Biggest scam you didn’t know was a scam

I would say center parks is a scam!

Oh yay, it's got a swimming pool. Just go camping in the proper countryside at a site with a pool. Job done. 1/20th of the cost, and actual real countryside. Not the manufactured center park crap.

Yes! 2 kids in a 2 bed here, DH is desperate to move to a 4 bed. All I can think of is the extra cleaning! I’m actually perfectly happy as we are.

Big weddings (not the nice cosy, cheap ones at the local community centre - they're great)
Private schools (I think they're maybe worth a bit more than state, but ~20K more? No, they saw you coming)
University (now that my DD is currently there. Doesn't seem to get an awful lot for the 10K she pays)
Everything being on subscription these days.
Baby stuff - you don't need all that shit.
Lego

This is the only thing in this thread that isn't a scam.
Councils need money to pay for services people use.Somw comes from the Government but not enough.
Even if you personally don't use then they are essential and make for a better society.
Council tax pays for among other things
Libraries. Galleries , museums, Parks, open spaces. Leisure facilities, including swimming pools and youth centres, . Social care for older people, children and other vulnerable members of the community. Social housing, consumer protection, traffic control , roads in collection, emergency services etc etc

University. Sending nearly every student to do pointless degrees, costing £K - to come out the other end of the education factory up to their eyes in debt with low job prospects.

Same here. I have 1 handbag that is used for formal occasions only. Latest "fashion must haves" are the biggest scam going IMO. People pay ££££ to look "on trend" and just end up looking ridiculous.

Oh my god, weddings now are absolutely crazy! The whole business has got so over inflated.

@Catza
Car payment plans are definitely a scam - you pay obscene amounts of money for the new car for three years and then you have to give it back

If there’s a scam in PCP, it’s surely that it’s designed to make you take out a new 3 or 4 year deal with a new car, again and again?

Subscriptions. Everything is a monthly payment. It adds up.
Also phone insurance. You used to just insure it, now you have to decide to insure it against damage OR loss or theft or all. And it’s expensive.

Handbags. I've just never....got it? I have a phone, maybe some tissues and a lip balm. They all go in my pocket. I can't be doing with a bag swinging about, knocking stuff around and having to have it in my hand or on my arm or on my shoulder and find somewhere safe to put it when I sit down...

Everything I need is on my phone or in my pocket. Car keys in a different pocket. This is why I tend to buy men's jackets with zip up pockets (and the REAL scam is why do women's clothes have teeny tiny little insecure pockets?)

The only time you need a handbag is when you have small children who need a huge amount of equipment and stuff (and even then most of it goes under the buggy). Pockets Not Handbags. That's my new slogan.

I am totally behind you on the one suitcase thing!!

Worse. There's a car bring advertised online that's not for sale. You can only lease it.

You'll own nothing and be happy and eat ze bugs.

Concert tickets, particularly in large arenas where the performer is so far away and tiny on stage you end up just watching them om the big screens. Even the cheap' seats run into hundreds of pounds!

My mother died last year and the amount of stuff we had to clear from the house was horrific.It took ages and was a horrible,horrible task.
I have since been on a mission to declutter our house and have made dozens of visits to recycling and charity shops with bags of "stuff". Having 2 adult dcs still at home and a dh who is a hoarder doesn't help but I am determined to keep going.

Yup! I was a silent partner in a wedding planning company for about 4 years pre Covid. It was a license to print money all round. Apparently the more bridezilla she was, the more lucrative the event turned out to be 😂😂

The wedding industry is ridiculous. I love weddings but they used to be simpler. Now they just seem out of control. I went to one recently where the bride told me it was £300 a head, honestly couldn’t see where that money was going

I meant got a 25 year mortgage and kept it for 25 years - not 35! 😆

The world reaction to covid.

Hipefulku lessons learned will
make sure it can’t happen again

Inflated prices for holidays and trips during school holidays.
Not Allowing people to bring their own food/drinks to an event and then charging extortionate prices for these.
Charging for parking in hospitals.

Was just coming on here to say that.

My DH has a thing about cleaning chair legs. I just leave him to it.

Long mortgages.

I assumed you got a 35 year mortgage and kept it for 25 years. It was only after a few years we had a light bulb moment that we could pay more and reduce the term and pay less interest.

I know not everyone can afford to, hut it had literally never occurred to me as a thing that could happen so it felt 🤯

But yes to decluttering. I've finally lost the last stone that's been hanging around for a decade and now i need to declutter A) the suff that's too big B) the stuff that fits again but looks very dated (not all of it! Some is still very me 🙊)

But "going shopping" as a fun activity is a fools errand to me. Fine if you're on a mission to find XYZ hut I've long said goodbye to just going into town for the day to spend money because I'm now hard-core into decluttering, saving and planning for a retirement full of travel!

I don’t clean my bathroom walls or chair legs. Yes if you’re spending your weekends cleaning or buying things to clean then you’re a busy fool. Go outside.

I don't think any of these things are scams. They are just things you can choose to do or buy if you want to. Nobody is tricking you into paying for big weddings or big houses without you knowing they are expensive. Nobody is tricking you clean chair legs. I don't! Also you don't have to constantly upgrade your phone or car.

Weddings - add this to an event and venues charge ££££

No one needs alterations if you order a correctly fitted dress in the first place. I had a custom made dress ordered from China. Sent my measurements and a perfectly fitting beautiful dress turned up 3 weeks later that looked and felt every bit as good as the dresses I tried on at a bridal boutique that cost 5x more + more for alterations.