RANT CORNER

[greenmark]

Well these companies operate in ways I don't understand. A knew someone that died stone broke with a £15k credit card bill. And with months and months of mail demanding payment and threatening legal action. So they clearly aren't as ruthless as we think.

They know there's no point taking someone to court who's broke. Go to court and they get nothing, keep pestering and they might get something.

Good point. So they lend on the basis that the defaulters will be paid for by the rest of us. I'm happy with that. Having known some that have lost control, I don't mind that we support them. Although I wish that I had been able to persuade them to reign back, but spending is an addiction and talking to any addict is really talking to the addiction. The addiction will erect obstacles and evade and squirm. The addict is a passenger until they can regain control. It's very sad.

[Derek27]

Well these companies operate in ways I don't understand. A knew someone that died stone broke with a £15k credit card bill. And with months and months of mail demanding payment and threatening legal action. So they clearly aren't as ruthless as we think.

They know there's no point taking someone to court who's broke. Go to court and they get nothing, keep pestering and they might get something.

In fairness to the CC companies, when somebody doesn't pay their CC bill the company doesn't know that they're broke, or they may be broke because they have a lavished lifestyle and earn enough money to pay some of it back. Part of the problem is debtors ignoring the bills or burying their heads in the sand. If you contact them and explain your circumstances, income/expenditure they usually freeze interest and agree to a payment plan or even token payments until your circumstances change.

[jamesedwards]

It's quite uplifting to hear the words "it's party time" or "it's drinking time", but nobody needs an email from your credit card company merrily saying "it's statement time"!

Credit card company? I wish.

They won't touch anyone of "independent means" but say you've got an insecure job or other debt and they can't give you one quick enough. They're worse than the GC.

I have no trouble getting credit. I put that I am self employed with annual income totalling my approx annual trading profits. The credit agency will be able to check your top-line bank account income as part of any credit scoring and as long as you have been withdrawing roughly the same amount from Betfair then it should be fine.

[ShaunWhite]

I have no trouble getting credit. I put that I am self employed with annual income totalling my approx annual trading profits. The credit agency will be able to check your top-line bank account income as part of any credit scoring and as long as you have been withdrawing roughly the same amount from Betfair then it should be fine.

Thx. I don't take a regular amount. I did for a year or so, then I had a good spell and gave myself a rise. Soon after it went back to normal and I wanted to build it up again. What I don't understand though is that lots of self employment isn't a regular amount so, 20k once or 10 x 2k shouldn't make a difference. I might give it a try.

[jamesedwards]

I have no trouble getting credit. I put that I am self employed with annual income totalling my approx annual trading profits. The credit agency will be able to check your top-line bank account income as part of any credit scoring and as long as you have been withdrawing roughly the same amount from Betfair then it should be fine.

Thx. I don't take a regular amount. I did for a year or so, then I had a good spell and gave myself a rise. Soon after it went back to normal and I wanted to build it up again. What I don't understand though is that lots of self employment isn't a regular amount so, 20k once or 10 x 2k shouldn't make a difference. I might give it a try.

The Experian chap said he expected the gambling affordability check to look back at the last three months worth of income/expenditure. I don't know, but perhaps that's how affordability checks for credit also work? Perhaps build up three months of consistent BF withdrawals then give it a go.

Suggest you sign up for the free MSE Credit Club and it'll give you an idea what your credit score is like and also tell you how likely you are to be accepted for various credit options. https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub/register

[Derek27]

You can get a pack of parsley seeds from the B&Q for £2.49, or a similar pack from Lidl for 29p, thieving gits!

[greenmark]

You can get a pack of parsley seeds from the B&Q for £2.49, or a similar pack from Lidl for 29p, thieving gits!

Caveat emptor.

[ShaunWhite]

The Experian chap said he expected the gambling affordability check to look back at the last three months worth of income/expenditure.

Thanks for the ideas James. Sounds like I need to play by their rules which isn't something that comes easily. I think we can all agree that our wealth/income has very little to do with how often we move £n from account A to account B.

Other addictions such as smoking have been curbed by restricting advertising, or when and where you could do it. The idea now is that you can be addicted as you like until you're down to your last 12k a year. It's like saying you can smoke anywhere you want until your terminally ill, then you can't.

Addiction need to be addressed before people run out of money and that can be done algorithmically from behaviour not just results. When they're on their arse it's too late.

[Derek27]

Just received a reminder letter from Scottish Power even though the bill's not due until next week, with a warning of how much I get charged if it's late and £150 if they have to apply for a warrant to change the meter. Forget the cost of living crisis, how they ever got away with charging families who are struggling to feed their kids £150 for being poor beats the hell out of me. It wouldn't be anything to do with a Tory government, would it?

[ShaunWhite]

Mrs fwded this to me.....surely this can't be real?

Screenshot_20230211_124216_WhatsApp.jpg

[firlandsfarm]

It wouldn't be anything to do with a Tory government, would it?

No it wouldn't. Gov. has as much connection with Power Companies as greedy strikers! Wait, maybe that's it!

[greenmark]

It wouldn't be anything to do with a Tory government, would it?

No it wouldn't. Gov. has as much connection with Power Companies as greedy strikers! Wait, maybe that's it!

Oh dear! I predict a riot.

[Derek27]

It wouldn't be anything to do with a Tory government, would it?

No it wouldn't. Gov. has as much connection with Power Companies as greedy strikers! Wait, maybe that's it!

They have the power to stop it, unlike strikers. With high-wanking Tories saying things like, foodbank increase is due to increase of awareness of them, the poor can't cook, the poor can't budget, you can eat healthily for 30 pence a meal (yet to see the magic recipe but I suspect it involves five slices of bread and two fish fingers), I suspect it is.

[firlandsfarm]

They have the power to stop it, unlike strikers. With high-wanking Tories saying things like, foodbank increase is due to increase of awareness of them, the poor can't cook, the poor can't budget, you can eat healthily for 30 pence a meal (yet to see the magic recipe but I suspect it involves five slices of bread and two fish fingers), I suspect it is.

Well on that basis government has the power to start/stop anything but I doubt the Left would let them so that's a nonsense remark!

Foodbank increase is due to increase of awareness of them, there is an element of truth about that.

The poor can't cook: no, I don't think they can ... I didn't financially need to but yesterday I made a very tasty vegetable stew (and I'm a 100% carnivore) for probably minimal cost but my experience is they don't want to learn. I have offered to help with menu planning locally and all I get is abuse so I tend to drift toward F. you.

I don't think the poor can budget. I find all, not just the poor, don't want to budget because they know if they shout loud enough about how poor they are someone will bail them out. We live in a society that expects to be bailed out and does nothing for themselves but I agree that 30 pence a day is not viable but as every lefty knows wait long enough and someone will say something you can take out of context and throw it back at them.

Please explain how nurses and others on £35k and more have to use food banks but other workers on £25k-£30k don't?

How are train drivers on £65k average and maybe £100k at the high end are destitute?

This is a re-run of the 1970's when the multi-millionaire Scargill (yes, he is a multi-millionaire) tried to bring down the Government and failed. This is not about Conservative and Labour, this is about a minority wanting to impose it's views on the majority that is composed of working people. I have lots of friends who understand that the help that was given to the public during covid has to be paid for but the unions with the ability and power to bully the rest of the public say they don't have to pay, the rest of you can pay for us.

I receive a pension part capped at 5% inflationary increases, part at 3% and nearly half with no increases ... who is going to pay my 19%? Instead they are expecting me to pay for their 19%. And they think I should support them ... in their dreams!

[Michael5482]

They have the power to stop it, unlike strikers. With high-wanking Tories saying things like, foodbank increase is due to increase of awareness of them, the poor can't cook, the poor can't budget, you can eat healthily for 30 pence a meal (yet to see the magic recipe but I suspect it involves five slices of bread and two fish fingers), I suspect it is.

Well on that basis government has the power to start/stop anything but I doubt the Left would let them so that's a nonsense remark!

Please explain how nurses and others on £35k have to use food banks but other workers on £25k-£30k don't?

How are train drivers on £65k average and maybe £100k at the high end are destitute?

This is a re-run of the 1970's when the multi-millionaire Scargill tried to bring down the Government and failed. This is not about Conservative and Labour, this is about a minority wanting to impose it's views on the majority. I have lots of friends who understand that the help that was given to the public during covid has to be paid for but the unions with the ability and power to bully the rest of the public say they don't have to pay, the rest of you can pay for us.,

Not everyone's individual circumstances are the same, the nurse on 35k may be a single parent with a mortgage whilst the worker on 25k a year may have no mortgage and a partner who works. Wages have not kept up with inflation the majority of the public sector have taken pay cuts year after year.

Wasn't long ago everyone was out clapping the NHS now there the enemy number 1 classic Tory propaganda play the rail workers off v the nurses v the teachers, along with the old "if you don't like it get another job", "just sack the strikers", "I work in the private sector and not had a pay rise for 10 years" (that one just smacks of jealousy that people are prepared to fight for pay and conditions and they don't like it)

Train driver's are not destitute nor have they claimed to be. There striking to protect jobs, working conditions that are related to pay and the main surrounding rail strikes is rail safety. You do know that private rail operators are trying to make the rail infrastructure less safe by cutting maintenance jobs and safety checks?

The Government have been in charge for 12 years and the country is in absolute chaos. The Government's to blame not the nurses, the teachers or the rail workers etc.