![](http://web.archive.org./web/20101017191249im_/http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZrZEupZum6M/TLWlv3lU3AI/AAAAAAAAAKU/UmRVE-SzgjA/s320/An+Englishman%27s+word+is+his+Bond.bmp)
Yesterday we tried to buy a rather large household item. A poster in the shop clearly stated that they would 'allow' a 'trade-in value' of a fixed amount against a purchaser's old item. So we did the deal, paid the deposit and went home. A couple of hours later the 'phone rang and the sales man - in a really chirpy voice - said, oh by the way, my boss says I can only give you 50% of the trade-in amount agreed so the balance is now another £x. Huh? After a short exchance mentioning words like, 'when did you state the trade-in price was subject to variation?' etc the deal was cancelled and we are shopping around once more.
Why am I mentioning this to you all? Not because it is earth shattering news and anyway we could have paid the extra - but it is the principle of the terms of the transaction being broached that we object to and we were left feeling rather like a lot of LibDem voters must have felt after the General Election and especially this week when the plans for a Graduate Tax and increased University fees have been heavily suggested and proposed by the Coalition Government.
The Guardian in this piece http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/12/tuition-fees-vince-cable-liberal-democrat-revolt described Vince Cable as having 'reneged on an election promise to abolish tuition fees – a promise made by all Liberal Democrat MPs.'
And of course this is exactly the sort of 'reneging' that my buddies in the Visteon Pension Action Group are fighting [aided by the UNITE union]in their legal battle against Ford for the mis-selling of their pensions when the Terms & Conditions stated at the time of transfer from Ford to Visteon have now been 'denied'.
What sort of example is society/the government/business setting young people when no longer is an Englishman's word is his bond*?
*
An Englishman's word is his bond a promise given is regarded as having the force of a legal agreement; saying recorded from the early 16th century.
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Englishman." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com
And the photograph? I am well known for bad puns: 'An Englishman's word is his Bond'!