why are we still being ripped off

greatdane

I really thought that this down turn or Recession would help bring all prices down but als we are still being ripped off.

1) Car insurance, mine went up this year, im 33 and no claims, full license and insurance since 18. shopped around all the same.

had a look today at other cars, ok they have come down in price but go and try insure anything with a sport badge and you are quickly punished or if you try online you get a "cannot insure you at this time" WTF - if i want insure a 3litre car i should be able to do it... without remortgaging

2) Tradesmen, Out of work tradesman want to floor small room "12 sq yds" with laminate for 250 euro....

3) broadband - WTF - 25euro line rental + 20+ euro for only faster than dial up.

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

6) public transport - 3.20 each way for bus to my house, thats 6.40 for 5miles....and the bus is only 4 times a day at F***ed up times...can get car space in city for 7 euro for the day...whats the point in even trying to be green.

7) politicans - why can they not answer a simple question....honestly...and worse why cant a media person pin them down to answer the questions.

we need to go a whole lot way down before we can get better and get the economy to where we can all live a sustainable life.

sorry for the rant.

smelltheglove

I do agree, I have had many many people tell me I need to up my prices, that this photographer or that photographer is charging more , i.e i had a canvas framed locally and was told so and so would charge 700 for that, total for me was 260, i should be uping my price, my view is so what if so and so charges 700, I gave a good price where I could make a decent profit and not overcharge people but the mentality is there amongst many to make as much money as possible.

Unfortunately everyone doesnt have the same outlook, and yes it would be a lot easier for us to live if we werent faced with this constant increase in profits, greed is a terrible thing.

jimmmy

greatdane wrote: »

I really thought that this down turn or Recession would help bring all prices down but als we are still being ripped off.

1) Car insurance, mine went up this year, im 33 and no claims, full license and insurance since 18. shopped around all the same.

had a look today at other cars, ok they have come down in price but go and try insure anything with a sport badge and you are quickly punished or if you try online you get a "cannot insure you at this time" WTF - if i want insure a 3litre car i should be able to do it... without remortgaging

2) Tradesmen, Out of work tradesman want to floor small room "12 sq yds" with laminate for 250 euro....

3) broadband - WTF - 25euro line rental + 20+ euro for only faster than dial up.

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

6) public transport - 3.20 each way for bus to my house, thats 6.40 for 5miles....and the bus is only 4 times a day at F***ed up times...can get car space in city for 7 euro for the day...whats the point in even trying to be green.

7) politicans - why can they not answer a simple question....honestly...and worse why cant a media person pin them down to answer the questions.

we need to go a whole lot way down before we can get better and get the economy to where we can all live a sustainable life.

sorry for the rant.

If you think a service or product can profitably be supplied cheaper or more efficiently than is already being done, why not find some niche in the market and do it yourself ...ie why not put your money and time where your mouth is ? You could help the economy, make a fortune, pay tax and everyone is a winner.

greatdane

..because i cant control all of the economy..

And i would not be able to enter the car insurance market because of regulation, i would not be able to lay a floor because i cant..

But the service i do provide i do as cheaply as possible, but of course am limited by council rates(huge), rent is now cheaper) , electricity, phone charges, parking charges, water rates, insurance, paying accountants etc.

spank_inferno

You have hit on a point there and partialy answered your question yourself.

We hear a lot of the talking heads in the media & on here to an extent saying that social welfare & min wages should drop because we are in a deflationary economy.

Whereas the reality on the ground is far from the truth.

The last time I noticed the inflation rate was -0.7% for May.
However almost all of this was made up by reductions in the costs of existing mortgates. But what about the millions of people who dont pay mortgates?
The costs of general domestic purchases are creeping higher and higher week after week.

Forget the supposed "price wars" between the supermarkets.
Dropping prices on some lines and rising prices on most isnt really a sale.

Why are certain goods & services costing more?
We all know we spend less during a recession.
However the costs to businesses here remain very high whether the business is busy or not.

So to make ends meet, business owners have to charge more to those who actualy can spend money.
All because our moron government thought it would be a good idea to tax its citizens into a worse recession than otherwise might have been. While at the same time making no real attempt to reduce the costs of doing business.

.........Of course some business owners could just be taking the p**s of course!

Small Change

greatdane wrote: »

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

.

People will (understandably) charge as much as they can get away with.

there is most defenitely far better value out there than the two examples above you just need to look for it.

Stop drinking in Cafe en Seine would be a good start, check out this thread; http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055500568

jimmmy

greatdane wrote: »

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

Do not buy your 1/4 duck if the price means that much to you. Get a McDonalds hamburger for one euro....hows that for value ?

greatdane wrote: »

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

Answer...do not frequent places that charge that much....better "value" is out there....or set up your own pub / disco....or buy shares in an existing one.

sneakyST

smelltheglove wrote: »

greed is a terrible thing.

aye it is STG......unfortunatley some companies just cant compete at the moment - a potential customer of mine told me last year they could get the same offering in the UK for around 7k cheaper than what I quoted.......and i had the minimal margin.....

jimmmy

sneakyST wrote: »

aye it is STG......unfortunatley some companies just cant compete at the moment - a potential customer of mine told me last year they could get the same offering in the UK for around 7k cheaper than what I quoted.......and i had the minimal margin.....

I come across that as well....the cost of doing business in Ireland is just too high....costs are too high here.

KINGVictor

jimmmy wrote: »

I come across that as well....the cost of doing business in Ireland is just too high....costs are too high here.

But so are the profits ....most companies/organisations did not complain prior to the recession.

hobsonschoice

Look at petrol sneaking up a cent every day. I get angry every time i pass a Topaz garage. they think we are stupid and by raising a cent perday we won't notice it. hate it that they have us over a barrel drum like this.

Anyone else notice that the lowest it went (Galway) was 99.9, ha. Just so they can say it was below a euro.
Ok rant over

madser

I'm sooooooo sick of hearing about plumeting prices, where are these, I don't have a big morgage so interest rates don't affect me, my shopping is still the same price as a year ago, petrol is going up every day, road tax and insurance gone up and gas and electricy a complete rip off. The price of clothes has come down a little but prices are still way way higher then the prices in the same shops in England. I went to Wexford for the weekend a few months ago, it cost me 601 euro, I'm goin to the Costa Del Sol next week for a few days and its costing me 458 euro, and my weekend in Wexford was a special offer :eek:

Vorsprung

greatdane wrote: »

6) public transport - 3.20 each way for bus to my house, thats 6.40 for 5miles....and the bus is only 4 times a day at F***ed up times...can get car space in city for 7 euro for the day...whats the point in even trying to be green.

10 x 90 minute tickets available here for €18. Saves about 40% for you.

The Insider

greatdane wrote: »

3) broadband - WTF - 25euro line rental + 20+ euro for only faster than dial up.

There are a whole load of providers providing better deals then that:

http://www.digiweb.ie/home/metro/

http://www.upc.ie/internet

http://www.btireland.ie/AtHome_bb_totaltalk.shtml

SkepticOne

madser wrote: »

I'm sooooooo sick of hearing about plumeting prices, where are these, I don't have a big morgage so interest rates don't affect me, my shopping is still the same price as a year ago, petrol is going up every day, road tax and insurance gone up and gas and electricy a complete rip off. The price of clothes has come down a little but prices are still way way higher then the prices in the same shops in England. I went to Wexford for the weekend a few months ago, it cost me 601 euro, I'm goin to the Costa Del Sol next week for a few days and its costing me 458 euro, and my weekend in Wexford was a special offer :eek:

Article in today's Irish Times backing this up about how inflation is in large part due to lower mortgage costs and is not endemic.

By far the greater part of the drop in the CPI (a proportion estimated by the CSO at 94 per cent on either a three-month or a 12-month horizon) is directly attributable to mortgage costs and energy prices. It is not (yet) true therefore that deflation has become endemic, much less that it has become a universal phenomenon. Yes, goods prices generally are dropping (prime examples being food, clothing and footwear, and household durables), but most categories of services, and especially publicly provided services, continue to see prices increases, albeit at a slower pace than hitherto.

URL="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/0612/1224248688422.html"]source[/URL

spank_inferno

Perhaps there should be 2 figures given for inflation then

1 figure for the total cost of living including housing
& another for the cost of living minus the cost of accomodation.

Despite the headline figure those in power cannot forget that the hundreds of thousands who dont have mortgages.
The reality for them is one of rising prices.

case in point being Petrol prices
Back when oil was at $140 per barrel the price at the pump was €1.35 approx
Oil is around $70 dollars per barrel at the moment.
My local topaz have their price today at €1.18 cent per litre

Now I know there are factors like currency etc, but taxes have remained almost static.... and the dollar/euro rate hasnt changed that much.

onemorechance

Yes we are! I bought a cool Little Britain t-shirt in UK for 20p and it came with a free plastic bag!

P. Breathnach

spank_inferno wrote: »

Perhaps there should be 2 figures given for inflation then

1 figure for the total cost of living including housing
& another for the cost of living minus the cost of accomodation...

That won't cover all situations. Everybody has a different spending pattern, and inflation affects us all differently.

The Insider

spank_inferno wrote: »

case in point being Petrol prices
Back when oil was at $140 per barrel the price at the pump was €1.35 approx
Oil is around $70 dollars per barrel at the moment.
My local topaz have their price today at €1.18 cent per litre

Now I know there are factors like currency etc, but taxes have remained almost static.... and the dollar/euro rate hasnt changed that much.

There was an 8 cent tax increase on petrol in the October Budget.

The Insider

spank_inferno wrote: »

Perhaps there should be 2 figures given for inflation then

1 figure for the total cost of living including housing
& another for the cost of living minus the cost of accomodation.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/big-plunge-in-prices-softens-tax-hikes-blow-1770926.html

Some good info in the above article, good news:

Overall prices dived by 4.7pc in the year to May, which means we are now enjoying the biggest price drops in Europe.

Rents are down 16pc, furniture down 6pc, food down 2.5pc and clothes down 12pc

Bad news:

Electricity prices fell 10pc last month and gas was down 11pc, but they are both still dearer than a year ago.

Bucking the trend of sharp price falls was a huge hike in insurance costs.

Home insurers hiked premiums by a whopping 25pc at a time when the cost of rebuilding damaged houses plummeted by 5pc.

Car insurance premiums rose by 12.5pc over the past 12 months, despite a record reduction in the number of deaths on our roads. Health insurance soared by 21pc, partly due to a new Government levy

Have to say I have noticed the decrease in prices in shops buying food and clothes, even when buying my lunch every day I am getting cheaper sandwiches or dinners.

djpbarry

greatdane wrote: »

1) Car insurance, mine went up this year, im 33 and no claims, full license and insurance since 18. shopped around all the same.
...
...if i want insure a 3litre car i should be able to do it... without remortgaging
...
4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

madser wrote: »

I went to Wexford for the weekend a few months ago, it cost me 601 euro, I'm goin to the Costa Del Sol next week for a few days and its costing me 458 euro, and my weekend in Wexford was a special offer

You see the debates on the TV and read the statistics in the newspapers, but it’s only when you hear the personal stories that you realise how difficult life has gotten for the poor sports-car-driving, takeaway-eating, stout-drinking, sun-holiday-making people of this recession-stricken little nation of ours. Brings a tear to my eye.

spank_inferno

The Insider wrote: »

There was an 8 cent tax increase on petrol in the October Budget.

I thought that 8c rise was on Diesel?, petrol duty has remained static.

But anyway, I'm still feeling the difference, there is only so much hyper-miling a man can do

madser

djpbarry wrote: »

You see the debates on the TV and read the statistics in the newspapers, but it’s only when you hear the personal stories that you realise how difficult life has gotten for the poor sports-car-driving, takeaway-eating, stout-drinking, sun-holiday-making people of this recession-stricken little nation of ours. Brings a tear to my eye.

Why don't you address the issues instead of a pathetic attempt to insult people:rolleyes:

and this from a moderator

P. Breathnach

madser wrote: »

Why don't you address the issues instead of a pathetic attempt to insult people:rolleyes:

Do you want better-quality insulting?

madser

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Do you want better-quality insulting?

it would be nice yeah lol

halkar

Just got my house insurance, went up by 30% with no reason given :eek: Never claimed since I bought the house 10 years ago. Feckers, i will cancel Monday and shop around.

Gumbo

in my local Tesco, Diesel has jumped 3c overnight from 100.9 to 103.9 from yesterday to today!
petrol is 116.9 but i dont know what that was yesterday as i drive a diesel and never pay much attention to petrol prices.

SLUSK

Prices will not come down, inflation is soon going to hit the western world with a massive hammerblow. I envision riots over rising costs for petrol, food and utilities.

cfcj

ohh its truely a shocker how much things cost here. I returned to Ireland from the UK and apart from how sad it is to see all the Irish companies gone, being bought by UK companies e.g. Roches Stores, Brown Thomas & even TV3 is owned by Granada, but also how much they are charging. Everyone told me how great Dundrum SC was and as far as I was concerned they might as well called it British Retailers under one roof, its the same as every shopping centre in Britain but with extra zeros on the price. I know that the company I worked for in the UK added an extra 10% for the Irish market and I'm sure other companies were at the same thing. I dont blame the Irish companies for putting their prices up cause to survive they need to but its a double edged sword. Seems like our greed and want for 'stuff' thats not made here has made the country too dependent on imports, imports that just keep going up in price. I live near the border and of course the traffic flowing into Northern Ireland and money with it is phenomenal. I would like to open my own business some day but how am I going to if I'm up against a huge UK company who has the buying power to a) flood the market and b) lower their prices for long enough to put me out of business.. which is totally what they have done to a lot of small Irish businesses. So its totally true with our massive dependancy on importing, buying that expensive house, making the house look like it should be on the pages of Home & Garden so that when the UK & the US sneezed and we got the flu, gastroenteritis and George Lee in the Dail. I find myself I can't watch any Irish news anymore incase Joan Burton comes on.

jimmmy

cfcj wrote: »

I would like to open my own business some day

Why do'nt you ....seeing as some people believe money is so easy to make and prices are so high in Ireland, you will have it made in no time. Put your investment, time + money where your mouth is and help our economy by opening a business and cutting prices !

djpbarry

madser wrote: »

Why don't you address the issues instead of a pathetic attempt to insult people

What issues? If a 3-litre car is too expensive too run, then get a smaller car. If the cost of a takeaway is getting too high, then stop eating takeaways (or at least shop around a little). If the price of a pint has gotten too high, then stop going to the pub so often (or again, shop around a little).