Off Topic

A lot of companies are feeling the effect of the degrading economy and the resultant credit crunch, because of this utility companies are giving people less chance to pay bills before sending threatening letters, as a special help to people who have financial difficulties an extra administration fee is often added if you miss a payment, so not only do you need to pay the bill you need to pay the £10 or more admin fee from the utility company, you also need to pay the £35 the bank charges you for failed payment, banks have a service where they guarantee perpetual fees by ensuring the charges are sufficient to exceed any income you may receive thus ensuring a steady income stream, perhaps they will use the interest gained from your money to pay back the charges when extortionate fees are outlawed.

I will list here any companies that will give you extra chance to pay if you miss a month without threats and any additional fees in the early stages.

I would first start off by saying avoid British Gas, to even suggest a bit of extra time to make a missed payment will be frowned upon, you can ring their helpline but do not dare to expect any help unless you can make a payment there and then.

As a contrast EON will not hesitate to give you an extra month to pay if you ask nicely.

Link: http://www.cccs.co.uk/

Has the credit crunch crunched you, there are hundreds of companies who can offer you loads of advice and help in getting back onto your feet and financial stability, you can get secured loans, IVA’s, bankruptcy and loads of other ways to get yourself out of trouble.

Credit card companies can give you special deals to get you out of debt by paying them set amounts of money each month, other companies can give you special options to help you pay off your debt with them, some companies will offer to get a loan company to contact you to arrange a loan, before you do anything read on.

Every company who you owe money too will do their best to get it back, they will always do what is best for them not what is best for you and they will be very crafty in their attempt to get their pound of flesh, do not do anything yet keep reading.

Despite what you may think you have a lot of power and can to a certain degree dictate to them your terms and how you want to get out of debt, provided you are honest your worst fears can be avoided.

Do not feel ashamed there are hundreds of thousands in the same boat as you, I read somewhere that there were 50,000 house repossessions last year, I would imagine many of them could have been avoided by reading this post.

I will repeat DO NOT PAY SOMEONE TO HELP YOU GET OUT OF DEBT the companies who charge to help are like vultures trying to pick the last bit of flesh from your bones, these companies can ultimately bury you.

The options you have can be explained by the Citizen Advice Bureau (CA and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), the CAB have many local offices some require appointments to speak to a counsellor and have varying opening hours for more details visit their website http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/, the CCCS can be contacted on FREEPHONE from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday on 0800 1381111 or through their website http://www.cccs.co.uk/, they will arrange a time to phone you back and help you with your debts.

Both the above options are FREE you do not need to pay for debt help, debt help is free, watch out for companies pretending to offer ways to get you out of debt they are after their commission for helping you, I repeat you do not need to pay.

Only try the two I have listed many companies appear to be free but there are charges and the options they can offer will help them more than you, the options they offer will give them best commission, beware of sales spiel such as new legislation in the UK, speak to the CAB or CCCS for genuine free advice.

Link: http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/

There are some laws in the UK that shouldn’t be laws particularly motor related laws, they should not be punishable by fine or prison sentence.

For example
Drink driving should not be against the law.
Using a mobile phone when driving shouldn’t be against the law.
Not wearing a seatbelt shouldn’t be against the law.
Not having your children strapped into the back of the car in a car seat or booster cushion should definitely not be against the law.

Some people just ignore the laws and carry on as normal, some of them abide by some of these laws because of the possible of a fine, prison sentence or penalty points on their license.

Now people who ignore these laws are most likely brain dead and shouldn’t be driving in the first place, the ones who abide by these laws because of the possibility of penalty points, fine or prison sentence really need to have their grey matter examined very closely.

My reasoning
Why do I think people who abide by the law because of risk of fines, penalty points and prison sentences should have their heads read?
The above mentioned laws should not be laws but common sense, there should be no reason to have it as a law people should want to keep themselves and children safe, to not put their families in danger of any sort for any reason not to mention possible death and misery to innocent members of the public, to abide by laws to avoid a fine really devalues the family, what you are saying is you would sooner have your family killed than a fine or 3 penalty points on your license.
I know you are thinking it will not happen to you, the thing is it does happen, people do die from accidents caused by the above reasons, how many of the people killed thought they and their family would be killed when they go for their next car ride.

If you abide by the law because of risk of fines and penalty points or even prison sentences you should be ashamed of yourself, I abide by the law because I love my family.

Near where I live South Gloucestershire Council have been renovation the council houses, installing new shells on the exterior walls on some and spa dash on the others as well as installing central heating.

Despite who has been doing the work the majority of contractors have been parking on the pavement, I don’t mean just a few inches over the curb I mean blocking the majority of the path leaving just a few inches for pedestrians to get past.
There is a primary school near us and seeing people taking their children to school with babies in pushchairs and the small school child, most of the vans are big enough not to see over, holding a small child’s hand and pushing a pushchair with the other trying to watch for traffic as they go into the road around the van is a very unnecessary danger that can be avoided with a bit of parking practice.

I can understand if the road was narrow and they parked on the pavement just a little bit to allow vehicles to pass but the worst offending area was a fairly wide road, all parking on the road would do is slow down vehicles passing and therefore making it safer for everyone.

A request for all contractors, think of pedestrians when you park for a job, the pavement is not a reserved parking space for white van men its a safe haven for pedestrians, if you have trouble parking avoiding the path go to Tesco’s at night and practice there, parking properly can save a life.

Name and shame
If you see anyone parking on the pavement report it here as a comment, name the company and the area it was seen and the offence, do not add the number plate but make a note of it for yourself and report it to the council if it is a contractor for the council, if it is a private contractor report them to their company.

Link: http://www.leaperrins.com/

What is it with Lea and Perins Worcestershire sauce (normally known as Worcester Sauce) the ingredients are a closely guarded secret but is there something sinister in there?

I am new to Worcestershire sauce, in fact I have only really had it for the last 5 years of my life but now I am addicted, I crave it, I can not eat baked beans or cheese on toast without it, every excuse I can think of I use it, I am male and not pregnant, I am as close to human as possible but I need Worcestershire sauce.

I do not smoke, I do not need alcohol, I don’t take drugs, but the other wouldn’t go a miss every now and again, I have days I am addicted to chocolate and I need chocolate but not as often as the need for Worcestershire sauce.

Are the major ingredients, chocolate, alcohol, nicotine and pheromones, I dont know I just need it and I need an answer now.

Any Ideas? please comment.