Bedroom Tax At Last, Our Council Speaks Out.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Are the banks going to start charging for a person to hold an account? If they are, that bit of news slipped by me.
I know that banks do have accounts which you pay for(ours is something like 12.50 per month)...and the bank 'gives' you(that's laughable) a series of perks.
Each time I go to the bank I am cajoled, to try and get me to convert my basic current account to one of these.......I won't do it.
They have my money...from which they make money by lending it to other people at a rate of interest that savers can barely dream about.....I get so little on my savings account, that if I were to be told I was paying to hold my money in the bank, I would be tempted to draw it all out and bury it in the backyard.

I recently went into the bank to withdraw some money(and it wasn't a vast sum I was taking out)....they wanted proof of identity.........I have banked with the same bank for 49 years.......they wanted photo ID....I didn't have any photo ID other than my bus pass. So my husband had to take the money out because he has a driving licenece with his mugshot on it. I was asked what I wanted the money for........I was as mad as hell about it....what business is it of the bank, to know just what I am doing with my money? Blooming cheek(I really wanted to put something else, but stopped myself)

The recent business in Cyprus has left me feeling even more disillusioned with the security of money in banks.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

there is one reason to include a middleman here to pay rent is the banks,the more money that travel through their accounts the more money they make.plus when they start charging everybody for an account next year they will make a packet.that is what is coming the only way to stop it is to get the tories out and keep them out.

You really are a divvy

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Less

All sorts of things are being changed Neil, I believe that instead of being able to opt for rent money being paid by the council directly to the landlord, it will now be paid into the tenants bank account.......

I was surprised by that and agree with you that its a bad idea for both landlord and tenant

[Margaret Pilkington]

And just who would you put in the place of the tories then.......there doesn't seem to be a lot of fiscal innovation in that mauve lot.........I think they call themselves New Labout, but believe me, they are just tories in a shabby coat.
Politicians of all colours....all parties...... have no interest in improving the lot of the common man....they just want to do what is best for themselves and tell us to sit down shut up, be quiet and pay our dues.......they do not inhabit the same world that we walk in, they are not subject to the same privations that we endure....so they know absolutely nothing about what we think or feel.........thet have their bills paid their homes supplied and paid for by us, and when their time in the POW is over they have nice lucrative careers because of the contact they made in the POW.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Barrie Yates

Have you ever known any political party reverse decisions made by the previous government no matter how hysterically they ranted about the Government actions when in opposition?

Ya and they never have the stomach to take the hard decisions either Barrie. People knew for years that the Rating system had to be changed but it was left to the Tories to try and sort it out. Now we have the Welfare state, we've known for years that the current system wasn't fit for purpose, did Labour even think about changing it, not a snowball in hells chance, its the poison challis. Labour just didn't have the bottle to tackle the problem head on and as usual left it to somebody else, one has to wonder why they ever take power in this country in the first place. One thing is for sure any future Labour Government will not change one thing brought in by the present incumbents, in fact I bet Millipeed and his mates are sat round wringing their hands think they've got out of another tight corner. Labour have throughout history left this country far poorer on leaving Government than when they entered it

[Neil]

Originally Posted by accyman

its becoeme trendy to class anyone on benefits a scrounger when in most cases on benefits is not the luxurious lifestyle that it is made out to be.

Like most things it only takes a few bad ones give the decent people a bad name

[Neil]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

there is one reason to include a middleman here to pay rent is the banks,the more money that travel through their accounts the more money they make.plus when they start charging everybody for an account next year they will make a packet.that is what is coming the only way to stop it is to get the tories out and keep them out.

Why should banks give you a free service?

[cashman]

Originally Posted by jaysay

. Labour have throughout history left this country far poorer on leaving Government than when they entered it

Just to correct this,it should have said Labour have throughout history left the "RICH" far poorer than when they entered Government. But good ole Dave aint having any of that.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by cashman

Just to correct this,it should have said Labour have throughout history left the "RICH" far poorer than when they entered Government. But good ole Dave aint having any of that.

I'm not sure that that's true either, you don't think Tony and Gordon were going to put too many financial restraints on a group of people they knew they would be joining after leaving office

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Neil

Why should banks give you a free service?

He lives in his own dream world Neil, pity he doesn't wake up and smell the coffee occasionally.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by jaysay

I'm not sure that that's true either, you don't think Tony and Gordon were going to put too many financial restraints on a group of people they knew they would be joining after leaving office

Its not true that Tony n Gordon were Labour either.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Neil

Why should banks give you a free service?

The service isn't free.
While they might not actually charge you for your account, the banks make money from the accounts that they manage....which includes your money and my money.

I think that most banks realise that if they do start charging for accounts there will be folk who will move their money to where no charge is made for basic bank accounts.
I do not want the fancy perks.......the money off when you shop at Argos, or the roadside assistance, insurance on my techno stuff(it is all covered by my house insurance anyway)....all I want is to have my money in a safe place, be able to pay my bills and put a little bit by for a rainy day......now, if they don't want to handle my money...then, I will move it to somewhere that does.

[susie123]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

If you come into this country without first making provision for accommodation, then doesn't that put you in the category of the 'homeless'?
Aren't these 'homeless' people given priority in respect of social housing?
Somehow, I'd got it in my head that they were...certainly in this country anyway....if you rock up on the Costa del Sol, and present yourself at the Spanish version of the social services offices, I think their response would have 'off' in the sentence.

There's a section on homelessness in the document I quoted:

Even if an EU migrant is eligible for housing, if they are applying for assistance under Part 7 of the 1996 Housing Act (the homelessness provisions) they must also be unintentionally homeless and fall into a priority need category, as defined by section 189 of the 1996 Act, before they can qualify for assistance.17 Section 185(4) of the 1996 Act had required authorities to disregard ineligible family members when reaching a decision over whether an applicant has a priority need for accommodation. Thus if a dependent child was ineligible, even though his/her parents were eligible, the family was treated as not being in priority need and no statutory duty to house the family arose (but see below).

Subsequently the Labour Government tabled amendments to the 2008 Housing and Regeneration Act during its passage through parliament to remedy this declaration of incompatibility across the UK. With effect from 2 March 2009 section 314 and Schedule 15 of the 2008 Act amended the 1996 Housing Act and the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act so that the requirement to disregard ineligible household members when considering whether an eligible applicant is homeless or has a priority need for accommodation, no longer applies.

Describing the effect of the amendments, the then Minister, Iain Wright said:
…in summary the issue at stake is what help British citizens whose household includes members with different immigration status should get if they become homeless. The amendments will ensure that in future, households in those circumstances will be provided with suitable accommodation, while continuing to ensure that people from abroad with no claim to UK public resources cannot confer entitlement to long-term social housing.

Thus the entitlement of homeless households in this position is to an offer of suitable private rented accommodation and not to a social housing tenancy.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by cashman

Its not true that Tony n Gordon were Labour either.

Oh Hum, sadly that true as well, which all goes to prove how do you change a socialist into a capitalist, elect him

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

The service isn't free.
While they might not actually charge you for your account, the banks make money from the accounts that they manage....which includes your money and my money.

I think that most banks realise that if they do start charging for accounts there will be folk who will move their money to where no charge is made for basic bank accounts.
I do not want the fancy perks.......the money off when you shop at Argos, or the roadside assistance, insurance on my techno stuff(it is all covered by my house insurance anyway)....all I want is to have my money in a safe place, be able to pay my bills and put a little bit by for a rainy day......now, if they don't want to handle my money...then, I will move it to somewhere that does.

Exactly how I feel Margaret, mind you we were brought up the same way, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves