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@HdE I can't understand the reason people act in such a hostile manner when there's really no need (but plenty of them seem to). If he was willing to take the items back why be a dick about it, and I don't think I'd be wrong in saying he could also have politely refused to take the drives back as they weren't actually faulty.

I think a lot of people could do to examine the root causes of why they get so bloody angry at tiny things.
 
Apologies in advance for the tone-lowering political rant. So I notice yet another article in my newsfeed today about people fighting the noble cause against the evils of the tampon tax. Now maybe it's because I'm just an evil straight white man, but when this topic first started coming up I genuinely thought "That's terrible, how much does that cost women?" and then because I'm an evil straight white man who doesn't know anything about that sort of thing but is happy to take the time to educate myself, I actually looked into the answer... Which at 5% tax on a packet of 36 tampons at £3.00 is... 15p a month. Wow. Saving every woman 15p a month will surely end poverty among all women forever.

Why this evil, discriminatory, literal pennies a month tax on a product that costs less than a large coffee from Starbucks is being pushed by the media as a "poverty" issue, when poor people are spending half their income or more on extortionate rents to actually have a roof over their heads and drowning in debt from crippling interest rates on predatory hire-purchase agreements and payday loans, I can only guess. The conspiracy theorist in me says they're probably doing it on behalf of the people who profit from those things to distract everybody with stupid minutiae and then laughing as people actually take it seriously. I think if everyone's rent came down a hundred quid or so a month that 15p (or the whole three-hundred pence) wouldn't be such an issue. People want to fight taxes that really affect people in poverty? Try fuel tax, or council tax, but I guess that wouldn't be politically correct.
 
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.... tampon tax?
Oh I see, it's an umbrella term.

... Wait. You only pay 5% in the UK of that stuff? We pay 19%!
(And interesting, there are even petitions around to get this down to the 7%, which is the German tax for basic necessities.)

I never paid attention to it, but honestly would had assumed it should have been in the 7% tax group. But appearantly all hygiene items, like even toilet paper is also at 19%. So that means, my manga (at 7%) is being considered more important than going to the toilet. Fascinating. Taxes are quite Otaku friendly here. =D (At least for readers only. Anime is still 19%.)

But I do certainly feel this is weird. Not just because I am a woman. And as a woman I would indeed think sanitary napkins as basic necessities. =/

p.s. 15p are about an apple right now or two at harvest season. Don't underestimate the pennies!!!1111
 
You guys are kinda missing the point, why should anyone pay tax on something that is essentially a natural bodily function? VAT is a tax on luxuries, tampons are not a luxury. We wouldn't like it if they did it men, 15p or £15k, it's discriminatory towards women and it needs to go. It's not simply a money thing, it's a human decency thing. Why are women taxed on their bodily functions but men aren't? It sends a signal that the UK thinks men's bodily functions are more important and it's ********.

If it's only 15p a month, the government could easily make it up elsewhere...
 
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Watanabe Ken said:
That's not entirely true there is a much cheaper more environmental friendly option called the Menstrual cup.
Click to expand...

You know, I'm not going to look that up, but it does sound really inconvenient and potentially less hygienic. I'm not sure why exactly you'd be against the taxation of female hygiene products, its not like it directly impacts you or anything.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
You know, I'm not going to look that up, but it does sound really inconvenient and potentially less hygienic. I'm not sure why exactly you'd be against the taxation of female hygiene products, its not like it directly impacts you or anything.
Click to expand...
Sanitary pads and tampons have a lot of chemicals in them that negative affect the female body whereas the Menstrual cup is a cup usually made of flexible medical grade silicone that is easy to clean and not full of nasty cancer causing chemicals.
 
Buzz201 said:
You guys are kinda missing the point, why should anyone pay tax on something that is essentially a natural bodily function?
Click to expand...
From where I'm from the 0% tax rate is practically non-existent, so I would say one would always have to pay tax for any product or service. The only distinction is whether it falls under the standard or reduced rate. In which case I would expect it to fall under the reduced rate as it's sort of basic necessity.

But even if it didn't I wouldn't consider the fact that one has to pay tax for such a product to be inherently discriminatory.
 
Erm. A lot of women have to shave too, guys, and I don't know any who don't own razor blades. And there's just as much social condemnation towards those who don't, making it mandatory in any industry where you aren't basically wearing full Islamic dress in summer.

I don't especially care about the tampon tax personally as I can afford it but if there are people in poverty who are using dirty rags and missing work in a supposedly civilised country because they cannot contain their own menstrual blood then it seems a bit suspect to try to bleed (...) them out of a few more pennies in tax for a much more hygienic disposable solution to a problem they will face for a large portion of their lives. Not all tampons are alike - as with condoms, you can have premium items for people not in poverty to buy (e.g. hypoallergenic branded luxury tampons with disposable applicators and so on) and then the very basic, cheap items that could be even cheaper and more accessible to those in need if they weren't taxed. And not all women can even use tampons. A lot of women physically cannot use a menstrual cup either, let alone afford one when they're caught short, which can happen to anyone, and even those who do will often also use a sanitary towel which is subject to the same tax because a single leak from an inherently unpredictable bodily function can destroy your day spectacularly otherwise. Hearing a bunch of people who have never inserted one into their body raving about what people should and shouldn't do in order to save money and not die of cancer doesn't sound as clever as one might hope.

(ayase, why did you start this discussion?! ;_; )

R
 
Let's move on to a more practical topic here~

Can anybody tell me, if when ordering from Up1 for the first time, one could perhaps use an address with an c/o?
I mean, they say card holder address, but do they actually really check it?

Don't want it shipped to me directly to Germany, that's like almost 14GBP and Paypal Payment has an extra fee. @_@
 
Can I collect order placed on web site at event company is attending (Calendar of Events)?
Yes you can. Once you have an online account.
On last page confirming your order you have comment box for entering special instructions (e.g. packing instructions, delivery address for this order only, collect at <insert event>".

United Publications

If you can do that then I don't see why you shouldn't be able to have your parcel delivered to a different address to your card
 
It says
"Your first order can only be sent to the card holder address (as printed on your bank statement)."
and
"The first order you place MUST be delivered to the Card Holders address. You may request an alternative delivery address for future orders by using the My Account option."

Seems like it's not a problem from the 2nd order on, but it would be my first order. So big question is, do they really check that and if, does it perhaps just check the Name of the address and a c/o might work? =/
 
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