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Original poster

Biggest scam you didn’t know was a scam

442 replies

Sillysausage2 · 16/03/2025 02:24

Lighthearted 😂
I saw an Instagram post earlier about the biggest thing you don’t realise is a scam and we all accept as normal.
We all have stories about how our parents raised 7 kids etc in a 3 bed if they were lucky, my grandparents had 9 in a 2 bed 😂
the aim for everyone now is buying or building massive houses, 3 en suites at least, we spend the weekends in Ikea, home bargain etc buying shit we don’t need and cleaning the houses with the 4 bathrooms!
I swear I’ve spent more Time cleaning the legs of chairs than is reasonable and I seem to wash the walls of my bathroom far more than people ever mentioned.
I don’t remember my mother ever cleaning the panelling on the walls.
is it all a scam? Are we busy fools?
sometimes I got to centre Parcs like places and think how simple my life would be if we al only had one suitcase each

OP posts:
Nonrienderien · 16/03/2025 17:41

seanconneryseyebrow · 16/03/2025 17:34

Dentists! Absolutely robbing bastards. They did an undercover thing once and sent some bloke to ten different dentists who all said he needed loads of expensive work (he didn’t). Happened to me too. Was told I needed all sorts. Was gonna be in imminent pain without all this expensive work needing to be done. Same happened with my son. Years later - no pain.

I basically only go if I’m in pain.

Absolute rubbish. Dentists are as much about preventative treatment as they are for curative especially for children or there wouldn't be a push for 6 monthly checkups.

Discsareshit · 16/03/2025 17:39

RosesAndHellebores · 16/03/2025 13:43

That the NHS is free. It’s the biggest scam going. It is free at the point of delivery and we all pay for it. When something is “free@ it makes complaints more difficult than they should be. For decades now almost an entire population has put up with sub-optimal standards due to misplaced gratitude. Why should the public be grateful for a service for which they have paid?

the same applies to universal free lunches for children in reception and stage one. It was dreadful when my dc were little and we paid directly. I imagine it’s still dreadful but it’s free so complaints must be difficult.

I'm not sure it being free is the reason for not many complaints. There's also the reverence for doctors. I'm sure you'll find that in pay at the point of use systems, there are still not many complaints against doctors, who are often very powerful.

Discsareshit · 16/03/2025 17:38

Hwi · 16/03/2025 13:27

The scam of adult education - Open University and other unis preying on the vulnerable older people by advertising all over bus shelters, promising 'a new career in your 50s' if you do a degree. I think this should be banned and actually, not only banned, but looked into for mis-advertising, mis-selling, fraud, etc. Vulnerable people in difficulties are lead to believe that the world of employment will embrace them at 50 if they did a degree. These universities are no better than scammers like Tony Robbins selling courses or lectures of 'How to become a millionaire' by running a business from your bedroom.

I had a uni mate, a fellow student, I was a 20, doing masters, she was 39, doing a PhD (European politics or something similar at the LSE) because some idiot lecturer told her 'she will get a great job in Brussels with that, plus a great life style'. She emerged with her PhD in this idiotic subject at 43, with no work experience apart from baby sitting and dog walking (she had a modest British Council grant to indulge in this folly). Obviously nobody wanted to have anything to do with her, there were plenty of 25-year olds with the same PhDs, plus languages (she had none) and she is now working for a charity, saying daily that it was all a lie, that she wasted her best years on a hollow idea, did not have a relationship/children and she regrets it all massively. Her mum, a down-to-earth seamstress was telling her it was a scam, it was idiotic to embark on a mature student's journey, that she was wasting her life opportunities, but she did not believe her at the time. Now she says she wished she did.

The Open University is wonderful!

No, they shouldn't pretend certain degrees will lead to a new career, but the same goes for all unis and all age groups. It's actually less of a problem at the OU because people don't need to give up their jobs to do it so can still earn money. The education they provide has benefits over and above finding a job.

I still have my old ACAS leaflets from the 90s promising that a degree in ANY subject was enough for a graduate career. It's a pity I can't sue them now!

rachelhere · 16/03/2025 17:34

seanconneryseyebrow maybe it devalues the car, a bit, but by how much really? If people are in the market for a second or third hand car are they going to be that bothered about full service history? Full MOT history sure but servicing has never been a factor for me buying a car!

seanconneryseyebrow · 16/03/2025 17:34

Dentists! Absolutely robbing bastards. They did an undercover thing once and sent some bloke to ten different dentists who all said he needed loads of expensive work (he didn’t). Happened to me too. Was told I needed all sorts. Was gonna be in imminent pain without all this expensive work needing to be done. Same happened with my son. Years later - no pain.

I basically only go if I’m in pain.

Everyoneishangry · 16/03/2025 17:31

Private school

  1. Everyone is tutored
  2. Selective on entry.
  3. Serve notice on children who can’t keep up.
  4. Never mind VAT, they can adjust the fees however they like annually anyway.
It’s basically social exclusion/a very expensive private members club for kids
Discsareshit · 16/03/2025 17:30

MyCatNamedCookingFat · 16/03/2025 12:51

Christmas is a huge scam.

Christmas is a wonderful cultural festival to break up the grey winter.
The consumerism around may be a scam.

seanconneryseyebrow · 16/03/2025 17:29

rachelhere

oooh do u really think so? Doesn’t it devalue the car if you haven’t kept up to date when you sell on though?

I have a three yr old car and the service price is huge and I just don’t want to pay it right now. Maybe I shouldn’t bother?

Discsareshit · 16/03/2025 17:29

quantumbutterfly · 16/03/2025 13:04

I keep seeing my mum's face in the mirror!

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Now middle aged with thinning hair, I see my bold uncles in the mirror!

MikeRafone · 16/03/2025 17:28

Wintersgirl · 16/03/2025 17:09

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. it's not magic, it's just greasy and not worth £48

There is a person on TikTok who goes through all the expensive cream ingredients and then shows you the same list of ingredients in a 4.99 tub of cream

TankFlyBossW4lk · 16/03/2025 17:28

NHS England!......Not really, I was only trying to be topical

AgnesX · 16/03/2025 17:28

MikeRafone · 16/03/2025 17:24

Qater, Saudi, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Monaco, Oman, Bahrain, Maldives, Georgia, Singapore, Dominica, Somalia, Kuwait

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Someone got there ahead of you. Somalia is not a good example btw.

rachelhere · 16/03/2025 17:28

Car servicing. Totally pointless. Have had 4 cars in 30 years of driving and they sail through mot for years usually. If something is wrong, you just get it fixed. Servicing neither identifies nor fixes anything that's wrong anyway. Must've saved tens of thousands, just never bothered.

MikeRafone · 16/03/2025 17:27

D4isyCh4in · 16/03/2025 16:55

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. What the hell is this? What am I paying for?!
God I spotted this one a mile back. I will tell you why folk do this
A) because we all want new cars to show off in, and we can't fix them ourselves B) because its easier than trawling through the autotrader looking for a car
C) we are conditioned to have a new car every 3 years
My friend can't afford to heat her flat, yet she has a brand new Merc that she pays £250 a month for!!!

its been engineered to keep the new car sales going and prop the car industry up

MikeRafone · 16/03/2025 17:24

AgnesX · 16/03/2025 11:28

Which countries are they?

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Qater, Saudi, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Monaco, Oman, Bahrain, Maldives, Georgia, Singapore, Dominica, Somalia, Kuwait

meisafairy · 16/03/2025 17:24

Vanity sizing is a scam to make you feel good and spend more.

Twiglets1 · 16/03/2025 17:24

TheignT · 16/03/2025 13:04

We bought this house 30 years ago, 4 bed bathroom, ensuite, downstairs loo. The couple selling were pensioners and she said she was sick of cleaning 3 toilets for 2 people.

My kids are now grown up, we are pensioners, I know how she felt.

She shouldn’t have been cleaning 3 toilets THEY should have been sharing the cleaning especially seeing as both pensioners. Thats the real scam.

wishiwasjoking · 16/03/2025 17:23

Chesticov · 16/03/2025 17:00

@Idratherbepaddleboarding

I’ve been listening to a lot of personal development podcasts and audio books and they all say the same thing - identifying what is making you unhappy is the first step to changing it. Nobody else knows how to live your best life. Small changes every day until you have what you want.

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Usually it's a major life change people need to do and it's scary so they don't. Little changes only help if you're already on the right path and building on what you have.

seanconneryseyebrow · 16/03/2025 17:20

discsareshit

I hear you and if it works for you great but people do blindly follow this idea - yanno cereals for brekkie, sandwich for lunch, meat and two veg for tea. And it doesn’t have to be that way. I work, I’m thin, and I gave all that up! I find it liberating cos I just eat when I’m hungry and I don’t think ‘meal’. I get the sociable bit but me and my friends never like going out for dinner we just like drinks so it works for us. So if meals work for some great but I’m sure there are a lot of people like me who simply can’t be arsed.

Mightymoog · 16/03/2025 17:16

whatsthatBout · 16/03/2025 17:12

Lots of cleaning products! I’m a hypocrite because I like buying lots of unnecessary cleaning… but really all you need is hot soapy water and a bit of bleach. Not all this Mrs Hinch the pink stuff Lenor scent boosters, scrub daddy zofloras, fabulosa room spray crap.

I only ever use washing up liquid , water, green scourers, cloths and brillo pads : That covers everything I ever need to clean.

whatsthatBout · 16/03/2025 17:14

Also TikTok shop! It’s basically the new JML shopping channel persuading you to buy crap you don’t need.

whatsthatBout · 16/03/2025 17:12

Lots of cleaning products! I’m a hypocrite because I like buying lots of unnecessary cleaning… but really all you need is hot soapy water and a bit of bleach. Not all this Mrs Hinch the pink stuff Lenor scent boosters, scrub daddy zofloras, fabulosa room spray crap.

Mightymoog · 16/03/2025 17:11

Pudmyboy · 16/03/2025 16:28

Oh I loved the Betterware catalogue! It assumed no previous knowledge of any of it's products! So the blurb would run: 'kitchen bin: great for putting rubbish in!' 'scissors: great for cutting!' I miss it!

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Haven't seen a betterware catalogue for years!
My mum gets similar ones ( god knows where from)
They're a lower market end betterware and are a fabulous item to peruse!

Discsareshit · 16/03/2025 17:10

seanconneryseyebrow · 16/03/2025 17:03

Meals. We’ve been sold on the idea that we have to have ‘meals’ three times a day and certain foods at certain times in a certain way. It’s bollox. Eat what you like when u like. If that’s a plate of pork chops at 3pm so be it. Or a slab of cheese at 10pm.

constantly thinking of meals drove me nuts. Now I don’t it’s ace.

I see your point as someone who doesn't eat breakfast and who doesn't live by rules like, one meal a day must be hot/bigger and the other must be cold/lighter, but I do think having set meals at certain times is more sociable and easier to organise around work. Also, eat what you want when you want would make many of us the size of a house.

Wintersgirl · 16/03/2025 17:09

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. it's not magic, it's just greasy and not worth £48