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Rayner, Housing, Labour and Lammies – The Aftermath

Looks like we may have another strong candidate for this year's Lammy of the Year award …. Sadly, this one is a bit more serious in its implications than our current front runner for the title - the now ex-FS’s recent fishing misdemeanour ….and it's far less amusing, to boot. Rayner seems to have led a very complex life as far as her own personal housing is concerned. The latest high-profile issue, whether she was entitled to designate her newly acquired flat in Hove as her main residence in her dealings with HMRC, having told the local council there that it wasn’t,   appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.... Devoted followers of our deputy PM's antics will recall a previous row, again about housing, which surfaced in April 2024. At the time, she actually went as far as promising to resign if action were taken against her over the matter. The police investigation into her affairs stemmed from a complaint made by the local MP at the time, James Daly, that she ha...
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Winter Fuel – They Thought it was All Over - It isn’t

  This summer, Labour back-benchers managed to force Starmer and Reeves to backtrack on the draconian restrictions to Winter Fuel payments announced by Reeves shortly after the election i n July 2024. For that we should certainly be grateful to them. They weren’t, however, able to reverse the damage completely. Instead of agreeig to re-instate the benefit for everyone, Starmer and Reeves insisted on applying a means test based on an income threshold of £35k p.a. This set the scene for yet more pain for the leadership and the Party…. Let’s take look at the practical implications of this move to find out why. As we understand it, the plan now is for DWP to reinstate the £200 (£300 for over 80s) payment for all pensioners who were claiming their entitlement in 2024 before the axe fell (i.e. ca 10 million). HMRC will then deduct this sum from the bank accounts of everyone earning above the £35k threshold that year . And therein lies the problem. How will they determine who is...
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A Warning to all eBay Sellers – Fraudulent Return Requests are on the increase again

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  Editors note: I first encountered this disturbing issue in May of last year, having fallen victim to it myself as an eBay seller.  I've just  been caught again by the same 'querk' in eBay's returns system whereby a buyer's request on grounds of 'Not as Specified' gives them automatic 'carte blanche' for a refund with the seller paying the postage in both directions. The only recourse you have as a seller is to accept the return and report the buyer for a fraudulent claim. And even then, eBay refuse to tell you what, if anything, they've done after the event. Needless to say you don't get your money back. The old 'Appeals' process also seems to have been withdrawn. My recommendation to anyone thinking of selling on eBay the near future : Allow for at least 1 in 10 of your sales to end in this way...or just don't use eBa for selling. It'll cost you at least £6 for postage in both directions if you want the item back, and will...
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