Amazon Prime Day - take care

[P. G. Tipps]

Not quite 'nuff, methinks.

Whilst there's a fair amount with which I am broad agreement in what you write, the comment about John Humphrys is gratuitous, in part because when he and his colleagues conduct interviews he/they is not necessarily giving their own personal opinions. That said, he's right in any case on this and, having heard the interviews, one was with a representative of Which?, whose piece on the subject I'd already read. Supermarkets do indeed mislead customers in the ways described, although to what extent I have no idea. The facts that (a) supermarkets don't force anyone to buy anything whether or not they mislead and (b) not everyone is in any case misled by some of the misinformation do not excuse such conduct, which might on some occasions be accidental but on others is deliberate; it is unprofessional behaviour whichever way one looks at it.

As to what Mr Humphrys and his colleagues might say on Today, the programme is not entirely unscripted and is not - nor is it intended to be - a vehicle for their personal opinions.

Rather than asking questions of an interviewee, Mr Humphreys makes exaggerated statements and hinted accusations, constantly interrupting the interviewee before he or she can respond accordingly. Sadly, he is now far from being alone at the BBC.

Whatever one's own personal opinions, or whether stuff is pre-scripted or not, that is hardly an objective and honest way of a BBC presenter getting at the truth, which is presumably what the listener expects, hence the reason Mr Humphreys & Co (or the BBC, if you prefer) are as guilty of 'mis-selling' as any retailer.

That's the point, ahinton!

[MrGongGong]

Amazon is ideal for purchasing just about everything especially computer components, books, CDs, .

I recently learnt that I'm not the only person to have in my loft most of the copies of a CD that Amazon lists as being "available" to purchase
which is rather odd as the group who made it
1: Doesn't exist anymore
2: Doesn't have a website anymore
3: Doesn't have a distribution deal anymore

and all the unsold copies are either in my lost or under a mates bed
neither of which is known to the river people

Amazon is great for things that are widely available
BUT

They don't pay the tax they should
and
They seem to run their business on the basis of making a list of everything in the universe with the assumption that they can obtain it !

[Beef Oven!]

They don't pay the tax they should

Who decides how much tax they should pay?

[MrGongGong]

Who decides how much tax they should pay?

That's why you don't have any mates

[ahinton]

Rather than asking questions of an interviewee, Mr Humphreys makes exaggerated statements and hinted accusations, constantly interrupting the interviewee before he or she can respond accordingly. Sadly, he is now far from being alone at the BBC.

Whatever one's own personal opinions, or whether stuff is pre-scripted or not, that is hardly an objective and honest way of a BBC presenter getting at the truth, which is presumably what the listener expects, hence the reason Mr Humphreys & Co (or the BBC, if you prefer) are as guilty of 'mis-selling' as any retailer.

That's the point, ahinton!

It isn't. You pay no more or less for BBC with what you describe than you would do without it, whereas were you to be misled into buying someting that had been dishonestly advertised in a supermarket you'd have paid more than you should have done. That said, the BBC analogy will, of course, last no longer than will BBC itself.

[ahinton]

Who decides how much tax they should pay?

Mostly the governments who nevertheless rarely get what they set.

[Beef Oven!]

Mostly the governments who nevertheless rarely get what they set.

Agreed, and good on Amazon - they have paid all their taxes as set by the government.

[P. G. Tipps]

I recently learnt that I'm not the only person to have in my loft most of the copies of a CD that Amazon lists as being "available" to purchase
which is rather odd as the group who made it
1: Doesn't exist anymore
2: Doesn't have a website anymore
3: Doesn't have a distribution deal anymore

and all the unsold copies are either in my lost or under a mates bed
neither of which is known to the river people

Amazon is great for things that are widely available
BUT

They don't pay the tax they should
and
They seem to run their business on the basis of making a list of everything in the universe with the assumption that they can obtain it !

Well, if they can't obtain it when you order they will then tell you it is unavailable, quite obviously. That's life. Sometimes huge busy websites are not entirely up-to-date all of the time. Sadly such things happen occasionally in the real adult world.

As for tax payments I have, like you, absolutely no idea how it conducts its financial affairs with the government, only how it conducts its business affairs with myself.

The latter has been quite exemplary and the former is absolutely no business of mine (or, if I may be so bold, yours as well ). If Amazon has broken any tax laws it should be punished accordingly, if not it is perfectly entitled to carry on as before. If some do not wish to purchase from it because it simply prefers to pay the least tax possible like most normal personal tax-payers, and the government permits it to do exactly that, then that is entirely up to the fulminating malcontents?

Does strike me as being all rather silly, though, when, as has been pointed out by so many before, the fulminating malcontents surely should be directing their ire at Her Majesty's Government and not Amazon ... ?

[Nick Armstrong]

the comment about John Humphrys is gratuitous

It may have been gratuitous but it was also accurate. Humphrys has turned into a ridiculous and intolerable figure (in 'interview' mode at least).

[MrGongGong]

Well, if they can't obtain it when you order they will then tell you it is unavailable, quite obviously. That's life.

That's not what happens though.
Sometimes you order something, they tell you it "might be a while"
a couple of months later they tell you it "might be a while"
and so on
until they give up


Where possible I always try to order things as close as possible to the source so that the people who REALLY need my £ stand the most chance of getting it.

Nice to see your trust in the establishment to be fair and ethical

[Beef Oven!]

Where possible I always try to order things as close as possible to the source so that the people who REALLY need my £ stand the most chance of getting it.

Nice to see your trust in the establishment to be fair and ethical

Have you ever thought of setting up a few charitable donations for people who REALLY need your £? It's very ethical, and given that it's your money you're giving away, it's very fair. If you don't know how to do this, I can give you a steer, off-line.

[MrGongGong]

Have you ever thought of setting up a few charitable donations for people who REALLY need your £? It's very ethical, and given that it's your money you're giving away, it's very fair. If you don't know how to do this, I can give you a steer, off-line.

Meet my grandmother, she needs a bit of help in the egg sucking department

[Beef Oven!]

Meet my grandmother, she needs a bit of help in the egg sucking department

So get on with it!!!

[ahinton]

It may have been gratuitous but it was also accurate. Humphrys has turned into a ridiculous and intolerable figure (in 'interview' mode at least).

Be that as it may or may not, one of the interviewees was the representative of Which? who had already made the accusations in the first place.

[muzzer]

It may have been gratuitous but it was also accurate. Humphrys has turned into a ridiculous and intolerable figure (in 'interview' mode at least).

.....and an anti-advert for that very institution whose preservation in its present form he will doubtless volubly argue in the months to come....