Recovering Charges From the Bank #1

Just over 40 days ago I wrote to the bank asking for details of the charges on a current account I share with my wife. I paid the £10 fee, asked for details of the charges and any manual intervention in relation to the account (hoping to be able to argue that the 'cost' of the charges is disproportionate to the charges made). I also informed them of my intention to seek repayment if I felt the charges were unjustified.
A week after sending the letter I got a reply telling me that they would be sending the statements in the post and I would have to sign for them personally, they said I could get details of how charges applied from the terms and conditions, which they would send a copy of (I think they missed the point - this information does not cover my request!!).
So after about 40 days (nothing like leaving it to the last minute) a parcel arrives by a famous courier. On a weekday I am at work so unsurprisingly I was not in when the parcel arrived. Bearing in mind my bank told me that I would have to personally sign for the information - they left the parcel, advertised with 'Private and Confidential - Only to be opened by.....' with a neighbour.
The other information they sent is some unintelligible script (some kind of note taking shorthand typing) which eludes to the gist of conversations I have had with them.
I shall be writing back to them now , again requesting information relating to any manual intervention and pointing out my annoyance at their postal security measures risking the integrity of private information meant to for me only. I shall of course be informing them that I which to reclaim £x of charges and if they don't agree a settlement then I will take them to court.

Wish me luck

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AGLOCO update #1

Exciting news!! Since my first AGLOCO posting the number of referrals has shot up. It's a modest start but I hope to reach 50 referrals within the next few days. I had no idea how the referral system was going to pan out but it seems to be moving in the right direction. There could well be a massive increase soon depending on how successfully these new AGLOCO members make their own referrals. I'll let you know how it progresses. In the mean time I am telling all my friends and family about it and urging them to join up to. There really is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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AGLOCO : A Global Company

I recently joined AGLOCO because it was recommended in a forum debating money making opportunities on the internet. I am now promoting it to you because I like the idea and I want you to share in what I think is an exciting opportunity.
The AGLOCO concept is simple:
Advertisers, search providers and online retailers are paying billions to reach you while you surf. How much of that money are you making? NONE!
AGLOCO thinks we deserve a piece of the action and I for one am not going to disagree.
AGLOCO collects money from those companies on behalf of its members. (For example, Google currently pays AOL 10 cents for every Google search by an AOL user. And Google still has enough profit to pay $1.6 billion dollars for YouTube, an 18-month old site full of content that YouTube’s users did not get paid for!
AGLOCO will work to get its Members their share of this and more.
AGLOCO is building a new form of online community that they call an Economic Network. They are not only paying members their fair share, but they’re building a community that will generate the kind of fortune that YouTube made. But instead of that wealth making only a few people rich, the entire community will get its share.
What's the catch? No catch - no spyware, no pop-ups and no spam - membership and software are free and AGLOCO is 100% member owned. Privacy is a core value and AGLOCO will never sell or rent member information.
If you sign up for AGLOCO now you not only stand to get money for surfing the net but you will also have the opportunity of benefiting from the surfing of others who sign up on the basis of your referral. The more people you get to sign up, the better the ongoing reward. Use this link and read all about it for yourself in more detail, it really seems to be catching on and the earlier you get involved the better.

It doesn't take long to read about it and there are no catches - see for yourself but I certainly wouldn't be participating if I had any concerns. AGLOCO looks like a genuine way to earn money by doing nothing!

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The Car Boot Fair

This Saturday was the boot fair. Planning had been ongoing for a while, with items gradually migrating to the loft and the garage over the last year. This built to a crescendo of activity, peaking this Saturday with the contents of the loft and garage out on the lawn.
We had a bit of a social gathering going on whilst preparing for the sale. There were five of us in total bringing three separate loads. We decided to group together to reduce cost, pool resources, seek safety in numbers and have a bit of a laugh.
I can't remember the last time I got out of bed at 5 on a Sunday morning. I am not a morning person but on this occasion I had no problem. The weather was good (a real plus for outdoor boot fairs), the cars were already packed and the flask of coffee made. Arriving at the site at 6.15 was cutting it as fine - we very nearly didn't get a place. Most people were in and looked as though they finished setting up and bought their bacon butty ages ago. It seems that these morning boot fairs get going between 5 and 6. Still a plus side to being so late was that we had missed the crowd that rummage through your boxes as you're trying to unpack. They're hunting for gold and antiques and anything of potential value before the public arrive.
We had so much stuff on our pitch (a car parking space) that we couldn't fit everything in and leave it accessable to the crowd. Much setting up and arranging was required. We had bought a pasting table to put things on, CDs were displayed in shallow boxes, as were the books, with a bit of card sticking up displaying the price. The clothes rail I had fixed the night before promptly collapsed under the weight of the clothes hanging of it. We improvised by hanging on a small tree. There was a little box of items from the garage, door handles, light fittings etc and a box of toys and kid stuff.
We had discussed prices the night before. Books and CDs were marked with a price but everything else was done on the spot. There was a little bit of bartering but nothing too awkward - at the end of the day it's your item and you'll sell it for whatever you feel comfortable with.
Despite returning with over half of the items, I made £160 after expenses. Not a bad return for getting rid of some unwanted junk and clutter. We met some nice people as well as some characters and had a laugh. Not a bad way to spend a sunny Sunday morning. I've enough stuff left to hold another one and now I have experience I can organise it better and optimise my stall.
I've listed some tips which I think are useful:
1. Make every effort to be early
2. Take a pasting table - we definitely noticed that a table with lots of small bits of clutter (treasures) brought people in.
3. Have a box labelled for kids full of any toys you're selling
4. Group any DIY bits and bobs
5. Take a clothes rail to hang any clothes on
6. Put books and CDs in shallow boxes - price them and offer 3 for 2 etc
7. We found books didn't sell - possibly the due to the location
8. Don't think about taking anything old and of possible value. It may be worth more than you think even if you don't like it.
9. Pin jewellery to a board so that people can browse it easily and it doesn't get tangled.
10. Take a float - We had £10, reduced by £5 after the first sale
11. Take a flask
12. Take carrier bags - everybody asks for them
13. Make sure people can easily get to your goods
14. Reduce any items you really want rid of towards the end. Advertise a 'sale' - don't be afraid to call people in
15. At the end some people abandoned unwanted items - I got a mirror and a Teddy Bear, both of which are in the box to go to the next boot fair

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The Blog

I have spent a reasonable amount of time (but being careful not to turn in to a computer nerd) searching the Internet for ways of making money but I have been overwhelmed by the galaxy of information and usually end up in scam city. It is so unbelievably annoying to learn that some one is earning thousands a month because they have cracked it but they are graciously willing to share their mystic secrets and give you the golden key for a small ransom. There is no way you can buy yourself to riches. Hats off to these people though. They have researched hard and worked the system and I am sure they are making good money from their efforts. This is what got me thinking - if they worked it out then why can't anyone else? What they are doing is saying that they know a way to the riches and for a fee they will point you in the right direction. What they don't point out so well is that it is a long and difficult road which requires effort and dedication to reach the goal. Their own journey is made just a little easier by the cash they make from selling a dream. Hmmm..........

I discovered that creating a blog and registering with AdSense will invite related ads to my blog. These adds are selected by some cunning device which reads the content so they will be relevant to my quest. I find that these ads are an excellent source of information and hopefully inspiration. I follow the ads and learn something new each time. The Internet is awash with choice and if you're like me you start looking for something and end up finding nothing because there are usually umpteen thousand relevant items in your search. Now they come to me and I can focus on the stuff I want to learn.

Creating the blog was easier than I thought. I went to http://www.blogger.com/ and although being a bit behind the times I managed to set up the blog. I applied for an AdSense account through blogger.com and as if by magic the ads started to appear. I added a free counter when I discovered http://www.easyhitcounters.com/ so that I can see if anyone other than me visits the site (so far I think it's just me!). So overall I am quite pleased with myself and can say with pride that I am no longer the Luddite that I once was.
One thing I have come across is a way to earn while you surf with AGLOCO. There are no catches that I can see.

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In The Beginning

I am worked hard for the living I earn. Who isn't these days? Don't get me wrong, I think that people should put in a day's hard graft to earn their money but I am sure I am not alone when I think that the balance is wrong. My employer expects me to live for work to the extent that I feel enslaved. This can't be right. My work has taken over elements of my personal life like a parasite, it is demanding of my time and energy and has caused me to push what should be the most important things in my life down the list of priorities.
I like my work (although there are stressful days that I could do without) and I get self satisfaction from my achievements. The problem is that I don't get paid for my efforts, I don't get thanks when it goes well either but one thing I do get is bawled at when it doesn't go to plan. I could live with this if it wasn't for the fact that it usually goes wrong because we are working to a set of rules and deadlines dictated by 'make it so', 'just manage it' bosses who have lost touch with their human side.
In summary, I am fed up with lining someone else's pockets with the fruits of my labour and getting rewarded with the privilege of keeping my job. I am at a stage in my life where I need a regular income, so I can't throw caution to the wind by leaving to see what happens. Yes I am looking for another job but I fell in to a fickle industry that will drop you as soon as take you on and I know the grass is not any greener on the other side.
I have spent a lot of time away from home with work and get back late in the evening. As a result basic household management takes second place to recovery and preparation for the week ahead. This has resulted in bad management of finances and most definitely debt which could have been avoided. Helped along by a bank, who as a 'responsible lender', sees you in a hole and offers to help by giving you a spade - how can exorbitant charges possibly be justified?! I am in no doubt that a significant portion of my debt is thanks to bank charges which have created bank charges which have created bank charges etc, etc, etc. Other people may have coped with this better than me - I am quite willing to admit that, but that is not the point.
So here I am. I'm trying to change things and invest in me, repair the damage.
I am sure I am not alone in my thoughts but I feel very alone sometimes and completely at a loss with how to remedy the situation. I am embarking on an adventure where I hope to discover and share ways in which it is possible to make a little something whilst having fun and learning something new.
This is step one - the blog

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