Biggest Rip Offs

[smn159]

Rostfritt said:

Takeaway coffee. £3 for a cup of coffee to walk down the street isn't good. To sit down and drink I understand, you are using their facilities and taking up space.

I paid £40 for two coffees in St Marks Square a few years back

And don't get me started on the fking gondolas

[Mr Happy]

Dick Dastardly said:

Cannes. I'm here right now and this place makes Venice look cheap. 20 Euros for a 3 minute taxi ride, 65 Euros for a steak and chips, 10 Euros for a can of coke, 25 Euros to use a beach sunbed for the day!

Thank god we are only here for 2 days, as a week of this and I'd have to sell the cat.

You want to try going to Switzerland, 21CHF for a McD's - large big mac meal with a coke and a cheeseburger... That's about £15 (€18)!!

[MitchT]

Marty Funkhouser said:

Interestingly, petrol is down the list...

It's notable that petrol, while appearing to be a rip-off, has actually risen broadly in line with wages since around 2000. Housing, on the other hand, would have to fall by about 40% to be in roughly the same position, relative to wages, that it was in 2000. Then there's food and utilities... don't even get me started on those!

[jontysafe]

Dining in Joseph`s seafood restaurant on the quai in St. Tropez. Great views and wasn`t expecting it to cost any less really but the quality was appalling. Food poisoning from steak tartare was truly debillatating. A bottle of Bollinger Grande Annee, 2 courses each and €500 lighter. The view of the young lady in the white bikini disembarking the chartered Disco Volante was worth it all though.........

[martin84]

Rostfritt said:

So trains are terrible because you have never used them. Our system can be confusing but some journeys are cheap. They drop you off in the centre so you don't need to pay for parking. Train usage has nearly doubled in the last 10 years while car use has fallen. Proof that trains are better.

Hardly. The more relevant stat is over 90% of the UK's commute is done by car. Proof the car is better. You're right it is confusing, they charge you different amounts depending on when you book the thing. My car doesnt suddenly use twice as much petrol if I fail to pre-book my journey with it.

Rostfritt said:

For example £9 from Gatwick to Bristol can't really be bettered by car. £22 return Bristol to London in 1st class would be a struggle.

Yeah but I don't want to go from Gatwick to Bristol so I don't really care. Even paying the extra is worth it to not have to sit beside other members of the general public.

[dandarez]

Why are there rip-offs?

Fools and their money.

Soon parted.

Someone above said they paid 40 quid for 2 coffees.

Begs the question... WHY!!???
But we know the answer and it's not dying of thirst.

[smn159]

dandarez said:

Why are there rip-offs?

Fools and their money.

Soon parted.

Someone above said they paid 40 quid for 2 coffees.

Begs the question... WHY!!???
But we know the answer and it's not dying of thirst.

Yeah well to be fair there was an orchestra and the fact that we were sitting in one of the best spots in St Marks square.

still, I expect that a smart lad like you would have nipped around the corner to Starbucks

[Rostfritt]

martin84 said:

Rostfritt said:

So trains are terrible because you have never used them. Our system can be confusing but some journeys are cheap. They drop you off in the centre so you don't need to pay for parking. Train usage has nearly doubled in the last 10 years while car use has fallen. Proof that trains are better.

Hardly. The more relevant stat is over 90% of the UK's commute is done by car. Proof the car is better. You're right it is confusing, they charge you different amounts depending on when you book the thing. My car doesnt suddenly use twice as much petrol if I fail to pre-book my journey with it.

Rostfritt said:

For example £9 from Gatwick to Bristol can't really be bettered by car. £22 return Bristol to London in 1st class would be a struggle.

Yeah but I don't want to go from Gatwick to Bristol so I don't really care. Even paying the extra is worth it to not have to sit beside other members of the general public.

Fine, I agree, lets tear up all the rail lines in the country because you never use them, they are obviously completely pointless and put people at grave risk of meeting another member of the public. Also my car has never suddenly appeared out of nowhere a 5 minute walk from gatwick's arrival hall. I do severely doubt the figure you have just plucked out of the air too.

Back to the subject of rip offs, soft drinks in pubs. Coke is sugary syrup mixed with carbonated water, costing barely a few pence a litre. Why does it cost more than ale, which has been brewed from a variety of ingredients, brewed in a very specific manner, transported in barrels with a short shelf life, left to settle then taxed heavily before sale?

[Oilchange]

Just been there myself, St.Moritz and Montreux, didn't eat out like my daughter was pushing for (one look at the menu prices was enough!) but went to supermarkets for grub. Bit samey but healthy stuff for about chf15 or so per day for 2.
Also, the campsite at La Pichette was only about chf15 which was the cheapest of all 5 or 6 we went to by almost half and on the banks of Lake Geneva so views etc.

Mr Happy said:

You want to try going to Switzerland, 21CHF for a McD's - large big mac meal with a coke and a cheeseburger... That's about £15 (€18)!!

[martin84]

Rostfritt said:

Fine, I agree, lets tear up all the rail lines in the country because you never use them

I didn't say that. I said the train is outdated technology. And it is.

Rostfritt said:

I do severely doubt the figure you have just plucked out of the air too.

You can doubt it all you want but that will not change the fact it's accurate.

Rostfritt said:

Why does it cost more than ale, which has been brewed from a variety of ingredients, brewed in a very specific manner, transported in barrels with a short shelf life, left to settle then taxed heavily before sale?

Because you buy it?

[Rostfritt]

martin84 said:

I didn't say that. I said the train is outdated technology. And it is.

And I am saying it clearly isn't. Old technology yes, but not outdated, Eurostar/TGV are not outdated, they are the most effective way of getting between the cities they serve. It serves a massive purpose for a large and growing proportion of the travelling public. Many of whom know how to buy tickets that are not the walk up fare, which is only ridiculous on long distances which are not usually done at the drop of a hat.

martin84 said:

You can doubt it all you want but that will not change the fact it's accurate.

I doubt even 90% of users of this forum use cars to commute. Some actual research shows the figure closer to 70%. If I were to commute by car I would have to pay £11 to park in a multistory, which I will not be doing.

[martin84]

Rostfritt said:

I doubt even 90% of users of this forum use cars to commute. Some actual research shows the figure closer to 70%. If I were to commute by car I would have to pay £11 to park in a multistory, which I will not be doing.

Research I saw published in (I think) the Telegraph last year put the figure around 90% with the Bus being the second biggest. All depends how they measure 'the commute' though. Is it judged on how many people use each mode of transport or how many miles covered by each? Etc... Also I reckon if you ignore London then the figure for the rest of the UK is much higher.

Sounds like your multistorey is a rip off. Couple of years ago I was working somewhere which had limited on site parking but an NCP - or similar faceless parking company with boring name - about a 5 minute walk away. £2.99 for the whole day if you arrive before 9am. Worth it.

I commute by car and it takes 20 minutes with free parking at the end. I tried doing it by Bus one day purely as research and it took a combination of two buses, 95 minutes and a ticket which cost about the same as petrol to get there in a fraction of the time.

[Adam B]

Inheritance tax
Stamp duty
Cinema food
Audi speed limit removal option
Crack cocaine

[martin84]

In fairness to Cinema's the food is how they make money. They break even on tickets and make their money from the food. The actual film showing is almost a loss making part of the business only put on to tempt you in for £4 Minstrels.

[Rostfritt]

martin84 said:

Research I saw published in (I think) the Telegraph last year put the figure around 90% with the Bus being the second biggest. All depends how they measure 'the commute' though. Is it judged on how many people use each mode of transport or how many miles covered by each? Etc... Also I reckon if you ignore London then the figure for the rest of the UK is much higher.

Sounds like your multistorey is a rip off. Couple of years ago I was working somewhere which had limited on site parking but an NCP - or similar faceless parking company with boring name - about a 5 minute walk away. £2.99 for the whole day if you arrive before 9am. Worth it.

I commute by car and it takes 20 minutes with free parking at the end. I tried doing it by Bus one day purely as research and it took a combination of two buses, 95 minutes and a ticket which cost about the same as petrol to get there in a fraction of the time.

ONS Study

This study shows it at 35% in London and 75% outside. I take it you work in an out of town office park, I don't envy you, I used to work in one and the traffic was awful and there was sod all to do anywhere near it, just a Costas.

It clearly is a rip off, all parking near where I work is expensive, the city is also far too congested to get around by car without ending up stressed and late. I cycle, but if I did arrive by train I could then get a ferry across the harbour beating all the traffic for the same price as your reasonable parking. There is a bus to work that goes past my house, that is £4 and not at all reliable.

[speedy_thrills]

MitchT said:

It's notable that petrol, while appearing to be a rip-off, has actually risen broadly in line with wages since around 2000. Housing, on the other hand, would have to fall by about 40% to be in roughly the same position, relative to wages, that it was in 2000.

Interesting, is that actually current data?

[martin84]

Rostfritt said:

ONS Study

This study shows it at 35% in London and 75% outside.

So I was sort of right then? Excellent.

Rostfritt said:

I take it you work in an out of town office park, I don't envy you, I used to work in one and the traffic was awful and there was sod all to do anywhere near it, just a Costas.

I don't envy you either. My journey is out of my house-turn left-left again-roundabout-12 odd miles of A road-turn off-roundabout-turn right-arrive. Only time I've ever had a problem was when some tt crashed his car leading to a road closure and me (along with 24 zillion others) taking the scenic route. I'm looking for something else mind and one role I've applied for is 2.4 miles from my house with free parking, oh now that'd be happy days.

I like out of town places, the fact you need a car to get there keeps the riff raff out. Since I got my own car at 18 I've always commuted by car, be it congested town centre, long trip, short trip, you name it. I never saw the point in buying a car to leave it at home.

[Rostfritt]

martin84 said:

So I was sort of right then? Excellent.

Well not really, that is slightly less car users but a lot more public transit users.

martin84 said:

I don't envy you either. My journey is out of my house-turn left-left again-roundabout-12 odd miles of A road-turn off-roundabout-turn right-arrive. Only time I've ever had a problem was when some tt crashed his car leading to a road closure and me (along with 24 zillion others) taking the scenic route. I'm looking for something else mind and one role I've applied for is 2.4 miles from my house with free parking, oh now that'd be happy days.

I like out of town places, the fact you need a car to get there keeps the riff raff out. Since I got my own car at 18 I've always commuted by car, be it congested town centre, long trip, short trip, you name it. I never saw the point in buying a car to leave it at home.

I find the fact you need to be an employee there gets rid of some of the rif raf. Also that is an incredibly snobbish attitude. One of the worst things in designing any area people will need to be is to make it only accessible by car. What if your car broke down one morning or you got a driving ban? You would be stuffed. My car gets used when I will actually enjoy it and not see it as a chore.

[uk_vette]

Rostfritt said:

martin84 said:

I didn't say that. I said the train is outdated technology. And it is.

And I am saying it clearly isn't. Old technology yes, but not outdated, Eurostar/TGV are not outdated, they are the most effective way of getting between the cities they serve. It serves a massive purpose for a large and growing proportion of the travelling public. Many of whom know how to buy tickets that are not the walk up fare, which is only ridiculous on long distances which are not usually done at the drop of a hat.

martin84 said:

You can doubt it all you want but that will not change the fact it's accurate.

I doubt even 90% of users of this forum use cars to commute. Some actual research shows the figure closer to 70%. If I were to commute by car I would have to pay £11 to park in a multistory, which I will not be doing.

.
Sorry to mention, but the

Old technology yes, but not outdated, Eurostar/TGV are not outdated,

Are quite outdated.
You want to travel on some of the "NEW" generation trains, then you will really see how out of date the UK trains are.

vette

[Mr Happy]

Rostfritt said:

What if your car broke down one morning or you got a driving ban? You would be stuffed take a taxi, or get a lift.

HTH