Key political fibs, and some tips on how to refute them

Money has been devalued. I do not refer to inflation here. Money has been devalued because people don't value the things they can get too easily. The people who control our economy - the top politicians and businessmen - have served themselves extremely generously over the last few decades, and now for them money is commonplace. Because it is of little value they carelessly give it to some (themselves and their associates) and thoughtlessly take it away from others (the rest of us Britons). They do this with no more concern than casting a...

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Consumers 'lose £11bn a year' in financial scams and rip-offs

KJ and Fee discuss the report by consumer expert and boss of Cooperatives UK...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 27th September)

The poorest in society pay on average £1,289 a year more than those on average incomes for financial goods and servicesThe investigation, commissioned by the Labour party, estimated that consumers 'lose £11bn a year' in financial scams and rip-offs.  The most common complaints related to poor quality of service and defective goods. But the three big rip-off areas are banking and utilities, as well as vehicle repairs.  GUARDIAN("We are ashamed and humbled to discover our members are as thoroughly wicked as that well known bunch of...

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Tory Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell calls coppers "plebs"

He'd better watch his language...

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Rail fare increases - gouging profits or a stealth tax?

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.Dickens' wisdom, from the mouth of his literary creation Mr.Micawber, would suggest that British train companies have had a surfeit of happiness in the last decade. Companies seldom admit they put up prices to fatten their executives' pay or to boost dividends to their shareholders. They'd far rather claim they are forced to take more money from us for our own good....

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 20th September)

Lloyds Bank's secret "bonus list" rewards hard sell sales culture among 'advisers'Leaked document shows how many points each member of Lloyds staff 'scores' if they sell certain products. If they hit targets they win bonuses. But this can result in customers not getting the 'best advice.' DAILY MAIL("We totally deny these allegations" said Lloyds in a hurriedly called press conference that nobody really asked for, during which they tried to sell absolutely everyone some pet insurance)UBS trader 'gambled away' £1.4bnA City trader "gambled away"...

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Wonga loans quadruple as recession deepens

Fee takes a Wonga employee to task over its lending crite...

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Why nationalising the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will save the soul of banking

In the midst of the usual summer silly season, rumours went round that the UK government was thinking of fully nationalising the Royal Bank of Scotland. What a good idea we say. Because far more than further appeals to bankers' decency and threats of regulation, this actually could have saved the soul of the financial services industry.When it rescued RBS in 2008-09 the government bought 84% of a pig-in-a-poke. With no time to look in the bag, £45 billion of taxpayer money was hurriedly handed over. Ministerial hopes to unload this embarrassing...

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The 'fiendish' loopholes that keep tax dodgers ahead of HMRC

Chris, KJ and Fee discuss HMRC's attempt to crack down on tax avoida...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 13th September)

Health and safety inspections cut in regulation curbPlans to exempt thousands of businesses from health and safety inspections are to be announced by ministers. "We have identified the red tape and now we are going to cut it," said Business Minister Michael Fallon. BBC NEWS(Mr Fallon was speaking whilst standing under a poorly secured 500kg chandelier. Held up only by a piece of red coloured tape. Which someone promptly cut.)Planning rules on building extensions to be relaxed 'to boost economy'The government wants to get planning officers "off...

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SMEs, make sure you don't get rolled-over by your energy supplier

Guest post by James Newhouse who works alongside PowerExperts.co.ukWhen it comes to business gas or business electricity suppliers, there is a serious pitfall that both SME and larger organisations can become victim to – the ‘rollover’. Many do not realise when their business energy contract is up for renewal and do not realise that if they do not act to renew their contract or change supplier at the end of their contract, it can be ‘rolled over’ automatically at less than competitive rates. In fact, in a lot of cases, a rolled over contract...

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HMS Ark Royal sold as scrap for £3m

KJ and Fee consider an alternative future for HMS Ark Ro...

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Liebrary: The only way to save our children from paying the national debt is to cut services?

August 2012 threw up another howling hypocrisy in the “we are all in it together” mantra:The Bank of England admitted that the wealth enhancing benefits of its Quantitative Easing (QE) money printing exercise had gone to the wealthiest – giving them an estimated £600 billion boost to their wealth.Assorted Tory politicians jumped over poor bedraggled Nick Clegg for suggesting a wealth tax.To put this in perspective, HM Treasury figuresshow the UK National Debt passed £1,000 billion this year. Just the £600 billion increase to...

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