[Shotoflight]

2buyornot2buy, on 29 March 2012 - 02:05 PM, said:

You've depressed me now.

Repeat after me - "We are all in this together"

Now go and borrow £100.70 and fill your car up with juice.

Buy your granny a pasty with the change.

[2buyornot2buy]

Shotoflight, on 29 March 2012 - 02:12 PM, said:

Repeat after me - "We are all in this together"

Now go and borrow £100.70 and fill your car up with juice.

Buy your granny a pasty with the change.

[Shotoflight]

Shotoflight, on 29 March 2012 - 01:32 PM, said:

Nosiness got the better of me and, suspecting the Bel Tel was going to crash the Mr & Mra Average party, I invested 70p for todays 'hard copy'.

Lo and behold but isn't the tele running an exclusive "We're £600 poorer a year" splash on the front page followed up by analysis on pages 4 and 5 including a contribution from John Simpson.

Well worth 70p.

Northern Ireland workers will be £600 worse off this year

http://www.belfastte...r-16138156.html

[Shotoflight]

Co-op chief warns this year could be even worse than 2011 for shoppers

He shattered hopes that things will pick up in 2012 by predicting shoppers will remain under the cosh

http://www.mirror.co...ar-could-776393

The boss of the Co-op has warned life could get EVEN TOUGHER for families.

Veteran Peter Marks said 2011 was the hardest he’d faced in more than 40 years in business.

But he shattered hopes that things will pick up in 2012 by predicting shoppers will remain under the cosh.

Marks told the Mirror: “You’ve got rising unemployment, rising fuel prices, a growing threat from Europe and only this week the Bank of England said we could be back in recession.

“It is quite possible that things will get worse before they get better.”

His warning came as pollsters GfK said consumer confidence dropped last month.

[georgia o'keeffe]

Shotoflight, on 30 March 2012 - 06:21 PM, said:

Co-op chief warns this year could be even worse than 2011 for shoppers

He shattered hopes that things will pick up in 2012 by predicting shoppers will remain under the cosh

http://www.mirror.co...ar-could-776393

The boss of the Co-op has warned life could get EVEN TOUGHER for families.

Veteran Peter Marks said 2011 was the hardest he’d faced in more than 40 years in business.

But he shattered hopes that things will pick up in 2012 by predicting shoppers will remain under the cosh.

Marks told the Mirror: “You’ve got rising unemployment, rising fuel prices, a growing threat from Europe and only this week the Bank of England said we could be back in recession.

“It is quite possible that things will get worse before they get better.”

His warning came as pollsters GfK said consumer confidence dropped last month.

this chancer is an imposter the chief of Co-op is Joos Sutter

[georgia o'keeffe]

doccyboy, on 30 March 2012 - 06:37 PM, said:

http://www.thenews.c...p-toughest-year

Peter Marks is described as Group Chief Executive in this report

the real one

This post has been edited by Georgia O'Keeffe: 30 March 2012 - 06:44 PM

[Shotoflight]

doccyboy, on 30 March 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

and that would be the Co-op in Switzerland not UK
http://www.coop.ch/p.../Len/index.html

Added Mr Marks: “Looking ahead, I do not expect to see any significant recovery in the UK economy during 2012, with little hope of an improvement in disposable income for our customers. If anything, it is quite possible that things will get worse before they get better."

[Shotoflight]

Families hit by 8pc rise in air passenger duty

Cash-strapped British families have suffered one of the first major hits to their pockets from the Budget as George Osborne presses ahead with a sharp, twice-inflation rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD).

http://www.telegraph...enger-duty.html

Britons already pay more air duty than any other country in the world and opponents to the extra increase claim it will squeeze families at a time when their spending is already under significant pressure.

The APD bill for a family of four living in Scotland or Northern Ireland to visit relatives in England three times a year will now be £420 compared to £120 in 2005.

Simon Buck, chief executive of the British Air Transport Association, said: “It beggars belief that Air Passenger Duty is rising yet again and by such a vast amount today.

“It has become a tax on tourism, making it increasingly difficult for ordinary families to afford their annual summer getaway.

“Here in Britain we already pay the highest aviation duty of any country in Europe.

“The Government must end its obsession with raising ever increasing sums from air passengers, which is pricing ordinary families out of the skies.”

[Shotoflight]

Millions shun insurance against death, illness and unemployment

http://www.telegraph...employment.html

Eight per cent have cut back or stopped taking out insurance cover in the past 12 months, according to Unbiased.co.uk, the financial advisers' organisation.

It said adults were "putting their financial security at risk".

Karen Barrett, the head of Unbiased.co.uk, said: "Consumers looking to tighten their purse strings are now adding insurance policies to the 'cancellation list', choosing to let go of their financial security in favour of some extra cash in their pockets.

"The 'it won't happen to me' attitude seems to be at the forefront of people's minds as they fail to realise what this may cost them in the future."

She added: "We need to raise awareness amongst consumers that the state is no longer prepared to intervene in the event of ill health or redundancy; it is up to each of us to take on this financial responsibility

The group's survey found that more than 15m adults would be financially at risk if they were to lose their main source of income, yet 15pc didn't see income protection as necessary and 15pc claimed that they couldn't afford it.

When consumers were asked which insurance products they rated as most important in providing them and their family with long-term financial security, income protection was ranked seventh, below mortgage payment protection, motor insurance and building and contents insurance.

"Although it is important to protect financially against loss of or damage to valuable items and possessions, consumers should not lose sight of the importance of protecting their main source of income," Ms Barrett said.

"Income protection is designed to protect you should you be unable to work and ensures that we would still be able to pay for the car, the mortgage and the everyday essentials if we lost our full salary."

[Shotoflight]

doccyboy, on 03 April 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:

Ever tried claiming on income protection? Jumping through hoops takes on a new meaning.

Very few insurance companies like paying out, for anything. In my experience.

[2buyornot2buy]

Shotoflight, on 03 April 2012 - 01:41 PM, said:

Very few insurance companies like paying out, for anything. In my experience.

Unless of course you're a solicitor.

This post has been edited by 2buyornot2buy: 03 April 2012 - 02:05 PM

[Shotoflight]

2buyornot2buy, on 27 March 2012 - 12:21 PM, said:

Typical.

New 'inflation adjusted' car tax prices. Don't fancy the £475 (Range Rover) bracket or £522.50 if you split it in two x 6 months.

Have seen 145.9 for unleaded recently and 148.9 seems the norm now for diesel

http://www.direct.go...cle/DG_10012524

[Shotoflight]

UK food inflation pushes higher

British Retail Consortium and analysts Nielsen say high energy costs and threat of drought are pushing up grocery prices

http://www.guardian....her-brc-neilsen

Hard-pressed British shoppers have seen no let-up in rising grocery prices, with high energy costs and the threat of drought pushing food inflation higher in recent weeks. It rose to 5.4% in March from 4.2% in February, according to the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium and analysts Nielsen.

There was some respite for shoppers from deflation in non-food prices of 0.9% – the biggest fall for more than two years, due largely to price cuts for electrical goods, clothing and footwear. But that was not enough to offset soaring food costs and overall shop price inflation came in at 1.5%, up from 1.2% in February.

The BRC highlighted an 11% jump in the cost of oil this year which has driven up transport and manufacturing costs, which contributes to food inflation

Mike Watkins of Nielsen added: "Consumers are having to cope with falling disposable incomes, with fuel and household energy costs also increasing since the start of the year. With inflationary pressure continuing in the food supply chain we can expect supermarkets to keep a strong focus on promotional activity over the next few months."

Economists warn that droughts in parts of Britain could hurt harvests and put further upward pressure on food prices.

[Shotoflight]

I note the average rates bill in NI, according to DFP, is £704.

[Shotoflight]

Bad Friday with a further 90% to follow.


Austerity hits home for hard-pressed families

This week’s Bad Friday raid is a grim reminder that nine-tenths of the Coalition’s austerity cuts have yet to bite

http://www.mirror.co...families-780784

The uncomfortable truth for many people is that they will lose a lot of money.

The £4.7bn George Osborne says he’ll save means £4.7bn less spending power among people who can ill-afford to lose the cash.



Bad Friday: Lowest-paid families set to lose up to £4,500 as in benefits freeze

George Osborne is punishing the poor by freezing child benefit and slashing tax credits – changes that come into force on Friday

http://www.mirror.co...est-paid-780661

Mr Osborne wants to slash the annual welfare bill by £4.7billion before the next election and 7.8 million families are in his line of fire.

For, despite the soaring cost of living, child benefit will not rise. It was frozen for three years from April 2011.

Mr Osborne’s big freeze is also spreading across working tax credits. The basic annual rate is being held at £1,920 and those working more than 30 hours will lose out as the supplement stays at £790.

Couples will have to work 24 instead of 16 hours to get working tax credits.

Changes are also hitting child tax credits which will be denied to one child families that earn at least £26,000 and to two child families on £32,200 or more.

A £4 supplement to help raise toddlers and aid for the low-paid over 50 are being scrapped. Ministers have talked up the benefits of increasing the personal tax threshold to £8,105.

But the TUC calculate that families will gain just £381 over the next year while some will be left about £4,500 worse off by the benefit changes.