Companies you don't like to buy from, and why

[Stathern Jc]

Just heard on the radio that Walmart have agreed a deal to sell ASDA, but didn't catch the details other than that it will be in British ownership.
Might that alter some of the earlier opinions influenced by the Walmart connection, or will the reservations remain?

 

[Journeyman]

Just heard on the radio that Walmart have agreed a deal to sell ASDA, but didn't catch the details other than that it will be in British ownership.
Might that alter some of the earlier opinions influenced by the Walmart connection, or will the reservations remain?

Depends who they sell it to, but I'd be happier using them if they went to a better owner. I don't actively avoid ASDA, but I don't like them very much.

I went to a Walmart in Texas twenty years ago, where they had a very impressive gun display...

 

[C J Snarzell]

The Works, is that not a remainder store, that buys excess stock cheap from the publishers?

The Works seems to sell excess copies of books that have been withdrawn from shelves in places like WHSmiths once their publicity period is over. For example, I once bought a Peter James book in WHS when the title was released as a paperback. I paid full RRP and it was featured on the WHS book chart for several weeks. Fast forward 12 months, I saw the same title in the Works priced at £2. I've seen some books in the Works that couldn't be given away - anything with Kerry Katona or Katie Price should be condemned to the recycling plant ASAP.

CJ

 

[py_megapixel]

The WH Smith in Gatwick were all rebranded London News Company!

They stopped making Full Sugar Vanilla Coke, only see the Zero varient.

That's what I meant, I don't like full sugar version

 

[Typhoon]

Depends who they sell it to, but I'd be happier using them if they went to a better owner. I don't actively avoid ASDA, but I don't like them very much.

Issa brothers (owners of EG Garage Group - petrol stations - know nothing about them) AND TDR Capital (private equity - the worrying part, although they are British; they own David Lloyd Leisure amongst other companies).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54383131

 

[xotGD]

The Works seems to sell excess copies of books that have been withdrawn from shelves in places like WHSmiths once their publicity period is over. For example, I once bought a Peter James book in WHS when the title was released as a paperback. I paid full RRP and it was featured on the WHS book chart for several weeks. Fast forward 12 months, I saw the same title in the Works priced at £2. I've seen some books in the Works that couldn't be given away - anything with Kerry Katona or Katie Price should be condemned to the recycling plant ASAP.

CJ

12 months down the track you could probably pick up a copy in a charity shop for £2 or less.

That's where I make the bulk of my fiction book purchases.

 

[Stathern Jc]

And you know you are supporting a good cause.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Charity shops are very good for books, they have much more range (single copies! ), and one finds books one was not looking for
I get a lot of books for nothing, zero is the commonest price, four swap stations (at least) in my small town

How has the end of the net book agreement affected bookselling in the UK, minusplus?
..
Back on topic: some charity shops play the radio loud, very unhelpful, when choosing books one needs a bit of quiet. Tried to complain in a friendly way AFTER choosing my books, the manageress told me where to go (no-one else had complained!)

 

[Typhoon]

Charity shops are very good for books, they have much more range (single copies! ), and one finds books one was not looking for
I get a lot of books for nothing, zero is the commonest price, four swap stations (at least) in my small town

Depending on the Authority. withdrawn library books can be really cheap. I got as many as I could fit into a plastic carrier for a quid once. And it means they can buy more books! Why put up with Smiths?

 

[C J Snarzell]

Charity shops are very good for books, they have much more range (single copies! ), and one finds books one was not looking for
I get a lot of books for nothing, zero is the commonest price, four swap stations (at least) in my small town

How has the end of the net book agreement affected bookselling in the UK, minusplus?
..
Back on topic: some charity shops play the radio loud, very unhelpful, when choosing books one needs a bit of quiet. Tried to complain in a friendly way AFTER choosing my books, the manageress told me where to go (no-one else had complained!)

The Book Cycle centres near where I'm from are always a gold mine. Sadly, they haven't been open too frequently in recent times because of this flamming epidemic.

CJ

 

[102 fan]

I refuse to knowingly buy anything from the USA, due to its Neo-Nazi government. This includes going to Aldi or Lidl, rather than the Walmart subsidiary Asda.

On the other hand, and having regard to what friends of mine who work there have said (despite the headlines, Tim Martin paid his furloughed staff based on the average hours they actually previously worked rather than what their contract stated) I'm happy to continue to use J D Wetherspoons.

I will not, however, download the "NHS" track and trace app, since it is not an NHS product, and produced by a company I have no confidence in to wire a plug correctly. I don't want Malware on my Huawei...

When the USA start a world war, and make it a political policy to remove wealth from Jews and then kill them, imprison homosexuals and anybody politically different, then you can call them Nazis.

 

[John Griffiths]

The Works sometimes has some real gems - Chinese history is an interest and I picked up a copy of a book about the Cultural Revolution in NE China for £2; pretty obscure, and it would have cost much more elsewhere. Unfortunately the Newcastle branch is quite small and tends more to lurid stationery and children's' books.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Oct 2020 ==

As for companies I wouldn't' use... I don't want to cut off my nose, and I like Wetherspoon hotels so would continue to use them and the pubs despite the deplorable scarecrow. Ditto I can't be bothered move funds from a certain SW England-based investment platform. On the other hand, when I am next purchasing heavy earth-moving equipment, Mr Bamforth can go whistle. Similarly, no Dyson.

 

[alex397]

When the USA start a world war, and make it a political policy to remove wealth from Jews and then kill them, imprison homosexuals and anybody politically different, then you can call them Nazis.

Using the word Nazi is quite extreme, but a lot of the rhetoric you hear in certain areas of the political spectrum, is quite similar to the rhetoric spoken by the Nazis before they came to power. Many Auschwitz survivors and historians worry something similar to that could happen again, and when looking at early Nazi history it is actually surprising how easily they came to power. So, its important to remember how close humans can be to committing such horrific crimes, and indeed it does still happen. I wouldn't call the current American government Neo-Nazis myself, but they are a little bit too close to that sort of spectrum for my liking. Anyway, incredibly off-topic .....

Back on topic, I try to avoid buying American, or anything that comes from such a big distance. Air miles etc. But that becomes very difficult with, say, Chinese products - its almost impossible not to buy anything Chinese. That has a government way more dodgy than the USA too....

 

[Andrew S]

despite the headlines, Tim Martin paid his furloughed staff based on the average hours they actually previously worked rather than what their contract stated

Because that's the law, presumably.

 

[ABB125]

I went into WHSmith today. I needed a diary, a ruler, and possibly some glue and folders depending on the price. I went there because I had a £10 gift voucher to use; if I didn't, I would have gone to Home Bargains instead (indeed I called there on the way to see their prices). An A5 diary was £7.99 in WHS, an A4 one in HB was £2.99. However, as I wasn't spending my money I bought one in WHS, along with a ruler. Needless to say, glue and folders went off the list. The remaining 22p on the gift card went in the bin...

 

[Andrew S]

Three for being awful if you want to leave their network (had no reception at work so reasonable), so hard to leave at the end of a contract, really condescending, passing you around departments to people who’d claim ‘we have solutions for you’. No you don’t, just let me sign off and leave it rather than waste my time, they said the same the previous year and nothing changed. Then a runabout to get a PAC off them.

Really? I left them recently and it was unexpectedly hassle free. I did it online, I just requested a PAC code, they emailed it to me, detailed the terms, ie if I give the PAC code to the new provider by a certain date my contract would end on a certain date and my final bill would follow. I was expecting to have to call them and resist them trying to offer me new deals, but I didn't have to speak to anyone.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Really? I left them recently and it was unexpectedly hassle free. I did it online, I just requested a PAC code, they emailed it to me, detailed the terms, ie if I give the PAC code to the new provider by a certain date my contract would end on a certain date and my final bill would follow. I was expecting to have to call them and resist them trying to offer me new deals, but I didn't have to speak to anyone.

There's now a way to avoid any such hassle - you can text a given number to get a PAC code, and by law that means they have to issue one, not argue about it. I did it for my last change (O2 to EE) and it worked exactly as stated.

Note that this doesn't itself end your contract, you have to give it to another network to do that.

How to get a PAC code from any network in 60 seconds

You need a PAC code if you want to take your number to a new network. Here’s how to get one in 60 seconds.

www.4g.co.uk

Getting a PAC code from your network is easy. As of July 2019, all you have to do – no matter what network you’re requesting the code from – is text ‘PAC’ to 65075, using the number that you want to keep.


Note that in some cases you’ll need to provide additional information along with the word ‘PAC’, typically your date of birth in the format DDMMYY. For example, in that case you might text ‘PAC 17041987’. However in this case you’ll likely get a message back telling you as much if you send the word ‘PAC’ without the additional information.


Requesting your PAC code this way is free to do, you’ll get a reply almost instantly, and as well as your code you’ll also get other important information, such as whether you’ll currently have to pay a fee to change network (which you might if you’re still in contract).

 

[Journeyman]

There's now a way to avoid any such hassle - you can text a given number to get a PAC code, and by law that means they have to issue one, not argue about it. I did it for my last change (O2 to EE) and it worked exactly as stated.

Note that this doesn't itself end your contract, you have to give it to another network to do that.

How to get a PAC code from any network in 60 seconds

You need a PAC code if you want to take your number to a new network. Here’s how to get one in 60 seconds.

www.4g.co.uk

Yeah - and you need to use the code within 28 days. If you don't, it'll expire and you'll need to get another one.

 

[JKF]

Really? I left them recently and it was unexpectedly hassle free. I did it online, I just requested a PAC code, they emailed it to me, detailed the terms, ie if I give the PAC code to the new provider by a certain date my contract would end on a certain date and my final bill would follow. I was expecting to have to call them and resist them trying to offer me new deals, but I didn't have to speak to anyone.

It was quite a few years ago so they might have realised how counterproductive this was and changed their ways, I’ve never given them a third chance! I’m getting by on a sim-only month-by-month deal with a company well known for this now and it’s a breath of fresh air not to have to think about contracts or sales patter or any of that valueless nonsense. Plus when I was stuck in shielding I could drop the monthly plan down to a cheap one with next to no data, and pay for a plan with more data for when I was on holiday etc. I don’t know why anyone does contracts anymore, but I guess people like new phones.

 

[Swanny200]

O2 were a nightmare for me, we got Sky TV 3 years ago and they threw us sky mobile deals so took them 4 of us on sky mobile for cheaper than 2 of us on o2 with more data etc... and the data rolls over giving you discounts and if one of the kids uses all theirs you can transfer out of the data piggy bank, so we rang o2, paid off the contracts and requested PAC codes and they started getting funny over the phone, one of them said to my wife "Why do you want a PAC code?" and wouldn't take her request seriously, when we found out we could request it via webform, we did that instead.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Uber eats. I got a voucher through the post for £10 a soemd of £15 or more.
Signed up and followed the instructions to obtain the discount but the order went through with no discount applied.
Contacted uber eats and they said only the first 1000 vouchers were excepted.
Tbf it was on the t&cs but hidden away and they posted vouchers through all my friends letter boxes too (so must of flyered the whole town of 100000).

I usually don't use any of these delivery services due to the high commission they charge restaurants.

 

[Typhoon]

Uber eats. I got a voucher through the post for £10 a soemd of £15 or more.
Signed up and followed the instructions to obtain the discount but the order went through with no discount applied.
Contacted uber eats and they said only the first 1000 vouchers were excepted.
Tbf it was on the t&cs but hidden away and they posted vouchers through all my friends letter boxes too (so must of flyered the whole town of 100000).

I suggest delivery of flyers much more widespread than just your town - I got two and I live in a town of 30,000 with nowhere near 100,000 for miles.

Assuming it is the same flyer (unappetising looking food on the front - some sort of cheeseburgers with tomato sauce draped over one in a brown bag), you are being kind with your description of the t's and c's. Font size 3pt as a guess and the limit is given at the end of 5-and-a-half lines.

Some of our local takeaways deliver. I would rather get food direct from them - at least I know where the money is going!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Disney. Be it "entertainment" or merchandise. A vile company in just about every way. Unfortunately they own almost everything now, so you end up giving them money without knowing.

 

[D365]

He loves Britain so much he lives in Monte Carlo

How is that any different to Coulthard and Button?

In terms of operating systems they're all bad, but I always think Google are a bit more honest than Apple. I do use Firefox and DuckDuckGo mind.

“Google” and “honest” in the same sentence. I think I’ve seen it all this year!

 

[Gloster]

Of those companies with shops locally, I won’t buy from Asda (I will suspend judgement on the new owners), SportsDirect, Carphone Warehouse, Superdrug and McDonald’s (and no doubt others that don’t come straight to mind). I didn’t use Argos before they were bought by Sainsbury’s. Most of my boycotts are for political or ethical reasons, but as I haven’t bought into the consumer society, the companies are hardly going to be worried by not getting my money. Only Waterstones might notice if I boycotted them.

There are also a number of firms whose products I won’t buy: Del Monte, Nestle, News UK, Proctor & Gamble, etc.; but trading names mean I probably don’t always get this right.
.

 

[Tetchytyke]

How is that any different to Coulthard and Button?

There's nothing wrong with living in Monaco, until you move to Monaco for economic reasons whilst actively campaigning for "independence" for a country you don't live in.

 

[Gloster]

EDIT: Showing how new I am to being online, it didn’t occur to me when I wrote the above that I should have added that I won’t be using most of the online companies, particularly Amazon.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Oct 2020 ==

DOUBLE EDIT: this should have gone in #175, but I messed things up. (Technology, don’t you just want to...)

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Asda - Their locations often mean they attract the ‘lower-end’ of the town they are in, making an unpleasant shopping experience. In addition, their products are not as good as other supermarkets and are pricier.
Amazon - Same as everybody else.
Sports Direct/Mike Ashley - “

 

[John Griffiths]

Asda - Their locations often mean they attract the ‘lower-end’ of the town they are in, making an unpleasant shopping experience.

I'm terribly sorry. In future I promise to restrict my park bench cider consumption until after I've done the shopping.

 

[Typhoon]

Asda - Their locations often mean they attract the ‘lower-end’ of the town they are in, making an unpleasant shopping experience. In addition, their products are not as good as other supermarkets and are pricier.

I think it depends on the area. My nearest ASDA is near Argos, B&M, Poundstretcher, Costa, Greggs, Lidl, B&Q and Pets At Home. Standard shopping centre stores - I would go in most (no pets). I actually like them - more variety of items (whether it is meat, cakes, cooking sauces, cereals, fruit juices) but this may just be that store. It is poular with students. Similarly.I find the staff helpful - they accept when things go wrong, apologise and provide the required refund (sometimes with 'compensation'), other stores only do so grudgingly but this may just be the ethos in this store!

And for @John Griffiths you can consume your cider by a tranquil river before or after shopping!