Category Archives: Banks

Not a real price drop

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Here is historical house price growth. Or to put it another way, here is how much money people made, how much money the speculators made, how much money people think they made even though they won’t actually sell but suddenly feel worse off. The really important part is the scale on the left. It’s in hundreds or thousands of %

house price growth
more house price growth

Now look at the graph the BBC used today.

pathetic manipulation

The scale covers 20%. Just 20%. But they write it on a scale that makes it look to be a complete catastrophe. Given that most people don’t buy a house and sell it 12 months later this means little. There really will be people whose house 12 months ago whose house was valued at say £200K and yet now it’s worth 180K. They have no intention of selling but they’ll be wringing their hands while crying about their financial loss. But for the BBC to present such a graph which was created by 2 companies who have probably benefited from all the Govt banking handouts it means the BBC are failing to see what is essentially business propaganda. Those companies are not doing this to reassure people, they are not doing it to illustrate a wider problem (indeed doing this can create or worsen a problem), they are doing it for their selfish reasons and the BBC journo who wrote that didn’t see it for what it was.

Chip, PIN and not my card

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Post at the BBC about cash machine fraud and the new ‘Chip and PIN’ is mentioned. I love it. It means I can use my wife’s card – even though it has MRS written on it. It means I can use her credit card because I have the number and they don’t check the card – even when it was unsigned. It means I can stand in ASDA and when one card is rejected produce a card from the same bank and try again. It means I can stand in ASDA with 2 PIN’s on the back of my hand so I don’t get the wrong one for the wrong card. All it’s done is made cashiers not have to read it and check it – anyone remember the cheque cards days? Whatever. Financial security. Works for me.

(and yes it’s all with her permission. The credit card does not have Mrs on it – so it’s effectively mine – with her full permission. She can’t walk into let around shops but she still wants things. There is no fraud or deception in this house.)

They want to be my friend

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One of the most obvious effects of having our name in some London Gazette and being declared officially potless was that our mailbox got dusty. No-one sent us letters. We got the basic utility bills and that was it. No offers, no bank statements, no leaflets – we got sod all. As it happened, that suited me just fine. I didn’t care. It was nice not getting mail. Then in April the mantle was lifted and the mail started. Almost the next day we had offers. This was despite our circumstances not altering by even a penny. When we were both working in the past I suppose this was an event that just passed us by – the lifting of the trash from the doormat to the bin will have been such a regular and monotonous task it will not have registered. But then being thrown to the side of the street where the sharks don’t swim makes it all the more obvious when we got back. Slowly but surely the amount of “Guaranteed Credit!” “Pre-approved Loan!!” “Need a new car?” junk that flows in has increased. They know you know…..

And then of course in September I became self-employed. Well….. the taxman has discovered I exist. He told his mates at National Insurance, they tipped off the Pension people and someone somewhere told the sharks.
It’s like the sharks know I have no debt. I owe no-one anything. Not a penny. But they want me to owe them. They want me to be their bestest friend and they’ll pay for the priviledge or so it would seem. Every day I get offers. And every day – just like I did years ago – I toss it all. Maybe they think I want to do it all again? Maybe they think I didn’t learn? Maybe they think I found the whole process such a laugh I want to experience it anew? I actually don’t give a damn what they think and I couldn’t care how much garbage they throw at me – maybe they’d stop if I did get some debt. And that’s the stupid thing.
I can’t get credit until I get debt and I can’t get debt until I get credit. Or pretty close anyway. So if I did, I can’t. So I’ll have to play a game – maybe even lie. But then do they care? Does anyone care? But do I want debt or will I get into debt? Not a chance. No cash? No buy. It has been that simple and it’s staying that simple – floods of junk won’t stop that.

(though if anyone is up for robbing the Natwest, I’m in. Those liars deserve it :) )

Banks.

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Given that banks are run entirely by computers and that there is absolutely no-one working for one who has the ability or desire to use independent thought, why do they have so many employees? Why do they have people? All those people are doing is feeding computers. They are not making decisions because computers do not allow them to. They are not employed for any other reason than being able to copy-type numbers. They are not employed to be anything other than a ‘human face’. Screw that – I’d rather have a machine to swear at because that’s all these people actually are – automatons. Where can the job satisfaction be of all day saying “Computer says No” or “Computer says Yes”? Is that some sort of valued career? Why don’t the theiving banks just stick machines in there and grab even more money for themselves?

Banks. “We screw you because we can.”

Nat-damn-west

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Walk into Nationwide Building Society, ask for all my money. No, can’t have it. Can only have £500 and the rest in a cheque. “We don’t have enough money”. Bollocks. Anyway, get cash, get Bankers cheque. Walk out. Cross road. Place all of it into the Natwest. Cheque will take 5 working days to clear – thieving bastards. Why 5 days? They have to wait for the post. That was at about 11am. Cash? Oh no. That’s not in my account. Online I have no money. Yet online a purchase shows in seconds. Bastards. J said I should have gone back in for one of their advisory packs for September. Not a chance – they’d try to sell me a loan I don’t need and an account with more charges I don’t want. Natwest? Craptastic. Come September I’ll google the top 6 banks or so and go with the one with the least complaints because we all know they are screwing us all over daily.

Anyway, dual screens / keyboard ordered, and back slightly painful from playing on the trampoline. With the girls. At 9:30pm when it was raining. It’s tough being a dad ;)