November is the time that I renew my AA membership, something I've done for around 10 years. And every year I've noted approximately when they would take the money out of my account and put the rest of the paperwork in the bin.
But for some unknown reason, this year I read a little more of the literature that they sent me, including all the new deals they were offering and some of the new "freebies" that they were treating us to.
And while I was reading I noticed to my astonishment that some of the "freebies" (which of curse are not free at all but covered in the cost of the membership) are only available within the confines of the M25, London, England's orbital motorway.
So effectively members of the AA outside the M25's warm embrace are subsidising members within.
"So", I thought to myself, "I'm paying out more so that drivers in London can get a better service? I don't think so. At least, not any more I'm not. I'm leaving. I'll find other cover which isn't London-centric, and which will probably be cheaper anyway".
So I phoned them to tell them of my decision, and instruct them not to take any money out of my account. Well of course you can't just do that, after you have negotiated the "choices" they put there to "help them to direct you to the right department" you have to explain why you are leaving.
I could, of course, have said "mind your own business", but I'm not that kind of guy, and the lad was only doing his job. So, although I don't know what made me do it, I lied. I think that I didn't want to sound like a grumbling Scot, although on reflection I was wrong to hide that. I should have grumbled. Anyway, when I was asked for a reason for leaving I told them I could no longer afford the cost, that times were hard and that everyone was having to make cuts... blah blah, blah...
You could have knocked me down with a feather when he said, "Well Sir, you've been with us 10 years, I could offer you a 10% discount". "Ah you could, could you", I thought. "I wonder that you didn't think to offer me that when you wrote!" But, I'd made my mind up; I wasn't going to subsidise London members. So I said no.
"Well sir", he said, "I could offer you your membership and half the price", he continued.
WHAT? HALF PRICE?
It seems that at least some big organisations are prepared to give a discount rather that lose your custom.
So, if you have AA membership, and you have had it for a while, when your renewal date comes up, you might want to try them out for a discount.
Furthermore, other contracts from now on will not be renewed without some negotiations.
According to the AA, petrol prices are unlikely ever to go below £1.10 a litre in Scotland again, even though costs are on their way down and we are an oil rich nation. The reason is a combination of increasing fuel duty from London, and Opec’s measures to keep oil prices reasonable high, usually by restricting its supply. The organisation argues that we will never see prices fall below £1.
History shows that petrol in this country has, allowing for inflation, kept normally within a fairly narrow band price wise. But today, at an average price of around £1.20 a litre, the cost is about 40% higher than the long-term trend.
There have been two periods in the past 108 years when prices have been so high. In the mid to late 50s, shortly after a post-war period of petrol rationing ended, they were as high as today. And during the First War they were the equivalent of about £1.90 litre. Of course as only the aristocracy could afford cars at that time, it wasn’t a huge issue for the likes of you and me.
Since the end of the 90s, crude oil has doubled in price, making this the main cause for fuel increases for the past decade. However, ten years ago, a government report found that, between 1990 and 1999, the price of North Sea oil fell 30%, yet fuel prices rose about 30%, and this was partly attributed to taxation. Today, 75p of the £1.20 that we pay for unleaded goes to the London exchequer.
So it's a combination of both plus greed of the oil producers that has caused our rapidly growing prices. This year we've had all of these. On 1 January 1 VAT went back up to 17.5%, which added a couple of pence to the cost of petrol. An increase to fuel duty and a scrapped subsidy has added about 2p extra from the beginning of April (with more due to come later in the year). Plus, according to the AA, wholesale prices went up 17% this year so far, which has put another 5p on top.
Petrol here is probably the most expensive in the world. I wonder if anyone reading this has noticed any country where it costs more...
As we couldn’t let a whole week go by without a wee bit of Petula, I thought that it might be an idea to look at how much petrol cost back in the late 70s.... well in this ad for a Chrysler Sunbeam, it’s 30p a gallon... about 7p a litre......
Oh happy days....
...........
PS: Pic for Brownlie (nice legs, huh?). Promise I'll do Peggy Lee soon!
