Virgin Media are lying robbing bleeders!

So the sales person tells me caller ID (free with BT & most 'normal' telecoms firms these days) will be £1.75 extra per month. I get billed £2.00. What gives? Further proof that Virgin are lying thieving bastards!

More hidden charges with Virgin Media broadband

Just found out today that, as well as having to pay £1.75 a month to get caller ID (which you get free with BT & which in this day & age is pretty much a standard feature - you would have thought) because I terminated my existing ADSL connection rather than just transferring it to another ISP that uses the BT wholesale ADSL, I have to pay £20 charge. They didn't tell me that when I signed up - it's like Dick Turpin rides again - except his name is Virgin Media.

Vigin Media - Again

Finally, after phoning about 7 times in the last two weeks I get through to someone who says...'Oh yes your password has been reset - would you like me to tell you what it is?'

Now why the hell couldn't they just tell me that two weeks ago? Unbelieveable!

Virgin Media - some good, some bad

Virgin's cable broadband is a lot faster than the best I could get through ADSL, but boy does their customer service *SUCK* big time.

Electricity & Gas Prices now easier to compare

Because the last few big suppliers have increased their prices its now easier to compare. This doesn't mean it is 100% straightforward, however as the various comparison sites all give differing results. I guess this is because some of them will factor in the various price increases over the past year, while some of them only go off the latest prices. Some may include the various loyalty bonuses/discounts, some may not. It's a minefield and it's no wonder some people just don't bother.

While I'm at it, I have just plumped for EON's 18 month price protection deal Details Here ) which I felt gave the best balance of price fixing versus price premium, cancellation fee and length of term. It was a narrow toss-up between this and British Gas's Fixed Price 2011 offfering which I felt had too high a premium and a swingeing £100 (combined gas & electricity) cancellation fee.

Strummercamp

Strummercamp
Linked from th previous site (& indeed linked in more ways than just a weblink I reckon). Will keep an Eye out for strummercamp #4 next year. Again how do I miss these things? Too busy having fun I s'pose!

A tribute to Joe Strummer's Fender Telecaster guitar

A tribute to Joe Strummer's Fender Telecaster guitar

Just found this website - funny how you can search for stuff on the web over & over & then something like this pops up!

This guy has put in a lot of effort & the guitar looks real nice.

Switching gas & electricity supplies

Time to switch?

Maybe, maybe not. Motley fool (www.fool.co.uk ) says yes/maybe, while MoneySavingExpert (www.moneysavingexpert.com ) say it's too late!

I'm sticking with the old favourites Atlantic ( http://www.atlanticeg.co.uk/ ) as I still get the old annual 1/12th refund which wipes out any savings & I don't think they include this on the comparison sites (& there's no way to find out as far as I can see). Plus, they only raised their prices by 11% earlier in the year compared with the average 15% so when everyone else's prices level out they will hopefully be one of the cheapest.

Teachers reject 'Army propaganda'

As a trade unionist I hesitate to criticize a fellow organisation, but I have to say this does Trades Unions in general no favours. If you ban the army from visiting schools, you also should ban most UK (& worldwide) companies which support the armed forces in some way or other, plus any MPs or government organisations that also diectly or indirectly support the armed forces or UK Ministry of Defence.

You may as well limit your school visitors to members of the local licensed victuallers and a selection of the local drug dealers, because that's all you'll be left with!

Comet PCs only good for one year?

Got a letter from Comet today which said, in summary, 'Our PCs will only last a year - if they fail after that you will have to pay to fix them. How about paying us another £60 a year for a warranty?'...Cheeky Beggars!

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of the Sale of Goods Act is that goods must be (& I quote the act here) 'fit for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied'.

Now if I'm paying £600 for a PC, one of its main purposes should be to continue working as a PC for at least 3 years.

I think if said PC does fail, I shall be testing my theory with legal action!