In todays news...

[Ant]

Drop in the ocean, insignificant amount of money tbf, given the amount he wasted on Track and Trace and gave to his mates via PPE

Finished that sentence for you.

Quick, pull down those statues, keep it remainery

[Cousin Jack]

Power companies must stop forcing poor people onto pre-payment meters. Or, to rephrase that, your bills for gas and electric will be going up to pay for the people who can't or won't pay their bills.

A spokesman for the water industry said on R4 today that every household paid something like £20 - £30 pa to cover bad debts like this - it is almost impossible to legally cut off water for non-payment. They suggested that the bad debt bill for power might be a bit higher.

Are you happy with that? Do you think poor people with bad debts that they cannot pay should be supported by the rest of us?

[Count Steer]

Are you happy with that? Do you think poor people with bad debts that they cannot pay should be supported by the rest of us?

Depends. 15% of pensioners live below the poverty line. Do we want them to live without water (or electricity?). As far as the water companies are concerned though they should fund it themselves instead of paying dividends and vast sums to their parent companies.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I bet some people would complain about water debt relief with one breath, then donate to an African clean water charity with the next

[MrLongbeard]

African clean water charity

They can fuck right off, when did they forget how to dig wells, filter or boil water for themselves

[Cousin Jack]

Depends. 15% of pensioners live below the poverty line. Do we want them to live without water (or electricity?). As far as the water companies are concerned though they should fund it themselves instead of paying dividends and vast sums to their parent companies.

I'm not a fan of water companies, and I have no beef about maintaining the status quo with them. Bad debts are a fact of business life, and I would agree with you that cutting their massive dividends would be a good idea. Investing in leak proof infrastructure would be a better use of their profits.

I am not however that keen on allowing lots of ner do wells to run up big debts for gas and electric and get off scot free. At the moment if they do that they get put on a pre-payment meter, and forced entry to fit that can only legally be done with a court order. I also know (from CA) that most power companies are sympathetic to paying off debts by installments, often over many years. They do however get tough to stop people with big debts running up even bigger debts, hence the prepayment meters. That seems fair to me.

[irie]

... As far as the water companies are concerned though they should fund it themselves instead of paying dividends and vast sums to their parent companies.

And should invest in increasing capacity and technology to prevent regularly dumping huge amounts of sewerage into the rivers and sea ...

[Count Steer]

Depends. 15% of pensioners live below the poverty line. Do we want them to live without water (or electricity?). As far as the water companies are concerned though they should fund it themselves instead of paying dividends and vast sums to their parent companies.

I'm not a fan of water companies, and I have no beef about maintaining the status quo with them. Bad debts are a fact of business life, and I would agree with you that cutting their massive dividends would be a good idea. Investing in leak proof infrastructure would be a better use of their profits.

I am not however that keen on allowing lots of ner do wells to run up big debts for gas and electric and get off scot free. At the moment if they do that they get put on a pre-payment meter, and forced entry to fit that can only legally be done with a court order. I also know (from CA) that most power companies are sympathetic to paying off debts by installments, often over many years. They do however get tough to stop people with big debts running up even bigger debts, hence the prepayment meters. That seems fair to me.

I didn't mention ne'er do wells.

Water meters are pretty crude things. Ideally they'd fit meters which allowed x cubic meters/set period then throttled back supply pressure.

Oh, and if they're concerned about the cost of the water maybe they'd like to fix some leaks. (There's a small covered reservoir near here that they are constantly refilling with tankers. Meanwhile, 100 yards further down the road water is streaming along and has been for over a year. It gets quite exciting when the cars spread it all over and it freezes).

[Noggin]

Power companies must stop forcing poor people onto pre-payment meters. Or, to rephrase that, your bills for gas and electric will be going up to pay for the people who can't or won't pay their bills.

A spokesman for the water industry said on R4 today that every household paid something like £20 - £30 pa to cover bad debts like this - it is almost impossible to legally cut off water for non-payment. They suggested that the bad debt bill for power might be a bit higher.

Are you happy with that? Do you think poor people with bad debts that they cannot pay should be supported by the rest of us?

The biggest issue I have with prepayment meters is that they are (or always used to be) more expensive. Even when not paying off a debt. So, the people with least money pay more for their energy/water because they have to be on a prepayment meter. That's the bit I think sucks

[Count Steer]

The biggest issue I have with prepayment meters is that they are (or always used to be) more expensive. Even when not paying off a debt. So, the people with least money pay more for their energy/water because they have to be on a prepayment meter. That's the bit I think sucks

Still true, the poorer you are, the more you pay, which really is utterly bizarre.

[Noggin]

The biggest issue I have with prepayment meters is that they are (or always used to be) more expensive. Even when not paying off a debt. So, the people with least money pay more for their energy/water because they have to be on a prepayment meter. That's the bit I think sucks

Still true, the poorer you are, the more you pay, which really is utterly bizarre.

Had this discussion out here when my washing machine broke a few years ago. I really couldn't afford to buy a new one, but after using the launderette a few times I realised that I couldn't afford NOT to buy a machine!!

The world is not set up for those that are poor or having a poor time.

[Count Steer]

The world is not set up for those that are poor or having a poor time.

This is where I agree with Skrewdriver...if a few people can take a few ££ off a few million or billion people, they're rich and the poor are just a bit poorer.
If you need to borrow a large amount of money you get a good rate. If you need to use a pay day loan or even a credit card....kerrbloodyching. If you need to buy enough for one or two at the supermarket then you'd better buy a freezer and buy family packs of frozen rather than fresh. Need to use public transport because you're poor and/or old? That's kerrbloodyching now too.
System's ed

(As it has been for years).

[Noggin]

The world is not set up for those that are poor or having a poor time.

This is where I agree with Skrewdriver...if a few people can take a few ££ off a few million or billion people, they're rich and the poor are just a bit poorer.
If you need to borrow a large amount of money you get a good rate. If you need to use a pay day loan or even a credit card....kerrbloodyching. If you need to buy enough for one or two at the supermarket then you'd better buy a freezer and buy family packs of frozen rather than fresh. Need to use public transport because you're poor and/or old? That's kerrbloodyching now too.
System's ed

(As it has been for years).

It's the reason I managed to find and buy a small second hand chest freezer even tho my place is stupidly small - buying for one is ridiculously expensive

[Ant]

So, it's insects on the table for the woke statue hating Guardian readers.....

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-insects-climat ... l-1573-rdf

[demographic]

So, it's insects on the table for the woke statue hating Guardian readers.....

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-insects-climat ... l-1573-rdf

You missed out "Leftist, tofu eating, GB News/The Mail/Express told me and Snowflake..."

2/10 must try harder. You do know that if your too predictable you eventually become a caricature of your self don't you?

[Ant]

So, it's insects on the table for the woke statue hating Guardian readers.....

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-insects-climat ... l-1573-rdf

You missed out "Leftist, tofu eating, GB News/The Mail/Express told me and Snowflake..."

2/10 must try harder. You do know that if your too predictable you eventually become a caricature of your self don't you?

Oh god yes, how could I have not included the tofu eating, cous cous merchants. Throw granola at them! The James O'Brien cucks

Oh and it's you're, not your. 1/10 for that one mate

[Cousin Jack]

The biggest issue I have with prepayment meters is that they are (or always used to be) more expensive. Even when not paying off a debt. So, the people with least money pay more for their energy/water because they have to be on a prepayment meter. That's the bit I think sucks

Poor people arent forced to have prepayment meters. People who dont pay their debts ar

There is a lesson there.

[wheelnut]

This is where I agree with Skrewdriver...if a few people can take a few ££ off a few million or billion people, they're rich and the poor are just a bit poorer.
If you need to borrow a large amount of money you get a good rate. If you need to use a pay day loan or even a credit card....kerrbloodyching. If you need to buy enough for one or two at the supermarket then you'd better buy a freezer and buy family packs of frozen rather than fresh. Need to use public transport because you're poor and/or old? That's kerrbloodyching now too.
System's ed

(As it has been for years).

For good or for bad there’s a reason for that. The poor tend to be a poor credit risk.

[Ant]

This is where I agree with Skrewdriver...if a few people can take a few ££ off a few million or billion people, they're rich and the poor are just a bit poorer.
If you need to borrow a large amount of money you get a good rate. If you need to use a pay day loan or even a credit card....kerrbloodyching. If you need to buy enough for one or two at the supermarket then you'd better buy a freezer and buy family packs of frozen rather than fresh. Need to use public transport because you're poor and/or old? That's kerrbloodyching now too.
System's ed

(As it has been for years).

For good or for bad there’s a reason for that. The poor tend to be a poor credit risk.

But if the interest rates weren't so stupid, then the poor would be able to pay it off quicker. So if they're a poor credit risk, then why with high rates do the lenders want them to take longer to pay it off?

[Count Steer]

The biggest issue I have with prepayment meters is that they are (or always used to be) more expensive. Even when not paying off a debt. So, the people with least money pay more for their energy/water because they have to be on a prepayment meter. That's the bit I think sucks

Poor people arent forced to have prepayment meters. People who dont pay their debts ar

There is a lesson there.

That bollocks though Jack. If you don't have a decent credit rating and want a supply you'll have to accept a prepayment meter. Not having a decent credit rating does not mean you are a debtor. You may be many things but not necessarily a debtor. You may be living in rented premises. So, yes, some people are forced to have prepayment meters and not because the bailiffs have picked the locks and stood there while the gas/electric guy has fitted one.

Sure there are the crooks (I spent time with the 'theft of gas' team in Peckham and we found all sorts, including unattended marijuana farms where they'd bypassed the meter. You could see the heat signature from space ) but tbh the rogues, chancers and thieves were outnumbered by people who were, by circumstance, just poor in a rich nation.

So, what's your lesson?