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

[265]

Just got my energy bill. I'm over £200 in credit which has been unchanging for months.... I have used 69p more energy than last month and they want to put my monthly direct debit up by £15!!!!

Oh good for you being in credit!! bit of a piss take upping the DD!!

My gas bill left me over £300 in debit, mainly because the arseholes at BG haven't increased the DD in over
a ducking year. And yet the buggers have increased the leccy DD Twice in a year.

I'm waiting for the next DD to come out then I will adjust the Gas DD, I will still be in debt but not as bad.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Oh good for you being in credit!! bit of a piss take upping the DD!!

My gas bill left me over £300 in debit, mainly because the arseholes at BG haven't increased the DD in over
a ducking year. And yet the buggers have increased the leccy DD Twice in a year.

I'm waiting for the next DD to come out then I will adjust the Gas DD, I will still be in debt but not as bad.

I only put the heating on to go up 1/2 or 1 degree and that's it for the day. They just seem money mad.

 

[265]

Okay many of us are in the tit with the cost of living and all that.

So how come we can raise 35 million quid for CIN last year and 65 million for the
earthquake in Turkey???

Totally baffled.

 

[UsernameBlank]

Council tax set to increase by 4% my local paper reports. Properties of £212k and over in the top band and paying £4418.46 per year, over 10 months that’s whooping £441.80 per month. Mental

 

[BaxterBillions]

It was in the Guardian this morning that Croydon's council tax is rising 15%

Council tax set to increase by 4% my local paper reports. Properties of £212k and over in the top band and paying £4418.46 per year, over 10 months that’s whooping £441.80 per month. Mental

Bizarrely, they still use house prices from 1991 to determine the bandings for council tax so houses in the top band are going to be worth far, far more than £212K.

 

[Anne1448]

Okay many of us are in the tit with the cost of living and all that.

So how come we can raise 35 million quid for CIN last year and 65 million for the
earthquake in Turkey???

Totally baffled.

Girl, Irish people are asking how come we cannot house the homeless but can help the Ukrainian asylum seekers too?

The answer is pretty simple.

Every country within Europe has the legal obligation to help countries in crisis by doing their fair share. However, they are not legally obliged to look after their own people. You have to vote for people who actually do that ans hold them accountable

 

[IngressUK]

If you are planning on buying Easter Eggs this year, beware!

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21374411/cadbury-change-easter-eggs-shoppers-fuming/

Probably the worst example above is the Crunchie egg. It appears two bars of Crunchie have become two FUN SIZE bars with the egg.

Cadbury's have become an utter shower under the ownership of Kraft/Mondelez. Traditional Cadbury recipes have been cheapened, sizes have shrunk and prices increased.

Kraft had to borrow £7 billion to purchase Cadbury in 2009, to finance its £11.5 billion takeover of it. We are certainly still paying for it now.

Also how much smaller (and more expensive) can chocolate get before people say 'no more' and vote with their feet?

 

[Yel]

Council tax should have been replaced ages ago with a property tax imo. X % of your property value a year instead, like they do in other places.

Would have helped keep a lid on house prices rising out of control and those at the top would have paid something relevant to their asset values. All this unearnt and untaxed money from property causes problems.

 

[IfTheCapFits]

We pretty much buy exactly the same items on our weekly shop for 2 in tesco, lots of rises in the past few weeks & we're easily spending £5 more each week now.

Cat food & litter has all increased recently too. 2 x 10kg litter used to be £14 from zooplus, now over £17. Applaws box of 12 fish treats (1 shared between 2 cats) were about £12‐£14, now over £20!

This last 6 weeks or so has been the biggest increases yet on our regular shopping bills. With all the household bills ramping up in the coming months now too

 

[BaxterBillions]

Council tax should have been replaced ages ago with a property tax imo. X % of your property value a year instead, like they do in other places.

Would have helped keep a lid on house prices rising out of control and those at the top would have paid something relevant to their asset values. All this unearnt and untaxed money from property causes problems.

Won't happen though because you'll get pensioners who are rattling about in their £500K+ properties moaning "I can't afford to pay that on my pension".

 

[Yel]

Totally agree, although the two main partys have done nothing other than continue this inequality over the last two decades. Until the demographic change I can't see them making the changes needed to make a fair society.

My generation is sucking Britain’s young people dry. Why are politicians too scared to admit it? | Polly Toynbee

The social contract between young and old is broken and inequality is out of control. The government must step in, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

www.theguardian.com

---

Won't happen though because you'll get pensioners who are rattling about in their £500K+ properties moaning "I can't afford to pay that on my pension".

Easily solvable though, could be made as an IOU to be payable when the property is sold. With this in place we wouldn't have got to the situation with a ex council semi in Oxford worth half a million

 

[Piff paff puff]

If you are planning on buying Easter Eggs this year, beware!

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Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21374411/cadbury-change-easter-eggs-shoppers-fuming/

Probably the worst example above is the Crunchie egg. It appears two bars of Crunchie have become two FUN SIZE bars with the egg.

Cadbury's have become an utter shower under the ownership of Kraft/Mondelez. Traditional Cadbury recipes have been cheapened, sizes have shrunk and prices increased.

Kraft had to borrow £7 billion to purchase Cadbury in 2009, to finance its £11.5 billion takeover of it. We are certainly still paying for it now.

Also how much smaller (and more expensive) can chocolate get before people say 'no more' and vote with their feet?

Was just looking at my bag of chocs. A local brand trading since the mid 1800s. I'd never heard of them. They haven't sold out to overseas take overs, no shrinkflation, traditional recipes and production. I will never knowingly buy brand confectionery ever again, only local independents.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Easily solvable though, could be made as an IOU to be payable when the property is sold. With this in place we wouldn't have got to the situation with a ex council semi in Oxford worth half a million

This is similar to care costs and that was awfully received as their adult/middle aged children are banking on their inheritances…

But yeah I thought this when you shared the wealth contract / disparity stuff the other week, this is how you get single person households of pensionable age sat in reasonable family homes worth £500k+. I wonder if an increase in supply of those where CT was more reflective of value or pensions weren’t so generous would help property prices for those looking to get on the ladder. Idk

 

[Codiaeum]

Was just looking at my bag of chocs. A local brand trading since the mid 1800s. I'd never heard of them. They haven't sold out to overseas take overs, no shrinkflation, traditional recipes and production. I will never knowingly buy brand confectionery ever again, only local independents.

One of the oldest coffee roasters is in my town and their coffee might be a bit more expensive than a supermarket brand, but: they have not increased their prices nor had and shrinkflation at all. It's still a reasonably priced brand sold in local shops here and they sell via an online shop. No sell-out seems to have worked for them since 1820.

 

[Yel]

I'm becoming a fangirl for the guardian at this point, but this is so true. For those at the top and at the bottom the benefits and tax system makes people work part time. It's crazy considering the labour shortage we have. The unemployment figures are at record lows, but that hides the people that have been discouraged from working more than part time.

‘It’s just not worth it’: why full-time work no longer pays in the UK

Britain has a shrinking economy and a worker shortage – so why aren’t part-time workers increasing their hours?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Jc456]

E.on finally billed me! Some is what I've already paid so I don't really understand

 

[IngressUK]

It was in the Guardian this morning that Croydon's council tax is rising 15%

Bizarrely, they still use house prices from 1991 to determine the bandings for council tax so houses in the top band are going to be worth far, far more than £212K.

Who on earth would choose to live in London nowadays?

The most expensive property to buy or rent in the country.

Some of the most expensive Council Tax rates in the country.

An additional precept (yearly contribution) to the running of the Mayor of London's office and London Assembly.

Congestion charging and ULEZ, plus an additional 6% on TfL transport fares this year.

Not to mention the many shops, restaurants, pubs and other businesses that add the 'London premium' to their prices.

 

[emmer_moans]

If you are planning on buying Easter Eggs this year, beware!

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Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21374411/cadbury-change-easter-eggs-shoppers-fuming/

Probably the worst example above is the Crunchie egg. It appears two bars of Crunchie have become two FUN SIZE bars with the egg.

Cadbury's have become an utter shower under the ownership of Kraft/Mondelez. Traditional Cadbury recipes have been cheapened, sizes have shrunk and prices increased.

Kraft had to borrow £7 billion to purchase Cadbury in 2009, to finance its £11.5 billion takeover of it. We are certainly still paying for it now.

Also how much smaller (and more expensive) can chocolate get before people say 'no more' and vote with their feet?

Do what I do, instead of paying extortionate amount for the chocolate eggs, buy a couple of your favourite chocolate bar blocks. Much cheaper, and it's still chocolate at the end of the day. I say this as an adult though, I suppose kids want the eggs.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Funnily Hotel Chocolat have just sent an email out to subscribers re: price changes. This email is incorrect, I don’t have a sleekster subscription it’s for their hot chocolate pouches but looks as if the price is increasing by around 2% regardless of name.

 

[Piff paff puff]

If we all chose alternatives instead of accepting these price rises for less product (in some cases) maybe they would stop being so greedy.