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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you write a bad review about a friendly B&B?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Would you write a bad review about a friendly B&B? You’re a keen hotel review website contributor, often using them to plan holidays (see the Cheap Hotels guide). You stay at a lovely B&B, run by a sweet, friendly couple. They mention the recession has hit…
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'Would you spend an MP's expenses?' poll discussion
Poll between 23-30 march 2009: Would you spend an MPs expenses? Recently, a number of MPs have had ‘exposes’ done on their expenses claims. Yet often it's within the letter if not the spirit of the rules. At £63,000, their salaries are above average, but substantially lower than big business bosses get. See the full MP's…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Do you give cash to just one of your kids?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Do you give cash to just one of your kids? Mick's 21 year old son Gavin has always been rubbish with money and has difficult credit card and overdraft debts, yet his twin sister, Stacey's, always been money savvy and never owed a penny. After an unexpected…
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Britain's Worst Company
Poll Title: Poll Started 5 September. Britain’s Worst Company? Following last week's 'who's Britain's best company', here's a list of the same selected 50 companies. Which is worst for quality, service and price? Who's the anti-role model for corporate Britain? Abbey Aldi Alliance & Leicester Argos Asda B&Q BP BT Barclays…
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'Are you richer than your parents?' Poll discussion
Poll between 20-27 April 2009: Are you richer than your parents? Is wealth determined by nature or nuture? Are we all destined to live similar lives to our parents? How do you compare to your folks in terms of relative standard of living? How do you compare to your parents when they were your age? 01. I'm under 30: I'm at…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Who should pay for the lost iPod?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Who should pay for the lost iPod? You’re hard up and in desperate need of some quick cash. Your mate offers to sell your iPod on eBay for you, as you don’t know how it works. (S)he sells it and give you the money, which you quickly spend. The buyer then…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you give a stranger £3?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Would you help out a stranger with £3? A well-dressed, smart, woman approaches you on your way home, apologetically asking you for £3 for a train ticket. She says she has lost her wallet. You don’t usually give to people who ask for money on the street,…
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How many hours do you work? Poll results/discussion
Poll between 14-20 April 2009: How many hours do you work? An EU Parliament vote means the UK’s current opt-out from maximum working week laws is likely to be scrapped in 2011. This means it’ll be legally impossible to exceed 48hrs of work per week, regardless of the job you do. I thought it’d be interesting to see how…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Peggy pay back some of Archie's fortune?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Should rich divorcee Peggy give money back to struggling Ex? Two years ago, housewife Peggy split up with her husband, Archie. At the time, he was running a thriving property business, and she got half his fortune, all in cash, as part of a huge divorce…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you drink someone else's champagne?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Would you drink someone else's champagne? A bottle of champagne arrives at your door from a delivery firm, you sign for it, then the delivery person leavers. You read the card and by the message ‘Dear Deidre, thanks for all your wonderful help’, its clearly…
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Question of the week: Do missed mobile bills affect my credit rating?
Q. I've missed a couple of payments for my mobile phone, will this effect my credit rating in the future? A. Most contract mobile phones ARE based on a credit agreement, and this means it can count as a late payment or default on your credit file, and that's never good. How big an impact that has depends on the new lenders…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Rod let little Jane go to Freddie’s unaffordable party?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Should Rod let little Jane go to Freddie’s unaffordable party? Rod’s eight-year-old daughter, Jane, has been invited to classmate Freddie’s restaurant and cinema birthday party. The whole class has been invited, and while Jane isn’t great friends with the…
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Have you ever been upgraded on a flight? Poll results/discussion
Poll Started 2 June 2008: Have you ever been upgraded on a flight? It’s the holy grail of all travellers to hear those glorious words “we’re upgrading you" - yet how often does it really happen? Have you ever been upgraded from economy to premium economy, business, or even first class? Which of these is closest to your…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Artie accept cash from his dodgy cousin Tony?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Should Artie accept cash from his dodgy cousin Tony? Artie’s cousin Tony and his wife, Carmella, have always been a bit dodgy, and live off ill-gotten gains. Artie’s not sure exactly what they’re into, but knows they’ve got their fingers in a few unsavoury…
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Would you holiday in the UK? poll discussion
Poll between 16-23 March 2009. Would you holiday in the UK? The pound has plummeted against the Euro and the Dollar, and while holiday prices have come down, the cost of doing anything once you’re abroad has rocketed. Has this changed your attitude to holidaying in Britain? For your MAIN annual holiday/trip only, which is…
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Should rich Rich pay for Tom, !!!!!! & Harry?
Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on: Should rich Rich pay for Tom, !!!!!! &; Harry? A few months ago, Rich who’s just graduated from Uni, won £3.9m on the lottery. He had a big party to celebrate a couple of weeks ago. Now he’s arranged to meet fellow recent graduates Tom, !!!!!! and Harry;…
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What's the APR of a ‘pint to say thanks for the cash’? poll discussion
Poll between 10-16 March 09: What's the APR of a ‘pint to say thanks for the cash’? If someone lent you £20 and said "pay me back in a week, then buy me a pint (£2.75) and we’re sorted", what’s the equivalent APR? Note: Thanks to Tony Levene’s guardian piece for inspiring this. To calculate the APR,a compound rate has been…
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Do you buy name brand medicine? poll discussion
Poll between 16-23 Feb 2009: Do you buy name brand medicine? Branded medicine has a powerful selling point: nobody wants to ‘scrimp’ on their health. Yet cheaper generic medicines (unbranded/own brand) offer EXACTLY the same active ingredients (see the cheap medicines guide for more). Often the only difference is the lack…
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Would you pay higher taxes for NHS drugs for all? Poll discussion
Poll Results 13-20 August 2007: Would you pay higher taxes for NHS drugs for all? Modern super-drugs are getting more expensive, and the funds to pay come from taxpayers' money, which of course pays for the NHS. Yet last week there was uproar when it was decided a family of new Alzheimer's drugs wouldn’t be made available…
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'Would you help a fellow consumer?' poll results/discussion
Poll between 23 Feb - 02 March 2009: Would you help a fellow consumer? You’re in the queue at an electrical shop. The person in front of you is taking back their new radio, bought a few days earlier, as it's faulty. The shop staff tell him/her “you have to send it to manufacturer, it's not our business.” You KNOW this is…