Posted 26th Dec 2022
I am well aware of the the cost of living crisis and that prices are escalating at a scale that is unheard of in previous years....


My personal experience..

Annual holiday.. Same resort, same time of year, same supplier...

Historical price £750 pp
New price £1100 pp

Visit Ireland

Annual check in with relatives...same location, same time of year, same supplier...

Historical price £40pp
New price £90pp


Am I the only one to think some retailers are profiteering on the back of the "crisis"?
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  1. matthew.jones21's avatar
    Although not related to holidays here are some price increases my company has faced
    We make sugar/coffee/sauce etc sachets and sticks, highly likely if you have used a sachet of something in a cafe or restaurant it was made at my place of work

    Raw material price of salt went up 80% in October, we pushed a price increase to our customers to cover the increase. The price is now going up another 100% in the next couple of months, we will have to do another price increase to customers, but customers are pushing back meaning we are making less profit on it.
    This is the same for every raw material we get, including packaging, cardboard for the boxes, laminate for the sachets, ink for our printers.
    Then there was a struggle to keep staff and hire new, so in the last 3 months we have all had a 12% rise across the board, from cleaners to HR managers. There is another wage rise due April next year. Profits are down even though our prices have gone up
    I imagine its the same in other industries, everybody is suffering with material increases, haulage increases and staff demanding higher wages. There is no way companies can keep the prices the same as they were 6 months ago, never mind a year ago
  2. Admast79's avatar
    But it is really very simple, just don't pay these prices.

    If I'm finding something way of the realistic price, I don't buy it.

    Some examples: Samsung S95B, month ago prices £1600 everywhere. Now usual price £2199.

    One big joke. (edited)
    HappyShopper's avatar
    I am of a generation where, if you couldn't afford something, you did without until you could.

    Wonder if that still happens or if people put it on credit instead.
  3. Edgerunner's avatar
    People are expecting the new year to be better.

    When most don't even realise we are heading for a full blown recession.

    Corporate greed is causing this, they use excuses to put up their prices. Yet they are making record profits, record profits that are completely ridiculous.

    This is happening around the world and its about time governments from these countries put price controls in place and make it so they cant avoid to pay proper taxes etc.
    xenole's avatar
    Well, people in general are to blame for a lot of things.
    Wanting ££££ cars; spending £250k on a house that someone else bought for £200k a week beforehand; having to have this latest gadget; having to eat out 5 times a week; unable to walk 200 metres to the shops when they can drive in their Range Rover; "traditional" Xmas tat for a few hours of very little, and half of which will be wasted anyway etc.
    Most people won't curb their spending habits as they've some lifestyle to maintain. The majority will keep spending (on credit?) for as long as they can manage.
    Look at coffee shops. No shortage of people queuing to pay £3-£4+ for a lukewarm coffee at Costa etc. (my mother and sister went to a coffee shop the other day where it was £6! for a muffin. People were basically jumping in your seat as soon as you moved).

    Yes there are some here that can easily drop £50k on a new BMW (from a post yesterday) and will never have any money worries.

    We don't really produce that much in this country. Too reliant on everyone else for raw materials, energy etc. and we can be held to ransom.
    Not saying though that we would be any better off if we did have some manufacturing and energy industries though.

    Food wise, it depends on the company.
    I've got places near me producing fresh and frozen food items.
    Frozen items can be produced in say 3 days of the week, and then store for months in a freezer before going to the shops. Costs are less are they don't need to run machinery, have as many staff etc., yet something produced 6 months ago still goes up in price by 50% and that's not all down to fuel etc. prices. (edited)
  4. splatsplatsplat's avatar
    You may be able to afford a grand on a holiday but a lot of people can't even afford a passport, and because there has been a natural drop on sales of some goods and services, companies have to try to get the money somehow.
    The divide in this country has never been wider, there is plenty of money, it's just in fewer pockets.
    Duggie2000's avatar
    Author
    So true. (sadly)



    30 years ago I won tickets to Turin..sadly I didn't collect tickets as I couldn't afford passport.
  5. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    Just goes to prove inflation was not triggered by anything else other than maintaining profit margins plus growth. (edited)
  6. bigwheels's avatar
    I book off season caravan holidays, they have doubled in price.
    Its very simple, they have lost my business.
    Did without during lockdown, can wait another year and see what’s going on.
  7. Rmcstar's avatar
    Yeah, many companies are profiteering from this crisis. Some prices are outrageous too, compared to what they used to be. Have to be extra savvy nowadays.
  8. Ukguy101's avatar
    Heinz, Nestle cereals & Pringles are amongst the worst offenders of ripping people off!
    jsac's avatar
    They use 'Shrinkflation' - keep prices similar, but give less gram per pound - horrible culture
  9. thepostie's avatar
    The lowest of the low, a bottle of bleach now fits perfectly in my kitchen cupboard where as I used to have to bend it sideways. In a way its aesthetically pleasing but also knowing I'm paying the same or more for less in the bottle brings a harsher side to it.
    Duggie2000's avatar
    Author
    Own brand bleach from Asda, I used to pay 0.39p now its 60p
  10. tek-monkey's avatar
    Morrisons donuts were 50p, now 80 I think? Lots of stuff has risen sharply, so we don't buy it.
    xenole's avatar
    Yet people still buy Krispy Kreme donuts for £1.89 or whatever and don't baulk at the price of those
  11. mas99's avatar
    Check the value of the pound since brexit. And another bump with the truss/kwartang 'fiscal event'
  12. BabiDealings's avatar
    “Incredible prices”

    I’d phrase it rather differently
    Duggie2000's avatar
    Author
    (was trying to keep it PG)
  13. LazyVampire's avatar
    Brexit Second worse thing to happen in the UK. First is the tories.

    Of course big companies are going to take advantage. I read something a while ago saying that one of the highest price hikes was semi-skilled milk at 46%. Inflation at 10 or 11%, Yeh right.
  14. darlodge's avatar
    Prices for lots of things are much higher than usual but I don't think it's a clear case of profiteering. Suppliers costs, staffing costs, air fuel, taxes etc. They've all increased and it has a knock-on.
    airbus330's avatar
    Pretty much covers it. And its not just in the UK, I spent 3 months in France and Spain this year and the cost of everything has rocketed not helped by the plummet of the £ in September. You can bet that holidays will be dearer this year for all these reasons plus that the big holiday firms like TUI are still struggling to recover from covid years aggravated by staffing shortages in all areas.
    From observation in my local city, people were spending like there was no tomorrow! So the cost of living crisis seems to be more one of the poor getting poorer and rest being relatively ok.
  15. Peesh's avatar
    4 pint of cravendale at local co-op...£4!
    Ukguy101's avatar
    Should be no more than £1.60 i reckon.
  16. Onlydongles's avatar
    The Ugly/Beautiful face of free market Capitalism (depending on which side you're on)
  17. mayzi's avatar
    It's almost as if retailers have really upped prices on luxury/ unnecessary items. Almost to say- well it you can afford a holiday you can afford to pay for it!
  18. psychobitchfromhell's avatar
    How on earth do you get to Ireland for £40?. Or even £90? Costs me way more than that
    joyf4536's avatar
    30JAN
    09:20London Stansted
    Duration 1h 20m
    10:40Cork
    Flight no.
    FR 901

    £14.92
  19. Mark_Hickman's avatar
    What's happening is companies increase their prices to maintain their original profit margins and some take the mick and as you say make even more profit now whilst we buyers are in the worst financial position we've ever been in.
    Governments a joke, rich corporations are theives and we're the idiots buying it I guess
  20. slimy31's avatar
    Our Haven holiday this year (2022) was £500 more expensive than the previous year. The issue is that this year the kids finished a little earlier so we were able to book it outside of the normal summer holiday peak. So it should have been £500 cheaper!
  21. spannerzone's avatar
    I think it's not generally profiteering, sure it is happening (fuel is clearly a case of profiteering over last few months at petrol stations) but raw material costs have rocketed... in the communications industry we've had manufacturers increasing their trade prices overnight by 50 to 100% - no warnings, suddenly things like lithium batteries double the price, add to that the 3 to 9 month delivery timescales, and you get a very unstable market place.

    I can't comment on food distribution but I am quite sure food makers are having immense problems too.... but yes, during recessions and crisis, companies can always make more money if done right (or wrong!)

    Everything has a knock on effect.... higher wages, higher energy costs, higher material costs and employers have to charge more for their services to cover these costs, every single part of the supply chain effects the next in line. (edited)
    tek-monkey's avatar
    And let's not forget the uk sabotaged it's supply chains.

    What I don't get though is when exports dropped you'd expect we'd have a uk surplus so prices of those items would drop, not sure I've seen any?
  22. deleted2816050's avatar
    Anonymous User
    Every body try to claw back the money they lost during lockdown
  23. samwants2save's avatar
    Vote with your wallet and feet. Don't buy, walk away. That's what I've been doing
  24. harrythefish's avatar
    Went to Portugal recently - Top 2 floors of a stately home centre of city - terrace with sea and mountain views - 2 bathrooms, living room 3 times the size of ours at home, massive LG TV, kitchen all mod cons. £130/night for whole apartment. Meals out, cafes, all half UK price or less. Simply great service and uncrowded if you eat evening meal early. Petrol £1.30.

    The UK is expensive because... it's expensive. The £ really deserves to devalue to make us better value if there's to be any hope of tourists coming here from Europe. (edited)
  25. HellRazer's avatar
    Until people start losing jobs and being unable to afford the increased prices, things are just going to continue to become more and more expensive. All hail capitalism! Asking for more money only helps with the excuse that is inflation.
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