Who Pays The Piper And The Price?

In the mail this morning the update on a savings account. We do not have a great deal, but it all counts, especially with the rises in our living costs. So what is the interest, given that nothing has been drawn out or added in that period? November - £28.58; December - £16.51; January - £11.41; February - £8.79; March - £3.80.

One of the key costs are the service charges on our flat. The property management services concerned have been racking them up at around 10% p.a. now for a little while, as well as failing to do repairs, or pay out on claims on buildings insurance from their inhouse insurance company. They do not inform the insured about the details of their policies, nor do they explain why claims are being refused, and it seems that third party cover has disappeared.

The company and its linked entities in family trusts, is a subsidiary of a major property conglomerate, one that has been very active in speculations, possibly using the income streams from service charges as collateral. They have done a good deal of business with RBS, now government owned, and linked with Kaupthing, the failed Icelandic company. The government, allegedly, are helping to bail out Iceland.

The family trusts appear to be offshore, and the owners are amongst the adored business men of the financial media, in part due to their celebrity lifestyle, and maybe to the invitations to party on one or other of their yachts. Sadly, things are not as they were in the world of property, but at least their major bank is being bailed out with taxpayer money, and if they really get into trouble, no doubt some of their political friends close to government will find ways and means of helping them keep their trusts in being and their yachts afloat.

Unlike many of my neighbours, I do not have to rely on my savings alone to keep me going, but I wonder what is going to happen to all those who do. So when the evictions begin of the disabled and demented in large numbers, just what might the government do, and where will it put them?