Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

Pyxis

michaels wrote: »

Curious one. My car insurance is up for renewal. I ran a new customer quote with my existing company and it came out 40 quid less. Then I realised the renewal date was a day late and ran it again with the correct date and it was 80 more than the renewal price - so they were smart enough to not only give a cheaper price to new customers but to try and make sure existing customers didn't take advantage by bumping the premium up by 120 if they realise it was a renewal not new business. Cunning I guess but it doesn't exactly inspire customer loyalty.

Of course with 2 cars and a garage we will just not use the car for one day and save the 40 quid....

Are they in league with the TV licence people?


I got my car tax renewal reminder today. End of April it expires.

I miss the tax disc.

I kept every one I ever got. I thought they would make nice ephemera. I might collage them and frame it.

I could call it "Disc-car-ded".:D

silvercar

michaels wrote: »

Curious one. My car insurance is up for renewal. I ran a new customer quote with my existing company and it came out 40 quid less. Then I realised the renewal date was a day late and ran it again with the correct date and it was 80 more than the renewal price - so they were smart enough to not only give a cheaper price to new customers but to try and make sure existing customers didn't take advantage by bumping the premium up by 120 if they realise it was a renewal not new business. Cunning I guess but it doesn't exactly inspire customer loyalty.

Of course with 2 cars and a garage we will just not use the car for one day and save the 40 quid....

And SORN it for the day in question?

Pyxis wrote: »

Are they in league with the TV licence people?


I got my car tax renewal reminder today. End of April it expires.

I miss the tax disc.

I kept every one I ever got. I thought they would make nice ephemera. I might collage them and frame it.

I could call it "Disc-car-ded".:D

I've saved loads of them as someone somewhere suggested they may be worth something one day.

LydiaJ

ivyleaf wrote: »

Lydia If it's any help, DD2 needed a new one recently and didn't have the cash to spare, so we bought her the cheapest own-brand one in Sainsburys; she's very happy with it as far as I know. I think it was £60. They had several different models so if there's a biggish one near you it's worth having a look

Thanks Ivyleaf and others. I might train Sainsburys tomorrow.

silvercar wrote: »

And SORN it for the day in question?

You wouldn't need to SORN it as long as it was taxed, would you? If the only problem is that it's not insured, all you'd have to do is not drive it until you'd sorted our some new insurance. You'd have a big loss if it happened to get stolen or the garage burned down on the day it wasn't insured, though.

michaels

LydiaJ wrote: »

Thanks Ivyleaf and others. I might train Sainsburys tomorrow.



You wouldn't need to SORN it as long as it was taxed, would you? If the only problem is that it's not insured, all you'd have to do is not drive it until you'd sorted our some new insurance. You'd have a big loss if it happened to get stolen or the garage burned down on the day it wasn't insured, though.

I think SC is legally correct, if you are not insured you have to sorn. However I also don't like that new customers get ambetter deal than existing customers. Sure it makes sense commercially but ethically?

Talking of ethics I see the mse poll has come out in favour of term time holidays. To me the issue is that whilst for any one pupil the days off are probably not significant, for the class as a whole, if pupils are off at different times the teacher has to spend a lot of time foing back over missed pieces of learning and less progress is made overall. In other words taking your child out is the ultimate in putting the individual above the group and it is a sad reflection on our times that people think this way. Similar examples are all around; those wood burners we were talking about earlier and in general ignoring climate degredation right through to those with nice houses insisting that no new houses should be built locally.

GDB2222

michaels wrote: »

I think SC is legally correct, if you are not insured you have to sorn. However I also don't like that new customers get ambetter deal than existing customers. Sure it makes sense commercially but ethically?
.

With due respect, given how you routinely game the system, is that a question you ought to be asking?

Pyxis

Like Lydia, my first thought was that a SORN was only needed for the road tax, but I've just checked and yes, it does apply to insurance as well. It even specifically says even if the car will only be uninsured for a short time, such as between insurances.

Pyxis

I agree with your bullet points, Pastures.

Although, I for one wouldn't have been seen dead in a Ford Escort! :rotfl:

Having read through that thread, what comes across shriekingly ear-shatteringly, is the overwhelming sense of 'entitlement to a holiday'. It sounds as if being deprived of a holiday abroad is a gross breach of one's human rights, and anyone who deprives a family of that is the devil incarnate.

I deliberately said 'holiday abroad', because my first thought was that if holidays abroad are so very expensive, why not stay at home? And I mean, at home. Take your week off work, and plan things within travelling distance of home. There's usually stacks of stuff laid on in the holidays, things that will appeal to all ages.

It's the quality time with the parents that counts, not where you have that time.

Even if you are, literally, at home, there's still things you can do together as a family. It's just having the will and the mindset.

If someone then says, "Oh, but we need the guaranteed sunshine", then that says more about the parents' needs than the children's.

I didn't suggest all that on that thread, as I thought I'd probably be tied to a tree and scourged, and I'm a wimp. I think I'm safe saying it here!


Now, I know that in a very few cases, there will be a very good reason for a holiday being taken in term time. There might be family wedding, for example, or a medical reason, or a valid once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That's fair enough.

As Pastures said, if the prices are higher in holidays, it's the basic law of economics. So you budget accordingly, if it's that important to go abroad.

I do realise that for families on a very low income, the difference in prices might make it uneconomical to go away in the holidays, but having a holiday abroad is not a God-given right.
I can speak from personal experience. For 6 years I was on Supplementary Benefit and couldn't afford even a day out, let alone a holiday. The only times we went away during those 6 years were when a friend invited us to her mother's house on the south coast for a weekend, and when a charity paid for us to have 6 days in Jersey.

I just don't understand this "I must have a holiday abroad" whining.
As Pastures said, it's just teaching the children that what they want comes before everything else. (Except that it's mostly about what the parent wants). It's just awful.

I can remember when I was off school because I was ill. Even after just a couple of days, trying to catch up was difficult, and there was always the sense that you missed out.

ivyleaf

Oi, Pyxis, we used to have a Ford Escort! in the early 80s, it was.

Re the SORN - OH was surprised because he used to work for DVLA, and he said it was fine for the car to be uninsured as long as it was taxed; sounds as if they must have changed the rules since he retired.

Pyxis

ivyleaf wrote: »

Oi, Pyxis, we used to have a Ford Escort! in the early 80s, it was.

I was only joking!

I'm sure I have been in a few, too!


And a Ford Fiesta! :eek:

And an Avenger! :eek: :eek:

michaels

It is nice coming on here where people agree with me

There was another piece this morning on kids who don't eat well during the school holidays because they no longer get free school lunches. I would not claim that there are no homes where there is not enough money for food but I bet that in many cases there are iphones, branded trainers and sky tv (and holidays abroard) that can be afforded even where food can't - thus just increasing benefits will not solve the problem as it will result in a newer iphone or an upgraded sky package and the kids will still be hungry.

I have no idea what the solution is. I am as uncomfortable as the next person about the state dictating what we can spend 'ou' money on. I know in the US they use grocery coupons but I suspect there is a lucrative market for these to exchange for cash at a discount and no doubt there are shops that exchange them for ciggies or alcohol even though I bet this is prohibited.

I may risk a starting a thread on this.

Apologies for the lack of whitespace, for some reason wehn I post here it strips the blank lines. Edit: Seem to be able to insert a br tag to get round this.