Mobile phones--luxury or necessity?

trigger_fish

parking_question_chap wrote: »

Well, they can do that if they wish, but would make more sense if they ate it.

Food vouchers-who would administer it? From which shops could you buy the food without excluding other retailers?


Failed before it starts. Just a daily mail headline.

Zebra

batg wrote: »

If for example a person says they are struggling with debt, and spends say, £50+ per month on internet access, is that access deemed to be a luxury or necessity?

I would say that internet access is a necessity these days.

Many government and essentials services are available, if not solely, then primarily online.

And I suspect the OP has an ulterior motive for starting this thread.

parking_question_chap

trigger_fish wrote: »

Food vouchers-who would administer it? From which shops could you buy the food without excluding other retailers?


Failed before it starts. Just a daily mail headline.

lol, just because you cant work out the logistics, its obviously impossible.


Food card gets topped up on dole payment day with x% of their money, can redeem against foodstuffs and non alcoholic drinks when presented with said persons ID.



Pretty simple.

trigger_fish

parking_question_chap wrote: »

lol, just because you cant work out the logistics, its obviously impossible.


Food card gets topped up on dole payment day with x% of their money, can redeem against foodstuffs and non alcoholic drinks when presented with said persons ID.



Pretty simple.

So you want shopkeepers to administer government schemes. Absolute right wing fantasy bile.


And the indignity of it. I realise that's part of the plan.

Prinzessilein

parking_question_chap wrote: »

lol, just because you cant work out the logistics, its obviously impossible.


Food card gets topped up on dole payment day with x% of their money, can redeem against foodstuffs and non alcoholic drinks when presented with said persons ID.



Pretty simple.

And the guy that sells cheap, local grown fruit and veg on the market...will he use this card-scanner???

And the local 7-11 when you need a pint of milk at 8pm on a Saturday?

And how about the baker across the road...currently they don't do contactless payments, or even credit cards...if you want a freshly made toasty tea-cake..or a loaf still warm from the oven, they politely ask for cash.....will they be provided with the necessary hardware to administer this scheme?


Perhaps you think all benefits claimants should just use the bigger supermarkets? ...which for this town means a choice of one shop...a small Tesco which struggles to provide us with the basics (there IS also an M&S but maybe they would not take part in the scheme????


And going elsewhere for shopping means driving - which I cannot do...or a bus journey (starting woth a 20 minute walk to the busstop)….not easy when you are disabled as I am.


And before you even get that far..Despite being born disabled,I used to work full time. I headed my department....then disability exacerbated and I went part-time...then I changed jobs...then I gave up work but volunteered....until now I can no longer work at all...in my 50s I ended up in sheltered housing (the only place they could get me a ground floor, adapted flat)….am I complaining? No...but I say this just to explain that bit by bit my independence has been taken from me...by restricting my shopping and giving me food vouchers instead of the freedom t buy what I want where I want it, you would be taking away the last shred of independence I have left!

kpwll

Johno100 wrote: »

Seems they are becoming more and more a necessity. For instance there are already car parks where you have to use a smart phone app to pay for parking, no cash payments allowed.



That is what I need and had for a number of years. Unfortunately most phone companies have now added regularly top-up and usage requirements to keep the sim and number active. If anybody has any suggestions?

I haven't read all the posts but to answer your question, Tesco PAYG I find very good. It's my own phone, I bought it at Tesco, and top up whenever I need to - which is less than once monthly.
They triple your top-up (there are different choices but I just have texts & calls), but this only lasts a month and then you use your own top-up money.
EG if I top-up £20 then I have my £20 + £40 credit from Tesco. I have never yet used all the extra credit in a month.

[Deleted User]

batg wrote: »

bit of an add on
if it came to the point between food or a mobile phone....would the idea of luxury or necessity change?

If I had to chose it would be the phone, I could take my meals down to a Martin Lewis moneysaving meal of baked beans, pasta and cheese rather then more expensive meat based.

Should someone lose their job when caught using work's computer for personal matters or be on their own 'mobile' and avoid losing job.

I did try one day to be phone free this year, one morning I got up to find my phone out of battery so stuck it on charge whilst I went to work and hoped I didn't breakdown - I hated it and got home to find missed calls about jobs. So I soon changed my mind about phone free days.

On the subject of job hunting - When do you think was the last time an Employer happily and without being specifically asked, provided someone a paper application to complete their job application?

Perhaps when my work ask to see text message confirming doctors appointments (which is currently free to my phone) - I should really ask my doctor to charge me an admin fee for a letter for work?

Perhaps now cyber cafes have shut and or become much less popular whenever I do have kind offers of being able to use a computer, I shouldn't drive the miles to do so. I did work for an Employer once who had a free to use computer in the staff room, you wouldn't get it today, some years on, as it is taken employees have own phones so I wonder how many savings on sackings it has helped, I heard my current work place under previous management, used to moan they ran a cyber cafe rather then a workplace so wonder how many they fondly would have sacked when caught doing something they shouldn't on works computers.

trigger_fish

Deleted%20User wrote: »

On the subject of job hunting - When do you think was the last time an Employer happily and without being specifically asked, provided someone a paper application to complete their job application?

The paper application only form is still about especially in the holiday seasonal type work but all round is in serious decline.


If you find yourself at the whims of JSA conditionality then you will need internet access to apply for work online even by use of the local library (if still open) otherwise you would be sanctioned. There won't be enough jobs to apply for by paper application only.

Tabbytabitha

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

When you need them to deal with benefits applications (PIP, UC and HB/CTB for a start, plus JSA and WRA group of JSA), not having one can very quickly descend into starving.

Again, you're talking about internet access, not mobile phones per se.

donnajunkie

People can live without them, many do. So not a necessity. However how common place something is has an effect of lessening how big a luxury it is.