back to menuAs a consumer I do not see why I should be expected to pay for the privilege of entering places where goods are offered for sale. Sellers of antiques, books, toys, model railways, and such like, hire a hail and call the occasion a Fair or Exhibition, or some similar description, and they expect me to pay £1 or £2, or whatever, to go in to buy their goods. They are trying to get the consumer to pay their overheads. Consumers should say to the person on the door that they will come in to buy, or to consider whether to buy, but only for free, not for a fee.
Also I object to the booking fees charged by cinemas, theatres, concert halls and other places of entertainment. As a consumer I am benefiting them, by pre-booking.
The cost of everything involved in providing the service should be included in the ticket price. They often contract-out, wholly or partly, the selling of tickets, and expect us, not them, to meet the commission cost. Consumers should say that they will not buy a ticket if there is a booking fee.
Then there is the programme, costing £1, £2 or even more, and containing little useful information and plenty of house advertising. Advertisers pay for space, fair enough. To expect consumers to pay for information that should be provided free, as of right, is an abuse, a rip-off. Consumers should make a fuss and refuse to buy a programme.
I noticed on page nine of the Annual Report a reference to "the familiar difficulty" in getting sauce out of the sauce bottle without a mess.
I have recently acquired a gadget which at least improves the situation. This is a simple holder which makes it possible to have the sauce bottle upside down on the table. The sauce gently flows to the neck of the bottle and is ready when wanted. I have been really pleased with this - one no longer jerks, and shakes the bottle with the risk of sauce going astray.
The device is sold by Lakeland Ltd., Alexandra Buildings, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1BQ - a company whose household appliances are, in my experience over a few years, what they claim to be, as are a few delicacies which they also sell. This little bit of information may be useful somewhere!
If organised and well run, Neighbourhood Watch can be of benefit to the community.
However, I live in central London and in the last few years I have noticed a development of community policing policy which horrifies me. What I have personally observed is a nosy pensioner who has no idea how to correlate or use objective judgement but who sets him or herself up as a Neighbourhood Watch scheme. It may be a person alone who sits on Police Committees. Not only is this an alarming scenario but it may be condoned and applauded by the police.
Recently my purse was stolen when I was travelling on a bus. I reported the incident to my local police station and was told that they would be relaying the information I gave them to a Neighbourhood Watch person who is the local gossip and a figure of derision even by the police themselves. When I asked why my business was being disclosed to this gossip he said "Never mind, in that case we will not tell her".
To take this to its logical conclusion, if such a line of action is condoned by the police no one will report anything they see, and who could blame them for not doing so? This can have serious implications for the community, the police and indeed all of us.
Are we to have an effective police force to whom we can impart information in confidence, or are we to run the risk of having what has happened to us divulged to the local gossips? If this matter is not taken seriously it could have unfortunate consequences for us all.
I was amused to read that others too have ancient domestic appliances (NfCG Annual Report, page 10). Perhaps it is a characteristic of Tynesiders, or Scots, like me!
We were married in January 1961, and my cooker, Tricity Marquis, my refrigerator, Prestcold, and my iron, Morphy Richards, all date from then and are in constant use to this day. Only the flex for the iron has been replaced.
Best wishes for the continuing success of the Consumer Movement!
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Consumer News
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