Fashion Contrast

A financial contract is all well and good when the financial climate is good. Small businesses during a recession are less likely to sign/agree long term/large contracts and for good reason. We all know how annoying it is when you sign a deal with say, a Mobile Phone or Mobile Broadband provider and a hugely better deal comes around a lot quicker than you ever thought it would. Dare I say it, if I wasn’t on an Orange Mobile Phone contract, I would almost certainly have gone for the iPhone pre 3g! But then of course, I would have been disappointed at the arrival of the 3g iphone which seems to be tonnes better.

Iphone 3G - Do I need one?

The way forward is to have the ability to ‘chop and change’, using a pay as you go system. Take for example Car Rental or Van Hire, an industry which seems to being effected by car hire shortages. Of course the BBC is talking specifically about foreign holiday based car hire brokers, but overall the shortage is seemingly crippling the industry.

Do the working’s of an industry need to change as soon as possible to allow for small companies who need the use of rental vehicles at a reasonable price to rent at a competitive rate for day to day tasks, in a pay as you go fashion, rather then having the crippling long term financial commitments a contract brings?

Tailor-made packages need to be thought through, with emphasis on being client specific and client friendly. Could this be free delivery of vehicles within a 10-20 mile radius, or huge discounts for advance payments on pre-pay vehicles? Flexibility is the key to any business needs and perhaps there should be an overall re-think in the rental vehicles market…? Thus, saving money and ensuring business work together to get through uncertain economic climates.

Civil Servants from Wales have really frustrated me this week after costing tax payers £88,000 in fines relating to traffic incidents, it has been revealed by Compare Car Rentals.

Civil Servants clearly can't drive Cars

This Follows revelations in June that Welsh Civil Servant had run up £5 million whilst using local Car Hire services, whether this included Van Hire for the Local Councils.

The data is taken from the Freedom of Information Act which was publicised by members of the Welsh Assembly Government(WAG) who managed to run up bills of £10,732 by failing to fill up the rental vehicles before returning them.

Kirsty Williams who was amongst the first to expose WAGS ludicrous, was outraged at the WAGS fines calling them ‘shocking’, especially as families in Wales are having to ‘tighten their belts’ due to the current recession.

People in Wales are having to balance their budgets and watch every penny, it is vital that Governments do the same, Too much is already spent on car hire and it seems that civil servants don’t care that taxpayers are picking up the tab for fines imposed for not refuelling.

A spokesman for the WAG admitted that hire cars should be returned with a full tank and that a review was underway thanks to the current situation and that ‘arrangements’ are being made to ensure car hire costs are as low as possible.

Quotes Taken From Wales Online.