CUNNING WHEEZES

[Stanley]

Quite right Ian, how did we let it fall fallow?
Here's one for you... A housing association has a clause that says until a lease is rescinded by the Association all rents and service charges have to be paid. In the event that the tenant dies, this closure is is refused until a new tenant is identified and the estate has to pay. Meanwhile, the lawyers 'dealing with the matter' charge £100 per visit for doing the statutory 3 monthly 'security' inspections.
Show me the incentive to achieve closure! Jarndyce and Jarndyce springs to mind.

[Stanley]

Peter's example this morning of the Amazon scam reveals a particularly cunning wheeze. The nature of the scam means that the only person who loses out is the recipient of the bogus delivery. Everyone else is a winner so what incentive is there for Amazon to stop it? Totally reprehensible but very, very clever. There are some very crooked people out there!

[Stanley]

One of the most callous cunning wheezes I have seen lately was the export of Covid infected 'bed-blockers' in the NHS to care homes. This had the double benefit of giving more bed spaces in hospitals (Who cut the numbers in the first place?) and resulted in a rise in mortality in care homes ill prepared for Covid that freed up spaces there. (Who made sure that the care homes hadn't the facilities or PPE to deal with the infection?)
Surely not, I must be making this up.

[Tizer]

Quite right Ian, how did we let it fall fallow?
Here's one for you... A housing association has a clause that says until a lease is rescinded by the Association all rents and service charges have to be paid. In the event that the tenant dies, this closure is is refused until a new tenant is identified and the estate has to pay. Meanwhile, the lawyers 'dealing with the matter' charge £100 per visit for doing the statutory 3 monthly 'security' inspections. Show me the incentive to achieve closure! Jarndyce and Jarndyce springs to mind.

That's normal for the leasehold retirement homes run by moneymakers like the Tchenguiz brothers.

[Stanley]

All the sharks aren't in the sea Peter.....

[Tizer]

I returned to this thread, which has lain dormant for a year, because I've just looked at our latest shopping receipt from the supermarket and thought how the club card points system is a good example of a cunning wheeze. A way of hindering price comparisons while simultaneously giving an impression of being generous, while also gathering valuable personal data on what the shopper likes to buy.

On a different level, juggling regulations to get one of your political mates out of trouble is another cunning wheeze which we are reminded of in recent days.

[Stanley]

Thanks for reviving this old favourite Peter! You're right of course, the whole thrust of supermarket pricing and 'rewards' is to make us forget to actually check prices. Some of us have better memories than others. It's one of the reasons I like the Co-op, apart from the bogofs I do get a divi and once or twice a year I can have a free shop
The Owen Patterson resignation is a Cunning Wheeze. He slips off to the Chiltern Hundreds collecting his bonuses and pension rights (shaking the money tree), the embarrassing vote on his suspension doesn't happen, there is no black mark on the record against him and after a decent interval he can be slipped a nice little earner in public life as a reward for 'doing the right thing'.
Or am just an old cynic?

[plaques]

A cunning wheeze or a just a cock up?

Nipped into Sainburys to pick up some more junk from Argos. On the way out I thought I'd buy a pair of gardening gloves, no problem £4.40 a pair. Mrs P said she needed some as well. Small size, rack full of them again £4.50. now the cunning wheeze there was only one glove per £4.50 ticket therefore a pair becomes £9. I know that inflation is taking hold but this is pushing it a bit too far.

[Stanley]

I don't think it's either of them Ken, just outright fraud taking advantage of the present situation where everyone has been conditioned to expect rising prices because of everything from Ukraine to Brexit.
The biggest cunning wheeze is still Brexit, designed to massage the wallets of the capital holders at the expense of the PBI!

[plaques]

How's this for a cunning wheeze. Last Christmas I bought two Panasonic cordless phones I really needed four but they were out of stock. Last week I bought another pair of the same phones and wanted to pair them up to the same base unit. After numerous attempts I gave up and contacted the Panasonic chat line. The opening page makes it look like the chat is free but if you want to chat to a technician about your problem you have to sign up to a prepaid plan with an initial charge of £5 and the £34 per month (cancel anytime).
Bugger it I'll take them back to Argos.

[Stanley]

I would have come to the same conclusion Ken.
One of the things that annoys me about the British Gas website is the existence of clunky bits of code that tend to combine to stop you getting the information you need. Actual questions or requests for help or contact details slot you directly into FAQ lists that are usually bloody useless. This isn't accidental, it is a cunning wheeze to cut down on contact with customers. There must be a special course on obfuscation in IT degrees!

[Tizer]

Or we just need to go back to teaching and training people properly.

[Big Kev]

How's this for a cunning wheeze. Last Christmas I bought two Panasonic cordless phones I really needed four but they were out of stock. Last week I bought another pair of the same phones and wanted to pair them up to the same base unit. After numerous attempts I gave up and contacted the Panasonic chat line. The opening page makes it look like the chat is free but if you want to chat to a technician about your problem you have to sign up to a prepaid plan with an initial charge of £5 and the £34 per month (cancel anytime).
Bugger it I'll take them back to Argos.

I bought a pair a few weeks ago, it should just be a case of registering the new handsets to the base station. The chargeable support sounds like a con to me.

[plaques]

I bought a pair a few weeks ago, it should just be a case of registering the new handsets to the base station. The chargeable support sounds like a con to me.

There is an instruction for registering the phone to the base unit which may work for the pair of phones ie: one base + one slave that comes as a kit. My problem was adding extra phones to the existing base. Since then and after looking at some YouTube examples on older phones and with my thinking cap on, which is something I try to avoid, I made my own 'what if list' and finally got them to register.
I think the chargeable support is mainly aimed at businesses who sell or repair Panasonic equipment and have a need for continued expert advice. No good for Joe Blogs though.

[Big Kev]

There is an instruction for registering the phone to the base unit which may work for the pair of phones ie: one base + one slave that comes as a kit. My problem was adding extra phones to the existing base. Since then and after looking at some YouTube examples on older phones and with my thinking cap on, which is something I try to avoid, I made my own 'what if list' and finally got them to register.
I think the chargeable support is mainly aimed at businesses who sell or repair Panasonic equipment and have a need for continued expert advice. No good for Joe Blogs though.

Good stuff

[Stanley]

There you are! You're an IT expert Ken. Well done.

[Tizer]

I'm sure this is a cunning wheeze!...
`BMW introduces new heated seat subscription in UK' LINK
Some comments in the article...
The news has sparked online debate, with news site The Verge saying: "In the case of heated seats, for example, BMW owners already have all the necessary components, but BMW has simply placed a software block on their functionality that buyers then have to pay to remove."

The Register said that while it could work as a way for owners to add features as they can afford them, "on the other hand, it may feel like buying a mug and having to rent the handle".

A number of the reports note BMW's move is part of a wider industry trend with a range of car-makers offering subscriptions.

There were negative comments on social media too, with one Twitter user writing: "Subscriptions for software is one thing, no-one is going to subscribe for heated seats or whatever, if I own the car I own everything in it."

And Kurt Opsahl, general counsel of digital civil liberties campaign group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, tweeted: "A seat heater blocked by software is broken, and the car owner should have the right to repair their seats."

[Whyperion]

A cunning wheeze or a just a cock up?

Nipped into Sainburys to pick up some more junk from Argos. On the way out I thought I'd buy a pair of gardening gloves, no problem £4.40 a pair. Mrs P said she needed some as well. Small size, rack full of them again £4.50. now the cunning wheeze there was only one glove per £4.50 ticket therefore a pair becomes £9. I know that inflation is taking hold but this is pushing it a bit too far.

As priced by NHS Supplies for PPE ?

[Stanley]

The heated seat 'subscription' might possibly be described as a cunning wheeze but it's certainly a big mistake on BMW's part. If I spent a fortune on a car I'd be very upset if they tried that on me.....

[Big Kev]

BMW's subscriptions will probably be scrapped again once they realise it'll just get hacked again. It happened the last time they tried it in 2018.
https://www.theautopian.com/heres-how-p ... n-service/
Personally I'll stick with my 10 year old Skoda. That has heated seats and headlights, that move with the steering, as standard.

[Stanley]

I posted but it vanished. I think it's a lousy tactic and one the Bayeriche Motor Werker will regret because of the impact on their image..... Their cars cost enough already!

[Tizer]

We'll see more of it, not less. I've warned in the past that manufacturers are moving in this direction so they can ensure a continuing cash flow from customers. They want you to be dependent on them and keep on shoving money their way. Buyer beware!

[Stanley]

In the same category as 'extended warranties' in my book Peter.
Last century many cotton mills didn't take out insurance for loss of profits due to accident or breakdown, instead they saved the premiums in a separate account that was there to be used in case of emergencies. When the engine at Bishop House Mill in Burnley ran boggart and wrecked itself the funds were there ready to repair it in the contingency account. See Newton Pickles evidence in the LTP for a full account.
Was that a reverse cunning wheeze?

[Whyperion]

In the same category as 'extended warranties' in my book Peter.
Last century many cotton mills didn't take out insurance for loss of profits due to accident or breakdown, instead they saved the premiums in a separate account that was there to be used in case of emergencies. When the engine at Bishop House Mill in Burnley ran boggart and wrecked itself the funds were there ready to repair it in the contingency account. See Newton Pickles evidence in the LTP for a full account.
Was that a reverse cunning wheeze?

It doesnt neccessarily make tax sense. Pooling Risk and paying an insurance company is an annual deduction from profits. Transfering Cash to a Reserves is an appropriation of profits. Now given there will be a cost for major repairs that is deductable cost - as long as there is no capital enhancement , only replacement of what was. Insurance should pay out (less excess) and re-instate the operation to as it was, though some folk can be clever and use the replacement funds to enhance as well (their choice the insurance wont pay any additional). Of corse Insurance cos charge a bit extra maybe , but that is the pricing of risk. The annoyance is when you pay insurance and then the company wont pay, sometimes citing that something has not been properly maintained

[PanBiker]

I received a letter from the AA last week. Unexpected as I cancelled my membership about 6 or 7 years ago. I had been a member since 1995 with roadside and relay assistance which had come in handy when we were camping up in Scotland and holidaying further down south and Eurocamping on the continent and visiting various ferry ports to get there and back. We don't do that now and use the train for Ruby collection and delivery back home. I cancelled the AA membership as my car insurance policy includes RAC cover.

The letter was complete with two new cards for myself and Sally as we had joint membership. Apparently when I cancelled my membership I still had credit on my account which amounted to 6 weeks of cover. It has taken the said 6 or 7 years for them to realise this and issue the new membership cards and welcome pack. It would have been lot easier just to reimburse us for six weeks of credit! The covering letter does say that the cover will expire just into June of this year and I will have to notify them if I wish to continue.