Blatant profiteering
Discussion
Now I get that in the current inflationary environment prices are generally on the up and accept that, but got round to opening last weeks post this morn to find my home insurance renewal - last years premium £140 new quote from the same provider I've been with (but always compared and negotiated downward for nearly a decade and never made a claim) £403.... well hmm....
On the blower after a quick compare and seems £160 is the best like for like...... and - very nice lady on the other end - but cut her off on the cover recap etc and got to the point.....
Deploy standard objection handling script 1 "Well we've seen prices increase between 10 and 40 percent"
"ok so why with zero claims and no change to risk profile has my quote gone up over 200%?"
"er - i can bring it down to £320....."
Much lengthy obviously scripted waffle about referrals , special authorised discounts etc - end result renews at £162
Result liveable but rather annoyed at the potential to catch the less wary I grumpily hit the kitchen for a coffee - to find the resident sods have finished and not replaced so pop over to our garage / supermarket hybrid.......small tin of mainstream instant £8.39, less than a mile away at Tesco £6.50 so grumpily bought a single just to meet the immediate want.......seems the same is on sale at the mo in both iceland, Asda & Morrisons for £4....... now I get that convenience demands a bit of a premium but that's sodding ridiculous.....
On the weekend hit Bristol Balloon fiesta - parking .....£25 - last year a tenner - moaned about that then but swallowed it but 150% up for the same bit of grass... ???
Seems every provider of pretty much anything charging what they think they can get away with right now no wonder folk are skint - Monday whinge over ;-)
On the blower after a quick compare and seems £160 is the best like for like...... and - very nice lady on the other end - but cut her off on the cover recap etc and got to the point.....
Deploy standard objection handling script 1 "Well we've seen prices increase between 10 and 40 percent"
"ok so why with zero claims and no change to risk profile has my quote gone up over 200%?"
"er - i can bring it down to £320....."
Much lengthy obviously scripted waffle about referrals , special authorised discounts etc - end result renews at £162
Result liveable but rather annoyed at the potential to catch the less wary I grumpily hit the kitchen for a coffee - to find the resident sods have finished and not replaced so pop over to our garage / supermarket hybrid.......small tin of mainstream instant £8.39, less than a mile away at Tesco £6.50 so grumpily bought a single just to meet the immediate want.......seems the same is on sale at the mo in both iceland, Asda & Morrisons for £4....... now I get that convenience demands a bit of a premium but that's sodding ridiculous.....
On the weekend hit Bristol Balloon fiesta - parking .....£25 - last year a tenner - moaned about that then but swallowed it but 150% up for the same bit of grass... ???
Seems every provider of pretty much anything charging what they think they can get away with right now no wonder folk are skint - Monday whinge over ;-)
Consider yourself very lucky to be paying that sort of money.
I don't think I know anyone paying much less than 300 these days.
As for the insurance companies, they simply present you with a number that they know 80% of people will pay.
Its enough to cover the other 20% of people who dont pay and just move somewhere else and a nice christmas party...
They kept you onboard, but will try the same thing next year.
The recent stories in the press are not helping either as people will just shrug and say oh well.
I don't think I know anyone paying much less than 300 these days.
As for the insurance companies, they simply present you with a number that they know 80% of people will pay.
Its enough to cover the other 20% of people who dont pay and just move somewhere else and a nice christmas party...
They kept you onboard, but will try the same thing next year.
The recent stories in the press are not helping either as people will just shrug and say oh well.
gotoPzero said:
Consider yourself very lucky to be paying that sort of money.
I don't think I know anyone paying much less than 300 these days.
As for the insurance companies, they simply present you with a number that they know 80% of people will pay.
Its enough to cover the other 20% of people who dont pay and just move somewhere else and a nice christmas party...
They kept you onboard, but will try the same thing next year.
The recent stories in the press are not helping either as people will just shrug and say oh well.
While also believing the stories that tell them they shouldn't want a pay increase that at least covers their cost of living. I don't think I know anyone paying much less than 300 these days.
As for the insurance companies, they simply present you with a number that they know 80% of people will pay.
Its enough to cover the other 20% of people who dont pay and just move somewhere else and a nice christmas party...
They kept you onboard, but will try the same thing next year.
The recent stories in the press are not helping either as people will just shrug and say oh well.
Businesses will price to what the market are willing to pay, the only way to counter that is to not buy it, only when the volumes go below a certain threshold will they take action, the supermarkets are not interested in competing anymore they have worked out it's more profitable to milk their customer base rather than go after market share.
When the traditional supermarkets said they would match Aldi/Lidl what they were saying is we're no longer going to compete and this told Aldi/Lidl that they could price where they wanted without fear of anyone undercutting them, had this been arranged in a private meeting they'd all be in deep trouble but they did publicly by advertising it, so can get away with collusion.
Tim-D said:
Now I get that in the current inflationary environment prices are generally on the up and accept that, but got round to opening last weeks post this morn to find my home insurance renewal - last years premium £140 new quote from the same provider I've been with (but always compared and negotiated downward for nearly a decade and never made a claim) £403.... well hmm....
On the blower after a quick compare and seems £160 is the best like for like...... and - very nice lady on the other end - but cut her off on the cover recap etc and got to the point.....
Deploy standard objection handling script 1 "Well we've seen prices increase between 10 and 40 percent"
"ok so why with zero claims and no change to risk profile has my quote gone up over 200%?"
"er - i can bring it down to £320....."
Much lengthy obviously scripted waffle about referrals , special authorised discounts etc - end result renews at £162
Result liveable but rather annoyed at the potential to catch the less wary I grumpily hit the kitchen for a coffee - to find the resident sods have finished and not replaced so pop over to our garage / supermarket hybrid.......small tin of mainstream instant £8.39, less than a mile away at Tesco £6.50 so grumpily bought a single just to meet the immediate want.......seems the same is on sale at the mo in both iceland, Asda & Morrisons for £4....... now I get that convenience demands a bit of a premium but that's sodding ridiculous.....
On the weekend hit Bristol Balloon fiesta - parking .....£25 - last year a tenner - moaned about that then but swallowed it but 150% up for the same bit of grass... ???
Seems every provider of pretty much anything charging what they think they can get away with right now no wonder folk are skint - Monday whinge over ;-)
So you went on a comparison site and found home insurance for c£160 and you rewarded your existing insurer by letting them price match and staying with them? That'll teach them!On the blower after a quick compare and seems £160 is the best like for like...... and - very nice lady on the other end - but cut her off on the cover recap etc and got to the point.....
Deploy standard objection handling script 1 "Well we've seen prices increase between 10 and 40 percent"
"ok so why with zero claims and no change to risk profile has my quote gone up over 200%?"
"er - i can bring it down to £320....."
Much lengthy obviously scripted waffle about referrals , special authorised discounts etc - end result renews at £162
Result liveable but rather annoyed at the potential to catch the less wary I grumpily hit the kitchen for a coffee - to find the resident sods have finished and not replaced so pop over to our garage / supermarket hybrid.......small tin of mainstream instant £8.39, less than a mile away at Tesco £6.50 so grumpily bought a single just to meet the immediate want.......seems the same is on sale at the mo in both iceland, Asda & Morrisons for £4....... now I get that convenience demands a bit of a premium but that's sodding ridiculous.....
On the weekend hit Bristol Balloon fiesta - parking .....£25 - last year a tenner - moaned about that then but swallowed it but 150% up for the same bit of grass... ???
Seems every provider of pretty much anything charging what they think they can get away with right now no wonder folk are skint - Monday whinge over ;-)
Murph7355 said:
Countdown said:
Asda 6-pack of Nutty Bars (Snickers dupes) used to be 65p a few years ago, now £1.35 I bought a 7-pack of Club Salted caramel instead.
How much were salted caramel Clubs a few years ago? Although you get 1 piece extra (7 vs 6) they are smaller than the Asda Nutty bars but on a gram for gram basis they were still better value!
Tim-D said:
Now I get that in the current inflationary environment prices are generally on the up and accept that, but got round to opening last weeks post this morn to find my home insurance renewal - last years premium £140 new quote from the same provider I've been with (but always compared and negotiated downward for nearly a decade and never made a claim) £403.... well hmm....
Much lengthy obviously scripted waffle about referrals , special authorised discounts etc - end result renews at £162
You've explained exactly why they do it.Much lengthy obviously scripted waffle about referrals , special authorised discounts etc - end result renews at £162
They quote you £403 and yet you still gave them a chance and they kept your business.
Ah, the good old 'authorised discount' line - told customers I was going to speak to my manager and instead went to get a coffee while I thought of a number that'd seal the deal.
The above tactic was fully endorsed and approved by management in a large UK insurer, good old days they were!
The above tactic was fully endorsed and approved by management in a large UK insurer, good old days they were!
The country has become desensitised to frequent price increases and therefore they clearly believe they can get away with it. And then the boe and the arm chair economists moan when everyone demands meaningful payrises.
The UK is not in a good shape for the average Joe. Not a good place at all.
The UK is not in a good shape for the average Joe. Not a good place at all.
I know its a trivial thing, but why are large bags of crisps such as Pipers or Kettle chips now £3? I'm starving myself as I just will not pay that much.
AFAIK 150g of potatoes costs about 15 -20 pence wholesale. Now that's profiteering, despite the obvious high tech world of slicing and frying a potato.
AFAIK 150g of potatoes costs about 15 -20 pence wholesale. Now that's profiteering, despite the obvious high tech world of slicing and frying a potato.
gotoPzero said:
Consider yourself very lucky to be paying that sort of money.
I don't think I know anyone paying much less than 300 these days.
<edit for brevity>
Our home insurance (contents and buildings, 4 bed detached in Hampshire, clean claims history) was £115 but bought from Hastings Direct via Topcashback who gave £35 cash back. So £80 total.I don't think I know anyone paying much less than 300 these days.
<edit for brevity>
I understand the OP's point, and agree to some extent that some sellers are taking the mickey with their pricing. But shopping around is a relevant today as ever, IME.
andygo said:
I know its a trivial thing, but why are large bags of crisps such as Pipers or Kettle chips now £3? I'm starving myself as I just will not pay that much.
AFAIK 150g of potatoes costs about 15 -20 pence wholesale. Now that's profiteering, despite the obvious high tech world of slicing and frying a potato.
You're paying for air. Joking aside, the cost of the HGV is probably more than the cost of the crisps in their packets on a wholesale level (different to retail). One of the biggest costs of crisps is now the energy cost to make them.AFAIK 150g of potatoes costs about 15 -20 pence wholesale. Now that's profiteering, despite the obvious high tech world of slicing and frying a potato.
I buy whichever large crisps are on offer - it's a good way to sample other manufacturers and flavours.
andygo said:
I know its a trivial thing, but why are large bags of crisps such as Pipers or Kettle chips now £3? I'm starving myself as I just will not pay that much.
AFAIK 150g of potatoes costs about 15 -20 pence wholesale. Now that's profiteering, despite the obvious high tech world of slicing and frying a potato.
Your alternative is to buy the potatoes, thinly slice them, spray oil on them, bake them in an oven and add seasoning. £3 still seem too much? Don't deprive yourself AFAIK 150g of potatoes costs about 15 -20 pence wholesale. Now that's profiteering, despite the obvious high tech world of slicing and frying a potato.
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