Social Media - That was an eyeopener

donna255 said:

Now here is another.

You won't do anything about it- all you are bothered about is your profits. The house and, it's a BIG house, was clocked to the gunnels with QVC boxes - some never opened. My sister tried to address this without any reponse from you - WHY would someone want three of some things? I've seen your channel and you even "promote" next day delivery at £6.95 - every single parcel she had, she paid this for stuff never looked at. You NEED to identify someone ordering so often - some days there were 5 or 6 items being delivered - her bank statements read like a QVC accounts department

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If someone was buying so much stuff I wonder how the family didn’t know. Maybe they lived a long distance away or didn’t have much contact so they weren’t aware of the situation. However I don’t know what they expect QVC to do. Imagine the uproar if they started querying what people bought. People get annoyed at banks querying withdrawals that could be for scams as they think that’s their own business so a shop asking questions wouldn’t go down well with many.
It reminds me of the tragic cases where someone dies and isn’t discovered for ages. The family says that someone should have done something, but it’s someone else not them.
i don’t mean to be too harsh but maybe the family could have done more to help.

If a lady in a care home has the facilities to order and receive stuff makes me think that she knew exactly what she was doing

Having had 2 relatives in care homes their money etc was kept in the office and they had to sign every time they wanted to use it in order to ensure that there was no one accused of taking their money. Apart from money to buy daily papers etc I kept hold of credit cards etc.

When my father was buying his stuff if I had dared suggest that he stop he would have sent me packing in no uncertain terms as he could spend his own money as he pleased. In fact until he went into care and I had to do the paperwork I had no idea of his income or expenditure in the same way as he knew nothing of mine.

Hard line to draw between ensuring they are not in debt and letting them keep their finances confidential.

If the lady was fond of a smoke/drink/chocolate there wouldn’t have been any evidence of where the money went!

It was last year if I remember they did the next day delivery for £6+ but it stopped after a few months. I actually thought at first this post was one of the US ones but then noticed it was in sterling. You get the odd post asking if they are going to start it again.

Yes they tried next day delivery for a few weeks but couldn’t cope, a company of QVCs magnitude and they couldn’t cope. It was that and the fact people wouldn’t pay the extra on top of an already extortionate postage charge to begin with

In QVC early days there was publicity about a woman who had got badly in to debt with shopping from them!

Thankfully, although I used to buy a lot from QVC in the early years, I’ve only ever bought stuff that I knew I could afford and have never opted for their EZPay offers. I prefer to pay for things in one go, from wherever I purchase them. If I can’t afford it then I don’t buy it.

I do understand the “excitement” of waiting for a delivery though because, when I first moved in here, I was ordering things for the house. I always opened the parcels as soon as they arrived, rather than stockpiling them and never using them.

I suppose, with a few exceptions, my mantra has always been “buy what I need” rather than “buy what I want.”

Nowadays, because of QVC’s extortionate P&P and the snail pace at which they refund your money, Amazon is my chosen place to go. I do watch some of the DIY, tech shows etc on QVC and invariably then search Amazon to order something if it’s something that I need and would use. Because of their free P&P the things are usually cheaper, with the occasional exception, even if it’s only down to the P&P.

I really feel for the customers who have been sucked in by QVC’s hype and who believe that the presenters are their friends and who consequently buy lots of things that they never open and never use. It’s really sad.

loveallthingsitalian said:

It’s unusual for a uk person to call their mother Mom. I noticed yesterday people reporting that it had been taken over by Nigerian scammers and also people seeing US posts.

I assume if true it isn’t actually mothers ashes but rather the ashes of the crap purchased. No one would dispose of human ashes this way.

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I've always said Mom. I'd hate that word to be taken over by all the plebs who latch on to Americanisms as a way of being 'cool'/street/the same as everyone else. It would affect the warmth that the word has for me.

loveallthingsitalian said:

Reading an article regarding no nonsense skin care and came across TITTT (take it to the tits) meaning neck and chest.

It tickled me!

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I find the word tits a bit rude (but enjoyed your quote post.) Personally I only use the T word for comedy effect. This post was FIO.

merryone said:

Just had a look at this post and it makes difficult reading as my mum when she had to retire it was literally the death of her, she had few friends and though she tried joining loads of things, she had mental health issues and 'cause a lot of the people in the groups she joined were older and often died, that would make her anxiety worse. I noticed that she had started ordering "crap" from various sources, not online but phoning in, stuff in magazines. As a younger woman she was pretty careful with her money, only buying stuff when she needed to, and being very discerning too..always quality over quantity. I first became worried when she ordered some really dodgy jewellery off the back of a magazine..proper cheap and nasty stuff that I knew she'd never wear, a hideous plate with a cat on it, a doll. I did actually say to her...ooh this isn't really your thing is it? and she agreed and offered me the jewellery....I pretended that I'm sure I'd make use of it so as not to upset her too much. It didn't go on for too long as her health detoriated quite quickly and she eventually had to go into nursing care. After she died, thankfully the house wasn't left with too much crap but I can see how this can happen..but I'm at a loss as to what the shopping channels can do. They can't stand there and say on air...look lonely folk, we're not your friends, don't just buy stuff for the sake of it. I think it's up to family and friends to try and curb this..but they can't be watched all the time...it's all very very sad indeed.

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Perhaps the presenters should say, perhaps after touting the easy pays, to 'please shop responsibly'.

There is SO much of the crap buying syndrome about. All those little mags for old people who can't get to the shops. I think it helps them connect to the world, but once the parcel arrives, the excitement stops & it sits unopened.

So many people get drawn in with the easy pay but then order 4-6 items on easy pay and they build up and you are stuffed paying X amount each month until the end. But of course, next month more easy pay items and you think but that is only £19 per month. Like the old catalogues oh it's only so much a week/month next thing you end up paying large amounts are broke up hey look you can buy this and its only xx per week/month. Look at the companies selling TVs, machining machines pay by the week with interest like 1000% plus yet people are still buying as they cannot afford to go into a shop and just buy. There was a man on the money saving consumer section whose TV had broke he had bought from one of these companies and the TV cost him like £1000 more than just going into a shop but he did not have the money and wanted this TV which ended up breaking down and he was still paying for it even though it was out of guarantee.

Like gambling sites, they only put up Please Gamble Responsibly because the government made them. QVC like any shop it is not up to them to tell people to watch their money, they are they to make money your mental health shopping addictions are not their problem.

I think when people are ordering things on a daily basis and then not even opening the boxes up, there's some kind of mental health issue that goes far beyond buying loads and loads of stuff for the sake of it. Most of us have been talked into buying "must have gadgets" especially for the kitchen, or exercise equipment, they get used once or twice, then bunged into the cupboard, or left in the corner of the room draped with clothes or gathering dust. We've all bought clothes, tried them on, though yes that fits/looks ok hung them up and they're still in the wardrobe 6 months later with the tags still attatched. When its an older person or just someone living alone the problem can go largely unchecked..though I'm suprised that those with families have not realised the extent of the problem until their mother, father or relative has died! In the case of my own mum, her buying problem didn't get out of hand as I recognised she was buying things she'd normally never have bought in a million years and was nipped in the bud by her failing health..I don't know what I'd have done if it started to get out of hand..but I know I'd have tried to do something!
The question is ...is what can be done about "shopping addiction"? I don't think there's much..but I do think shopping channels are a little different and some kind kind of regulation would be good..but I really don't know how this could be done. Unless someone recognises they've got an addiction and want to do something about it, they'll carry on, and even if the presenters said " shop responsibly" it won't mean anything to the addict, 'cause most won't even think they've got an addiction!

If people are aware that they have an addiction to shopping and yes there is such a thing, then retail companies for which you are required to open an account should offer the same facility as online gambling companies do. They offer the person opening the account the facility to set themselves a spending limit and they are not (supposedly) allowed to go over that limit. The National Lottery also offer the same.
Of course if someone doesn`t recognise they have a problem or if they are suffering something like dementia then they aren`t going to use the facility but some people know they have a problem but just can`t stop buying and putting such a facility in place may stop them getting into debt or encourage them to step back for a while until they drop below their limit again.

I’ve always said QVC can quickly become an addiction, probably grown through boredom. It’s easy to press that button and buy something because you’re not handing money over it makes it feel free, then you have the excitement of waiting for your package and while waiting you do it all over again, because it’s not actually shopping it’s the experience, the thrill. I always used to say to myself, if the item was right in front of me in the shop, would I pay cash and take it home immediately and if the answer was no, then I wouldn’t buy it off QVC.

The lady who was described as being in a care home by her daughter may live in a retirement village, she obviously has a debit or credit card, could use internet banking & probably knows exactly what she's doing spending her money. Is it concern for her or the family seeing their inheritance being spent on Diamonique & questionable fashions?

My friend's mother-in-law had dementia, and only when the family looked in her pantry did they realize how much she'd been spending on tea and other stuff because the tea delivery man was very charming. The family took out a Power of Attorney and from then on controlled her finances - no more tea deliveries. Someone I know who has dementia was also in a similar situation - she kept ordering from whoever phoned her about whatever fantastic offer. She has no family but her best friend persuaded to change her phone number and she gets no more nuisance calls now. What I'm saying is, it's very easy to miss these things.

As for these sad people who feel compelled to buy and buy, apparently the joy they get out of it is when they actually make the purchase, not when it arrives. It's these sad folk and their addiction who help to keep so much of shopping telly going so I think there should be some form of regulation.

When I first discovered QVC, it was well before the time of having the internet, so it was "state of the art" shopping at that time, and I did get a bit addicted.

But it was also so much better then, with informative and professional presenters who actually gave you all the information you needed eg Tim Goodwin and ……. (his name just slipped from my mind, I knew it a moment ago). Will add later if I remember. I think he went off to do something connected with cruising. any ideas?

stratobuddy said:

When I first discovered QVC, it was well before the time of having the internet, so it was "state of the art" shopping at that time, and I did get a bit addicted.

But it was also so much better then, with informative and professional presenters who actually gave you all the information you needed eg Tim Goodwin and ……. (his name just slipped from my mind, I knew it a moment ago). Will add later if I remember. I think he went off to do something connected with cruising. any ideas?

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Anthony Heywood? Loved him.

Kathy said:

Maybe you are thinking of Anthony Heywood, he was a very good presenter. I liked Tim Goodwin very much, and missed him when he left.

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Yes, definitely AH.

I think TG was sacked.

I watched him live when he stood in for ….…. (forgot name again, he was black (am I allowed to say that?)) when he was "ill".

Tim joked (although I could tell he was not amused having to work extra hours) "He is as ill as a newt" and that was the last time Tim was seen on QVC !

crystal said:

Anthony Heywood? Loved him.

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I loved him too, saw him on Q America a few years ago ,wonder where he is now.

stratobuddy said:

Yes, definitely AH.

I think TG was sacked.

I watched him live when he stood in for ….…. (forgot name again, he was black (am I allowed to say that?)) when he was "ill".

Tim joked (although I could tell he was not amused having to work extra hours) "He is as ill as a newt" and that was the last time Tim was seen on QVC !

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Tim had a very dry sense of humour and never did the QVC we are a family thing.

Twilight said:

The lady who was described as being in a care home by her daughter may live in a retirement village, she obviously has a debit or credit card, could use internet banking & probably knows exactly what she's doing spending her money. Is it concern for her or the family seeing their inheritance being spent on Diamonique & questionable fashions?

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I don't get this seeing their inheritance spent mentality, I don't come from a family where an inheritance was a thing, or move in circles where it is a thing.