OFT – Incompetence, Conspiracy, Paper Tiger Or All Three?
I’m one of the lucky ones. I recovered over £2000 of illegal penalty charges from the Nationwide and HSBC a couple of years back before the High Court stayed all the claims. I had the great pleasure of walking into HSBC’s Kilburn branch with a judgment stamped by the Bow County Court (local to its Canary Wharf headquarters). I demanded my money there and then and created a right hiatus in the branch! I didn’t get it then but I did the following day in crisp £50 notes.
Den Of Thieves
It goes without saying that the banks are all, without exception, cheats, thieves, liars and lowlife scoundrels. That’s why millions of people were relying on the Office Of Fair Trading to stand up for them. The OFT’s decision now to drop their action against the banks is a national disgrace of monstrous proportions. Although we cannot be sure of exactly who is behind this scandal, the fact that dishonesty, corruption and theft are at the root of it is manifest and crystal clear.
The banks were making around £7 billion a year in charges, most of which were for unauthorised overdrafts. Claimants would have been able to claim for six years of charges so the banks have been let off a £40 billion hook. Never have the British people been so let down by those who are supposed to protect them.
The High Court first made the extraordinary decision that these charges were not penalty charges. This is nonsense. HSBC actually described many of their charges to me as “card misuse” – so is that a penalty or not?. Of course they were and as such were illegal and unenforceable at law. When the banks debited your account like this they were committing theft and they’ve got away with it scot free.
It has now been well established that the actual cost to the banks of these transactions were less than £2 each when they were charging their customers up to £40 a time.
It must be truly astonishing to any right minded person that the OFT has backed down. Even in the last Supreme Court judgement the OFT was given a clear hint, more like an invitation, that it should revert to the Court on a different basis. So what possible reason can there be for abandoning the claim?
There can be no doubt that this decision is improper. I wonder why it was announced on 22nd December when the entire country was at the peak of its pre-Christmas mass hysteria?
Two Faced Coward
John Fingleton, the OFT’s chief executive, should resign immediately. He is either corrupt or weak. He certainly has no integrity because whatever pressure or bribery has been put upon him he should have fought to his last breath to stop this massive crime by the banker robbers.
We cannot rely on these paper tigers of consumer protection. We certainly cannot rely on government. It is doubtful that our self-serving, whipped and bullied MPs will do anything meaningful. It seems the only option now may be molotov cocktails through the door of every bank premises throughout the country. How else are we supposed to protect ourselves when we are so badly let down?
We live in an entirely monetised society. It is impossible to function without a bank account. Therefore, the banker robbers must be regulated virtually to death. Their policies and profits must be ruthlessly controlled. Their crimes must not be overlooked but punished severely with massive multi-billion pound fines for the institutions and long prison sentences for the responsible executives.
Rage Against My DRM Resolution
I have always sworn that I would never buy any DRM music. It’s a fundamentally flawed and immoral idea that if I pay for music I shouldn’t have the right to play it where, when and on what I want. It’s an idea that is doomed to failure. Even Steve Jobs, the gamekeeper turned poacher turned lord of the manor turned poacher has recognised that it has exactly the opposite effect to that intended and alienates customers too.
So what has caused me to break my resolution? The X Factor. It has to be bad that every Christmas the charts are hijacked by manufactured pop. I don’t count “Rage Against The Machine” as my favourite band but I spent 67p at Tesco’s online music store and got my DRM track.
You should join in too! See the Facebook campaign page and rage against The X Factor!
My Favourite Christmas Song
And this year there’s a brand new video in aid of Shelter.
Foolish Staff Unite To Destroy BA
The BA cabin crew strike over Christmas is a huge mistake by the staff and the union. It’s a disaster for the company.
Crashing
The union “Unite” is just about all that’s left of the entire trade union movement anyway. There’s not much else left that has any power. It looks like some latter day Scargill is behind this idiotic strike. If Unite hoped to gain some public sympathy by destroying a million passengers’ Christmas plans then it has made a grave miscalculation.
As for the staff, we no longer have any remaining affection for this strange group of people. Once, of course, they were central to the glamour of air travel. Now, the fact that nearly all the men are homosexual has gone beyond a joke and become oppressive. The girls are no longer sweet and delightful. Now they are like severe school mistresses, more concerned with monitoring your alcohol consumption than being appropriately deferential and making you feel special.
It’s not BA’s fault that all the glamour has gone and that air travel is now an ordeal rather than a pleasure. That is down to Easyjet and the appalling Ryanair and vulgar Michael O’Leary.
This is dreadful news for all concerned but the public will punish BA severely. Any loyalty or talk of “favourite” is all gone now. There will be long term, severe and well-deserved consequences for the staff.
Banker Robbers Bonus Blackmail
We’re told that the banks have to pay big bonuses in order to retain and attract the right staff. We’re told that unless we shell out millions to these mysterious unnamed individuals, these “masters of the universe”, that we can kiss goodbye to the money we’ve already put in. We’ll be damaging our own investment.
Twaddle! Rubbish! Bulls**t! Bollo**s!
These people aren’t doctors or scientists or lawyers or architects – or even plumbers or electricians. They’re blaggers. Nothing more, nothing less. All they’re doing with these ridiculous claims is trying to blag us all over again. Their job is little different from that of an advertising salesman who sits on the phone all day and maybe makes £1000 or £2000 a week. In fact, many salesman have much wider knowledge, better people skills and sharper brains than these wide boys in the city that have nerve, greed and little else to offer.
This is just an attempt to blackmail us. There are tens of thousands of bright, keen, hungry people out there who could do these bankers’ jobs with very little difficulty. In fact, fresh new blood that hasn’t been corrupted by the past would be a much better idea. We could recruit from the world of advertising, from market traders flogging fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and “knock off”. Why not just pick a few MBA graduates at random or take the top banking graduates from last year and give them the big jobs?
Con Man
None of these people could do any worse than the sharks who got us into this trouble in the first place. Those, like Stephen Hester of RBS, who have taken over recently are no better. They’re still infected with the same ways as before. After Chief Thief Goodwin has had his turn in the trough they’re just elbowing through for their own go.
There is no special expertise or skill required to be a banker. Don’t let these charlatans and sons of charlatans tell you any different.
Don’t wait for the RBS directors’ resignations. Sack them now for having the audacity to try and pull the wool over our eyes once again.
Under Pressure
About four months ago I embarked on a course of medication for high blood pressure. For some time I’d been warned that I was marginal with a reading of 140/90 so I decided it was time to start looking after myself. I was a heavy smoker and drinker. My only redeeming factor was that I walk with my dogs every day for about an hour – and that’s vigorous walking, up and down steep hills.
I was started on a calcium antagonist and within a few days I had virtually lost the will to live. I had no energy at all. I’d lost all motivation. In the most degrading epsiode of all, one morning I found myself prostrate on the sofa watching “Homes Under the Hammer”. That’s when I knew it was serious.
I took myself straight off that poison and went back to see my GP. My blood pressure reading was now 168/100. He advised a change to a thiazide diuretic. Being the not so patient patient that I am, I insisted on a full explanation as far as my “O” level science was capable of understanding.
This time it was more subtle. My energy, motivation and enthusiasm was sapped gradually. As my positive life signs went down my thirst rocketed to absurd proportions. After a month or so I was regularly up six times a night with a raging thirst and a full bladder. When I cleaned out the space behind the passenger seat in my car I had two carrier bags full of empty drink bottles.
In the meantime, I gave up smoking. I give the pharmaceutical industry credit for this. A month of patches and a nicotine inhaler weaned me off the evil weed easily. About this I am both pleased and proud. I have at least one “cigarette moment” every day but I am not going back to it. Although I can recognise no physiological benefit at all (if anything I seem to get more breathless now), I am much richer and everything around me is cleaner as a result.
The next visit to my GP saw my pressure reduced to 150/95. Better but not good enough. He advised me to start taking an ACE inhibitor as well as the diuretic.
I researched ACE inhibitors and was horrified at the range of side effects and contraindications. Then, suddenly, coming fast up behind and undertaking me before I knew what was happening (forgive my blushes) I discovered I was impotent. One embarrassing date and then a dawning realisation that nothing was happening, even involuntarily. No more waking up with a big itch!
I’m not ready to give up my sex life just yet. The one and only criticism I have of my GP is that he never warned me of this side effect. I have also cut my drinking by a huge proportion. From a half bottle of whisky upwards a day I am now comfortable with a single glass of wine or a small beer. In the last few weeks my motivation has gone again. I can’t be bothered with long walks with the dogs anymore. Just half an hour out in the mornings and I’m exhausted. I’m not interested in anything. My occasional lunchtime nap has become a necessity. Sometimes, even before midday I feel so exhausted, I just can’t wait to go back to bed.
Four days ago I stopped the diuretic and yesterday I felt like I had got my life back. I have so much more energy. I’m enthusiastic as I can’t remember for months. I fair romped up the hill with the dogs this morning. My thirst is calming down and I was only up twice last night. My mojo isn’t back yet but I can feel a little twitch developing. Come Christmas time I advise you to lock up your daughters once again.
The punch line? My blood pressure is now 170/110. I may be heading for a massive stroke or heart attack any minute but at least I’ll die happy. Despite giving up smoking and decimating my alcohol consumption, my blood pressure is much worse than when I started. So what does that tell me?
I have no idea at all but at least now I have a smile on my face!
Royal Bank Of Scotland Directors
Please Close The Door On Your Way Out
RBS Directors Threaten To Resign
Gentlemen, we are happy to accept your resignations – effective immediately.
…and don’t come round for mince pies this year. If you do you’ll get a glass of wine over your head and your fat tush dumped in the snow!
School Of Saatchi
Quality television is difficult to find. Yes, though there are hundreds of channels available, most of it is rubbish. Of course, what constitutes “rubbish” is a moving target. It depends on mood, snobbery, fashion, tribe and all sorts of complicated human emotions. It’s always perplexed me why it’s so “cool” to work in telly but so “uncool” to watch it!
“School Of Saatchi” is another formulaic “reality” competition but it’s fantastic. (BBC2, Mondays 9.00pm) It’s hugely entertaining but also very educational. You can empathise with each of the contestants even though each one is a real weirdy. You can get excited about whether they’ll meet their deadline and what the public vote will be on their bizarre “art”.
It’s the “X Factor” where “X” equals modern art and the chance to exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery and get a studio free for three years. The characters are eccentric and divine darling, particulary the asian boy with the spiky hair and Eugenie, the gorgeous 19 year old minx who wore her waders from suspenders in the last episode when her sculpture had to be installed in a pond!
There are the experts of course with Tracey Emin playing Arlene from Strictly and Charles’ advisors playing Nick and Margaret from The Apprentice or Sarah and David from The Restaurant. The USP though is Charles himself or, rather, his absence. The famously “camera-shy” Charles, dare I suggest it, is bound to make an appearance in the final programme.
Of course, Saatchi & Saatchi is my alma mater so perhaps I’m biased but within its cliched formula this programme is a delight. In fact, perhaps it’s because it’s structure is such a cliche that it can explain things that are almost beyond explanation and give us mere mortals an insight into the minds of modern artists.
Man’s Best Friend
Dogs have lived alongside man for tens of thousands of years. Even before our species could be so defined our predecessors made a pact with each other. Mutual advantage was the bargain and so it has been ever since. The relationship is in our DNA. There is a primeval bond between us.
Capone & Carla
Dogs can be dangerous. Mostly this is a function of how they are treated but there is the wild card. I would never, ever leave any breed of dog alone with a child. Thankfully, considering how many badly treated dogs and irresponsible owners there are, tragedies are few and far between. Nothing can extinguish the agony of what happened in Liverpool yesterday but there is a solution.
Bring back the dog licence. Make it cost £100 per year. Give pensioners a rebate of £90. Every dog must be microchipped to correspond with its licence. Enforce it. Guaranteed, problem solved.
Instead we have idiotic politicians who play about with incompetent, ridiculous and irrelevant legislation like the Dangerous Dogs Act – while children are mauled to death in their own homes.
Peter Reynolds 