Buying stuff on t'net question

[Hazell B]

If I open a bank account specifically to use for buying things over the internet, is that safer than just using my normal current account?

What I was thinking was, if there's only a bit of cash in the account to cover things I've bought (like DVD's, Radley handbags and so on, nothing major), am I less liable to be ripped off by indentity fraud merchants?

Worth bothering, or not? :confused:

[Eki]

If you buy with a credit card and get ripped off by a merchant, the credit card company covers your losses and goes after the merchant. Never happened to me, but that's how I believe the system works.

[Hazell B]

I have no credit card, Eki.

I use a debit card system from my current account. Far as I know credit cards are available with that account, but I don't want one as I never spend what isn't already in the account anyway. Thanks for the suggestion, though :)

[tinchote]

I have no credit card, Eki.

I use a debit card system from my current account. Far as I know credit cards are available with that account, but I don't want one as I never spend what isn't already in the account anyway. Thanks for the suggestion, though :)

There is nothing dangerous about having a credit card unless you are a compulsive buyer. First you can always set a lower limit for you card, so that you don't spend more than you want to. Second, if you pay your balance at the end of the period, no interest is charged to you, and you have more flexibility over a debit card where you need to be sure you have a balance before every purchase.

Regarding the internet thing, having a separate account is probably a good idea. But again, with a credit card there is one more layer of protection: because when you pay with debit, the money is gone from your account immediately, while with a credit card a charge is made to your card, but you don't really pay it until a few weeks later; in this last case, you have the time to detect anything gone wrong before you really have to pay it.

[Iain]

What I was thinking was, if there's only a bit of cash in the account to cover things I've bought (like DVD's, Radley handbags and so on, nothing major), am I less liable to be ripped off by indentity fraud merchants?

Would that not mean that you'd go into overdraft mode if they spent more than you had in your account? :s

[Mark]

If I open a bank account specifically to use for buying things over the internet, is that safer than just using my normal current account?

What I was thinking was, if there's only a bit of cash in the account to cover things I've bought (like DVD's, Radley handbags and so on, nothing major), am I less liable to be ripped off by indentity fraud merchants?

Worth bothering, or not? :confused:

I wouldn't bother personally speaking, but if you are concerned about such matters it is certainly worth looking into. I would have a talk to the bank type peoples and make certain that it has no overdraft facility and any transactions likely to make you overdrawn will be refused, as long as you can get such an account it would make things much safer :up:

[Daniel]

I would just get a credit card :) If you're planning to by something then just pay the money into your CC and then buy it :) At least you're protected then and you won't possibly have to pay a monthly charge for a current account then :mark: I usually use Caroline's card as she's protected, when I'm buying anything off a site I don't know too well. Otherwise if it's off play.com or Amazon or if I can buy with Paypal I use my own card :)

I personally think the identity theft thing is overhyped by the media. As long as you've got a firewall and don't install any old rubbish on your PC you'll be fine and at the very least rip up anything which has any of your personal details on it if you chuck that sort of thing away.

[Mark]

A method where they cannot take the money in the first place has to be superior to one where they can make a charge and then you have to dispute it.

[Iain]

I personally think the identity theft thing is overhyped by the media. As long as you've got a firewall and don't install any old rubbish on your PC you'll be fine and at the very least rip up anything which has any of your personal details on it if you chuck that sort of thing away.

Don't get too complacent though. Just when you think there's no chance it could happen to you, it does. :mark:

[Daniel]

Don't get too complacent though. Just when you think there's no chance it could happen to you, it does. :mark:
Thing is a random attack where someone hacks your PC is extremely rare Iain ;) Most of the time it's when you install something on your PC or use a filesharing problem laced with spyware like Kazaa. If you want to see Norton go nuts install Kazaa and share a few files and download some files :mark: A burglar would rather go into the house with an open window than have to actually break in and risk being detected. It could happen to me but it probably won't because I don't make myself an attractive target or advertise myself on the net :)

There are some self replicating things like the Blaster worm but by and large they're rare and don't actually compromise your system. They just piss you off.

On the internet you're just a number and unless you somehow advertise your presence you'll remain just a number.

[Dave B]

I've used my normal current account for years to buy online, and never had any issues.

Just use the same precuations you'd use in the "real" world: be careful who you give your details to, and only use reputable retailers. Check your statements carefully and report any suspicions to your bank immediately.

Other than that, never ever click any links in emails even if they appear genuine - always go straight to the retailer's site by typing their ulr in the address bar. IE7 doesn't let you turn the address bar off, and also includes a phishing filter. That practically destroys the risk of using a conterfeit or spoof website.

And no genuine retailer or bank ever emails you asking that you verify your password or account details - treat such emails with the contempt they deserve.

:)

[Mark]

It did occur to me that the current situation is less than ideal. i.e. you give your card details to a retailer and then the retailer can use those details to obtain money from your account, and you have to trust them to take the correct amount, and no more, and not to use your details again.

IMO the way it should work is that instead of the retailer getting the money from the bank, you should be able to go to your bank and send the money direct to the retailer, that way all they see is that some money has arrive from Mr. XYZ and they don't have any further details.

[Daniel]

It did occur to me that the current situation is less than ideal. i.e. you give your card details to a retailer and then the retailer can use those details to obtain money from your account, and you have to trust them to take the correct amount, and no more, and not to use your details again.

IMO the way it should work is that instead of the retailer getting the money from the bank, you should be able to go to your bank and send the money direct to the retailer, that way all they see is that some money has arrive from Mr. XYZ and they don't have any further details.
Problem is that takes time (why the hell does it take 3 days?????) and in my experience a small payment can get "lost" I used to pay for stuff with bank transfer in Australia and that wasn't so bad because they would order it before it'd been paid for so by the time the payment had gone through the product was there :) But to wait 3 days for them to get the money and then having to wait for delivery would be painful :mark:

[Eki]

IMO the way it should work is that instead of the retailer getting the money from the bank, you should be able to go to your bank and send the money direct to the retailer, that way all they see is that some money has arrive from Mr. XYZ and they don't have any further details.
That's the way it works in Finland. Nobody can withdraw money from someone's bank account using the account number only. You also need a password and a security code. The security code is randomly selected for each transaction from a list of 88 six digit codes. The account number, password and the list of security codes are known only to the holder of the account (or at least should be).

[Mark]

Problem is that takes time (why the hell does it take 3 days?????) and in my experience a small payment can get "lost" I used to pay for stuff with bank transfer in Australia and that wasn't so bad because they would order it before it'd been paid for so by the time the payment had gone through the product was there :) But to wait 3 days for them to get the money and then having to wait for delivery would be painful :mark:

But if the current credit card transactions can take place within seconds, there is no reason why a 'push' technique couldn't work just as fast.

Certainly like Eki says, there should be no way that your card details can be used for more than the current transaction.

[Iain]

Thing is a random attack where someone hacks your PC is extremely rare Iain ;) Most of the time it's when you install something on your PC or use a filesharing problem laced with spyware like Kazaa. If you want to see Norton go nuts install Kazaa and share a few files and download some files :mark: A burglar would rather go into the house with an open window than have to actually break in and risk being detected. It could happen to me but it probably won't because I don't make myself an attractive target or advertise myself on the net :)

There are some self replicating things like the Blaster worm but by and large they're rare and don't actually compromise your system. They just piss you off.

On the internet you're just a number and unless you somehow advertise your presence you'll remain just a number.

Ahh right, I misunderstood. I wasn't talking specifically about it happening online. I just meant in general.

[Daniel]

But if the current credit card transactions can take place within seconds, there is no reason why a 'push' technique couldn't work just as fast.

Certainly like Eki says, there should be no way that your card details can be used for more than the current transaction.
Yes but then your money wouldn't disappear for 3 days and allow the banks to make money out of it for those 3 days ;)

[Daniel]

Ahh right, I misunderstood. I wasn't talking specifically about it happening online. I just meant in general.
I think there's more risk from offline identity theft that you're talking about. We always rip up addresses or anything else personal. Incidently Caroline's brother got his card skimmed at an ATM in London. As for this there's little protection other than vigilance.

[Hazell B]

Thanks for the advice. So, I need to install stuff on the computer to be safe? Am getting a new one soon, so will ask at the retailer about firewalls and the like. Any specifics I should buy?

My mate Alec went to his bank for his £3000 wage a few weeks ago and found the account not only empty, but grossly overdrawn. It's made me worry to be honest. He was without a penny in cash for six days and even though we offered him money he said no and got a lift to work when he ran out of petrol, ate only whatever was in the house and sat about deeply upset. His poor wife felt as if somebody had actually been in their home and violated it. I don't want to feel like a victim as they did :(

[tinchote]

A method where they cannot take the money in the first place has to be superior to one where they can make a charge and then you have to dispute it.

Not necessarilly, because you also have to take convenience into account. If you are using a debit card from an account that is usually empty, then you have to make sure the money is there for every purchase.

Regarding your other post, it is true that potentially, a vendor could use your data to take money off your credit card. The biggest risk, I think, is the potential for leaked/lost data. Now, that could also happen with a savings accout/debit card. There was a famous case here in Canada a couple years ago, where a branch of a major bank got a fax number wrong, and for more than two years they sent - daily - faxes to a shop in the US with confidential data from their customers.

[Daniel]

Thanks for the advice. So, I need to install stuff on the computer to be safe? Am getting a new one soon, so will ask at the retailer about firewalls and the like. Any specifics I should buy?

My mate Alec went to his bank for his £3000 wage a few weeks ago and found the account not only empty, but grossly overdrawn. It's made me worry to be honest. He was without a penny in cash for six days and even though we offered him money he said no and got a lift to work when he ran out of petrol, ate only whatever was in the house and sat about deeply upset. His poor wife felt as if somebody had actually been in their home and violated it. I don't want to feel like a victim as they did :(
What's your budget for the new PC?

P.S don't say as little as possible :p

[Malbec]

Thanks for the advice. So, I need to install stuff on the computer to be safe? Am getting a new one soon, so will ask at the retailer about firewalls and the like. Any specifics I should buy?

My mate Alec went to his bank for his £3000 wage a few weeks ago and found the account not only empty, but grossly overdrawn. It's made me worry to be honest. He was without a penny in cash for six days and even though we offered him money he said no and got a lift to work when he ran out of petrol, ate only whatever was in the house and sat about deeply upset. His poor wife felt as if somebody had actually been in their home and violated it. I don't want to feel like a victim as they did :(

I can't help but feel that a credit card is the answer.

If someone uses your debit card details the onus is on you to prove it wasn't you.

If someone uses your credit card details the onus is on the merchant to prove it was you who bought the item.

Its a totally different ballgame. Ultimately the credit card companies can refuse to pay the merchant if they aren't happy everything is fine. Not only that but you save interest by paying the card company way after you buy the item and if the item is defective you have a credit company fighting in your corner as opposed to you being alone.

If you've had the discipline not to get a credit card up till now you'll also have the discipline to use it properly.

[Iain]

My mate Alec went to his bank for his £3000 wage a few weeks ago and found the account not only empty, but grossly overdrawn. It's made me worry to be honest. He was without a penny in cash for six days and even though we offered him money he said no and got a lift to work when he ran out of petrol, ate only whatever was in the house and sat about deeply upset. His poor wife felt as if somebody had actually been in their home and violated it. I don't want to feel like a victim as they did :(

It's a horrible feeling. Happened to me a few months back, but not on as large a scale as in your friend's case and I had thankfully been paid the weekend before, so that prevented it from being as bad as it could have been. :s

[Hazell B]

I don't.
My debit card is from a current account with an overdraught facility (which I've not used, so no idea how cheap it is/isn't) and I don't need to make sure cash is there to use it. I've often used it for buying large items like the Land Rover, in fact. Okay, I shall admit that on that occasion it wasn't 'put through' as the auctioneer knows me and wanted to make sure I put the cash in the account and it cleared before charging me, but he could have put it straight through. He simply didn't want any more cash that night, so asked I pay another way rather than face counting yet another heap of folding notes :p : But it did clear without the money in the account a few days later as I hadn't gotten around to putting the whole sum in :mark:

I think, but forgive me if this is wrong, that most current accounts with a reasonable record of past payments have unauthorised overdraughts in to the thousands these days. I've known friends buy things that take them over their limits with just a debit card like mine, but haven't dared try it myself.

[Hazell B]

What's your budget for the new PC?

P.S don't say as little as possible :p

No idea in all honesty. Mick's paying :p :
I'll guess my stingy side will come out good and strong and I won't part with a penny over £400 in the end, whatever the budget. Don't need bells and whistles, just a cheap computer that can get me here and make price tags for my wares.

Thanks Dylan. You're right, I should just get a credit card.

Go on then, which credit card is best? :)

[Eki]

Go on then, which credit card is best? :)
I have Visa, and have noticed it's accepted in most places from Spitzbergen to California.

[Daniel]

I have Visa, and have noticed it's accepted in most places from Spitzbergen to California.
I think you'd have to try hard to get somewhere that doesn't acept Mastercard or Visa :) Both of those would be OK :)

[Daniel]

No idea in all honesty. Mick's paying :p :
I'll guess my stingy side will come out good and strong and I won't part with a penny over £400 in the end, whatever the budget. Don't need bells and whistles, just a cheap computer that can get me here and make price tags for my wares.

Thanks Dylan. You're right, I should just get a credit card.

Go on then, which credit card is best? :)
You'll get something good for £400. If I remember correctly you're running windows 98? Be prepared for your printer to possibly not work anymore as it might not be supported by XP or Vista. Just a word of warning. For the sake of simplicity I'd reccomend you just go on the Dell site :) No pushy salesman to tell you that something is perfect for you when really it's bargain basement stuff that they've been trying to get rid of for months or it's something they wouldn't sell to a family member. I don't like Dell's but at least they're cheap and you don't get irritating salespeople plus you should be able to pay over the phone :)

[Daniel]

As for credit cards. If you've got the money in the bank and need the credit card purely to be safe I'd reccomend one of those cashback cards. Pay off before the interest kicks in and they're giving YOU money to use the card. Suckers :p Bet that sucks a lot of less disciplined people in though!

[J4MIE]

I wish I had some sort of self discipline :\ I give in to temptation far too easily :bigcry:

[Mark]

I can recommend Dell, I've just bought a computer from them in the past week in fact. Mind you I haven't switched it on yet :p

A few tips.. price out all the models they are not all identical, plus look out for the 'free delivery' options. You can often get a higher spec PC for the same price if you are getting free delivery.

Try Home and Small Business, you can often find that the small business PC's are cheaper!

Get rid of the warranties, by default they put on a 2 year on site warranty and charge you over £100 for it.

Over the past 2 weeks I've spent over £1,000 online :eek:

[airshifter]

Hazell,

I've had great sucess with cards that cater to business use. Often they are much better about limit controls, pre-authorizations and such things. Many cards will keep bumping your credit limits based on spending and payment habits. Business cards don't do so as often, and in my experience will cater much better to your needs.

Like yourself I'm a disciplined credit user and use cards mostly for sure convinience, paying them off in full at months end. This allows for less transfer of money, or less writing checks. It also allows a quick breakdown of all expenditures for the month, regardless of business or personal use.

Although I have moved on from my previous business, I still have a card with CitiBusiness, and they catered to my every desire. If you don't get what you want from a company, find another company that gives you what you want. With good credit you have that option.

They are one of the only companies that does in fact watch spending habits, and enforce purchase maximums set by the user. I once had them fail to authorize a purchase over the Christmas holidays, as they were concerned it was a stolen card. Having not used the card much in the past year, several fairly large purchases in a single day set a red flag for them. They verfied my personal information over the phone at the place they had denied use. Though it was rather a pain in the butt and somewhat embarrasing, I would rather endure that than to have someone out using my card at will without being questioned.

Besides, the look on the snotty womans face was priceless when they did authorize the purchase. Having been acting like I was some sort of over the limit deadbeat, they informed her that I was authorized for any purchase up to $50,000. :D

[Hazell B]

You'll get something good for £400.

Just been informed it's an £800 budget. Still only looking for about £400 though, now you've said that :p :

Thanks for your help, all. Dell and Visa or Mastercard it is. Although Airshifter's suggestion is making me wonder about that option too.

God, I hate shopping :mark:

[Daniel]

Just been informed it's an £800 budget. Still only looking for about £400 though, now you've said that :p :

Thanks for your help, all. Dell and Visa or Mastercard it is. Although Airshifter's suggestion is making me wonder about that option too.

God, I hate shopping :mark:
£800 budget. Crazy! This PC with all it's fancy gubbins and gaming related paraphenalia has cost us about £750

Keyboard £45
Mouse £30
Motherboard £120
Vista £70
Processor £80
Hard drive £50
DVD drive £25
Case £80 :erm:
Power supply £70
Graphics card £160 :erm:

Walk into a PC world with £800 in your pocket and you'll get something not as good as what I admittedly made myself which kept the cost down. But you'll just be sold the one with lots of shiny non-functional bits on it that has functions which are either whispered under the salesperson's breath or said so quickly you don't even know (or care) what they are. TBH if I was yourself I'd spend about 500. For 400 you'll get something good but the 100 quid will be money well spent and will mean that the PC will do the job for a while more. Spend anything more than that and it's just not worth it for someone who's requirments aren't all that taxing by the sounds of it. Feel free to drop us a PM with what you've been offered and the price and I'll tell you if you're being ripped off or not :)

[Dave B]

Walk into PC World with £800 and the greedy salesman will start salivating at how much he can rip you off! :eek:

Just as an example, on Dell's site you can get an Inspiron 531 with a dual core processor, 1GB of memory, 160G hard drive, Vista home premium and a 19" flatscreen monitor for £399.

A PC like that will be more than suitable for pretty much everything barring playing highly graphical games. I didn't have a proper look but I'm sure you can get even better deals.

:)

[Dave B]

I've just knocked together this Vostro 200 from the small business section:




Components
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core E2160 Processor (1.8GHz,800MHz,1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic - English
Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support
Dell™ 19" Value Wide Flat Panel (E198WFP) - UK/Irish
1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
16x DVD +/- RW Drive
Dell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
Dell Optical Scroll Premium Mouse

Services & Software
No Accidental Damage Support
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English

Accessories
Internal Wireless PCI Card
Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
Dell™ A225 Speakers
No Floppy Drive
No Modem
Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
10 USB Ports (4 front, 4 back, 2 internal)
Network: Integrated 10/100 network interface

Also Includes
Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
English Documentation with UK/Irish Power Cord
List D10V01b Vostro 200
Vostro Desktop Order - UK
Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support
Dell Internet Order.




£361 inc VAT and delivery. Print this post, take it to PC World and see if they can come anywhere near :D

[Daniel]

PROCESSORIntel® Pentium® Dual-Core E2160 Processor (1.8GHz,800MHz,1MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Business - English
HARDWARE SUPPORT Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support
MONITORDell™ 19" Value Flat Panel (E198FP) - UK/Irish
MEMORY1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
HARD DRIVE250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
GRAPHICS CARDIntegrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
OPTICAL DRIVE16x DVD +/- RW Drive
KEYBOARDDell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
MOUSEDell™ 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
This was 380ish :)

I'd pay an extra 20 quid for Vista Business over basic. I've used basic and it just looks nasty :mark:

[Dave B]

Fair point. In that case, I'd pay an extra fiver for an optical mouse. I've used a standard one and they're just nasty :p

But what we've demonstrated there is the beauty of the Dell site: pay for the bits which are important to you, save on the crap you don't care about. :)

[Daniel]

Yes. I've criticised Dell previously (their quality still isn't as good as a home built PC mind you) but can't help but admit that they do give a helluva lot of choice! Only problem is it can be hard to remember what you clicked to get a particular deal and what you had to take out to get a particular price :confused: I also like the fact that there's no pressure. You know if a friend wanted a PC world and went in they'd probably get talked into buying some overpriced piece of poop that wasn't going to do the job or was overkill for it.

[Daniel]

Oh and another thing as I said your printer might not work with a new PC. Don't buy Dell printers. They're just rebadged versions of other manufacturers printers which will require you to usually buy printer ink from Dell at a premium.

[Mark]

Just don't expect the speakers to arrive with the rest of it.. Or at all!

[LotusElise]

Independent computer shops quite often give good deals and can custom-build stuff. Just be careful that they give you a proper copy of Windows, not a rip-off of a multi-licence commercial one.

I'm another credit card refusenik. I know too many people who've got one just for online stuff, or just for the initial deal, who have ended up using it all the time anyway. The way they are advertised and really pushed to people annoys me as well. I agree with whoever said that it's easier to get in trouble through card-cloning in shops or at ATMs.

[Daniel]

Independent computer shops quite often give good deals and can custom-build stuff. Just be careful that they give you a proper copy of Windows, not a rip-off of a multi-licence commercial one.

I'm another credit card refusenik. I know too many people who've got one just for online stuff, or just for the initial deal, who have ended up using it all the time anyway. The way they are advertised and really pushed to people annoys me as well. I agree with whoever said that it's easier to get in trouble through card-cloning in shops or at ATMs.
Problem is they're often no better than Dell. At least Dell has a name to protect ;)

[LotusElise]

True. They're probably rebadged Dell or HP bits anyway. It's another option though - I've never used Dell myself.

[GridGirl]

Going back the the credit card thing if you do get a credit card and only use it for the odd purchase you will only get bombarded with junk mail encouraging you to spend. I have two credit cards and they both have a zero balances. There is hardly a week that goes by when they don't increase my credit limit or send me junk about interest free periods and balance transfers. These companies dont seem to realise that not everyone needs a credit card, wants a credit card or has any desire to build up huge credit card debts.

[schmenke]

A word of caution about increased spending limits on credit cards...
Higher spending limits are sometimes viewed by lenders as a potential financial liability. I.e. you are at risk to get yourself into higher debt. As such, in extreme cases lenders may refuse you a loan :mark:

[Dave B]

If you're intending to use the card online only, what's to stop you recording the details somewhere secure then physically destroying the card? At least that way you remove the temptation to make impulse purchases when you're out shopping in the real world!

Take your point completely about increased credit limits. At one point I could have splashed 3 years' salary in one hit. I dread to think how long it would have taken to pay back :eek:

With the well-documented "credit squeeze" lenders may start to take more care who they lend money to, and may be less willing to constantly raise credit limits willy-nilly.

[Hazell B]

£800 budget. Crazy!

So crazy I'm grabbing the £800, spending half on a computer and the rest on lovely little luxuries like last year's as yet unpaid National Insurance bill :p :

Thanks for the advice. PM on way to Daniel and special hug to Brockman.

Gridgirl and Schmenke, I hadn't thought about furure credit and all those annoying letters. Not that I expect to need a loan at any point, but just in case I do the advice about large limits possibly putting off lenders was handy.
You never know when a very costly accident might happen and one day I just might need four grand to fix a pony's broken leg or something - thanks.

This thread and a shopping trip today have made me realise how far behind the normal run of things I am.
I was the first person to pay with cash at a local Focus DIY today - and it was gone 2pm when I set off to drive there! Later an retired wagon driver I know rang to say he was looking at a good trailer on ebay and I had to admit to not having a good enough computer to go there without picking up viruses :mark:

I'm officially out of date :p :

[schmenke]

...I'm officially out of date :p :

Hazell has expired! :s hock:

[Eki]

Hazell has expired! :s hock:
No, she just can't get a date.

[Daniel]

The beauty of the Dell site :mark:

I just found a machine on there which is better than what Brockman and myself had previously said for even cheaper than what brockman and myself had said and it's even better :mark:

£352 inc VAT and shipping for this


PROCESSORIntel® Pentium® Dual-Core E2140 Processor (1.6GHz,800MHz,1MB cache)OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Business - EnglishHARDWARE SUPPORT Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware SupportMONITORDell™ 19" Value Wide Flat Panel (E198WFP) - UK/IrishMEMORY2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]HARD DRIVE160GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cacheGRAPHICS CARDIntegrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100OPTICAL DRIVE16x DVD +/- RW DriveKEYBOARDDell™ Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)MOUSEDell™ 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black

[schmenke]

I've had my Dell now for a few years with no problems :)

[Hazell B]

I've had my Dell now for a few years with no problems :)


I won't stray on to Only Fools and Horses jokes then go on to mention I've had my Mick 15 years now, and he's nothing but problems :p :

Daniel's my personal shopper :D
I am no longer past my sell by - I have people

[Dave B]

I'm officially out of date :p :
Yup, you're not even on Facebook :p


MOUSEDell™ 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
I see you've upgraded the mouse ;)

[Daniel]

Yes :p

I just had some fun shopping on the internet. Just bought some headlight bulbs for the Pug and picked them up at the post office today. Do you reckon they were actually Bosch ones and do you reckon they're actually E marked (and therefore road legal?). No on both counts.

I pondered what to do on the way to work and I thought I'd let them right their possible mistake before I report them to whoever I should report them to.

Hazell. You said in your PM you're on dialup. Can you get broadband in your area? If you can I'd suggest you do so :) To put a new modem into your PC on the Dell site will cost you 20 quid :mark: Which to me is a bit of a waste of money if you can go on broadband for under a tenner a month and my god is it better than dialup :)

Put your phone number or post code in this site below and it will tell you if you can get broadband :)
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php

[jim mcglinchey]

Id to use my card to get fog lights for my brothers Beemer...Jiexiang items at £18 each instead of £98 OE...but are parts like these strictly speaking illegal counterfits or are they made under license? ( said he naievely )

[schmenke]

... Which to me is a bit of a waste of money if you can go on broadband for under a tenner a month and my god is it better than dialup :)

Put your phone number or post code in this site below and it will tell you if you can get broadband :)
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php

Hazell, check for WiFi availability in your area while you're at it. It'll avoid potentially running new cables into your shack.

[Daniel]

Hazell, check for WiFi availability in your area while you're at it. It'll avoid potentially running new cables into your shack.
Heh. Trust me if she can't get broadband she almost certainly won't be able to get wireless :p

[schmenke]

I would have thought that a WiFi signal would be available just about anywhere throughout the U.K., even in the sticks :?:

[Daniel]

I would have thought that a WiFi signal would be available just about anywhere throughout the U.K., even in the sticks :?:
Are you meaning like 3G?

[Dave B]

Most of the phone networks sell 3G wireless networking cards but they're nowhere near the speed/price ratio of broadband. Fine if you're out and about a lot or can't get broadband, but not a first choice for permanent connectivity.

[Mark]

Even 3G coverage is very patchy. I would not expect to get it in the countryside at all. I can't even get it in my house in a town.

[Dave B]

Doesn't it fall back to GPRS if 3G isn't available? That would at least give decent coverage, albeit at a snail's pace.

[Mark]

Yes it does it is what I am using to post this :p . It is ok using the forum mobile style. But not good for much else.

[Hazell B]

Hazell. You said in your PM you're on dialup. Can you get broadband in your area?

Thanks, done the check thingy.
I can get AOL LLU, whatever that is. Am on AOL dail up at the moment, so will call them and ask to explain broadband to me as if to a 39 year old computer moron :mark:

As for the 3G thing, while I'm not exactly in the sticks at home, I am under water levels 40 yards from a tidal river. Even mobile phone coverage is utter pants about 16 hours in every 24. Anyway, I hear the wireless age will kill ones sex drive ;) :p :

[Daniel]

Thanks, done the check thingy.
I can get AOL LLU, whatever that is. Am on AOL dail up at the moment, so will call them and ask to explain broadband to me as if to a 39 year old computer moron :mark:

As for the 3G thing, while I'm not exactly in the sticks at home, I am under water levels 40 yards from a tidal river. Even mobile phone coverage is utter pants about 16 hours in every 24. Anyway, I hear the wireless age will kill ones sex drive ;) :p :
Broadband. Basically it's the internet except you can still use your phone line while you're on t'internet. It's usually 10 times faster at least but it can be even faster than that :) It's just a whole lot less fuss than dialup :mark: Plus you'd save 20 quid by not having to put a new modem in your new PC (AOL will give you a broadband router for free)

Call them up and see what they offer.

http://myaolbroadband.co.uk/broadband/broadband.adp

[airshifter]

Going back the the credit card thing if you do get a credit card and only use it for the odd purchase you will only get bombarded with junk mail encouraging you to spend. I have two credit cards and they both have a zero balances. There is hardly a week that goes by when they don't increase my credit limit or send me junk about interest free periods and balance transfers. These companies dont seem to realise that not everyone needs a credit card, wants a credit card or has any desire to build up huge credit card debts.


Put yourself in the drivers seat. You would be surprised what companies will do to keep a good customer.

My wife worked in collections for several years, mostly dealing with credit cards. One of the tricks she learned that also works for people that do pay bills on time is very simple. Call your company and tell them you wish to cancel your account. Almost all will immediately transfer you to a retention agent.

The one business account I have I got doing this very thing. I got tired of the annoyances, little hassles, and junk mail. The person I dealt with bent over backwards to find me a specific program that fit what I wanted.