Call for street canvasser boycott (BBC) Or, to put it another way, death to the chuggers! The town where I live seems to attract lots of market research and lots of charity muggers. The former are annoying, but easy to wave away with an absent minded “sorry, in a terrible hurry”, but that doesn’t always [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Consumer'
Liquid security
November 6th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Consumer, Drivel
Oh, and speaking of cool Guardian articles, Bruce Schneier says exactly what I think about the hysterical security procedures we all have to endure in airports.
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A foretaste of 2012?
August 20th, 2008 · No Comments · Consumer, Sport
I’m already quite excited about the 2012 Olympics. I mean… the OLYMPICS! IN THE CITY WHERE I LIVE! Apart from the inevitable public transport cock-ups and ridiculous prices, how can that be anything but EXCITING? And if the GB medal haul is a sign of things to come, even better. But here’s something I hope [...]
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Her Majesty goes phishing
June 19th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Consumer, Local
My spam filters tend to grab most of the phishing scam emails doing the rounds (especially those purportedly from Paypal, Ebay or the high street banks) so I never see them. The ones I do see, therefore, have to be unusual and/or clever, meaning that they’re probably the ones that people are more likely to [...]
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Simplicity is not value for money
April 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Consumer, Travel
Farewell to the SuperSaver as train tickets change to simplify travel (Guardian) The complexity of the train ticketing system is not the problem. It’s occasionally a minor annoyance, but not a real problem. The problem is the illusion of choice, where only a tiny number of cheap tickets are available, and the majority of available [...]
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How to deal with dodgy financial institutions
April 4th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Consumer
I’ve never yet been the victim of credit card fraud, but I know that the banks tend to treat their guiltless customers like criminals in these cases. On the moneysavingexpert site, forum member “zincoxide” has been plagued with calls from a debt collector after being a victim of card fraud, and his responses are some [...]
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GAS
February 5th, 2008 · No Comments · Consumer, Food/Drink
… being, of course, Gaggia Acquisition Syndrome! And thereby hangs a quick public service announcement. The Croydon branch of House of Fraser are doing a special offer on the appropriately named Gaggia Classic, bundling it with an accessory pack for £199, which is an amazing deal. It’s very rare that you see a Classic in [...]
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GNER vs. The Trainline
October 10th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Consumer, Travel
If, like me, you use the train as your main form of transport, especially for cross-country journeys, you probably book your tickets from The Trainline, right? You get that clear interface, showing the prices of all available tickets, easy credit card payments, a choice of delivery methods… awww, let’s all have a lovely cosy Trainline [...]
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Phishing on Myspace
April 21st, 2007 · No Comments · Consumer, Drivel
Just a quick public service announcement, in case it’ll save anyone some bother… I just noticed a comment on the bluesjamtracks Myspace page, where the request “please add me” was accompanied by a hotlinked picture of a comely young maiden. I always remove spam and non-music advertising from our comments, so I clicked the picture [...]
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Three days in the life of the Poo Lady
February 12th, 2007 · No Comments · Consumer, Food/Drink, TV/Radio
Last week ended triumphantly for “Dr” Gillian McKeith “PhD”, but worryingly for those of us with the capacity for rational thought. The latest PLR statistics for public library borrowing in the UK show the Poo Lady’s books in first and third position in the non-fiction chart. But what a difference a weekend makes! Ben Goldacre’s [...]
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