7.0% actually 3.69%?

Malthusian

Beddie said:

To those who say it is not designed to deceive - it really is. If you asked 100 people in the street, half would think the same as this poster. Just because we on here are good with finances and maths does not mean everyone is.

According to this logic, the statement "No three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer n greater than 2" is deliberately deceptive because not many people will understand it. 

redux

Malthusian said:

Beddie said:

To those who say it is not designed to deceive - it really is. If you asked 100 people in the street, half would think the same as this poster. Just because we on here are good with finances and maths does not mean everyone is.

According to this logic, the statement "No three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer n greater than 2" is deliberately deceptive because not many people will understand it. 

We might understand it, but not be able to prove or disprove it.

I guessed the name of it, and turned out to be correct

RG2015

Exodi said:

Band7 said:

Surely people would not expect to pay interest for money they have not borrowed (e.g. on a credit card or with a loan) - so why would anyone expect get interest for money they have not deposited? 

Haha this was exactly my first thought when I read Beddie's comment.

We may see a thread pop up now and then of 'why did I not earn the AER on savings I've just deposited' - but I have yet to  ever see a thread of "I have a credit card with a £5,000 balance on it at 20% APR. Over the year I gradually cleared the credit card. By my Maths, £5,000 borrowed at 20% APR would give me an annual interest payment of £1,000, yet I only ended up paying about half of this."

I think is similar to the phenomenon where consumers are very quick to report when they've been overcharged for something, but less quick when they've been undercharged.

I did that in a small corner shop once. I thought I had given a £10 note for a purchase but then received back a tenner plus some coins in change.

I told the shop assistant who then proceeded to check the till. Two minutes later she announced it was correct and she had given me the correct change as I had given her a £20 note.

Curiously her response was almost apologetic when she said, "Sorry, but I have checked twice and you have the correct change".

phillw

Beddie said:

If you asked 100 people in the street, half would think the same as this poster. 

That is a pretty good argument against democracy. If you can't understand how a "regular saver" that you deposit £300 a month into, isn't going to give you 7% on the final balance at the end of the year then I wonder whether you should be making financial decisions. Savings accounts should be taught in school.

RG2015

phillw said:

Beddie said:

If you asked 100 people in the street, half would think the same as this poster. 

That is a pretty good argument against democracy. If you can't understand how a "regular saver" that you deposit £300 a month into, isn't going to give you 7% on the final balance at the end of the year then I wonder whether you should be making financial decisions. Savings accounts should be taught in school.

That argument was used in the past against universal suffrage. Even the birthplace of democracy, ancient Athens, only allowed the elite to vote.

Churchill had it right when he said democracy was the worst form of government apart from all the others. Essentially democracy is only any good when it is viewed by the winners.

If it doesn't work for you, you can always say the vote was rigged, you can enable a mob, you can give the vote to children and foreign residents, or require ID at the polling stations. 

Albermarle

Churchill had it right when he said democracy was the worst form of government apart from all the others. 

He also said ' “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

flaneurs_lobster

It's quite telling that in a group of casual acquaintances it seems acceptable to admit being "no good a maths" while a similar admittance of poor reading skills would be shameful. 

Exodi

Albermarle said:

Churchill had it right when he said democracy was the worst form of government apart from all the others. 

He also said ' “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

"Hello sir, I'm here to talk to you about the benefits of leaving the EU. Like me, I'm sure you have concerns about the risks to British sovereignty, excessive regulation, entrenchment of corporate interests and share my view that the UK's EU contribution should be redistributed to the national benefit"

"Huh?"

"Sorry.... how about reducing the number of foreign people?"

TheBanker

For those who think the way the account is described is deceptive, what would you suggest as an alternative? Bearing in mind that providers already provide examples of how much interest would be earned (as they are required to do by regulation).

Because the only practical alternative I can see is to decide these products are too complicated and withdraw them from sale. That would not be a good outcome, either for those on here who use lots of the products, or for someone on a low wage who's managing to put aside £20 a month to pay for Christmas.

artyboy

How on earth did this get to 6 pages? Perhaps Rishi was right about making kids study maths to age 18!