Commercialism rant! (long but worth a read)

purch

1) Motor Insurance.
I sympathise, and agree that the situation is unfair.
The Government demands by Law that we have Insurance. But their regulation of the Insurance industry is very light. The consumer forced to buy the product, has no way of knowing whether they are being ripped off or not, yet we have no choice in the matter.

2) Stop moaning. No body forces you to borrow

3) Stop moaning. No body forces you to save.

4) Stop moaning. No body forces you to shop in those stores. Ever tried Primark ??

Percy1983

I don't see why insurance can't run the same as say home contents insurance. I insure my car and it gets damaged (doesn't matter how) then it gets fixed, I choose not to insure it and if gets damaged (doesn't matter how) it doesn't get fixed.

I too paid to write off my 10 year old fiesta twice over my first 2 years of insurance yet I never crashed it or have crashed any other car since.

My point is there is a lot of descrimination in insureance, currently pricing says that every women is better than every man and every old person is better than every young person. Yes I can't deny the stats say young males are most at risk, but that doesn't mean all young males should be condemned. You about policies are dished out on good and bad drivers and all are innocent until proven guilty.

As it is we mess with my other halfs quote last renewal and found with 3 years less NCB and 1 accident she would still get cheaper insurance than me on the same car/same area/same age. How is that right?

ultrawomble

Percy1983 wrote: »

I don't see why insurance can't run the same as say home contents insurance. I insure my car and it gets damaged (doesn't matter how) then it gets fixed, I choose not to insure it and if gets damaged (doesn't matter how) it doesn't get fixed.

Big difference between your car and your home. Houses tend not to be driven by 17 year olds with <100 IQ's. Houses tend not to run into pedestrians etc. or houses killing the occupants. Cars do.

benb76

Percy1983 wrote: »

I don't see why insurance can't run the same as say home contents insurance. I insure my car and it gets damaged (doesn't matter how) then it gets fixed, I choose not to insure it and if gets damaged (doesn't matter how) it doesn't get fixed.

So you'd have no problem if your car got shunted from behind and written off by an 18 year old who thinks he's Lewis Hamilton, but with no insurance and who couldn't afford to pay you the cost of a replacement car? That's why driving without a minimum of 3rd party insurance is illegal!

And for those saying it's unfair, no it isn't. The premiums are based on statistical risk, and all of us older drivers were younger drivers once who had to suffer the pain of high premiums. Also there are plenty of insurance companies, so it's not as if it's an uncompetitive market.

Arcaine

Percy1983 wrote: »

I don't see why insurance can't run the same as say home contents insurance. I insure my car and it gets damaged (doesn't matter how) then it gets fixed, I choose not to insure it and if gets damaged (doesn't matter how) it doesn't get fixed.

I too paid to write off my 10 year old fiesta twice over my first 2 years of insurance yet I never crashed it or have crashed any other car since.

My point is there is a lot of descrimination in insureance, currently pricing says that every women is better than every man and every old person is better than every young person. Yes I can't deny the stats say young males are most at risk, but that doesn't mean all young males should be condemned. You about policies are dished out on good and bad drivers and all are innocent until proven guilty.

As it is we mess with my other halfs quote last renewal and found with 3 years less NCB and 1 accident she would still get cheaper insurance than me on the same car/same area/same age. How is that right?

It would be interesting to note how many of the people who are moaning about car insurance have taken the pass plus to get a discount?

PhylPho

The OP's litany of complaints is understandable and well-grounded. For example:

* the bloody garage that's making a fortune by always having petrol available for rich b*ggers but none when I want mine;

* the blasted butcher who runs out of meat when I arrive but flogs plenty of it to those who go round to the back door with a fistful of money;

* the way my local shop can't supply any fags but if I pay triple the price he'll somehow be able to find some.

And on, and on, etc etc.

The above is culled from diaries kept by British people during World War II and compiled by Mass Observation (1939-1945).

Taking the punter for all he / she is worth isn't something new, OP. Your generation isn't being marked out for commercial exploitation. All generations are marked out for commercial exploitation. And always will be.

LilacPixie

I think we just witnessed an adult spitting the dummy and throwing a tantrum my 2 year old would be proud of.

OP just get on with it like everyone else has.

chippy_250

Look everyone...There seems to be mixed opinion on my OP but let me explain what I don't like and what I think SHOULD happen.

Firstly lets just say, it wasn't New Labour's fault for the economy crashing. It is global capitalism and the free market! Now I'm neither a Labour nor a conservative. But how people can blame Labour for the mess we're in is a joke. How can it be their fault if the same thing is happening in other countries? They may be partially to blame but the same would have happened if Conservatives were in.
A GLOBAL FREE MARKET DOESN'T WORK!!! THE SYSTEM MUST CHANGE!

Moving onto my original topics.

What I want to happen is the government should provide the most essential things in life for a non-profit. E.G. Food, water, gas, electricity, mortgages, insurance, clothes etc should be produced by the public sector and sold for the cheapest price possible without making any profit.

1. Car insurance.
Just like home insurance if someone robs you, YOUR OWN INSURANCE PAY UP. So it should be for car insurance. It shouldn't be the LAW to have car insurance. If you have insurance and someone hits you who is uninsured then YOUR OWN INSURANCE SHOULD PAY UP. THAT'S WHAT YOUR BLOODY PAYING THEM FOR!

2. Mortgages
Like I said the government should lend people the money at the base rate. End of!

3. Savings accounts. There should be an incentive to actually save. I think the current rates are pointless. I don't really know what can be done about this at the moment.

4. Clothes shops
The price we're currently paying doesn't seem to be anywhere near the quality. I think trading standards need to get involved more. For a start, most companies are probably using slave labour abroad anyway.

Overall, I think the free market system currently in place clearly doesn't work. This is the reason for the current mess we're in because no-one has monitored it and regulated it.

I think the government needs to impose a LAW which means that no item or service can be sold with more than a NET PROFIT OF 5%.
This would allow companies to function whilst they'll still be able to trade.

Percy1983

ultrawomble wrote: »

Big difference between your car and your home. Houses tend not to be driven by 17 year olds with <100 IQ's. Houses tend not to run into pedestrians etc. or houses killing the occupants. Cars do.

But they do get robbed, yet you policy goes up and if not insure nothing gets replaced.

benb76 wrote: »

So you'd have no problem if your car got shunted from behind and written off by an 18 year old who thinks he's Lewis Hamilton, but with no insurance and who couldn't afford to pay you the cost of a replacement car? That's why driving without a minimum of 3rd party insurance is illegal!

But I just said insurance would be optional, if I had insured my car its no problem, if I hadn't thats my problem. With that example the amount I have paid for insurance without claiming a penny is more than enough to buy my current car.

Arcaine wrote: »

It would be interesting to note how many of the people who are moaning about car insurance have taken the pass plus to get a discount?

I did take the pass plus actually and still had to pay £1500 to insure £1000 worth of 10 year old 1.1 fiesta. It was then £1300 for the year after.

As I say I am not against the young paying more, but many like myself have paid a lot of money over the years and got nothing back just because some other people our age can't drive.

I still argue the point despite being on more reasonable rates these days (7 years NCB).

The bit what gets me is if they just charged every over 25 5% more (so £5-£30 more for many) then it would generate a huge amount which would help keep the innocent young drivers premiums down.

By all means those who then make claims or get speeding tickets etc should be charged at a higher rate but then those like myself who are sensible and don't have an accident don't suffer (£6700 paid in car insurance to date).

PhylPho

chippy_250 wrote: »

Look everyone...There seems to be mixed opinion on my OP but let me explain what I don't like and what I think SHOULD happen..

OP: give it a rest. You're actually making yourself look a hell of a lot younger than 21.