Autumn Statement

[Flex]

Keyboard politicians!

[coldel]

Because if every country defaults then you become an unrealistic borrower, we do not generate enough cash to cover our expenses, if we default, we cannot then borrow and huge public spending cuts follow likely causing recession and public chaos.

 

Or the central bank can print tonnes of money, but then inflation becomes a serious issue with the cost of living going through the roof and again our country as an 'investment' becomes less viable and we are unlikely to be able to borrow in the future if we would need to, or if we can borrow the interest will be substantially higher.

 

The money is all real by the way, it does exist and is spent by the associated countries. Plenty of countries run at much lower levels of national debt than the UK.

[Juggalo]

Few things car related:

 

Fuel Duty rise cancelled, again

£220m on reducing traffic pinch points

£1.1bn on local transport networks

 

I wonder how much longer the fuel rate will stay as is...been something like 5-10 years now it hasnt gone up.

 

Another ten years?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-38090977

 

We're living in an era of kick-the-can-down-the-road. I don't see any recovery from 2008 for at least a couple of decades.

 

And 220 million on pinch points. It would cost that just to fix Deesides horrifically Five lane into Two lane pinch point.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Juggalo

[Toon Chris]

Love the ban on letting agent fees to renters though, like the landlords are just going to suck it up and not increase rents to cover it

 

Having been ripped off by agents a few times, I'm totally for doing something, but why don't they just do something sensible like set a fixed price?!? Every single "fee" I've been charged by a letting thief has covered a phone call to an employer to do a job check and a credit search, total costs of about £3.50 per applicant, they could have capped the fee at £50 and still let greedy agents wet their beaks.

 

Having become a landlord for the first time this year when we couldn't sell our flat, it's easy to see that agents are having a laugh at everyone's expense. My daughter rents (not from me) and I can see it very clearly from both sides now.

 

The tenant pays a stupid fee for a credit check. Costs the agent tuppence but there is all the 'admin' the agent has that somehow justifies this. As a landlord I can't get insurance unless tenants have been checked so I can't ask them not to run a check, but now this could be an opportunity for credit check agencies to compete on offering services direct to the Landlord. Ok so i have to pay instead of the tenant but a few quid won't kill me.

 

Inventories. I get charged and the tenant gets charged. How is that fair? As a landlord it's up to me to get a decent inventory, and to pay for it if I want someone to do it for me. I cannot see in any way why a tenant should pay.

 

Back in the day, your rental term ran out and you were automatically on a month-by-month renewal basis. Now a tenant has to officially renew and the charges are ridiculous. Again the tenant pays and the landlord pays - both for the same thing which is a 're-arrangement' fee to re-sign the same damn document.

 

Agents are skinning both sides but if they get stopped from spreading this love around it's the landlord they will turn to, to keep their coffers full. The issue is the Agents closed shop where you have little choice as a landlord but to use them for everything. I like the idea of a ban because now everything is up front and charged to the landlord there is more chance for other companies to squeeze in and deal direct with the Landlord to supply services in a competitive market - which is everyone's only hope for fairer prices all round.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Toon Chris

[coldel]

There are many subtle fees baked into contracts, it is shocking. When I queried the £180 renewal fee and asked what work was done on their side the response was 'its in the contract' - they know its an utter rip off and just goes into the bonus pot to be spent down the pub. You can download these documents for free off the internet and two signatures do not constitute £180 worth of work or sunk cost.

 

That said, there is the odd good 'un about, and I will name them, The Corporate Letting Company in Richmond! Yearly fees to tenant for renewal £35 which is much more reasonable.

 

But agree on the inventory charge, why do tenents have to pay to be told what the landlord owns in the house? And we were landlords for 6 years until recently so have been both sides of the fence.