Could Banks Help To Cut Fraud By Doing Simple Things?
A couple of days ago, I noticed a spurious and unknown payment in my bank account for £115.73. It was just labelled Bank Ctedit, with no indication as to who had sent it.
Checking for those that usually pay money into my account, I could not find a similar payment in the past. So I came to the conclusion, it was probably an error in the banking system. Or possibly some clever fraud! But then I’m cynical.
This morning it revealed itself as a rebate from nPower, who supply my electricity and gas. Perhaps four days ago, they read my electricity meter, so there is a possible explanation.
But supposing that the credit had been a debit, or I had not noticed it, as many people don’t check their bank statements every day, as I do.
Now if the banks put more information on the pending debits and credits, which they must have, it might help cut fraud, in that customers would be alerted to what was happening earlier.
It’s the same with cashpoint withdrawals, where the information is very minimal. How many people would spot a fraudulent withdrawal from their bank account, from the information given now. If the withdrawals were properly labelled, customers would probably spot an illegal one earlier and more easily.
I Hate Avoidable Imperfections
I have just spent twenty minutes putting out the recycling. As it was only two full green sacks of mixed recycling and a cardboard box, that is far too long.
The problem isn’t the sacks, the box, my gammy hand or anything else outside of my control, but the front door of my house. I asked my previous builder to do something with it, so that it doesn’t close on its own volition. Luckily, it has only managed to lock me out once, but tonight it closed on me four times, as I took the recycling out. But I always check that my keys are in my pocket, as they were tonight.
I’ve been in this house nearly three years and I’m getting fed up with this door. All it needs is to look good, have an adequate letter box to replace the one, the previous builders broke, only shut when I want it to, and possibly be able to be locked and unlocked from upstairs, by flicking a switch.
I have an adequate budget for this job and I don’t think it’s too much to hope that this door will be sorted soon.
I suppose the real problem is that Jerry got the door on the cheap!
Did These Adverts Affect The Choice Of The Royal Baby’s Name?
These adverts are on the Tube all over London and have been for several weeks.
Did These Adverts Affect The Choice Of The Royal Baby’s Name?
Was it a subtle message? As the Queen was obviously very interested and probably went on Saturday, it was perhaps a name in the forefront of the whole family’s minds.
My youngest son, was called George, so I have no objections to it as a name, but to me, it’s probably an unlucky one.
I don’t know whether, I could have a lady friend called Georgia or Georgina.
Ten Reasons I Don’t Like Eastfield
I went to Waitrose in Eastfield this evening, to get some bits and pieces for my supper.
1. The Waitrose there is not for me, as some of the staples I like, like Genius bread never seem to be in stock. I also found out tonight, that it doesn’t have all the small packs of microwaveable vegetables I use.
2. The Marks and Spencer isn’t a patch on the ones in Oxford Street or Finsbury Pavement for food. It doesn’t even stock gluten-free sandwiches, which is rare in a their larger stores.
3. Clothes at Marks and Spencer are probably the normal standard, but unless you get in early in the season, small sizes can be difficult to find.
4. Although, I don’t use it often these days, the Starbucks at Eastfield doesn’t use proper china cups.
5. I went into John Lewis today and it really is a bit small and inferior when compared to the flagship store in Oxford Street.
6. Waitrose and John Lewis are a long way from the main Stratford station.
7. With the exception of Marks and Spencer, I’ve bought no clothing in any of the shops there, as they seem to be almost exclusively aimed at women. The few shops that sell men’s clothes are ones I wouldn’t visit.
8. The only restaurant that I know serves gluten-free food is Jamie’s Italian. Why can’t it have a Carluccio’s like Westfield?
9. As I’m very much a guerilla shopper, who comes, buys what he wants and retreats immediately, the centre is usually too crowded for my liking.
10. In some ways my major gripe is that, if say you want to go anywhere from the main Stratford station, you have to walk through the shopping centre. I always go shopping, when I want to, not when I end up in a shopping centre by accident.
You may think that this has all been very negative.
But I do like the toilets, the only Lakeland near me and the large numbers of cash points.
The Cafe In The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
The cafe in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is all new.
It is run by a company called Unity Kitchen, who have this as their mission statement.
We have a strong social and environmental purpose; we create jobs for people with disabilities, make good food affordable for local people, and run our business sustainably.
They did have a gluten-free cake from a company called Sponge.
The cafe was busy, but it probably needs a few more days to get its systems working better.
Visiting The New Park
I finally, got to view the new Queen Eizabeth Olympic Park yesterday.
It is obviously not finished by any means, but it is impressive.
It also opens early in the morning at 06:00 and closed fairly late.
I travelled to the park, by getting a 588 bus from Hackney Wick, to the stop by the Copper Box. At present, the information on the bus isn’t working in the area of the park, but I suspect it will be in a few days.
Sexist Tweets
There have been two big stories lately about two women ; Caroline Criado-Perez and Stella Creasey being abused on Twitter
I have never abused anybody knowingly on Twitter and I condemn the abusers unconditionally. Although on the other hand some of the things I’ve said, might have provoked a rabid response from certain classes of bigots. I have removed the odd message saying what I said was rubbish, but there has been nothing I have not found honest comment.
I will defend some men in particular, by saying that there are quite a few good men out there, who know how to treat a woman properly. I hope I do, as I did manage to keep my half of a relationship going for over forty years.
It’s not difficult! You just need a bit of give and take!
They Don’t Care About House Colours In Hackney
This story from Devon shows one of the problems of living in the area of a council and among residents, who have strong views.
It’s not a good shade of pink and I don’t like it. We may have a few brightly coloured buildings in Hackney, but at least they’ve generally been agreed by everyone.
In cities too, most buildings are of brick and they tend to match easier.
I don’t miss the petty [politics of the countryside.
Cash Flow Problems
In the last week, I’ve joined a few organisations like the Tate, the British Museum etc., where I pay my subscription by direct debit. Some have turned up in my bank account, but most haven’t!
I know it’s the holiday season, but surely speed is of the essence.
Is it the organisations or is it the banks? In two cases, everything was typed into the computer as I stood there, so surely that must be in the system by now!
Should We have Built It In The First Place?
One of the dramatic news stories on BBC television this morning, is the blowing up of the tower of Inverkip power station chimney in Scotland. Out of curiosity, I looked up the power station on Wikipedia and found an article, which showed how building the station seems to have been an enormous waste of money. Here’s what they say on the use of the power station.
It was to be Scotland’s first oil-fired power station. However, the soaring price of oil as a result of the 1973 oil crisis meant that by the time construction was completed generation was uneconomical. It was never utilised commercially, with 1200 MW kept in reserve and the remaining capacity being used to satisfy peak demand. It was only used at peak capacity during the miners’ strike of 1984-85, when low coal supplies prompted operation. Generation ceased in January 1988 and although the plant was retained as a strategic reserve, it was never used as such. The plant was finally mothballed in the late 1990s, but was kept fully operational until 2006 when it was decommissioned.
No wonder our electricity bills are so expensive, with gold-plated elephants like this to support.
I suppose, at least a lot of people got a cheap thrill when they saw the chimney blown up.
The Anonymous Widower 