Hundreds of complaints to Trading Standards ? ... dissatisfied customers who paid on line and are still waiting for the goods two years later ?

Don't know if there's any truth in it, but Lord Sugar can't go into business with an alleged shyster can he ?

So is that why Alex went ? ( instead of Myles, who should have gone )

Considering this series was filmed in the Autumn of last year, no.

I don't know but customers not getting their goods from Alex could have been the reason LS didn't want Alex as his Apprentice.
But I was glad Myles was saved even though deadly dinners was his daft idea.

Tyjet is absolutely right - the series was filmed in October-November.

Didn't know about this but I wonder if this could be the reason why LAS told Alex about sticking to one thing and getting it right, before moving on.

I did think LAS was very unfair in the way he told Alex to stop changing his businesses, and did he know anything about legal matters and when Alex replied well Richard Branson didn't know anything about trains he was shouted down by LAS.

True story, many years ago my dad worked for Barclays, and at some conference was actually talking to the guys who gave Branson the loan to fund "Virgin Airways", when asked "what did he know about running an airline" Richard Branson replied "nothing, but I know how they shouldn't be run".

I think as the series progresses they do more and more background checks to make sure their CV's stand up.

To be accepted on the show it may be little more than 'are there any criminal convictions?' Then, the more weeks they survive, the more detailed the checks become. It could well be doubts were beginning to surface by week 9.

Sounds plausible - similar to Stuart Baggs.

Sorry, and I apologise profusely in advance for any offence, but I had to post this: Baggy Brand

Aaaaaarrrgh! I'll never be able to un-see that!

The difference being, Branson doesn't run his businesses in the sense you're talking about. He appoints industry experts to do it for him. Virgin Airways was run by someone with years of working in the Airline industry. The same is true of most of his other businesses.

Also by that time Branson had proved himself as a clever businessman, making millions. Alex on the other hand hasnt.

But he started out as a one man operation selling records cheaply by mail order. He didn't understand the record retail business either but he knew how he wanted it to be run. Similarly, Alex doesn't need to be an expert on what he sells, whether it's memorials or access to a lawyer.

Would you trust anyone with no experience, legal training, or demonstrated ability in a field to point you in the direction of an appropriate lawyer?? Or that a small site had identified the best people in any area, and got them to sign on to its site? The consequences and costs are hardly similar to buying a tombstone, and the product is more subjective and intangible.

Branson ventured out after he had made a success in one field, as indeed did Sugar.

i don't think he needs ro have got to the stage when Claude or someone preparing for interviews is raising questions about past successes and failures.

Alex has a long record on the show of coming up with silly ideas. Selling mass produced ready made food for a welsh speaking audience to UK chains, and global food with only one simple example in the range, were just the latest examples. He also showed that he couldn't see what was wrong with Myles's suicidal idea. He also gave up on his own idea to follow Myles - showing he couldn't stand up to him , or back his own instincts.

There was no consistency there, and that fitted what Karen and Nick had said about lack of consistency and rash decisionmaking . Its that inconsistency that Alex confirms by announcing his proposal. There's also everything there to confirm the other Apprentice's view of him - its clearer after he's led as PM why they didn't vote for him to PM. Against that his succeses, particularly with the chair design, are outweighed, and not relevant to his proposal.

In the course of summing up Lord Sugar actually got quite interesting on what he was looking for. He wants someone with business sense, who has confidence in their own ability, and who can lead and not follow. If you look at who is left, and who the others will choose to let lead them, everyone else looks stronger than Alex. 3 fit his description of what he claimed Alex lacked very well.

It remains to be seen if branching out into a new field where you have no experience is a killer for anyone at the last stage - or if its another piece pof wisdom thats then ignored. It has to be said though that Tom, Ricky and Zara, of the 4 winners with this prize were offering something they were already doing, and the other one of the 4 was very vague what she woudl actually do.

You may not be aware but the government is currently in the process of introducing price tenders for the provision of publicly funded legal representation by non-lawyers. It sounds mad (as a lawyer I would say it is mad!) but it is actually happening. Eddie Stobbart (a haulage contractor) and G4 (security services) have indicated they will be in the market and are likely to win contracts because they will tender cheaper. So actually, Alex's business idea is bang on target.

This is awful I have heard a bit about it, but it seems all very behind-closed-doors...

I know, right? My guess is that they know their days are pretty darned numbered, so they're trying to cram ten years' worth of rebranding the country in their own unelected image into five before anyone notices.

That said, totally shrewd from a business PoV. Going by the timelines, I think it's happened the other way round - Alex came up with the idea before the government started looking to codify something similar - but there is some amount of luck in business.

The government are using secondary legislation so as to avoid any parliamentary debate and the usual 'fat cat lawyers' nonsense, so it is all passing under the radar.

Well we know that he's actually started up this legal business now (called Dynamo Legal if I recall correctly), earlier this year.

Much as I hate his business plan, I think Alex was royally screwed over this week. For his age, he has some really creative ideas - the fold-up chair/table was an excellent concept, so was his own idea for the ready meal range and even I thought the 'cuff links' brand for the business minded dating website had a lot of mileage if it had been better executed. He needs direction (and a healthy doze of business ethics modelling if the press reports are to be believed) but I think Sir Alan let the really original creator go by firing Alex.

As I read the idea, its that you will be given an acme, cheap bid, co lawyer- with no choice - and, according to one report, they will work for a set fee. They will of course provide you with a fine top knotch lawyer, and all the expensive witnesses and forensic evidence, regardless of what they are paid... or just tell you its hopeless and to plead guilty to save them more money.........

Frankiecat may be able to confirm if thats right?

I forgot that. You are right - anyone could point you to Do your duty, save government money, plead guilty, LLB ( failed) inc.....except possibly G4......

His idea for the ready meal range though was a Welsh name that was meaningless for 98.5% of the UK's population, and a global meals range that had only one meal in the range. And that example was a pretty standard meal that you could already get anywhere in any big supermarket anyway? Now if he had droppd the welsh bit, picked half a dozen meals and packaged them with educational details on the packaging, he might have had an idea - but they would probably have got the packaging lesson wrong , or run out of time.

i think he's more a cross between Private's Pike, and Jones, than a Branson.

The current proposals are a flat fee for legal representation - the 'lawyer' will be paid the same for a three week trial as a guilty plea. A limited number of contracts will be awarded to geographical areas and any client will have to be represented by the one allocated on a completely random basis. If those with contracts in your area have exceeded their quota you will be allocated one who hasn't - maybe at the other end of the country - so good luck if you need a lawyer towards the end of the financial year when the budgets have run out! You will be represented by someone like Alex!

Popety Ping might be Welsh but does it matter that non-Welsh wouldn't know it's precise meaning? It was quite a good sounding character to market an international range for kids with a clear onomatopoeic reference to a microwave.

I would rate my chances with Alex involved as being marginally better than with Baggs. Zara might be Ok, or Kate.......

The only good news is that there's so few policemen left that there won't be many people caught for anything , and so few prison places that the penalties for getting Alex may be less.

Is there a sliding scale for offences or do you get the same cheap answer whether its serial murder, or shoplifting?