Posts by britling

Japanese nuke meltdown may be underway

My hair's not falling out yet...

I'm in Japan and can safely tell you that the Hiroshima-like apocalypse that seems to have been predicted in the foreign media is not going to happen. The station is releasing a relatively small amount of radioactive material into the atmosphere, but it hasn't been completely destroyed. The explosion earlier today caused injuries but no chain reaction. We don't even know whether the reactor was involved with the explosion. In any case, there is a six-mile exclusion zone in place around both stations. The real effect is the likelihood of rolling blackouts due to there not being quite enough power to go round. The 'danger time' is this evening, but the lights are still on as I write this.

UK.gov shreds last ID scheme hard drives

Why people demanding a refund have no case

People demanding a refund have no case because the cards were not their property in the first place and the service offered was through a law that has now been abolished.

They'd have a case if the law was still on the books but the government simply refused to acknowledge or administer the scheme. But if the law no longer exists, it's hard to see what transgression could be cited in court.

ID cards poster girl laments her £30

But if a company goes bust...

What happens if you lose money in the real world?

If you purchase a product or service from a company that subsequently goes bust, and you didn't use a credit card to pay, then you would have to get in the queue to claim via the receivers. In all likelihood, you would not get all your money back, and may even lose the lot.

So, Epstein's claim that this is tantamount to theft wouldn't hold water even if she was dealing with a private company rather than a new government elected on a mandate to scrap the cards.

http://www.which.co.uk/advice/what-to-do-if-a-company-goes-bust/index.jsp