A
andy henley
Member
It's the worst position to be in - being so poor you struggle with daily survival, yet on the outside everyone somehow assumes you're rich because of your bloody accent (standard english- not even an accent really! Just well spoken).
It affects your life in so many ways when people make assumptions about you. For example, there was a time I desperately needed the floor replacing in my home because it caved in due to age / rot. I got some quotes and saved up for over a year just to have a small amount of money to spend on it (no holidays, living of tesco basic etc.) it's not easy.
However, when the tradesmen arrive you can just see the greed in their eyes as they light up when I speak. The first quote came in as £4000 to replace a tiny 4m2 of floor. (That's £1000 per square metre!). I should have asked him if it would be made of gold. I ended up not being able to get it done at all and had to do a bodge-job myself from B&Q. It's just ridiculous- all I'm asking for is a normal quote.
Another time my window got smashed and I received a quote of £18,000 to replace the window. Fair enough it's a standard bay window, but really? £18k?! If I had that money I would not be living in this place ! And if I did have that kind of money I wouldn't be stupid enough to spend £18k on a window !
When I was desperate to sell my home, was working 20 hours a day, didn't have time to do it myself and couldn't afford a full house repaint so asked for a quote to 'touch up' the grotty bits around light switches etc. It would have taken about a day's work. We're talking about a small terraced house with a handful of lightswitches. I received quotes in the region of £4000 ! I'm not even joking.
When I asked "why £4000 for a day's work?" they replied "because we're giving you a London service"... me: "but this isn't London!"... "but you sound like you're from London clearly"... me: "no I'm not!"... them: "well we're giving you a London service which means a better service". I felt like saying "that's not what a London service means! London service means tradesmen working in London have to pay for London rent / living costs and thus their prices are higher. It doesn't actually mean a BETTER service." But instead of arguing I just politely showed them the door.
Sometimes I feel so alone because I don't know anyone else who gets judged like this, even tho I'm sure I can't be the only one. Frankly, it's all exhausting & you end up feeling so alone in life. Made so much worse by the fact I have no support around me at all- and the family I do have are a sad excuse for a family unfortunately.. they only appear when my financial situation is good.. same for any human being I've ever met or "friends".
It affects your life in so many ways when people make assumptions about you. For example, there was a time I desperately needed the floor replacing in my home because it caved in due to age / rot. I got some quotes and saved up for over a year just to have a small amount of money to spend on it (no holidays, living of tesco basic etc.) it's not easy.
However, when the tradesmen arrive you can just see the greed in their eyes as they light up when I speak. The first quote came in as £4000 to replace a tiny 4m2 of floor. (That's £1000 per square metre!). I should have asked him if it would be made of gold. I ended up not being able to get it done at all and had to do a bodge-job myself from B&Q. It's just ridiculous- all I'm asking for is a normal quote.
Another time my window got smashed and I received a quote of £18,000 to replace the window. Fair enough it's a standard bay window, but really? £18k?! If I had that money I would not be living in this place ! And if I did have that kind of money I wouldn't be stupid enough to spend £18k on a window !
When I was desperate to sell my home, was working 20 hours a day, didn't have time to do it myself and couldn't afford a full house repaint so asked for a quote to 'touch up' the grotty bits around light switches etc. It would have taken about a day's work. We're talking about a small terraced house with a handful of lightswitches. I received quotes in the region of £4000 ! I'm not even joking.
When I asked "why £4000 for a day's work?" they replied "because we're giving you a London service"... me: "but this isn't London!"... "but you sound like you're from London clearly"... me: "no I'm not!"... them: "well we're giving you a London service which means a better service". I felt like saying "that's not what a London service means! London service means tradesmen working in London have to pay for London rent / living costs and thus their prices are higher. It doesn't actually mean a BETTER service." But instead of arguing I just politely showed them the door.
Sometimes I feel so alone because I don't know anyone else who gets judged like this, even tho I'm sure I can't be the only one. Frankly, it's all exhausting & you end up feeling so alone in life. Made so much worse by the fact I have no support around me at all- and the family I do have are a sad excuse for a family unfortunately.. they only appear when my financial situation is good.. same for any human being I've ever met or "friends".