Paypoint Share Discussion Threads

[supreme] 15/9/2002 22:59

The best thing to do is cash in your pensions and spend it over here and enjoy life

[rob1829] 15/9/2002 22:35

abix- is that one word comment directed at my previous post or something unconnected? if so i would be interested to hear some clarification.

[rob1829] 15/9/2002 22:16

if you recall maxk- when personal pensions were introduced by the government their stance was that best advice should be to recommend people to opt out and into the personal pension route- not least because it was more flexible and thus supposedly allowing more people to invest in equities to boost our economy- now when the gov changes its mind it is the financial advisors who are to blame. lets not forget all financial advisors have to follow best advice prcedures as laid donw by the FSA and as discussed and agreed upon by the gov. i never recommended an opt out of main scheme by the way as it was a bit before my time but all advice given at the end of the day has to conform with the governments view of what is best advice-so yes there were- and still are -some cowboy advisors who stripe clients up with unnapropriate planning simply because they chase commissions but as a rule the independant fee based advisor does not do this and all his advice is as a rule dictated to him anyway- its more a job of interpreting and applying advice rather than coming up with anything original.

[maxk] 15/9/2002 22:08

But you must take on board the people who were advised by the same "independant" financial advisors to take up schemes outside thier workplace scheme. NatWest tried the same thing with its staff, no doubt collecting yea sums in fees...only to have to make up the difference very soon after, at a far greater cost I understand.

You cant trust anyone!

[corrientes] 15/9/2002 22:05

Let the fun begin.As more and more companies,USA,UK Etc find that they cannot
fund the technically bankrupt final salary schemes,Equitable Life will be just be another statistic.Such pension schemes are blood suckers which demand more and more tribute from the companies in whom they invest to pay for the inflated
index linked retirees who think they should continue to enjoy the same benefits
in retirement as they did when working.Let these privileged persons join the real world.The same goes for civil servants.The youngsters shouldn't have to pay
for all this.I always laugh when I read about large payoffs to company directors.What they ought to look for is the amount set set aside for pension
rights which makes the pay off peanuts by comparison.

[wageslave] 15/9/2002 21:51

Sorry Rob, but many were members of group company schemes. You get the job and they sign you up. No choice mate. Personal schemes involve personal choice.

[abix47] 15/9/2002 20:50

Oh dear Wagey.

You didn't fall for that Equitable Life "Guarantee" did you?

On a more important subject, what happened to the chess thread?

[wageslave] 15/9/2002 15:53

Equitable life action group link:

[wageslave] 15/9/2002 14:45

Turmoil in the stock markets and financing problems in the pensions industry have led to significant falls in the values of money purchase pensions schemes over the past two years. The fall from grace of Equitable Life and more recent collapses in the market put at risk our retirement income.

In a nutshell, there is not enough money salted away in pension funds to guarantee a comfortable retirement for today's working population. The market would have to erase all of its recent losses and make significant gains as projected pension incomes were based on the market rising upward continuously.

It would be useful to hear from those who have opted out of SERPS to see how their private schemes are faring.

Please feel free to contribute your thoughts, experiences and useful links on the future of the pensions industry, the value of pensions and the retirement income they may generate.

Various articles:
Pensions industry in crisis:
TUC pensions index:
Employees left to foot the bills for bosses' 'holidays' :
Observer article on the pensions industry:
Age Concern article:
TUC/pensions piece:
Poorly-paid council workers fear talk of reform:
Department of work/pensions (UK Govt):
Information on the different pension options available:
Earnings link:
New tax on pensions:
Earnings link:
Employer schemes:
Pensions mis-selling scandal:
Financial services authority (pensions articles):
Financial services authority basics of pension schemes:

[mr_phil] 12/9/2002 12:48

don't think it's quite as harsh as adamh would like but here are some links

this is the story at

UK adopts new e-commerce laws
By David Neal [02-08-2002]
The DTI has unveiled its latest initiative to promote e-commerce in the UK

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued new e-commerce regulations in the UK. The laws will govern the implementation of the EU's E-commerce Directive, which aims to safeguard consumer rights.

Last week the DTI said the regulations were designed to encourage "greater use of e-commerce by breaking down barriers across Europe and boosting consumer confidence".

The E-commerce Directive covers companies that offer services "at a distance". The DTI said this meant any "services provided for remuneration, at a distance, by means of electronic equipment for the processing and storage of data and at the individual request of a recipient of a service". This includes business-to-business and business-to-consumer activities such as online shopping, but also any services that are free but funded through advertising or sponsorship revenues.

The DTI said that it - along with the UK Treasury - had conducted public consultations into the EU's directive. It added that the responses had been of a high quality, and had helped to "sharpen and focus" the regulations. The directive itself was agreed to in June 2000 and was supposed to be implemented in January of this year. However, the DTI said this delay was due to the consultation process.

E-commerce minister Stephen Timms said, "The E-commerce regulations are another important step towards making the UK the best place in the world to do e-commerce." The regulations will allow for a national law covering online services, as well as increasing the limitations on service providers' liabilities for any unlawful information they may carry or store. The regulations also take into consideration online advertising, creating "transparency requirements for online advertising".

Guidance on adhering to the regulations is available on the DTI's Web site

[clem] 11/9/2002 16:38

zzxaxx99. I've emailed you. BTW You may wish to double check your facts. :)

Sadly our computers cant discriminate between veteran users and others, if the card company doesnt clear payment for any of the numerous obstruse reasons we are given, then this is what happens. Sorry. :(

adamh. Whats this new law then? Can you email me some details.

[adamh] 11/9/2002 15:02

I read about a new EEC law coming into effect here on 15th October requiring all eBusinesses to provide online contract cancelation. I've just been looking into downgrading my account from L2 and found no online information about the cost of a lower account. I had to phone up advfn and ask for each of the 10 options individually, The whole uncustomer friendly process has left a rather sour taste in the mouth and makes me feel like cancelling the whole thing altogether.

As they are making it such a pain for me I might wait until 15th of Oct and if ADVFN are not compliant with thye new law, kick up a right fuss and see if I can make it a pain for them also...... As you sow so shall you reap


miffed off, not really the best way to handle customer relations IMO

[zzaxx99] 11/9/2002 12:10

Is there anyone from Advfn either reading this board or reading email to sales@advfn?

If so, can I please have a reply either here or by email to let my know that you've acted on my response.

[zzaxx99] 11/9/2002 09:39

No response to my reply to your email - no response to this thread - warning message still up on all Advfn pages.

[zzaxx99] 11/9/2002 06:54

You (almost) can - use Advfn1 Classic and Advfn2 streaming monitor - it's not unlimited, but you get a pretty good run in my experience

[kyoto98] 11/9/2002 06:52

In fact, it would be nice if there was a way of changing between 'Classic' and and unlimited L1 streaming prices without having to buy two separate subscriptions... unless anyone knows differently?

[zzaxx99] 11/9/2002 06:45

Classic still exists, but isn't available for new users - would be nice if the page actually admitted we exist when we went there, though.