B & Q to vastly reduce over 60s discount

[NeMo]

I can't really see your point.

Can't speak for your personal experiences, but of course, lots of young adults have done very well. Nor do I know the situation in Australia, which may well be the land of opportunity! But in the UK, the following issues are ones pensioners won't have had to deal with to the same degree, if at all:

(1) About 3 workers to every retiree nowadays, compared to about 10 workers to every retiree in the late 40s when the welfare state was set up. That means there's far fewer people paying in for every one person drawing money out. To maintain the same level of outgoing money, the government obviously has to make each person paying in pay more.

(2) People are living far longer than they were in the late 1940s, and again, this means a heavier burden on state finances. Whereas people might draw 5 years state pension, social welfare costs, and NHS healthcare costs back in the 40s, that's more like 30 years now. So yet again, working people will be expected to pay in more to ensure those retired people around them are looked after and given pensions.

(3) Jobs for life essentially don't exist. Prior to the 1980s it was assumed you'd learn and skill or trade, start working for a given company, and stick with them until you retired -- whether you were on the factory floor, in an office, or providing some other service. Jobs simply don't work that way, with internal promotions being the exception rather than the rule.

(4) Automation and export of labour have eliminated most of the demand for unskilled and semi-skilled labour. Getting well paying, secure jobs without a robust education is increasingly difficult, and even with a good education, just how many web designers and data analysts do we need? The idea of full employment is simply ridiculous now.

(5) The exceptionally expensive housing market in the Southeast of England mean young people on average don't get anywhere near to owning a home well into their 30s, and many likely never will. It's all very well saying that homes are cheap in Hull or wherever, and those places might well be lovely, but they have few well-paying jobs.

(6) The 'gig economy' has trapped many young people in jobs that, on paper, might pay well by the hour, but aren't reliable enough to do anything like, say, get a mortgage. A lot of young people have short-term contracts, or work for companies that are, at best, ephemeral or offering little to no promotion even if you work hard.

People in their 70s now benefitted from a post-war booming economy, strong unions, cheap houses, and generous ratios of workers to pensioners that mean their overall taxation was relatively low. People in the 20s have a stagnant economy, a fragmented labour market, insanely high housing costs, and huge demands on their income simply to maintain the welfare state.

In other words, it's by no means a level playing field.

Cheers, NeMo

[Philip.]

Someone posted earlier that his wife bought a lot of tools under the scheme, implying she was eligible when he wasn't.

Sorry, that was my poor attempt at humour, my tools in the main come from Screwfix now, ever since they closed the Penzance B&Q, my wife doesn't really buy tools for DIY 

Your point is valid though

[themadhippy]

not the odd bit of top-up/maintenance DIY that you might expect settled OAPs to be doing

But thats always been the case,one example is a mate  with his own property  maintenance company,at one point the oap discount made b+q the cheapest place for materials,even beating  b+q's " trade " rate,his parents were weekly  regulars in the store,the staff knew the score but didnt care as it made there sales figures look good.

[Nick]

But thats always been the case,one example is a mate  with his own property  maintenance company,at one point the oap discount made b+q the cheapest place for materials,even beating  b+q's " trade " rate,his parents were weekly  regulars in the store,the staff knew the score but didnt care as it made there sales figures look good.

Oh, absolutely. But perhaps it's become more prevalent to the point that it's unacceptable, especially if they were cannibalising Screwfix's trade. Or perhaps margins are squeezed by competetition from online shopping or the state of the economy in general.

Something has changed that means that a deal that once was profitable for B&Q to offer isn't profitable anymore. That's why they were doing it after all - they weren't indulging in social engineering or welfare, they believed it boosted their profits.

[daffy]

I don't use B&Q much these days, and Wednesdays were never a convenient day for me to visit a branch anyway. The main reason is because of pricing, as most things, if I'm prepared to plan ahead or wait a day or two for a delivery, can be bought online cheaper anyway. I use Toolstation, mentioned earlier, and quite a few other online suppliers - whichever is cheapest and offers good service really.

For odd bits and bobs, drills, screws, etc I usually use my local ironmonger. Higher prices, its true, but they are just a mile or two away, not an hour return journey to B&Q.

Quality of wood is not so good either at B&Q compared to some of the other merchants. 'Banana wood' is frequently available but I'm not building wonky and warped things. For straight, true wood I prefer a good old fashioned timber yard, though even these are hard to find these days. And B&Q seemed to have stopped stocking timber in sizes longer than 2.4 metres.

But I will use B&Q for paint. Their Valspar range is superb. I've used many of the range, from indoor emulsions, gloss or semi gloss, metal paints, and outdoor paints. Brilliant stuff every time and better by far IMHO than the likes of Dulux and Crown. The 10% reduction will be missed for these.

Like every other retailer with a storefront properties, B&Q are struggling in the current market against the internet, as well as other economic factors (that others have mentioned here). They have a website, but it's a pain to use in my opinion and I've given up using it.

Sadly the suppliers for DIY are becoming fewer and less expansive in their ranges, and though I know why they no longer exist in many towns, I look back at the days when I could ferret around in an old hardware store, like the one I used to use in Buckingham, and find just about anything I wanted, not packed in multipack plastic bags, from a few nails, a single screw or bolt, the wooden 'bucket' from an old village water pump, or the handle to an old mangle, as well as all the usual paraphernalia for DIY like paints, straight wood, and darned  good practical advice.

But then we live in a more modern, better world, don't we?   

[Newportnobby]

Of course, the younger folk could always get their parents to buy stuff with a discount for them but that option is gone after next week. Mind you, if my nephew is anything to go by he'd just get me to buy it for him from my pocket

[MalcolmInN]

Of course, the younger folk could always get their parents to buy stuff

Yep, like a house for them !

Thanks all for a most interesting read, I've not been around for a while due to (hmm, special person being in/out of hospital since April so domestic has been a bit upset, now back into community care so we keep fingers xxed and try to pick up where our hobbies left off  ! )

So:- age and expectation : we never expected our age to give us any state benefit, we paid our NI as required (National Insurance <- the significant word being 'insurance', against being in need of medical and unemployment assistance *). We paid our pension contributions** as required by the state and supplementary offers by our employers.
We are entitled to bus passes, we never asked for them, we dont have them, we dont need them, the nearest bus is too far to walk to! We have a car, and we have a spare car in case the prime dont ackle anytime ! (and anyway last time I used a bus was about , , , well never mind about 35y ago and last time I used a train it was steam hauled [not preserved !!]  )

We didnt inherit anything an we lived within our means, which meant no fancy furniture, no fitted kitchen 'make-overs'

*  and **  ours is not to reason why our betters in government and company finance did not manage those systems better (and sometimes jumped overboard from cruise ships to avoid their responsibilities ) ours is do and post

However, , , when perusing the small print of my TV license I find that a certain person being over 75 can have a free one ! Me being not yet quite 75 I phoned a most helpful person who explained the why and wherefore in respect of my significant other , , ,
upshot is that we now have a free TV license and a cheque  £98 rebate on that which the state owes us for the intervening interregnum ! Ha ! didnt ask for it, dont need it, but not arguing !!

[Newportnobby]

Glad to hear things have improved for you both, Malcolm.
I guess the only fair way to assess a need for a benefit is by means testing but that's a huge can of worms as how do you assess someone's assets without either being lied to or invasion of privacy in order to get to the truth. Who decided that if you have more than £23,000 (?) worth of assets you have to pay for your own care/nursing home costs? Invariably that means having to sell your property to pay for said care so could never return to your house should things improve.
At least you wouldn't need a discount DIY card (Feeble attempt to stay on topic)

[njee20]

My daughters have worked hard and kept their nose clean.

Oldest is a lawyer in Sydney, next the director of radiation physics in Darwin hospital, youngest teaching English in Japan.

I can't really see your point.

I can't see yours, if you're making one? Your daughters have done well for sure, but the money they're earning would have gone further 30 years ago. They'd have been able to buy comparatively bigger houses, they'd have had final salary pensions to look forward to etc. No one's saying that the youth of today are all unemployed and on the breadline, but house prices in London are now 12 times the average salary. In 1985 they were 3.5 times the average salary.

It is a fact that home ownership is dwindling in the under-40s as people are priced out, and yet the over 60s continue to get a hefty discount on houses too! I realise you're not in the UK (and neither are your daughters), but NeMo's point was based on the UK. If the same doesn't hold stock in Australia, and I'd be surprised given I believe Sydney to be very expensive for property, then why comment?

I didn't even know B&Q did a discount scheme, we've not got one locally so I've not set foot in one for years. That and I'm not eligible for another 29 years!

[Bealman]

Post removed.

[MalcolmInN]

I think we need an ISP to give discount to retired personages ?

and an ISP to give a quantity discount, well we do have to mark time, if not have time on our hands ?

Glad to hear things have improved for you both, Malcolm.

I guess the only fair way to assess a need for a benefit is by means testing but that's a huge can of worms

Invariably that means having to sell your property to pay for said care so could never return to your house

Thanks, fingers are xxed

yep worms ! lets not go there - except to say we have made reasonable housing  provision for offspring and what is left over at 'end of day' (as they say)  is due the state which gave us the opportunity.

Oh! I thought that the charge was against the estate, not current ? Perhaps this differs if there is another joint owner or tenant in common ? (deffo straying offtopic now !)

[NinOz]

Post removed.

My in-laws are expats, around early 1960s.  They get a fixed (non-indexed) pension from the UK as they contributed for couple of decades to the pension scheme (super scheme?) before leaving for Oz.
Do the newer poms get the same deal?  I assume you would be in similar circumstances so have an interest in this thread.

[Bealman]

I've checked it out, but I only worked for one year full time before I arrived on these shores.

So basically I get nothing.

[Newportnobby]

While a spouse is still alive the property is not included in the 'means testing' for care home funding.

Drat. Sounds like I might have to get wed (again)

[old misery guts]

Don't do it Mick that would really cost you! Oooops! just been clipped by her who must be obeyed.