National Minimum Wage

Is the National Minimum Wage been any good for us in the last 10 years it has rained supreme. It was estimated to have benefited over 2 million people at the time of it's introduction. In 1999 trade unionists where pushing to have the minimum wage raised to at least £5 per hour. It started out at £3 per hour for anyone under 22 years old and £3.60p per hour for any one over the age of 22 years old.

Has the wage raised enough?

To put the pay in an annual perspective, an adult over the age of 22 working at the minimum wage for 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, will make £942.50/month and £11,310/year Gross Income. After PAYE Tax this becomes £810.63/month or £9,727.55/year (2009/2010)

This means that according to government stats, if you are working for the national minimum wage your are working your self into poverty.

I would value any comments.

One This Day - National Minimum Wage.

Online Music

Online is getting better and better. Online music and entertainment is getting so good you no longer require a television set.

I take in most of my entertainment while online. I listen to a mixture of music and talk radio. Since the introduction of DAB radio to the UK I have found new radio stations that I love. At night time I flick over to either LBC (London's Biggest Conversation). or Smooth Radio. On LBC I listen to Anthony Davies or Nick Ferrari.

When not listening to the radio I am listening to my music online. I have many online music accounts. I have found the best to be Last.fm. With Last.fm you can either build your own radio station or listen to other peoples stations. The more you listen and rate the tracks being played the better and better the station becomes. With streaming music through sites like Last.fm and the others I have listed below you just never know what little gem will come out next.

The death of the commercial radio station is inevitable. I hate the adverts and the yakking DJ's

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. Please feel free to leave comments, they are all valued.

Some free online music streaming website you may be interested in joining:

grooveshark.com

last.fm

I have only listed these two as I feel these two to be the best.

Happy listening.

Helping us out of the hole...

You can call me stupid but....

In the UK right now we have a reported 35 to 40 pubs a week closing down. This is in no way helped by the ease of access to alcohol. It seems you can get cheap booze at almost any shop these days.

It would seem that police forces across the country team up with the local licensing authorities now and then to crack down on the underage drinking problem. The big question has to be... is this enough.

I have spotted some easy solutions to both the pub closures and the underage drinking problem we seem to have right now. If we can produce an I.D. card for £30 that allows you to travel to selected European countries with no passport then I am sure this same card could have additional services added. If the same card was used to prove you age as well as you identity then this would make the current Proof Of Age card schemes. There seems no end to the number of places offering proof of age cards for around £10.

If the current UK I.D. card acted as a proof of age card to then this would mean one card does it all. Now if you stop supermarkets and off licenses from selling alcohol and only licensed pubs and clubs this would solve the pub closures. At the same time put a chip and pin onto the current I.D. cards and a smart scan chip and you have a great all rounder.

Here is how it would work:

You enter a licensed premises. If the premises have door supervisors they would scan your card. This would take a second. Your picture, full name and Date Of Birth would show up on the screen. They would allow you in. If you have been thrown out of another bar for whatever reason(s) this would also show on the screen.

Each time you buy a drink your card would be scanned. This would all be held on a central computer that the police and National Health Service would have access to. If you ended up worst for ware that evening you would be arrested or treated and the bill sent to your home address.

This means trouble makers would be identified with ease. The same card would be used to enter football grounds, concert arenas etc. You would even use this card to see your doctor, dentist, use the library and many more applications besides. I see no reason why this card could not be used for children to sign in and out of school and from class to class. Parents would have access to this information.

Simple.

If you have enjoyed this blog post then why not leave your comments.

Don't vote for me...

If you don't vote in the next election you will not be in a position to complain when the UK PLC goes down the toilet.

In the last ten years we have seen the UK economy go from bad to great to bust. We now refer to the UK economy as the UK PLC it seems to be going through a period of substantial change. Some industries are dying fast and others are showing green shoots despite the recession.

Where we are now and where we will arrive in the next decade will all depend on how many people vote and how many people stay at home.

Make sure you get out and use YOUR VOTE.

Take a look at the current UK Political Parties

Bad Customer Services

The weekend came. It was Saturday afternoon and my two nieces and nephew all came around to the house. I decided to buy my nephew a pop-up tent. I had a look on the Argos website and reserved a great little two person tent.

Off I went with my two nieces Hannah and Abigail to collect the tent. In between leaving the house and getting to Argos we decided to pop into Toys R Us. We all went to straight to the outdoor section. All the pop ups looked a little small and boring. We did decided on the Thomas The Tank Engine one. It has a small tent with a separate crawl tunnel and a large tent in the shape of the star attraction, Thomas The Tank Engine. After Hannah and Abigail had been and got some sweets and I was £50 less we all made out way back home. The £50 down would be worth it as it would give many hours of enjoyment.

As I got home and brought the box into the house my nephew Aaron was so excited and clapping his hands. At 18 months old he knows all about Thomas and Friends. As I was building the main part of the pop-up I noticed it was very unstable. To save my ears I allowed Aaron to play in the tent. I decided it had to go back to Toys R Us. When Aaron went home I packed the tent back in the box to return it to Toys R Us.

I returned the tent to Toys R Us on Monday. I explained to the to the customer service person that the large tent is to limp and not fit for purpose. I said I would like my money back. I then showed her my receipt. She then said I will need to get the store manager to approve this refund. She then served another customer with some free Lego. You collect the coupons from the newspaper and take them to Toys R Us and they give you a small bag of Lego for your trouble. Off she went to get the store manger as I thought. I seen her go to the tills at the exit to the store and serve another customer. She came back to me and served another customer with some free Lego. She then went off to get the store manager.

The store manager came to the Customer Services Desk. He asked what was wrong with the tent. I explained to him that it is all limp and not safe or fit to play in. He then started to to build the tent in front of me. While building the tent he said I would appreciate it if you where less aggressive towards my staff. I told him I am not an aggressive person. He then started to say I was concerned for my staff's safety. I told him, I would be a happier customer if your staff would deal with one customer at a time. He never replied.

After he spent 20 more minutes of my day building the tent, he then turned to me and said "I will give you a credit note as a gesture of goodwill". I told him that this was not good enough. I said I was returning the tent because it was not fit for purpose. Under the sale of goods act I am entitled to a refund. I then told him to pack the tent up in the box and I would seek legal advice in Manchester city center. I also reminded him that he will be paying my parking fees.

With this he started to issue a refund. It would seem at Toys R Us they have and open till policy when your giving them the money and a closed till policy when you take faulty good back.

REMEMBER: Where the goods are faulty or not fit for purpose you are entitled to a full refund. If you bought your goods online you have seven days to return them with no questions asked. Also if you have bought good through mail order and they are damaged, faulty or not fit for purpose you DO NOT have to pay to send them back.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post, I welcome your comments.