The Postman Came Today

[wymberley]

And left a couple of billets doux.

I am a pensioner with 4 small pensions so I'm not as bad off as some I admit. One I earned, two I paid into and the fourth I earned the hard way. All are index linked. Last year the index was very low and although I had a very small increase in all four it was just about wiped out by the increase in the Council Tax. This year, there was no increase in three of them and the just below 1% in the fourth was totally obliterated by said Council Tax.

With thanks to the Royal Mail, today I discovered that some comedian at Churchill wants to increase my pet insurance by 32.9% and British Gas wants me to cough up another 8.31%.

Is anyone else of the opinion that there's some out there attempting to extract the Michael?

[panoma1]

redistribution of wealth? by forcing wages and pensions.......down add that to the increased pension age........and the MP's can get their 11% raise from their independent review, and the bankers can get their multi million pound bonuses!....but that's austerity for you!

 

But don't worry because "we're all in it together"

[Surfer]

Give a man a gun he could rob a bank

Give a man a bank he can rob the world

[AVB]

What has the price of pet insurance got to do with Bankers?

[das]

What has the price of pet insurance got to do with Bankers?

 

Nothing, but the insurers don't want to be left out on this glorious rape of the British working public.

[Konnie]

At some stage people will start to see the city etc does not have a product, you can eat spuds use cereals, you would not last long with a sheet of paper and a computer, some may thinks so, but money will become worthless as populations grow food and water will become boss.

[Surfer]

What has the price of pet insurance got to do with Bankers?

Because they are all linked,and perhaps it's just a saying

[JohnfromUK]

Firstly council tax has always gone up by more than inflation (there have in fact been a couple of 'freezes' but on average it has always gone up in real terms). I believe the reason is that there is no competition; you have to pay the tax - and actually, all 3 parties have broadly similar spending plans. Much of the money is badly spent ...... but I won't go there as it is 'off topic'.

 

Insurance will rip of existing loyal customers renewals to offer 'loss leader' deals to new customers (as do broadband suppliers, mobile phone operators, energy suppliers, credit card companies, banks and most large companies). In a largely fixed market size, their expansion plans mean poaching business from competitors. You have to shop around at every renewal to get a good deal.

 

Energy is an 'odd' one. Basic energy cost is at historically low levels (see the present oil price). However, robbing 'normal' energy revenue to subsidise 'green' and nuclear which are expensive (and in the case of green, horribly inefficient because you need a 'fall back' for when the sun doesn't shine (every night) and the wind doesn't blow) pushes the prices up. You are paying here for political correctness (or saving the planet depending on your viewpoint).

 

I am incidentally in a similar position being retired, but had received no pay increase in my last 4 or 5 years in employment. I think in many cases employees are as badly off as retirees. The only category I can recall that have had a considerably above inflation increase are (now here's a surprise) .... MPs. It is no wonder people now despise them.

Edited August 7, 2017 by JohnfromUK

[Me matt]

Dont panic!!

Common sense would say;

Search around for a better deal for pet insurance- while your at it, do some energy supplier comparisons.

 

Theres always someone cheaper out there these days.

[figgy]

Shame we can't shop around for a cheaper government.

[Vince Green]

I'm convinced pet insurance is basically a scam.

[al4x]

I'm convinced pet insurance is basically a scam.

Not really the amounts they are paying out are driven by vets and the work they are doing. Gone are the days of a decent vet diagnosing and going from there. Now it's test to make sure or scan this scan that,

In the answer to the main question why oh why are you with British gas, get onto the comparison sites and do the same with the pet insurance.

My outlaws are awful for wanting to stick with names, eventually let me switch their utilities last year and the saving was £600 a year. Pretty disgraceful having an 85year old on your standard tariff and being that far out on a dual fuel bill. They do use a fair bit but that isn't really the point.

Pet insurance is harder as the older the pet the more they know they will be paying out and it could be a reasonable amount. Petplan have increased mine slowly but increased my input in the event of a claim which I don't mind too much

[oldypigeonpopper]

I'm convinced pet insurance is basically a scam.

hello, it is vince as are so many like insurance/gas/electric/water/ premium phone numbers when you call lots of companies, the list is endless, i see tesco are now making money from plastic bags from the original charity donation, your motor insurance goes up every year yet no claim, this country is a wash with scams, recent hastings direct, gone up £50 ish, phoned reduced by £30, paid and received paper work, week later letter, stopping insurance, phoned oh please wait, half hour later sorry oh just bin it, will be changing next time

Edited August 8, 2017 by oldypigeonpopper

[Mice!]

All insurance is a rip off, until you need it. You have to shop around every year without fail, even going with the same company sometimes but on a new deal. Makes no sense but they must make a killing of people who just renew without looking around.

 

My way of looking at pet insurance is simple, my dog does everything in fast forward if he crashes into a tree how much is it going to cost me?

[Vince Green]

What has the price of pet insurance got to do with Bankers?

 

They are overlapping circles, insurance and banking, if you look back into history. Insurance is just buying/ selling a risk, banking these days is mostly about buying/ selling a debt

[oldypigeonpopper]

And left a couple of billets doux.

I am a pensioner with 4 small pensions so I'm not as bad off as some I admit. One I earned, two I paid into and the fourth I earned the hard way. All are index linked. Last year the index was very low and although I had a very small increase in all four it was just about wiped out by the increase in the Council Tax. This year, there was no increase in three of them and the just below 1% in the fourth was totally obliterated by said Council Tax.

With thanks to the Royal Mail, today I discovered that some comedian at Churchill wants to increase my pet insurance by 32.9% and British Gas wants me to cough up another 8.31%.

Is anyone else of the opinion that there's some out there attempting to extract the Michael?

hello, your post is no different to millions of retired people in the uk, my self included, council tax increase wiped out my extra few pounds, i am sure many companies like churchill think our grey matter stops working when we retire so we might just pay up with out question, and yet so many of us are not computer savvy like me or even have a computer, multiply by millions and its a huge pile of cash for the companies i mentioned

[Walker570]

Instead of paying the insurance company that monthly debit or however you pay, put it in an envelope and at the back of your gun safe. Ask yourself how often have you used the insurance??? If you do have to have an expensive job done on your dog, out with the envelope and top up rom your own money.

I too believe insurance companies have jumped on the pet band wagon. Never joined that club, just paid up when I had to, which was very rare in the lifetime of around a dozen working dogs in my lifetime.

 

People, many I speak with are suddenly realising that Mrs Thatcher's Poll Tax wasn't such a bad idea to finance our local authorities fairly.

[rbrowning2]

Have you noticed just how many middle men/business there are now selling electric and gas to the end user, lots, now they are not doing that for no profit so we are all now paying more than ever for the energy.

 

They all also have a way of stating their prices in as much confusion as possible, some have a standing charge, some don't, some give duel fuel discount built in some apply it after, then you can fix for a number of years, then you pay more or less depending on your post code, why? All making it very difficult to know if you are on the best tariff.

All getting to complicated so no wonder we keep paying more.

[JohnfromUK]

 

People, many I speak with are suddenly realising that Mrs Thatcher's Poll Tax wasn't such a bad idea to finance our local authorities fairly.

I thought I was the only person who thought this! The poll tax was a fantastic idea .......... badly implemented by the late Nicholas Ridley who was arrogant and put everyones backs up.

[Flashman]

At some stage people will start to see the city etc does not have a product, you can eat spuds use cereals, you would not last long with a sheet of paper and a computer, some may thinks so, but money will become worthless as populations grow food and water will become boss.

 

All this is true and when the apes take over the planet, you can come and say, "I told you so."

 

However, in the meantime, the City and South East England generate 60% of GDP and subsidies farmers, manufacturers and cliché orators who don't understand the wealth generated by computers and sheets of paper...

[JohnfromUK]

All getting to complicated so no wonder we keep paying more.

Unfortunately choice involves making decisions - and these are often viewed as complicated. You do need to clearly understand how much energy you are likely to use - and for some people - smart meters may help here - as does reading your bill. When I started doing comparisons - I spent a year reading my meters periodically to understand how using heating (central versus gas fires, immersion heater versus gas boiler in summer, using only one fridge not two etc.) affected energy usage and bottom line costs. Looking at where energy goes is important.

 

This enabled me to make considerable savings both by changing my supplier, bit also by reducing the number of kilowatts used.

 

The downside after implementing this is that savings are now MUCH harder to find - as I have already taken most of the practical measures!

[Mice!]

I agree with you walker, but most people wouldn't save, miss a month dip in then its not there when you need it. Think we pay 8 or 9 quid a month at the moment job done. Obviously it adds up over the years but doesn't take much these days at the vets for a big bill.

[wymberley]

Instead of paying the insurance company that monthly debit or however you pay, put it in an envelope and at the back of your gun safe. Ask yourself how often have you used the insurance??? If you do have to have an expensive job done on your dog, out with the envelope and top up rom your own money.

I too believe insurance companies have jumped on the pet band wagon. Never joined that club, just paid up when I had to, which was very rare in the lifetime of around a dozen working dogs in my lifetime.

 

People, many I speak with are suddenly realising that Mrs Thatcher's Poll Tax wasn't such a bad idea to finance our local authorities fairly.

Didn't panic, didn't even get mad let alone even, but came in at less than one half. Still working on the fuel side of things thouigh.

 

Brilliant idea until they got greedy at the implementation stage.

[dougall]

if they are index linked is'nt rpi running at @ 2.6%? from when do your pension companies take rpi/cpi? As nil increase and 1% seems a bit off the mark?

[panoma1]

As I understand it rates, council tax or poll tax...whatever you call it, is paid by us to our local authority, who then give it to central government....who then give some of it back to your local authority in what is called a Standard Spending Assesment (SSA) the government have been cutting this SSA for years, that's one reason why we get an ever worsening service from our Local Authority!

 

Why would the "Poll Tax" have made us better off or get better Local Authority service?......the Government (of whichever colour) would still restrict/cut the SSA....so they could spend more of our money on themselves and/or their pet projects!

 

Now apparently called the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Edited August 8, 2017 by panoma1