MSE News: MoneySaving at its most extreme

Heinz

OTOH, Freecycle and Freegle deserve to be mentioned far more often.

I have lost count of the number of things I have passed on for others to use using those sites. And I've picked up a dozen or so myself too.

I have also used them to do a good deed for an elderly friend. She had a very ancient VCR (we're talking early '80's here) which had eventually decided to stop playing tapes. All her family memories are stored on VHS and less than a day of watching my local Freegle group's site resulted in a hardly-used VCR being offfered.

steveg99

Got the following reply from Martin via Twitter (@MartinSLewis) and the article has indeed been deleted:

@stevegr99 I agree with you - hadn't seen it - asked for it to be deleted

Hopefully this article was just a lapse and normal service has now be resumed. But this website and Martin's media appearances are directly related to his reputation and articles such as this would certainly effect it negatively!

Megadebtor

My goodness,

Can everybody maintain a sense of proportion please. We're all adults on here are we not and I think everybody can take responsibility for their own actions.
The fact that the article has been deleted amounts to censorship and I bet most people who complained so vociferously about this article also dislike the ever greater emergence of the nanny state

I'm glad it was included in the OS board as I wouldn't have seen it otherwise and I would never have assumed that any of my fellow OS readers would be somehow seduced into a life of crime and deceit by the article. Equally I don't think anyone who's been reading the OS board would have thought that that's what all OSers do.

I expected people to disagree with some of the practices that a few of these extreme moneysavers used but such venom against the OP was in my opinion uncalled for.

Former_MSE_Alana

Hi folks,

Thanks for your feedback. We've temporarily taken the news story down to be looked at.

MSE Alana

lanavdt

While I don't think the article should have been taken down, I do think that it should have been edited before it was published. Imo, some of the suggestions were highly inappropriate regardless of the disclaimer at the bottom.

steveg99

Megadebtor wrote: »

My goodness,

Can everybody maintain a sense of proportion please. We're all adults on here are we not and I think everybody can take responsibility for their own actions.
The fact that the article has been deleted amounts to censorship and I bet most people who complained so vociferously about this article also dislike the ever greater emergence of the nanny state

I'm glad it was included in the OS board as I wouldn't have seen it otherwise and I would never have assumed that any of my fellow OS readers would be somehow seduced into a life of crime and deceit by the article. Equally I don't think anyone who's been reading the OS board would have thought that that's what all OSers do.

I expected people to disagree with some of the practices that a few of these extreme moneysavers used but such venom against the OP was in my opinion uncalled for.

My fervent hope on trying to complain about this article was never to have it deleted, but to edit the tip which truly offended me and left a nasty taste in my mouth. It was always a personal thing, which I felt very strongly about. I certainly tried to maintain a pleasant approach to my request for the article to be reviewed and this tip in particular. You can't always choose what affects you, but you must act on seeing something which you think is wrong.

I hope the article does return with a selection of the truly ingenious and wonderful tips which are spread throughout these forums. The rediscovered gems, shared with a new generation.

Saving money is most certainly to be commended, but lying about having an illness for personal gain is just plain nasty!

katsu

Steve & MSE Alana - thanks for the updates.

I'm quite comfortable that the article has been taken down and can then be reviewed and a more suitable replacement posted. MSE isn't the kind of organisation that I expect to repeat a tip that says "pretend you are pregnant or have a disability". MSE is about sharing hints and tips, and about ways the published rules of a scheme can be followed, not fraud.

I'm pleased Martin and co listened to our feedback so promptly. Well done MSE.

CFC

katsu wrote: »

Steve & MSE Alana - thanks for the updates.

I'm quite comfortable that the article has been taken down and can then be reviewed and a more suitable replacement posted. MSE isn't the kind of organisation that I expect to repeat a tip that says "pretend you are pregnant or have a disability". MSE is about sharing hints and tips, and about ways the published rules of a scheme can be followed, not fraud.

I'm pleased Martin and co listened to our feedback so promptly. Well done MSE.

this +1!