Discontent #10 food, energy, transport, cost of living, society etc

[heretoreaditall2019]

Ah I didn't realise the disabled pass was called a disabled freedom pass. Seems odd to call two very different schemes both a type of freedom pass. Seems like it's putting the covid changes in effect to be perm.

I remember in Newcastle they changed the pensioner scheme to ask for a £20 admin fee once every 5 years to get the card for free unlimited travel on the buses, trains, metro and people took to the streets with their outrage

Changes to Freedom Pass Travel Times
From Wednesday 18 January 2023, the temporary suspension of free travel for Older Person's Freedom Pass and 60+ London Oyster photocard holders between 04:30 and 09:00 on weekdays, which was put in place during the pandemic, will become permanent.

Changes to Freedom Pass Travel Times | London Councils

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk

Ahhh I’m not sure you know! I know that there was some definitely changes few years back as I’ll never forget the drama it caused

This is unashamedly bitchy but one of the worst offenders for whinging about parking fees or things like this lives in a £1.25mil house so I do wonder if it’s just something for miserable ppl to complain about sometimes? Similarly with ULEZ, I find it so difficult to believe in a time/place where property starts at half a mil people have not been able to trade their non compliant car in or just stomach the fee. There was lots of Facebook group am dram like thanks to ULEZ I couldn’t afford to see my DYING MOTHER. Really? Like there’s a bus every 3 mins hun I think it’s £2.40? Get an Uber? I more than get that we pay enough in taxes and council tax etc but the country has been mismanaged to such a degree for the last decade that sadly paying more for *everything* is inevitable.

 

[Yel]

thanks to ULEZ I couldn’t afford to see my DYING MOTHER.

It makes it so hard to know what's a real issue when people are so shamelessly melodramic!

Apparently there's a charge for the blackwall tunnel coming in once the new Silvertown tunnel opens. Which I don't have a huge issue with apart from it'll be yet another website you have to sign up for rather than making all toll stuff payable by one universal site. I bleeping hate the headache of all these different sites that you have to sign up for and pay before midnight. Apparently it'll be £2. If people think UK tolls are expensive they should travel in France

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

It makes it so hard to know what's a real issue when people are so shamelessly melodramic!

Apparently there's a charge for the blackwall tunnel coming in once the new Silvertown tunnel opens. Which I don't have a huge issue with apart from it'll be yet another website you have to sign up for rather than making all toll stuff payable by one universal site. I bleeping hate the headache of all these different sites that you have to sign up for and pay before midnight. Apparently it'll be £2. If people think UK tolls are expensive they should travel in France

We used to go to France a lot pre pandemic/baby and have the black box thing you can subscribe to that means you just sail through toll booths - an equivalent for the UK would be brilliant as you said it’s always scary thinking have I missed anything?

Tbh with France’s toll roads I think they’re more than worth it. The quality of roads, not much traffic, reasonable stop points for the toilet/picnics/sleeping if needed is a world apart from the UK.

+ yes with the am dram you do wonder. It’s a bit like the people going to the press to sell stories about warming up dog food take time and attention away from legitimate concerns - like with ULEZ what’s the environmental impact of scrapping x number of non compliant cars versus allowing them to come to the end of their life naturally?

 

[Yel]

They wouldn't even need stuff like a box as much of it is done by number plate cameras. They could then have the synergy of one site dealing with all of that. But that's humanity and the lack of joined up thinking.

Agree with France toll roads, we use them quite a lot and even though it sounds expensive spending €150 on tolls going from the north to south often when you do a quick cost benefit analysis it's worth it.
---

Had a stressful afternoon then see this email this evening, kick me while I’m down Lloyds 🫠 will never get out of the rent trap.

I definitely wouldn't assume that house prices will stay at the price they were before Costs of everything increased and average mortgage rates went from 2% to 6%. They'll adjust to reflect this, albeit with a lag.

Already fallen 7% since August peak prices and keep falling every month since.

 

[OwlAtTheMoon]

Ah I didn't realise the disabled pass was called a disabled freedom pass. Seems odd to call two very different schemes both a type of freedom pass. Seems like it's putting the covid changes in effect to be perm.

I remember in Newcastle they changed the pensioner scheme to ask for a £20 admin fee once every 5 years to get the card for free unlimited travel on the buses, trains, metro and people took to the streets with their outrage

Changes to Freedom Pass Travel Times
From Wednesday 18 January 2023, the temporary suspension of free travel for Older Person's Freedom Pass and 60+ London Oyster photocard holders between 04:30 and 09:00 on weekdays, which was put in place during the pandemic, will become permanent.

Changes to Freedom Pass Travel Times | London Councils

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk

I had no idea the time restriction had changed, I always thought it was only from 9am for weekday free senior travel. Must have missed that temporary covid measure. I remember the £20 admin fee thing. People always flare up when suddenly things aren't free but it's such low cost it's hard to complain about £20 for unlimited (albeit post-9am) travel.

 

[Potatopotaato]

I am with Eon Next and having a multitude of issues with them since July last year, generally I find their customer service terrible but I have found the quickest way to contact them is through Whatsapp or Facebook don't bother with emails as they've not responded to one I've sent!

I am on a smart meter which hasn't been working since July - doesn't show any usage at all for gas on my in home display, and doesn't send auto readings. I was supplying manual readings for gas up until December, when the screen on my gas box outside went completely blank and now I can't send readings at all. Eon have told me they can't send someone out to my property until we lose gas supply so I'm stuck on them constantly chasing me for a reading, me telling them I can't provide it because my smart meter doesn't work and the screen on my meter for me to manually do it also doesn't work! An endless, and very frustrating circle! Estimated bills they are giving me are extortionate!

This could be me writing this! Good to know I'm not the only one...

 

[Jc456]

I am with Eon Next and having a multitude of issues with them since July last year, generally I find their customer service terrible but I have found the quickest way to contact them is through Whatsapp or Facebook don't bother with emails as they've not responded to one I've sent!

I am on a smart meter which hasn't been working since July - doesn't show any usage at all for gas on my in home display, and doesn't send auto readings. I was supplying manual readings for gas up until December, when the screen on my gas box outside went completely blank and now I can't send readings at all. Eon have told me they can't send someone out to my property until we lose gas supply so I'm stuck on them constantly chasing me for a reading, me telling them I can't provide it because my smart meter doesn't work and the screen on my meter for me to manually do it also doesn't work! An endless, and very frustrating circle! Estimated bills they are giving me are extortionate!

Can you escalate and ask for I think it's a final letter so you can take it to the ombudsman. They should pay you £30 if the problem isn't resolved in so many days.

They're saying my meter is crossed (don't understand how as numbers are the same on my bill and meter). It was with the ombudsman until June for a crossed meter they're a nightmare
---

This could be me writing this! Good to know I'm not the only one...

Oh no, hope your problem is sorted soon. Got a feeling it'll be back to the ombudsman for me

 

[Jc456]

@Elle Woods @Potatopotaato
Here's their guaranteed standard of service info

E.ON Next

E.ON Next Energy Limited

www.eonnext.com

 

[Former_Antelopee]

My £500 energy refund is pending in my account and I’m £280 in credit now

 

[pixxyy]

You might remember I posted about my Electric doubling per Day, weirdly it's gone back to normal & i've no idea why it doubled for that time.

 

[Yel]

From the telegraph but the report it quotes is spot on about intergenerational transfer. The criminal thing during the last austerity period was that the already richest segment of society was protected (the ones that are most likely to have bought houses for buttons and have a good pension), while others below them suffered huge cuts.

It's almost a certainly rather than a possibility that those paying for this now will not be so lucky.

Pension triple lock ‘unsustainable’ and must be scaled back, says IFS

archived 1 Feb 2023 17:10:49 UTC

archive.is

 

[BaxterBillions]

Problem is that politicians don't give a toss about tomorrow's retirees, they only care about today's because they are their base that will come out to vote for them. Future pensions and how to pay for them are somebody else's problem.

 

[Falkor]

I'm 47 and I'm convinced there won't be a state pension by the time I'm in my late 60s. Fully expecting to have to work until I'm about 75, minimum.

 

[Folkevermore]

I'm 47 and I'm convinced there won't be a state pension by the time I'm in my late 60s. Fully expecting to have to work until I'm about 75, minimum.

Me too. I have a private pension but frankly it’s pathetic. Got a letter last week estimating I’ll get about £30 a month from it when I retire. I’ll have to work until I drop dead at this rate

 

[Yel]

What really gets my goat is boomers saying "well you've got time to make changes to boost your income and retire". Great, I'll just magic up some money, good job the cost of living is so low and wages are so high . I'll just give up buying a 65p avocado a couple of times and then use the savings to retire in my 60s like you did.
---

Problem is that politicians don't give a toss about tomorrow's retirees, they only care about today's because they are their base that will come out to vote for them. Future pensions and how to pay for them are somebody else's problem.

Yep, everything is short term. No one from any of the parties looks past the next election.

 

[Anne1448]

Me too. I have a private pension but frankly it’s pathetic. Got a letter last week estimating I’ll get about £30 a month from it when I retire. I’ll have to work until I drop dead at this rate

Same!

Last time I checked I can only get 25€ per month. It's disgusting.

 

[instasham13]

I'm currently paying into the 2015 CARE NHS pension scheme. I'll be honest and say I don't know much about it but I do think it's linked to state pension age? The thought of working well into my 60s/70s if I'm able before I can take my pension is a killer, especially when I could really use the money I pay in now.

 

[HoGi]

I'm currently paying into the 2015 CARE NHS pension scheme. I'll be honest and say I don't know much about it but I do think it's linked to state pension age? The thought of working well into my 60s/70s if I'm able before I can take my pension is a killer, especially when I could really use the money I pay in now.

You can take it earlier but will have early retirement reductions

 

[instasham13]

You can take it earlier but will have early retirement reductions

Yeah I did hear that I'd be taxed on it if I took it early. I'm only 33 atm so I have a long time before I need to worry about it and by that time who knows what will have changed.

 

[HoGi]

Yeah I did hear that I'd be taxed on it if I took it early. I'm only 33 atm so I have a long time before I need to worry about it and by that time who knows what will have changed.

Your pension will be taxable regardless of when you take it as your pension contributions are tax free, but there would be the option for a tax free lump sum (capped at 25%). The reductions are for receiving it early and can be quite large if you went at say 55 (the earliest you can currently take it) as you will theoretically be receiving it for an additional 13 years.

You should get an annual benefit statement every year. My best advice if you have any queries is to call up! A public sector pension is a great asset and the staff will happily help you if you are confused about any of the benefits despite how far away they seem