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darksky

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About darksky

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  1. Newcastle-under-Lyme and Trent Vale are good locations. Both near the M6 and good for the railway station if you commute to Manchester or Birmingham. Only 1 hour 20 minutes from London. Can buy a good 2/3 bedroom property with garden for less than 80K. I recently bought an ex -council house for 75k in Trent Vale. Has three bedrooms and space to expand.
  2. I was at a smart metering conference in London when this was anounced. A very senior person from OFGEM admitted that those in fuel povity is currently at 4 million and will rise to over 8 million. That is 1/3 of the population. Also energy bills are going to rise massively because the network was old when it was sold and is not long past its sellby date. Over 200 billion pounds is required to fix it. Secondly, an expert who has been commissioned by the utilities admitted that the benefit of power saving by consumers changing habit will be over taken by legisilation such as low energy light bulbs and more efficent applicances. There are also no benefits form smart meters in saving gas - new efficent boilers fix this. The only savings may come if we all start driving electric cars and have electric space heating. Reasons why this is wanted. Every unit contains a disconnect device. Prepayment is a massive and growing problem the utilities do not want to pay for. Therefore make everyone prepayment (pay-as-you-go) and we all have to pay for these new meters. Problem for the utilites and governemt goes away. Have no doubt this is nothing to do with saving the world or green issues fuel poor is the real driver.
  3. If any other individual took money from their company in this way it would be called benefit in kind and taxed. The inland revenue says___ All employees earning £8,500 a year or more (including gross expenses and the value of benefits in kind), and all company directors regardless of earning level are taxed on benefits in kind received by virtue of their employment unless the private use is insignificant (Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 s.154 - see now Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003). I find it amazing that MPs can take gifts and payments in this way and not be taxed. So why can these guys claim for TVs, household goods and payment of mortage costs??? I know, they run the system and are just different, it just stinks.
  4. I 100% agree with you. Although older people are often blamed for the state of the world, many younger people have been completely reckless in their use of money. In my day I was taught that debt was bad and do not buy until you could afford it. Today no one wants to want. It is a society of greed and materialism. I also openly accept this morally corrupt, totalitarian government have allowed debt to run out of control and I fully sympathise with the problem that young people have in affording a house. I as an older person grieve to see what this Labour government has allowed to happen to a once great country and what effect it will have on future generations. However, the view that old people have no value and screw their savings is completely unacceptable. These people have often spent a life time of saving and asked for nothing in return. They have paid taxes and built businesses. In addition many old people who now losing their savings served in the war and saw their friends die. A who generation was decimated. Why, to allow the freedom of speech and expression of view put forward by the twerp that started this thread. Go an study some history before making such a crass statement. Strikes me as total disrespect, jealousy and typically of the selfish attitude that many of today’s young people have. Perhaps, some day the originator of this thread may also be unfortunate to get old and need to live off savings.
  5. http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/sty...default/sad.gif I have just read the topic on the quality of new homes. It is interesting to read just what rubbish is out there and the state of trades people in the UK. From experience, tradesmen can get away with murder and the law helps and encourages them. The whole of the law is biased against the buyer. Do not think or believe you have any rights! Do not thinks trade associations, trading standards or building controls will help you. These are just money making rackets. Two years ago I contracted a well known local company to fit 10 new windows. They were FENSA members and on their contract claimed to be members of the federation of master builders and had all the BS standards. I could have used a local builder, known to be good but he was not FENSA approved. So, I went for the big professional company. The windows were fitted and days later problems started when the render fell off the from around the windows leaving gaps around the frame. I contacted the company and they did not want to accept responsibility or fix the problem they had caused. They told me to paint over the gaps. So, I contacted the Federation of Master builders , I discovered they were falsely claiming to be members. The Federation of master builders were not interested. I informed trading standards and all that they did was to ask them not to do it again. FENSA, no interest claim it is not their problem. Building controls – no interest as the company are FENSA members. Part L of the building regs turn out to be a joke. I have legal cover on my insurance so I thought lets go for it. My big mistake was to go down the legal route. I should have stopped at this point and paid another company to rip out the fualty new windows and replace them! From here it is a long two year story of involving solicitors, paying for more costly surveyors reports that prove the job was incorrect from the start and widows and fitting faulty. I tried to hold money back and reject the goods but told I cannot. I was forced to pay for crap. I was forced by the law to give the installation company another chance to correct the work in compliance with the report I paid for. The result was they caused yet more damage and the gaps are now up to 50 mm filled with expanding foam, the windows have scars from their attempts to fix glue wood around new plastic windows to hide the gap. After paying for more reports and following many letters from my solicitor, I discover I can only claim back £200 in costs and only way forward is if I once again give them yet another chance. Bottom line is you appear to have no rights where a builder is involved, it is a great gravy train for solicitors and building regulation are a joke.
  6. I disagree. I am an ordinary working guy, working in what industry is left in the UK. I have built businesses that have helped to employ others. Before the housing boom and in 1997 my pension was worth 3x more than now. The housing boom has helped no one but the government to take taxes and done nothing for me. Add to the problem tax raids and there is not much left. When you say never earneed or deserved, I have put a good percentage of my hard earned cash in a pension fund. In the past I have gone without to do this and never had debt. I do not understand your point?
  7. I fully agree and I have seen no benefit from this government. Ten years ago I had a good pension and savings in the bank. I had saved for my old age and have no debt. What about know? I see an increase in my Tax both direct and indirect. Pension worth a fraction of what it was. My kids have large loans and no jobs following getting their degree. In the future my savings will be worth less as Labour print money. My house is now worth a fraction. Great job- Gordon, guess who I will vote for next.
  8. Its not just rail - the Midlands M6 toll road has gone from £3.50 to £4.00 - 15% it started at 2.50 when it opened. Welcome to the future of travel in the UK - too expensive by rail, too expensive by road! Next were are going to have nation wide toll roads run by private companies - guess what will happen then. But think of all the tax the government wil have to waste.
  9. High house prices have been engineered by the government. There will not be a crash - the government makes too much money from stamp duty and inheritance tax. Also if house prices went down so would the justification for high council tax. Add to the above points the tax the governement makes from tax in mortgage companies and banks.
  10. We have all been the victims of privatisation. The so called market has cost billions and there is no market. It is a way for the government to take huge amounts of tax and blaim others. There absoultely no value in a privatised energy and water market. years ago the 'electricty boards' were over paid and inefficent. In stead of sorting the probelm out the government sold them off. Initially prices fell because hoards of people left the industry. Now we are left with the result - no skill, flaky supplies and ever increasing prices. The whole thing needs taking back into public control.
  11. Gas, water and electricty companies should never have been sold. Just think, these comapnies make big profits and get taxed. The bills go up and we pay more tax. Who wins the government.
  12. This is just at the time the governement has said old colour wire for electrics is to be changed to Blue/Brown to harmonise with Europe. Tons of old Red/Black wire has to be distroyed. I am an electrician - I still have reels of old wire that I cannot use. Now I have to buy new wire at a 40% increase in cost! This plus Part P is adding a huge cost to any electrical work in the UK.
  13. Interesting debate - but remember lies damn lies and statistics. The world is littered with statistics, and the average person is bombarded with five statistics a day. Statistics can be misleading and sometimes deliberately distorting. In the end the basic laws of economics will rule- supply and demand. Demand is driven by can someone afford to buy and that is the long term question. Looking to the past is no guide to the future. I am luck I own a house worth 500k, but on may wages, if I took a morgage out today I could not afford it.
  14. Part P, FENSA and in the future regulations preventing DIY work on heating systems are all about Tax. In the past, many electricians, plumbers and joiners were small one man companies and would work for cash. Now if every job has to be registered, it is easier for the government to determine what tax should be paid. Add then the cost of membership fees to belong to NICEIC etc, once a charity now a commercial enterprise who make millions from these new regulations and pay more tax. In the past I fitted windows/doors, installed heating systems and re-wired houses, all to a professional standard. If I did not know how to complete a task, I would go to a night class to learn, read a book or find out how to. I had lots of friends who would help and could do the same. I have a degree in Electrical engineering, C&G 2381 and 2391 and a Chartered Engineer yet now, in the eyes of the law, I am not classed as been competent to do these jobs and expected to pay some “professional” to do a poor job and charge an exorbitant fee. Tax and raising more money for the boys in government and justify why we need more civil servants is what it is all about – nothing to do with safety, better insulation or energy savings. One big con, all run by the ODPM. By the way I am 49 and also an expert with computers and software!
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