lucinda75

Dear all,
as a poor under privileged worker in the uk, with regular long hours, terible pay, and a bleak prognosis for my working life in the future ( yes I'm a nurse) I recently escaped to aus, little 457 in hand.
On arriving I was introduced to a thing called "Lay-by" which is a system that allows you to pay a small deposit for some wonderful, luxurious goods(which are probably half the price here compared to at home...but I still cant afford them anyway!!...) and then you have 8 weeks or so to pay the store..interest free..and you then collect your booty. I did this with most of my furniture, as I came here with 2 suitcases and a big smile, and now have a nicer place than I had at home.
So the moral is.... you too can be poor..but happy..in australia!!!( and have a nice home to live in...without being made to feel ashamed of being skint. An area that I will probably occupy for most of my life.. Anyhow...the purpose of this is to ask....did woolies do something similar in the 70's in the uk? or have I been standing too close to the TCP again??

pommie bastard

Layby is a well used system here because most need to save up to buy even the smallest goods works for the retailer too , only draw back alot of sale goods are not on layby so its a case only when it suits the retailer .
Nurse pay levels are good compared to what a lot get here even though I would say they are poor and you deserve more pay , buts thats why any person with the education level needed either gets out or never bothers with nursing in the first place.
Having looked at most goods inthe UK on the internet yet to find anything half price here get real , in fact second hand or new stuff here is pricy just paid $6k for a bedroom set without a wardrobe though it was 15 month interest free credit ( free it will be little do they know) the electrical goods are mostly imported and more expensive.
Have seen cars in the UK on interest free credit you will not see that here , plus the sods have stamp duty on new and second hand cars even private sales .

jeannie

Lucinda75.
Good for you I see great times ahead with your attitude. Here in Canada it's done all the time we call it Lay-away. as a young person I did it and got some great stuff.

Woolworth in Liverpool did it in the 60's my Mom bought stuff that way. ( Xmas Presents and the like)

Did you go alone to OZ ?.........

lucinda75

jeannie!

I came to Oz with suitcase and husband and 2 kids, and have been fiding it hard.....but bearable to survive.
A word of warning to all though, we got behind 2 weeks on our rent, and had an eviction notice slapped on us...which we have just had adjourned.

Yes Pommie B'stard, I guess earning 35k is alright for a single person, but supporting husband ans sprogs on it is no joke....

But hey we 're in australia!!! who cares!!!!!

pommie bastard

I find that hard to take that the greedy sods would want to kick you out after only 2 weeks greedy bastards , the fact you have kids makes it worse.
Hope your hubby gets work soon and you do well , would not wish anyone with kids to be kicked on the streets , good luck to you.

lucinda75

Aw, thanks Pommy B'stard!!

Hubby has recently started work...after 6 LONG months of him being depressed about finally getting here and wishing he was back home...because he missed his friends ( OH dont get me started on that one!!) but he has settled in now and appears more contented.
Just goes to show that there is a great psychological battle to pay for some,after all the anticipation and elation of getting that visa in the first place.......

Now Im off to the maccas dumpster to find our dinner..(!!)

Sandra

Hi Lucinda

Excuse me being a bit thick here - but doesn't a piggy bank at home work the same way. If I want something I save for eight weeks and then go buy it?

So the deal on lay-by is I give money to hold it (presumably it won't be there in eight weeks) They have the benefit of my money for this time but I do not get the goods until I have paid in full?

So while I can see the benefit in some cases, If it is the last one on the shop etc and I do not have the money at that point, but in the main it isn't something I will be using, same with interest free. If there is no discount for cash I might use the interest free options but only if I can be sure the full amount owed in sitting waiting to be paid by that 'date' on which all my credit details come into play and I get hammered for back interest!!!!

When we moved here we decided on the basis if we cannot pay for it now we are not getting it. Paying off those usual debts as we left in the UK left me with a nice free feeling. We are hoping to make that last a little longer! Well until the huge mortgage starts when we find a place to live.

Lucinda glad to hear husband has new outlook, mine took five months and didn't even manage to get a job in his trade, but things are on the up.

Cheers

lucinda75

Hi sandra
yeah they take a deposit and you have 8 weeks or so ( could be more..) to pay the balance. As far as i know, the goods are taken off the shop floor / ordered for you when the Lay-by is started...so I have always been able to collect my purchases, as they were not on general sale once i had reserved them.

jayr

Is about five or six months the normal time to start feeling settled? We've been here for two so far and feel quite a bit happier only these last few days. Still a lot of adjusting to do and friends to make but hoping things are starting to be on the up from now on.

Sandra

Everyone takes different times, some say two years overall, others are never settled and some love it from the word go.

For me I was a screaming nightmare for the first six months here, just back from two weeks work in the UK a week ago and I couldn't wait to get back -> to Aus, hubby and son. I still have my grumbles but so what it is different and I am enjoying different at the moment.

Missing people comes and goes, but judging on my two weeks in the UK I had let my imagination during nine months here fill in some rose tinted edges towards the time spent with family!

Take your time and have fun

pommie bastard

You seem to have little to do as well but what ever keeps you happy is alright by me , I hope that my posts are not taking over your boring life god forbid.
The posts above yours mention the problems of moving to Australia and how have they settled in but you centre on mine I do feel humble.

yafm

Nearly all the department stores and such like (large permanent market shops) did lay-by in the 1950 and 1960's I bought most of my 'bottom drawer' that way. It enabled you to buy something that was on 'special or sale price' when - if you had save dthe actual cash - the item would no longer be available. - also in those days there was always something else that the 'cash' could be spent on.

It was a good system and far better than hire-purchase or the 'tally-man' system.

tinaj

They have the same 'lay-away' system in the States. The one advantage of it is that you actually save for the purchase rather than borrowing the money.
Interest free is designed to tempt you, them when you go 1 day over the free period they charge you interest on the whole time. It is only interest free if you pay the whole amount off, if you don't you will pay interest on the purchase from when you bought it. What a con!!
Designed to get people in debt. Layaway seems a more sensible if old-fashioned option.

pread

Anyone know what "No rainchecks" means in a retail environment ?

lucinda75

Isn't a rain check the same as our (uk) credit note for refund, system?
you can't seem to use them in sales I've noticed..!