GeorgeUK's "don't fall off" Diary

GeorgeUK

I like the odd challenge George

And then you married him. :rotfl: (sorry, couldn't resist).

I have a 'best case scenario' spreadsheet and this is a few months short of what i have on there. Maybe i'll get a payrise in the next 2 years - who knows.

Disclaimer: The date entered above was an estimate and assume no responsibility or liability for disparity with the actual DFD.

Hope you're feeling better soon Buffy. Try to get some rest and get your strength back.

Edit: Was listening to the Scissor Sisters "We're not going to take it" while trying to read up on the bank charge stuff. That should be the campaign song for sure.

From what i have read about section 5 that the judge mentioned,

A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.

So an individual could argue in court that as there was no negotiation for the bank charges, which the bank can increase at will and also change the terms, there is a significant imbalance.

I'll need to read up alot more to fully understand where this could go but it looks like the door is still open.

And i don't have any charges to reclaim - probably look into this after i get the IT stuff out the way. One thing at a time.

Buffythedebtslayer

GeorgeUK wrote: »

And then you married him. :rotfl: (sorry, couldn't resist).

I have a 'best case scenario' spreadsheet and this is a few months short of what i have on there. Maybe i'll get a payrise in the next 2 years - who knows.

Disclaimer: The date entered above was an estimate and assume no responsibility or liability for disparity with the actual DFD.

Hope you're feeling better soon Buffy. Try to get some rest and get your strength back.

Edit: Was listening to the Scissor Sisters "We're not going to take it" while trying to read up on the bank charge stuff. That should be the campaign song for sure.

From what i have read about section 5 that the judge mentioned,


So an individual could argue in court that as there was no negotiation for the bank charges, which the bank can increase at will and also change the terms, there is a significant imbalance.

I'll need to read up alot more to fully understand where this could go but it looks like the door is still open.

And i don't have any charges to reclaim - probably look into this after i get the IT stuff out the way. One thing at a time.

that is so weird you edited as a I replied!

I am sure you will be debt free by 2012, think of it as your own personal olympic challenge;)

xx

Jacks_xxx

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Hiya Jacks, thanks for posting.

Only going to the Edinburgh meet because that's where i work. Don't feel i live far enough away that i can avoid it

Thanks for the sympathy - can just picture you doing a bad rendition of the birdie song

Debt's moving in the right direction, but not budgeted for Christmas really so no idea where i'm going to end up. Don't have any safety net and hope to build this up again after the new year.

Brother hasn't actually contacted me since he moved to his flat so i'm guessing no news is good news. He knows i wouldn't be offering any money and don't think he'll ask as i've already spelled out last time that it was a one-off as he has a new job (and he could pay me back within 2 months :rolleyes:)

Not done nearly enough on the IT stuff. It's still treated as one of those jobs i'll do when i have spare time. Too many interuptions so i lose my train of thought and need to keep going back over things just to find where i was. Still, i've got a week left before it gets desperate :rotfl:

DFD : If i push hard may be able to do it just before 2012, so say 2 years today :eek:
(Was that a challenge i just made myself?)

Glad to see you're going along okay and still debt free.

:wave: Sounds like a challenge to me my lovely!

If you remember, we missed our target of Christmas 2008 - but to be debt free three months later was good enough for me! Just trying to hit a target gets you there faster.

And no prevaricating now - we don't want all the lovely girlies on here thinking you are scared of making a commitment!

Love Jacks xxx

boredofbeingathome

GeorgeUK wrote: »

And then you married him. :rotfl: (sorry, couldn't resist).;

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Yeah and he is still challenging- maybe i am getting a run for my money:think:Or should that be run before he gets my money?lol:rotfl:

Georgeuk wrote:

Edit: Was listening to the Scissor Sisters "We're not going to take it" while trying to read up on the bank charge stuff. That should be the campaign song for sure.

From what i have read about section 5 that the judge mentioned,


So an individual could argue in court that as there was no negotiation for the bank charges, which the bank can increase at will and also change the terms, there is a significant imbalance.

I'll need to read up alot more to fully understand where this could go but it looks like the door is still open.

And i don't have any charges to reclaim - probably look into this after i get the IT stuff out the way. One thing at a time.

Yeah i like the idea of that song- have been reading round the boards- there is a lot of debate about it.

GeorgeUK

Well, just crunched the numbers and there's no sense in me doing the transfers. The transfer fee negates any possible saving in interest so i'll need to just wait until the current promotional rates end, then hope i can get similar offers.

Had a sniffle for the past month or so, but just can't shake it. It's not a cold, at least not yet, but i really need to get rid of this so i can concentrate properly next week.

Shoulder's still messed up. If i raise my arm straight out from my side, once it gets to shoulder height it starts to hurt. If i put my arm straight out in front of me i can't turn my hand beyond vertical - can't even force my hand to go palm up if the arm is fully extended. Really don't know what i've done to it.

Need to redo my sums to work out what i am paying monthly now that the Virgin minimum rate has gone and see how much i can spend for Christmas. I don't think i have that much for pressies but probably didn't spend much more than that last year. Might be a bit tight next month.

Jacks_xxx

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Well, just crunched the numbers and there's no sense in me doing the transfers. The transfer fee negates any possible saving in interest so i'll need to just wait until the current promotional rates end, then hope i can get similar offers.

Had a sniffle for the past month or so, but just can't shake it. It's not a cold, at least not yet, but i really need to get rid of this so i can concentrate properly next week.

Shoulder's still messed up. If i raise my arm straight out from my side, once it gets to shoulder height it starts to hurt. If i put my arm straight out in front of me i can't turn my hand beyond vertical - can't even force my hand to go palm up if the arm is fully extended. Really don't know what i've done to it.

Need to redo my sums to work out what i am paying monthly now that the Virgin minimum rate has gone and see how much i can spend for Christmas. I don't think i have that much for pressies but probably didn't spend much more than that last year. Might be a bit tight next month.

Re: the shoulder George have you seen a chiropractor? When I had a problem with mine (I broke my collarbone changing a barrel -and then because it hurt, I held my shoulder in an awkward position for months and caused a whole new set of problems!)

Anyway... Physio made it worse (much much worse!) and the osteopath didn't seem to do anything at all - but the chiropractor combined with paying more attention to the positions I was sitting in at the computer and on the sofa sorted it out.

On the BT front my lovely hopefully there will be lots of lovely new ones in the new year. Lloyds sent me one yesterday - 0% for 12 months BUT 3% Balance fee and 17.9 % interest is charged on that - and of course you pay that bit off last. I dunno how that compares with what you've been looking at?

Love Jacks xxx

GeorgeUK

There are 2 osteopaths i can go to. The one i'm seeing is the son of a family friend. I think he said there might be a trapped ligament or something, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better, even after he's worked on it. The other osteopath i saw when i put my back out (lifting baby niece) - he is alot more vigourous (sometimes feels like he's giving you a chinese burn) so i might go to see him after the new year if things don't improve by then.

I've never had more than a 6 month offer from a bank i'm currently with. 12 months would be quite good although i thought that they paid off interest before any promotional balances - at least they seem to for mine. Something else you need to watch out for is that there is sometimes a minimum purchase amount required, so you need to spend say £100 on the card before they will do a 0% transfer. This means that if you don't clear the £100 and get a nil balance statement before doing the transfer, it will constantly get interest added to it and be the last thing paid off.

I always work out the amount the transfer fee will cost as an apr over the period but it's always alot less than if i were to pay the full rate.

GeorgeUK

Another late update from me.

New balance: 15,832

So, what's happened this month?
Had the works Christmas party - i thought we were meeting at the venue at 7 so dodn't bother going home to change. Bought a new shirt (5% off) which took me ages to find - i'm a little bit fussy and got there at 7. The guy said it was next door in the main restaurant, so i went in there and asked. The guy there said it was next door in the place i had just been to so i stood outside for a while to see where anyone i knew was going. Twenty minutes later i went back in and eventually gound out that it was booked for 8. Turns out we were meeting for drinks at 7, but i didn't read the email as someone read it out to me and thought we were meeting there for drinks - nope.

So I had spent ages shopping, then standing outside some more in the cold and decided to try to find somewhere i could get a hot chocolate - only the pubs were open and they were heaving. Eventually got back to the venue after wandering about trying to stay warm - the night was quite god, but slow and i had to leave before desert was served to catch the last train home.

Next night i was going to have fun though, right?
Edinburgh MSE meet - got in nice and early, looked around the place and didn't see any banners, unmissable hats or cow umbrellas. Would have helped if i had remembered to put on my glasses though - was in a rush to get out and didn't want to be late.

Asked a few people if they were part of the MSE group and just got strange looks. Decided to look for a label or something i could wear so that others may see me - i don't have a mobile so couldn't contact anyone. Could i find anywhere that sold labels? Spent ages going into various shops looking for stuff and eventually phoned 118118 to see where the nearest internet cafe was. Has anyone used a payphone recently? £1 disappears in under 20 seconds on the ones just off Princes Street. I spent about £3.40 (40p was how much i thought it would cost to find the info - soooo wrong), not sure if that was the phone company or the 118118 charge. Anyway, they said south clerk street which is about a mile away so i thought they were talking bufallo manure. Went to the tourist information centre on Princes Street to ask and guess what - there's one in there. Not a mile away, more like 50 yards!!

Got online and posted on the meet thread to see if anone was posting there - seems i wasn't the only one that couldn't find the group. There wasn't any info there about where they were hiding so i posted that i would have on a MSE badge and be lurking.

Went to Macdonalds and had a Big Mac Meal
Eventually found some safety pins in boots that i could use to pin a piece of paper to and make a badge (bought 2 marker pens, special offer - 2 for 35p) and went back to the standing order.

Put on my badge and loitered at the entrence for a bit incase there were any smokers that were going in or out. No joy there. Went to the bar - where else would you find MSE'ers? It took bloomin' 25 minutes to get served!!! Why the boop don't they have a ticket system or something so that people can't push in and you aren't stuck waiting for a slow server? All that for a pint of cola then had a wander around incase i could spot the unmissable hat or umbrella. Ended up going outside and having a wander around the German market incase anyone was there. Nope.

Got there about 3:00, posted from the tourist info after being unable to find labels at about 4:45, Big Mac at about 5:00, back at standing order around 5:45, went to German market at about 7:30 and went to the station at 8:15 when it was just starting to rain.

At least i got a Big Mac :undecided

Other news, i decided to close my HBOS account (4700 limit). I'll try to get a new one from there in a couple of months. When i contacted them to try to find out how long i would need to wait between closing an account that i got a promotional offer on and opening another to get the same promotion (you usually need to wait a few months), I was told by 2 different people that there was no waiting period. Not sure if that's correct but i guess i'll find out when i try.

Egg gave me a 2k limit and since then i've reduced my available credit by 9.7k so hopefully my next application will result in a larger limit.

Just missed my departmental Christmas lunch - stomach went and i'm really tired all the time. When i got home at lunchtime on Thursday i slept for 20 hours. I've caught up on a little bit at work, but really can't afford to be off any more. Too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Still need to get my brother and his family their presents too.

I'm just about back in the land of the living - still feel tired all the time and resting today. Can't think of anything else that's happening right now so i'll say good night.

Hope everyone's keeping okay.
Good night

elantan

oh george so sorry to hear it didnt work out for you with the meet ....sounds kinda like a comedy farce to be honest ...

boredofbeingathome

That's pants George- you would have recognised me if i was there..i would be the mad one with a *I am the biggest fan of George* badge on