10 ways to spot a cheapskate!

Everyone hates a cheapskate! But how can you spot them? Here are a few tell tale signs.

1.  When vistors come, they put low quality toilet paper in the loo!

2. When they are at the pub, they have the premium lager when it's everyone elses round and the cooking lager when its their turn to pay.

3.  When they phone your mobile, they let it ring once, then ring off, knowing you will call them straight back.

4. If you go out for a meal, if they have the most expensive items and you have cheap ones, they suggest splitting the bill, but if they have the cheapo stuff, they want a separate bill.

5. If their kids attend your kids party, they conveniently "forget" the present, in the knoweldge that by the time the party is over, you'll have forgotten all about it.

6. If they are parking in a car park which does all day tickets, they will circle around, waiting for someone to leave, so they can park next to them and get their ticket.

7. If they have a dinner party and you bring a top dollar bottle of wine, they put it in the cupboard for later, then dish out the awful cheap plonk they have been waiting to get rid of for years.

8. If you smoke and you see them in the pub, they've always "just run out of fags" and they are waiting until tomorrow when their mate comes with the cheap duty free ones.

9. If you take their kids for a day out, they don't give them any spending cash, knowing you'll feel sorry for the poor mites and stump up, so they don't miss out.

10. If you have to go on a long journey, they will pick up the metro, then as soon as they've read it after 10 minutes, ask for the bits of your decent newspaper, that you are not reading

We all hate a cheapskate, don't we? But if we hate this sort of behaviour in individuals, why should we tolerate it when our council indulges in Cheapskate behaviour with the disabled, the elderly and the vulnerable.

In Barnet, under the current Tory regime sadly we have a cheapskate local authority.  Here are a few examples of their cheapskate policies, which sadly cause much grief.

1. Using "ALMO" organisations to cut wages for staff, so councillors don't get the blame, resulting in plummetting care standards for the disabled and the vulnerable.

2.  Cutting transport for the disabled to care centres, so they can't attend and then they can claim day centres are underused and shut them.

3. Increasing the cost of teas and coffees etc at facilities for disabled way beyond the rate of inflation or the cost of the ingredients.

4. Outsourcing meals on wheels services to lowest bidder contractors, who have scant regard for taste and nutritional value of the food supplied to our elderly citizens, and are solely interested in maximising profits.

5. Replacing experienced staff who know client needs with low paid replacements, short term agency staff and totally unsuitable contractors, some of whom lack basic security checks and accreditation.

We can all laugh about the sad individuals who indulge in cheapskatery after the event, sadly when it is peoples care, it just aint funny is it?