Kinky La Rue » Marks and Spencer

PPI

Kinky — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:21:27 +0000

Tell you what, if anybody’s thinking of claiming back any bank charges or mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance from any credit cards, loans or mortgages from the last ten years but they can’t be bothered, have a rethink. I’ve recently and successfully claimed back PPI from my Marks and Spencer credit card I neither needed nor asked for and I’m just in the middle of sorting things out for my mum. Dozens of companies have suddenly popped up advertising on daytime telly, promising you they can get you your money back. My mum was thinking of signing up with one of them as they kept cold-calling her, I warned her off them and referred her to an old episode of Watchdog where clients have had some awful experiences with these types. Some win back money and take months to actually give it to you, some want 25% plus VAT, which is 20%. So that’s a whopping 45%, nearly half of what’s owed to you for filling out a couple of forms and writing a couple of letters, which is basically what I did. Some of the banks are dragging their feet like Santander and Barclays, but I’ll wear them down in the end, I’ve got the patience. I think they’re hoping I’ll disappear as you can imagine they’re reluctant to pay out any money they might owe. And being a longtime customer you can just imagine what they do owe my mum. They’re probably peeing their pants at the prospect of having to pay out.
Santander have turned down her claim and Barclay’s bank say they can’t find her details, despite being a customer with them since before I was born. Next stop, the Financial Services Authority – telling me that they will no longer respond to my letters does nothing to deter me from getting back what’s rightfully my mother’s money, which they only had in the first place out of sheer underhandedness as the courts have ruled. It doesn’t eat into their profits as all the banks combined have put aside around £8 billion, that’s right, you heard me, £8 billion for anticipated payouts. The only company to put their hands up and admit liability so far has been Marks & Spencer Money. When you have a moment and before you do put pen to paper, have a read of the forum on moneysavingexpert.com and read all the success stories from people who’ve made claims and got their money back. Mine came just in time for Christmas.

Typical innit?

Kinky — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:15:14 +0000

I come back home yesterday, escaping the rain in Manchester, coming back to the gorgeous sunny weather in the South East, and I wake up this morning and it’s raining cats and dogs.

Never mind. Yes, I’m back home after another successful tour. I do love Manchester and I still can’t put my finger on why. Maybe it’s because assistants in the shops greet me with “A’right luv” or “see ya la’er luv” with that wonderful accent of theirs. Maybe it’s the lovely multi-cultural mix that you don’t get in certain other parts of the country, or maybe it’s the Trafford Centre.

Yes, I finally made it to the shopping centre after all these years of saying I would go. It really was a good idea taking a day off to do this, you really do need a day. I got to see a bit more of Manchester. I took the bus and we drove by Manchester Metropolitan University, it’s very big. I even managed to catch a glimpse of Old Trafford; a little tingle went up my spine when I saw the statue of Sir Matt Busby. I think everybody’s head turned in the same direction as mine when they realised we were driving past the stadium.

And then on to the Trafford Centre. Goodness it was massive. I must’ve walked a couple of miles easy. Funny thing is, I thought it wasn’t going to be so busy that Sunday, what with Man Utd playing Chelsea in the Community Shield match at Wembley. I was wrong. I can only assume the people out in force were Man. City fans who had no interest in watching the match.

I did try to buy some bits and pieces (I have a wedding coming up at the end of the month and i still had my Marks and Spencer’s gift card to spend) but I gave up as it was just too much for me. I spent the rest of the time walking around in awe at the size of the place, at the Chinatown that was actually inside the mall. There’s only one word I can think to describe it, opulent. I’m glad I finally got to see it.

Back to the hotel around 6pm and I treated myself to a Thai meal in the nearby Chinatown in Piccadilly, a green thai chicken curry with rice, lovely. A great day, although I didn’t buy much.

The journey back home was thankfully uneventful and I was back indoors around 5pm. I didn’t last long and I was soon asleep at around 10pm. Aren’t I a lightweight?

I’m up early this morning as life has to resume and I have a few things to do today, including looking for a car. Yeah, that quest starts today, wish me luck. Then I’m back home this afternoon and the plan is to just relax and take it easy as I have a long booking with a lovely-sounding gent from tomorrow morning at 11.30. It should be fun.

Welcome home, me.

“We’ve boobed.”

Kinky — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:18:06 +0000

“Very clever, Mr. Rose,” said in my best Dr. No voice.

Big Boob Bra

Marks and Spencer, one of the biggest and well-loved retailers in the UK if you’re outside of it, has agreed to do away with the surcharge on bigger bras over a DD cup, which would benefit me as I’m a G cup and I buy quite a few of their bras. There’s been a massive hue and cry, with people (mainly women over a certain bra size) protesting how unfair it is to charge us fuller-figured women £2 more for bras, which, apart from the size, is essentially the same. It’s been all over the news this morning and Marks have actually taken out a full-paged ad apologising by saying “we’ve boobed.”

Not that I’m a cynic mind, but methinks this has turned into a very clever piece of marketing strategy on their part. Now as a goodwill gesture, Marks and Spencer is offering 25% off of their bras, in any size, until May 25th, which, I’m sure with countless other women, I’ll be taking advantage before then.

Although I understand their reasoning for charging more for bigger bras, I feel it’s inconsistent with the selling of their other products. The reason is, to make bigger bras take more material. Fair enough, then that same rule should apply to the stockings that I buy from them. I get Ex-Large, to accomodate both my height and the size of my thighs, but they cost the same as a Small. Knickers come in varying sizes, why isn’t there a surchage on the bigger sizes? What about mens socks? And so on…..! Do you see my point?

But the genuis that is (chairman) Stuart Rose has found a way to turn a negative into a positive. And now not only will sales increase in ladies underwear, everybody loves M&S again.

Very clever, indeed.