LEAFLETS

It has come to light that in some built up areas we have more leaflets posted than letters, this is now becoming stupid, most of the people who post them deliver more than one leaflet which is simply the same shop in a different format, The Chinese are not too bad but the Indian Restaurant & Kebab takeaway leaflets seem to be posted on a regular basis and they are determined to post them as well.

A lot of home residents have ask the leaflet people to stop but there seems to be a communication gap, possibly they don't speak any English.

A good example of a delivery is my brother in law was at home a few months ago and one the leaflet posters was walking up the drive, my brother in law opened the and said to the guy ..."can you not deliver any leaflets through the door please." ... anyway when my brother in law closed the door the leaflet poster ran up the drive and posted it anyway.

CALL CENTRES

Call centres which simply are big companies in the UK outsourcing there lines to save money, the big issue is that the call centres are usually Indian, call centres tend to have communication issues, us not understanding them and them not understanding us.. most of the issue are resolved at the touch of a button but they seem to keep you on the phone for hours and we get frustrated with it, media organisation, fuel providers also have out source services.

Pitch sales/cold calls.

Another issue is these cold call sales pitches which also tend to be Indian or American call centres which usually when get the call you cannot get them off the line, they seem to keep calling and cause hassle all the time, you are trying get with life and work when some company cold calls you and won't leave you alone.

I had one contact me once and Indian call centre which just would not get the hint that I was simply not interested, they must have phoned at least 12 times in 2 weeks and on one occasion one of the calls demanded me to get my credit card detail for her which obviously is not a good sales pitch, so I demanded to speak to the manager, which she was ok with and I told him to remove me from there call list, from 2004 they never have bothered me ever since.

INTERACTIVE GAME SHOWS

These really should be the top, I totally hate these programmes since the TV networks released the first versions of these Interactive Quiz Shows their popularity has grown so much, but they are really ripping is off - some people do win but if you work it out they make a lot more from the calls than you would expect, I worked it out from one show that in 10 minutes they was offering £250 and had made £9,000 in just that time charging the caller just 75p and those did not even get to the call queue or to choose the answer but only to be told that they are too late and had been charged for that call.  Also it has come to light that the answers are sometimes added later to keep people calling, example they had a quiz and the answer was David, but 3 people had called in and said the same name, but near to the end a winner had won with that same answer.

TRAINING COMPANY'S

Training organisations which advertise boasting that you don't need any experience and still guarantee a pass, which are now covering many different categories driving instructors, computer based training organisations, they state that when you finish you will receive a recognised qualification which usually is a load rubbish, its just a pitch to get clients.  They boast you can earn up 30k year and get even offer a free car, smoke and mirrors.

On a personal note:  I have been doing pc support since 1987, so I would say that I know a lot more about computers than most, I also would say that I would trust someone who has more experience than someone who has just came from one of the training schemes .. I just for test went on one of there training schemes tests online which obviously I passed, to be honest its was a VERY simple test and it said that I got above 50% and then asked me to contact the sales team for an interview, so the main thing is that they are not bothered what you know or who but how much they can make from you.

NO WIN NO FEE, DEBT & LOANS

There are far too many of these adverts on television, personal injury services providing help to people who have been injured is now big business but is also constantly repeated on the television these companies need a large client base to make money but operates on the NO WIN, NO FEE schemes which are monitored and controlled by the government, all they do simply is create a report and evidence of your claim and supply it to a lawyer which will then take the other-side to court which will then decide the outcome and they will pay you in the form of a cheque from the other-side.

On average it takes up to 5 years to receive your compensation.

I am going to include DEBT & LOAN services which are really companies which are monitored by certain guidelines set by the government to help people get out of debt:- Credit, Loans and Overdrafts control this country and help keep the country as  a nation in the red, I feel that you should not have got in debt in the first place, £15k, 20k its just silly If you cannot afford to manage it - don't get it - save up, hire purchase or just do without is the best methods.

I know If there is issues like Redundancy or family break up issues this can come into it but there are ways around it, see citizens advice bureau.   My main target is people who get carried with credit cards and don't have a family life as such i.e. no wife & kids but simply like to live the high life! well you can live the high life without overdrafts, cards - your buying power won't be as much but at least you won't work to pay off your debts at the end of the day which will leave you with nothing.

ENERGY SAVER COMPANIES

God sake, these are really irritating to me at the moment, your gas and electric bill seems to increase not decrease ... save save save no way totally designed to con us..  I have found that the main suppliers like British Gas, PowerGen to name but a few boast that they save us money but for who I don't think its us, I still find that what they offer is not what we get, they even boast about there one off payment services and you end up pay for more call outs due failing repairs.

OURS IS CHEAP & NASTY BUT IT SELLS

Who the hell is Barry Scott and actually who cares!  he and Cillit Bang has been haunting our television channels for many years now but for god sake its Bleech with soap and we all know it but the way they make us think it absolutely incredible! also other adverts like this such as Gillette razors ... "the best man can get", well its BIC with 4 blades on it! and price it at £9.99 for one instead of £1.00 for 10 bics? but they say its the best?   over priced tacky crap if you ask me. The adverst: Cillit Bang Gillette Fusion

Personal joke : Bang and the Barry is gone!!

pay £££ for watching nothing

I think its unfair for us to have to pay a licence fee for something we own our selves the BBC who controls the licence fee is unscrupulous at coming to the amount they ask for, we all don't want to see what they put on but have to pay for it?  for example I at home may only watch a few hours worth a week of television, I spend most of my time on the internet or out at friends who have the same attitude towards this licensing  schemes and if we don't pay we get a fine??? its stupid why they should force us to pay for something we don't have to just because BBC channels are available on the television.

I use the internet, I pay around £20 a months for service and I have the choice of what I want to see, do and download with television you have limited channels and the more you choose the more costly it becomes..

Have to pay money to get money???

Why the hell should we go to certain ATMs to get money and also get charged for the service, my complaint is not the having to charge but the silly amount it asks for before you actually obtain your own cash, why should it charge us anything from £1.50  to £2.50 to get our own money out of these machines, it does not cost even a quarter of the amount to send and receive the information they need to make the transaction so why should we pay such an amount just for the convenience.

New way for the future

You are now possibly aware that the new Freeview service is now available to replace the existing analogue system which really is a con because once the service is up and running the TV licensing will be looking for new ways to re-price the service which will possibly mean you will have to pay a lot more than what you are currently paying as part of the TV Licence, The digital signal adds possibly a further 50 channels of free viewing ... but is it free?  Its just another way for the government to con us out of our money once more.