Have £50,000 sir

[Nick]

Yesterday my plumber arrived to service the boiler - he couldn't tell me how to get heat out of it at low cost but that's another story.

We were chatting generally and unlike many he will discuss politics etc happily. He told me his lockdown story. As the lockdown began to bite he became aware that he could apply for a £50,000 loan. He continued to work so didn't feel he would need it but applied just to see what was involved. He filled out the forms and some time later the money arrived in his account. The problem was that no-one had discussed it with him, asked if he was prepared for it or if he still wanted it and when he saw the balance unexpectedly arrive in his account and questioned the Bank they shrugged. It was interest free for 12 months so he left it sitting in his account and worked on. At the end of the year he decided to repay it as he still didn't feel the need of it (interest was going to be about 2% if he kept it). He was given a code to pay it against, he did and there was no acknowledgement of it's receipt or any further reference to it.

His comment was that with any other loan there would have been hoops to jump through, questions asked, details thrashed out before he had sight of the cash. His comment was that he was completely shocked at how it was all done and was unsurprised that so many start up businesses had taken the cash and gone bust.

These so called bounce back loans were all underwritten by the government, they could give money away 100% risk free. 

[patman post]

And now there's calls for the Government to pick up householders' energy bills.

Just think what paying the increased costs for 25 million homes would amount to.

Our great, great, great grandkids will be paying it off — always supposing humankind survives pandemics, heatwaves, global droughts and war with Russia...

[T00ts]

All pretty amazing to anyone who been involved in legit business since forever.

However, these were/are strange and worrying times — the like of which no one in the great offices and organisations of state had been through before.

The speed which which the government and treasury reacted after the seriousness of the situation became clear, will no doubt be written up in future.

Meanwhile, although plenty of crooks may have scammed the system, I guess we'll have to wait for the final count of how many businesses, jobs and livelihoods were saved...

There is quite a furore going on about how much of that cash has simply disappeared. I read an article some time ago where Rishi just dismissed it. I gather that Rishi's Treasury was embarrassed by it and attempted to brush it out of sight and write it off but I believe that Rees Mogg has been instrumental in resurrecting the ways and means of recovering it.

[patman post]

All pretty amazing to anyone who been involved in legit business since forever.

However, these were/are strange and worrying times — the like of which no one in the great offices and organisations of state had been through before.

The speed which which the government and treasury reacted after the seriousness of the situation became clear, will no doubt be written up in future. 

Meanwhile, although plenty of crooks may have scammed the system, I guess we'll have to wait for the final count of how many businesses, jobs and livelihoods were saved...

[T00ts]

Yesterday my plumber arrived to service the boiler - he couldn't tell me how to get heat out of it at low cost but that's another story.

We were chatting generally and unlike many he will discuss politics etc happily. He told me his lockdown story. As the lockdown began to bite he became aware that he could apply for a £50,000 loan. He continued to work so didn't feel he would need it but applied just to see what was involved. He filled out the forms and some time later the money arrived in his account. The problem was that no-one had discussed it with him, asked if he was prepared for it or if he still wanted it and when he saw the balance unexpectedly arrive in his account and questioned the Bank they shrugged. It was interest free for 12 months so he left it sitting in his account and worked on. At the end of the year he decided to repay it as he still didn't feel the need of it (interest was going to be about 2% if he kept it). He was given a code to pay it against, he did and there was no acknowledgement of it's receipt or any further reference to it.

His comment was that with any other loan there would have been hoops to jump through, questions asked, details thrashed out before he had sight of the cash. His comment was that he was completely shocked at how it was all done and was unsurprised that so many start up businesses had taken the cash and gone bust.