Im thinking about writing an opinion on condoms as I struggle to get ones big enough to fit......nuf...
Im thinking about writing an opinion on condoms as I struggle to get ones big enough to fit......nuff said.
Member since:02.08.2000
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Do you like what I did with the title? Solo, for all its sins, may look like a switch card. But here the similarities stop. Yes. Im afraid Solo has been invented for all of the naughty boys and girls who cant use Switch properly. How do I know? Well, I was once one of them. I noticed that it is claimed to have been launched in 1997 but Im sure it was around earlier than that. However, if this is the date it claims, it must be right.
For those of you that don't know, Switch and Solo are Debit cards. You can buy things from shops that accept Switch cards in the way that you buy things on your credit card. It is a little piece of plastic that comes as part of your current account options from your high street bank.
The way it works is thus. You buy something and it is debited to your current account in the bank. Within a couple of days, sometimes even the same day, the transaction clears in your bank. The money then goes from your account to the shop that you used it. Its all very nice and works very well. However.... There are the naughty children out there that lose all track of their finances. Not on purpose mostely but by accident. So there they are buying freely until they check their bank balance. OVERDRAWN! Yes, Switch does not keep track of what you are up to until the bank spot you and block your card. You then end up in the embarrassing situation of not being able to pay for your goods.
To remedy the Naughty children, they invented the Solo Card. Works in the same way but with one noticable difference. Firstly, it checks with your bank to see if you have sufficient credit BEFORE proceeding with the transaction. This is to prevent you from going overdrawn. I noticed someone else wrote it is a punishment. Well it is. Firstly, it is the indignity of pulling a Solo card from your wallet. People know instantly that you have been so naughty with your money that the bank has taken your Switch rights away. Secondly, it is hardly accepted anywhere. I have noticed some petrol garages make a big thing about it "SOLO CARDS NOT ACCEPTED". It is more widely accepted than it used to be but it is still limited in acceptance. If you can avoid having one, go for the Switch instead.
It looks like Switch but dont be fooled. It isnt. Instead of a Green Logo it has a pink one. Not a good start!
So to recap, it is the wosrt credit facility in the world and one to stay away from!
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What I hate is when people misuse words like nowhere, never etc, and im afraid that you have here.
So NOWHERE takes the card does it? Maybe you'd like to prove that by going through every single shop down the UK because I have used my solo card hundreds of times in shops right around the Uk, maybe your not looking hard enough.
mattwood 11.05.2003 20:19
I understand your point of view ... but what about people like me, who can't have a Switch card not bevause of their credit history, but because they're simply not old enough? It isn't demeaning to me - I can't have a Switch card anyway! Matt
coolaskaha 05.03.2003 22:09
Just want to correct you on a few things here. Solo is accepted in almost as many places as switch now. And Solo isnt just for naughty boys and girls as you put it. Solo is mainly for people under 18 who want to buy things with having to carry cash (very sensible). But it is illegal for people under 18 to go overdrawn and borrow money from the bank, which is why they invented Solo. The bank has to authorise every transaction! In my opinion Solo is a more sensible option to switch because it stops you from having to pay charges to the bank for going overdrawn. SARAH
Advantages: Fairly widely accepted and you can pay for things with it Disadvantages: Marketed as idiot-proof but will allow you to go over your limit and be charged penalties
JL008 03.09.2004 (03.09.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Solo
Dec 6th, 2002
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