 10% increase in profit came from no noticeable increase in customers, ie, transactions remained almost the same.
so tell me please, in these times when everyone is feeling the pinch, if you have the same number of customers and transactions, then how do you manage to increase your profits by 10% without over charging your customer?
you have 100 customers - they each spend £5 - your turnover is £500 - your profit is £100 (for example) the next year you again have 100 customers - they each spend £5 - your turnover is again £500 - but this year your profits are £110 you could negotiate a better price for buying your stock - you could increase prices on smaller items, ie, sell less product for a higher price - either way this blows out the water that supermarkets are operating under tough conditions and fighting a competitive price war which benefits the customer.
most businesses on the high street are reporting falls in profit, where genuine cuts in prices are seen to keep customers shopping. marks and spencers, john lewis, etc all report tough trading and being forced to cut prices.
do you still think the supermarkets are offering good value?
Denz on 10.03.08 @ 10:55 AM CST [link]
Thursday, October 2nd
car insurance con
ive been sorting out car insurance for the sprog for the past 2 days.
He was on his mums policy as a "named driver" as he can build up his own no claims discount whilst on it. yesterday and today's discussions with the insurance company, have thrown upsome alarming discrepancies!
* as he drives the car more than mum, even tho its mums car, i am now told that this makes the policy "invalid" - can you believe this! so for more than two years both mum and the sprog have been driving around without insurance! of course, this maybe a new company policy, as the police did a stop and produce on the sprog once, and he produced and was told everything was in order.... it maybe that two out of the 3 advisors are actually wrong? i dealt with this by causing alarm in their customer service office - i told them i would be requesting a refund then for the past two years policy payments as the policy was mis-sold they replied that its not company policy togive refunds... to which i informed them "i know, its upto the law! trading standards dont take too kindly to misrepresentation at the point of sale, the policy was missold and my localcourt will initiate a full refund - regardless of your system or company policy!" The manager then proceded to knock £150 off the new policy being requested, as a "goodwill gesture" (i will still file for a full refund via their head office and my local court - it amounts to almost £2000!)
* a 1.2 engine car costs more to insure than a 1.6 engine car! it appears that cars that pay a low road tax, seem to cost more when they are insured!
* it is cheaper to insure a brand new driver as a named driver on a 1.6 mid sized car than it is to take out a policy with a years no claims and a multi car discount (plus a further 10% online booking discount) for a 1.2 bog standard car!
* when they advertise that a named driver can build up a "no claims discount" this is not technically accurate! you dont get a no claims discount (so dont put it in your quote as it will make it invalid) you get a "named driver discount" which conveniently for the insurance company, always results in a lower %discount for you the customer! SHOCKING way to treat your customers!
Normal stuff: several hours spent sorting this insurance lark out... im shattered now after todays football match in the rain with the juniors. always good fun tho, funny how kids today always feel the need to spit after theyve scored or had a shot at goal and jog back to their own half!
very tired at the mo....postin here aint helpin, was supposed to get some shut eye over an hour ago... but with red dwarf reruns on tele and the fats messin about with their new bouncy balls (on offer at woolworths if ya want stocking fillers) im gunna close here an get some kip.
look out for frosts thursday night, temperatures falling to around 4 degrees! if we get rain, it might turn to snow... time to get the sledge ready???
Denz on 10.02.08 @ 12:59 AM CST [link]
