They say that nothing in this life is free so look for the
catch.
Always read the small print
it could save you money.
Read on
Alarming Sales Tactics
Over the years, lots of consumers have had
problems with companies selling expensive home alarm systems
door-to-door that aren't always what they are cracked up to be.
Unfortunately, the elderly and vulnerable are often targeted.
Tactics employed by salesmen to sell
expensive and unsuitable alarm systems include:
The use of dubious crime/fire
statistics, and tales of robbery and assault to scare householders
into buying.
Pretending to be calling on behalf
of the Trading Standards or Fire and Rescue Service, in order to
make their visit appear official.
Consumers who do sign up on the doorstep
following an unsolicited visit, or a visit arranged following an
unsolicited phone call, do have certain cancellation rights.
Consumers have 7 days (for cash
sales) and 5 days (for credit agreements), within which to
cancel.
Companies who fail to advise the consumer
of their rights in this instance, in writing, are committing a criminal
offence (penalty on summary conviction, maximum fine £2,500).
Consumers who are considering purchasing an
alarm system should not be rushed into doing so on the doorstep, but
should get at least three quotes from reputable companies approved by
NACOSS (The National Approved Council on Security Systems).
Local Police Crime Prevention Officers are
only too willing to give the public advice on home security.
Warwickshire County Council's Trading
Standards Service has been alerted to the scam by concerned residents
who reported receiving approaches from doorstep sale people claiming
that they had either 'won' an alarm system, or had been 'selected' for a
free alarm system.
Although this may seem at first to be a tempting offer, what is not
always made clear to householders who take up this offer is that they
will have to pay a service charge to whichever company monitors the
alarm system that is fitted – and this could be hundreds of pounds a
year. Householders will also find themselves locked in to an agreement
that could last several years and be required to pay for additional
annual system check ups. In all the cost of this 'free' alarm could be
many thousands of pounds.
Officers are also concerned that some sales people are claiming that
they are working on behalf of the Police or Neighbourhood Watch
organisations – also not true. Some sales people have even gone as far
as to claim that new legislation will make it impossible for home owners
to insure their properties contents if they don't' have a monitored
alarm system. This is also grossly untrue.
Some sales people may also not be offering householders cancellation
rights – a criminal offence.
Noel Hunter Director of Warwickshire Trading Standards Service said:
"I would strongly advise residents to think twice before signing up
to an offer on the doorstep and if they don't wish to buy goods and
service in this way, then not to open their doors to doorstep sales
people at all."
Consumers who are considering purchasing an alarm system should not
be rushed in to doing so on the door step, but should get at least three
quotes from reputable companies approved by N.A.C.O.S.S (The National
Approval Council on Security Systems).
Local Police Crime Prevention Officers are only too willing to give
the public advice on home security.
Trading Standards officers would like to remind consumers, that if
they buy goods or services, or sign a contract, following an unsolicited
visit to their home, or a visit arranged following an unsolicited phone
call, they do have 7 days (for cash sales over £35) and 5 days (for
credit agreements over £50), within which to cancel.
Companies who fail to advise the consumer of their rights in this
instance, in writing, are committing a criminal offence (penalty on
summary conviction, maximum fine £2,500).
Any Warwickshire consumers requiring help or advice to cancel a
contract they have signed on the doorstep, should contact Trading
Standards Adviceline on 01926 414000. Consumers are advised to act
quickly.
This was downloaded from the site below and I thought it
was good.
http://www.axp.mdx.ac.uk/~john49/confaq.htm
The Cons, Scams and Unethical Sales Techniques FAQ
This document is mostly aimed at people who may be buying something for
their house, be it an appliance or other services.. It is a description of the
ways in which applied psychology is used to force people to make a hasty
decision that they may come to regret. It also lists various financial devices,
which while within the law, are not necessarily what they seem. If any other
methods of unethical behaviour by any companies come to your notice, feel free
to let me know. There is an email link at the bottom of the page. I suppose that
it could be argued that these people are only trying to make a living, but then
again this argument could be made by the people who burgle houses. I hope to
detail some of the techniques used below.
Please be warned that reading any further could lead to the realisation that
you have been duped, or worse still, destroy your faith in human nature.
This is not an exhaustive list, but I hope you get the idea. Ideally don't
buy anything at the door, and ask for ID. If you have dealt with an Estate
Agent, and they are worth their salt, they will be able to recommend good
artisans to do work on your house. The first and patent warning is that these
people turn up unsolicited.
The simplest policy, and one I adopt rigidly is that I NEVER buy goods
unsolicited. I am perfectly capable of knowing when I want kitchen utensils, and
I suspect I am not unique in being able to find a shop selling them. I know that
if the items are defective, I can return to the place I bought them from and
arrange refund or exchange. So an untraceable, uninvited person on your doorstep
is not in general something that you should tolerate.
If someone turns up on your doorstep, be polite but firm. No, you don't want
anything. Can I really save thirty pounds a month on electricity? Marvelous, I
only spend twenty-five. If you have a door-chain just tell them to go away or
you will call the police. Other strategies are to feign some event indoors to
have an excuse for shutting the door, telephone, forgotten saucepan on the
stove, crying baby. Perhaps you could try the old "Is that your friend waving to
you?" routine to distract them for long enough to shut the door. Neighbourhood
Watch provide stickers warning off door-to-door salespeople. If you really are
suspicious try to remember their clothing, build, hairstyle, general features,
and any vehicle they may have.
This is a list of callers who should be sent packing immediately:
The "Good Samaritan"
One common technique is the "roofer" who "just happened to be passing" and
noticed a dangerously loose tile on the roof. Out of the goodness of his heart
he will only charge you 30 pounds to fix it. Once he is on your roof, (and I
would never let anyone not personally recommended by someone I trust near my
house) he will discover that the problem is worse than he thought, and in
"investigating" the fault will make a hole in the roof, so that you are now
irrevocably committed to paying through the nose for (almost certainly) shoddy
work.
The Driveway Man
Itinerant gardeners are another bunch of rip-off merchants with larceny in their
hearts. Often they offer to repave an area, but they will take away natural
stone slabs, and put down asphalt, simultaneously relieving you of valuable real
stone flags, and getting rid of their rapidly cooling asphalt.
The Utility Visitor
This character may actually be employed by a utility, but as a salesperson to
change your supplier. Naturally you should check the ID of anyone claiming to be
a meter reader. Certainly the genuine meter readers in my area do not wait to be
asked, and are holding the ID up for inspection when I open the door. Once
inside they will try to change you over to their employers (another utility
company), explaining that the only change will be the name on top of the bill.
This is, of course, not true. They may fill out the form for you, so you cannot
read what is going on, nor the fine print. Then the simple bit they ask you to
sign. Often they will refuse you a chance to keep the paperwork for a couple of
days to read it through. C.f. the Pretend Low Pressure method.
The "Charity" Seller
Dishcloths, Paintings, Dolls all for sale to raise money for
orphans/amputees/prisoners of conscience in some faraway land. Most of these
seem to be fraudulent. I never give to charities who solicit. Most large
charities channel a quite astonishing amount of money into directors' honoraria
and administration. If you must donate to these decide which one you feel to be
deserving and then arrange a covenant. This allows the income tax on the
donation to be recouped by the charity. Ideally give to small local charities,
as their "staff" almost always give their time for free, so the money goes
direct to the intended recipient. Occasionally one of the legitimate charities
may call around for example the RNLI. If you have heard of the charity, and
approve of its work, fine, make a donation.
Below is a list of some of the tactics salesmen employ:
The Bond
Most salespeople are trained to make a bond with the prospective customer. They
tend to get straight in with a handshake, and if well trained start off with
some smalltalk to attempt to build this bond. (What a lovely cat! ... Nice
wallpaper ... my lad's in the navy too) All readily gleaned from the contents of
the house. Also in this initial stage they will be assessing how wealthy you
appear to be. Obviously your house might give this away, but expensive clothing,
jewellery or household commodities could do this. They may have knowledge of one
of your hobbies. This is all to make it harder for you to use the word they
dread; "No". Sometimes there is a stratagem to buy more time with you and break
down your resolve. This may involve an incoming call on their mobile (make them
switch it off beforehand under pain of expulsion), a visit to their car for some
papers or some other ruse.
Picking on a Weak Moment
Perhaps one of the kids has just caused a scene, perhaps you are on the
telephone, this is the perfect moment to strike. The salesperson gives the
punter the clipboard and pen, perhaps jabbing his index finger at the place to
sign. Undue pressure or what?
Divide and Conquer
If you are a couple, stay resolutely as such. When one of you goes to make tea,
perhaps the other should make a phonecall, or use some other strategy to break
the negotiations. Otherwise this gives the salesperson an opening, and tells him
who holds the purse strings, and is the target. It is also rather discomfiting
if you sit either side of the salesperson, as they cannot address you
simultaneously, and has to keep looking back and forth.
The Mr. Nice/Mr. Nasty Routine
Once beloved of car salesmen, particularly to sell a particularly unsaleable car
(I do not mean unsafe, rather .... Yellow [or having some other hard-to-sell
property]) the name of this technique is hopefully self explanatory. Mr Nice
makes you an offer and Mr Nasty berates him, saying there is
NO WAY that he should have made the offer, and
look how little commission the garage is making, never mind the fact that Mr
Nice will earn virtually nothing. This puts the pressure on the customer to
close the deal forthwith. Sometimes the customer, often in their latter years,
feels so guilty that he slips some cash into the hand of Mr Nice. Shortly later
Messrs Nice and Nasty are in the pub laughing about it, drinking this
"gratuity". "Blimey, that punter must have fallen off a Christmas tree, he
bought the yellow Skoda, and slipped me a score for selling it to him.
Hahahaha."
Sometimes, at showrooms, Mr. Nasty is fictional. If you suspect, this ask to
see Mr Nasty face to face. Watch Mr Nice turn white as a sheet. His Adam's apple
may start bobbing up and down, too. Teehee.
Asking the Boss
This is a routine in itself, which appears in many guises. The only thing in
common is that this is a "sponge" tactic to wear down your negotiating resolve
There are two variants of it mentioned in this FAQ, once as above and once as
the Offer-of-a-Lifetime. As I have said above the boss may be fictional, or just
a confederate.
The Binary Question
"Right then, do you want the bathroom in Green or Blue?" This question skirts
the consideration that you might not *want* that particular bathroom entirely,
never mind whether you want a bathroom from that company at all. Probably the
best tactic at this point is to sidestep with something like; "how long has this
company been trading?" or "How good is your guarantee?". Check up on the
guarantee, and the firm's membership of the scheme, if you use this stratagem.
Make the salesperson write the details on their card for you to check it.
The "Blimey! Look at that!" Routine
Again this technique is popular in the motor trade, often at tyre fitting
outfits. One specific example is when a customer decides that his tyres are
bald, and it is time for new ones. Normally this only works at the
while-you-wait emporia. The car goes up on the lift, higher, oddly, than would
be convenient to remove the wheels. Shortly later, the mechanic comes in;
"Blimey, mate, it's your lucky day, your shock absorbers have gone, coulda
caused an accident if I hadn't spotted it." The victim is taken out to the car
and a thin stream of oil is trickling down each shock absorber. All of a sudden,
it isn't your lucky day after all - there goes eighty pounds. When a shock
absorber fails, the oil only weeps out and attracts dust. However many people do
not know this, and somehow the oilcan accidentally came into contact with the
shock absorbers shortly after the car went up in the air. I think that this
amounts to criminal deception.
The Pretend Low Pressure Sale
Apparently this is being used by salesmen for utility companies. The salesperson
gives you some brochures, and says that he will call back next week, after you
have read them. Then he says that in order to be paid, for his visit by his
employers he must obtain your signature to confirm his visit. You know what
signatures are, don't you? They are what makes a contract (with the emphasis
very much on "con") legally binding. The next thing you know the company billing
you for your power or gas has changed. Normally there is a period of at least
seven days to cancel such an agreement, but it is hidden in the small print, and
the hotline number can be difficult to contact. I wonder why. A registered
letter, preferably from a solicitor, can often be the best approach, or a
complaint to the OFTwat/gas/tel appropriate to the company.
Interestingly, if you call up your regular supplier, and let them know the
name of the company and the tariff details, they may be able to match it over
the 'phone, and give you whatever saving without changing to an unknown
supplier.
The Once-in-a-Lifetime Special Offer
This is often used in conjunction with an agreement to be a show home for the
bathroom/kitchen/double glazing. As far as I know no one who has agreed to this
has ever actually had to let any one see the kitchen or whatever. An interesting
tactic here is to put the salesperson on his back foot by saying that this is a
wonderful idea, can you have a look at one of these example properties? Anyway,
this comes with a substantial discount, often 60% off standard retail cost. This
sounds too good to be true, you save thousands of pounds and three people come
and look at your bathroom. Well it is. Often the sales man will call his boss
(naturally a confederate and part of the tactic) and "negotiate" a still lower
price, as long as you can sign the contract straight away, and please, he is
absolutely desperate (see how he is building a bond? the 'phone call "just for
you", probably he has talked about his family/pet/Sunday football on and off,
how could you possibly let him down? Easy. Tell him you will be requesting other
quotes from other companies, and feel sure that they will be using similar
tactics. Sometimes this technique runs with the "special offer ends today"
motif, the "last in stock" or the "offer ended yesterday, but I can fiddle the
paperwork through for you" approach.
One technique here is to insist that you require three written quotations
from three different companies. If the salesperson asks what will happen if
there is a lower quote, tell them that they won't get the sale. This should
produce a realistic price. Insurance companies often operate this way, why
shouldn't you?
The Prop
Used to throw buzzwords into the conversation, perhaps with actual
demonstration. A classic technique is in vacuum cleaner sales. First the carpet
is cleaned with the prospective customer's existing machine. Then the machine on
sale is used, with filter paper to demonstrate how much dust was left behind. I
understand that if subsequently the test is applied with the existing machine
there is *still* dust to be extracted from the carpet. In fact this test can be
repeated several times with both machines.
Another classic prop is the damp meter. Measuring the damp level in the walls
by resistivity means is not reliable, and subject to various possible
interferences. Still, a row of lit-up red LEDs is a good image to fool the
gullible. Most damp problems do not need silicone injection to resolve them and
I have written a FAQ on
just this subject. The work is expensive and disruptive, and only addresses
the symptoms, not the underlying problem. An extremely fertile source of targets
for this treatment is buildings which have remained uninhabited (and more
importantly unheated and unventilated) for some time. Will exhibit signs of
dampness, and if heated and ventilated will dry out in a few weeks. Of course if
you inject silicone and heat and ventilate the house the problem will go away
too, only that you the owner spent thousands of unnecessary pounds.
With kitchen salespeople, the sales pitch will naturally gravitate to the
kitchen. Often the salesperson will casually put his sample of the worktop down
near the tattiest part of your worktop. Double glazing salespeople often have a
small cross-section of their product. Amazingly, it ends up on the windowsill of
your rotten old windows. This works subtly by accentuating how wonderful the new
product will be in place of the existing fitments.
The "Ick!" Factor
This is where the salesperson exploits a common paranoia. Did you know that
there are millions of dust mites in this carpet? This is quite
normal, and for all practical purposes, impossible to avoid. This may be creepy,
but remember this; lots of people eat animals, those that don't eat
things grown in dirt, and people are just bags of obscene glop. We live
in a sea of bacteria, and tens of thousands of years of evolution have resulted
in us being essentially immune to most of them. Good food hygiene is the key,
and bactericidal cloths, chopping boards and the like are no substitute. "Did
you realise that there are billions of bacteria in this kitchen?" Scary
stuff. True enough, but playing on your fear and ignorance. Eschericia coli
is a neccessary bacterium in the gut, and yes, there are billions of them it is
part of the digestive process. If, however, it is allowed to grow in a rich
medium like meat, it produces toxins, which will make you very ill if you eat
the affected food. Proper hygiene and refrigeration will prevent this happening.
The Telesales Harvester
Some companies, particularly the double glazing companies put a lot of effort
into telesales. This means that they cold-call you to ask if you want double
glazing. I am not aware of a reputable company that does this. They may ask you
to help maintain their database because your neighbor/son/daughter/the person
you sold your last property to has their telephone number wrong in their
database. If you have a worst enemy, or perhaps better still another cowboy
double glazing company give them their telephone number. Otherwise say that you
have to go look it up, and leave the telephone off the hook. For twenty minutes.
They are paying for the call, and may even take you off their database. In any
case request that you are removed.
There also exist Telephone Preference
Service 0845-070-0707 (for faxes 0845-070-0702) and
Mailing Preference Service .
Do not confuse the latter with Postal Preference Service as this is a service
for people who actually want to receive mailshots. The Telephone Preference
Service can fine offenders £5000, so this is an effective deterrent.
This is a list of some of the financial/legal double dealing techniques,
which look good on the surface, but are either overpriced compared with other
services, or have pitfalls.
The Ten Year Guarantee
For many companies, this is a myth. If the guarantee is underwritten by
established insurers, you can perhaps believe in it. The typical situation,
however is as follows. Wyatt Earp Double Glazing installs your windows. The
company goes into voluntary liquidation, and with it goes any real chance of a
guarantee claim. Then a new company, say Bodgett & Scarper opens up and becomes
Bodgett & Scarper trading as Wyatt Earp Double Glazing (2001). The company
vehicles do not even need the signwriting adjusted.
The Master Builders Federation 20 year guarantee appears to be good, but it
is not unknown for builders to claim that they are a part of the scheme, while
they are not members.
The Finance Plan
Having say, 5000 pounds worth of work done will put a big strain on most
people's housekeeping budget. Luckily, the company has an easy payments plan!
Not. The rate of interest, commission and the like make these one of the
most expensive ways of borrowing the money known to man. Most building societies
will make a home improvements loan on a much more favourable basis, especially
if you have an existing mortgage with them.
The Interest Free Loan
On the surface of it, this is an excellent deal. However, some of these deals
have a sting in the tail. When you sign up, normally there will be a direct
debit agreement covering the extent of the loan
except the final payment, which is to be made by cheque. If you
miss the paying-in date for the last payment, you become liable for the
entire interest on the loan. It's all there in the small print. So, you can
actually become liable for more than you borrowed in interest charges. Ouch.
Travel Insurance
Often packages insist that you insure with them, and you pay about £30 for a
fortnight. If you go away more than twice a year, buying annual travel insurance
saves you money. A typical premium for annual cover is about £60, depending on
who you chose to insure with. There are normally exclusion clauses on the basic
contract, such as skiing, but this is normal for any standard travel insurance
policy, and for a higher premium you can be covered. If you do much
international travel in your job, your company may already have you insured, and
this normally covers your personal travel, if in doubt ask. Many people are
unaware of this minor perk.
Get Something FREE!
The best known of these is undoubtedly The Great Hoover Fiasco. To recap, Hoover
were offering free flights along with their vacuum cleaners, and sales of their
base model went up spectacularly. So spectacularly, in fact, that rows of them
could be seen at car boot sales selling for about £15 . People were buying the
vacuum cleaners for the sole purpose of the flight, and once bought, the vacuum
cleaner was superfluous. So, where did it all go wrong? Firstly, Hoover made the
paperwork to obtain the tickets very cumbersome. Then, if you persisted, the
flights available were awkward. For example, if you lived in London, you were
offered a flight from Glasgow, and if you lived in Glasgow..... Some of the
consumer programmes latched onto this and all hell broke loose. Of course some
free gifts are genuine, particularly if they are physically present at the time
of purchase, not as a coupon or voucher. Indeed, the fact that the free giveaway
is just a piece of paper should set alarm bells ringing. However, if you buy an
electric drill and it comes with an electric screwdriver that you walk out of
the place with, the deal is every bit as good as it seems. In supermarkets there
are "Buy one, get one free" deals, and again these are a straight deal, no
tricks. Of course this implies something about the markup that is on these
commodities, but that is not as such a swindle.
The Winning Scratchcard
I'm sure you've all seen these. Scratch off the silver panels;
Amazing! You are a winner.
Really! Of course to claim your prize, you have to make a
call of a certain minimum duration to a premium rate number, and this will cost
you at least UKP 2. Instead of a car or lots of cash, you win a pen. In quantity
these cost les then ten pence, and they probably have an advertising logo on the
side. It is also possible that the people running these lines are culling
telephone numbers for telesales. The full ramifications of the Data Protection
Act 1998 have yet to be explored in the courts, but while the principles of the
law are admirable, much of it appears unenforceable. Virtually everyone in the
UK appears to be in breach of it if my understanding of it is correct. If you
programme the someone's telephone number into your mobile phone, this
constitutes an electronic storage medium, and their telephone number is personal
information. Thus, you must have their permission to do this, and if you do not
have written permission, you may find it hard to prove in court. Remember that
gorgeous hunk/babe you met Friday night, and you got their phone number scrawled
on a scrap of paper? The 1998 version of the act covers any new paper-based
records.
"You're nicked, sonny"
"It's a fair cop guv."
Of course this only goes to show that in some cases the
law is an ass.
The Extended Guarantee
These are another way to separate the poor punters from their hard-earned cash.
Electrical retailers put their staff on commission to sell you such a scheme.
Perhaps in the 1970s when things like televisions were relatively unreliable,
this was a good idea. Nowadays electrical and electronic goods are very
reliable. On top of which the graph of failure probability of electronics versus
time is bathtub shaped, i.e. either the product fails after a relatively short
time (under manufacturers warranty) or after quite a few years (you've had your
money's worth) Let's look at a hypothetical case;
The video just died. It is eight years old so unless you know your way around
the guts of one, the cost of repair will exceed its value. Even if you do know
how to fix it the component may cost more than the thing is worth. On top of
which, for less than a hundred quid you can buy a unit which is better than the
dead one ever was. So you buy a 90 pound wonder, and are offered extended
warranty for 30 pounds a year, lasting three years.
What happens if the unit dies;
Year One:
No Extended Warranty (XW): Still inside Manufacturer's warranty.
XW: UKP 90+30 You are thirty pounds down on the deal
Year Two:
No XW: Bad luck. However, you have now saved 60 pounds towards
repair or replacement Thirty pounds down if you replace about evens if you
repair.
XW: No chance of a new unit You will have to send it off for
repair. If it is beyond repair (unlikely), you will get a new unit, and will
have saved thirty pounds.
Year Three:
NoXW: Toss it away and buy a new one with the money you have
saved. Treat your self to a couple of beers on the interest made in the
bank.
XW: Free repair, now you have an old machine for the price of a
new one.
Year Four and onwards:
No XW: You have saved ninety quid.
XW: You have spent ninety quid, and have nothing to show for it.
Remember the last unit lasted eight years before it died. If this one lasts
half as long, you are still on a winner for not taking extended warranty
out.
These figures are approximately the ones I was quoted, although in a slightly
different format: "for less than three pounds a month". It sounds quite cheap in
that context. Of course, you may wish to use figures more appropriate to your
own purchase, but I think you will still find these are an expensive way to look
after appliances.
Technological flim-flam, in theory wonderful, but not capable of real-world
performance:
The Catalytic Converter
Obviously these are de rigeur on any new car, and in the UK, new cars do not
require an MOT test until three years have passed. At this point, it is quite
likely that the catalytic converter has died, and as a result the car will fail
the test. The only cure is replacement, and this is expensive. While it is not
now the risk it was, leaded petrol would kill a catalyst incredibly rapidly. An
engine running too rich will destroy one in short order, too. The calalyst
becomes red hot in this scenario. Further to this, catalysts tend to shed finely
divided platinum as they operate, and this is potentially far worse than the
risks from leaded fuel. Try reading about platinosis.
Rechargeable batteries Ni-Cad and Lithium ion
Another wonder of technology. Very rarely do these have a real-world service
life of more than three years. Often they are in a sealed plastic case, of a
special shape, and the cost of buying a new battery pack is usually more than
the value of the device that it powers.
Credit/Debit Cards:
Cloning
This is incredibly simple. I know about this, I was caught. Pay at an
establishment by card, the person takes the card around a corner, swipes it, and
gives you the slip of paper to sign. While the card is out of your sight, the
card is swiped twice. Once through the PDQ machine, once through a card
reader attached to a PC. Then, the magnetic information from your card is
transferred to (e.g.) a petrol points card. While this does not physically
resemble the original card, if it is swiped and authorised on a PDQ machine, it
will deduct money from your account. There are various ruses for criminals to
achieve this by, but I am not in the business of telling them. If I know you,
maybe I'll let you know in email. The first thing you know about this fraud is
when your statement arrives, and all sorts of purchases you haven't made appear
on it. If you can prove fraudulent use, the bank or credit card company will
cover the loss, but it is still a major nuisance.
Beating the System
Just for once, this is where the consumer can actually come out winning. Really,
I mean it. I'm sure you all get junk mail. Some of it is from credit card
companies offering you an incentive to move from your present lenders. Perhaps
it is £100 off your outstanding balance or similar. If you have a balance on
your credit card, move lenders. Odds are you will get a phone call from your
previous lenders, inviting you back. Naturally at this point your negotiating
skills come into the picture. Point out that [whoever] gave you a hundred pound
bonus to move (or it might be a ridiculously low interest rate or whatever) and
that you want this to go back to them. Rather astonishingly, most lenders will
still jump at the opportunity to have you back, whatever you ask for.
This is a big thank you to all the contributors to this FAQ. Except the
people who ripped off my credit card. They can go to Hell.
Please let me know of any other rip-offs, or sales techniques, there is a
link to email me below.
Copyright notice: With the growth of the net, copyright law has become very
complicated. You may reproduce this FAQ in any form from stone tablets to
putting it on your homepage. You may distribute it to absolutely anyone. You may
even add your own bits to it. However, if you remove my name from it, or try to
pass it off as your own work, I will be very, very angry with you.
