bank or retailer whos lying

militantconsumer

ldavies wrote: »

I agree that the charge may be excessive but they are certainly not unfair.

Well, the courts will decide that eventually - so far they do not agree with your point of view.

The more I read these forums, the more I think that many people will never be able to manage their money without some kind of help or protection, and that is the reason why we need consumer laws that are actually enforced.

It doesn't cost the bank £30 to reject a transaction, it probably doesn't even cost £1, and that is what is unfair about the status quo - they are profiteering out of the people least able to manage their money (who are, naturally, many of the people with the least money in the first place).

Now, I have personally never gone over an overdraft limit, never paid a credit card bill late, etc., and so have never paid a charge. But I know people who have, and I have seen what a nightmare it can turn into.

I feel very uncomfortable about these people paying excessive charges to subsidise my free banking, and I suspect the situation is going to change one way or another over the next few years.

In the meantime I think it is very mean for posters to come on here and make condescending criticisms, when it takes a lot of guts for the victims of these unfair charges to start taking on the banks and to start sorting their money problems out.

As Martin says, "pls be nice to all MoneySavers".

ct24

i do feel for the op as having charges can really mess up your money, however when i go out i always know my balance, espically if i dont have much in the bank. If i am a few days before money is due in with only £21 in my bank then i take a calculator to the shops, i dont rely on my bank to decline my cards because a) it is my money and b) i could'nt be doing with the embrassment of having my card declined. Not many people know about floor limits and use them to your advantage, and having worked for a bank about 6 years ago, in telephone banking, debt collection (pcs) and credit card dept i have never heard of setting your own personal transaction level - i could be wrong though.

militantconsumer

lilian_gish wrote: »

it may seem irresponsible for me to have put payments through which i didnt have money to cover but there has been occasions where i have overspent by 37 pence in a £50 transaction and incurred a £35 charge, i always have a rough idea what my balance is but not always down to the penny.

This, from the original OP, is why I mentioned upwards of £30.

ldavies wrote: »

I never mentioned the £30 fees.I agreed that they were excessive though not unfair to charge and penalise .... You and I, in the future may have to pay for banking because there are a mindless few who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions.. is that fair? no it bloody isnt...

I do not believe that people should be penalised for being poor at managing their money. I believe they should be helped. If this results in a greater cost to me then I am happy to pay this if there is a fairer system as a result. For the same reason that I am happy to pay taxes that end up being spent on things that do not benefit me directly.

You obviously have a different view and think that people who are poor at managing their money should be "penalised" with the result that banking is cheaper for you.

This is an age old argument about the individual versus society. I come down in favour of a fair society and fair banking. And I put my time where my mouth is by coming on this forum to help people get their money back.

People like you seem to come on here to do no more than criticise others who are already in financial difficulties. How is that helping anybody?

dunstonh

Well, the courts will decide that eventually - so far they do not agree with your point of view.

That is not correct. The final outcome is unknown but the current view is that the issue was the way the charges were packaged. Most of the banks have moved to an alternative charging method which is believed to be compliant. Under these new charging structures, many people are actually worse off, not better. So, the charges still exist. Just in a new way.

lilian_gish

firstly i am not trying to screw the system or make money from it.

i am in the process of claiming back charges applied to my account through the correct channels.

i am in severe hardship,and am struggling to find a way out of it, i do not need my wrist slapped and thats not why i came here seeking advice.

yes i have made mistakes and yes i will pay the price.

i am not looking to wriggle out of paying what i owe, i am looking for an explanation over floor limits

if the bank had told me these charges had arisen through an informal request for an extended overdraft as i personally believe to be the case i would have accepted this,however following conversation with the bank they are laying the blame soley at the feet of the retailer and using this floor limit as the reason.

please dont shoot me down in flames,i am only trying to find out the truth,the bank says one thing,the retailer says another and so far the only advice iv been given from here is its my own fault and i am trying to screw the system..........i find this quite ironic since the system has been screwing us for years.

if the bank can tell me a bare faced lie and all my fellow consumers are interested in is tearing strips off myself for questioning it,its hardly surprising we are in the situation we are.

orange26_2

I was always under the impression that taking something from a store/person without having funds to pay for it is theft. As for the matter of fraud, the only fraud going on in this situation is you taking goods you dont have money for.

militantconsumer

lilian gish - don't lose heart, sadly a few people on here seem to want to push their own "morals" without understanding the situation you are in. Keep your chin up and you will get out of it. If you go to the debt help board you will get more support as well.

ldavies - sorry for any offence, but I am fed up with people coming on the forums with these kind of unhelpful comments. Of course you have a right to your opinion, but look at the reaction from the original poster.

orange26 - I will be reporting your post to the moderator as abuse. You are accusing the poor poster of theft and fraud, and that it is totally unacceptable.

militantconsumer

ldavies - I am pleased you have admitted to being a bank manager, but perhaps you should be up front about this from the start if you are going to come on here and have a go at people for reclaiming charges.

militantconsumer

Right, now that I looked back at your previous posts, ldavies and orange26, you have both posted similar rubbish in the past:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1371605

In that thread several well informed people tore your arguments apart, including natweststaffmember, who clearly explained why you had totally failed to understand or appreciate any of the key issues.

I have respect for other people's opinions but not if, like you two, they won't listen and they abuse other people, particularly vulnerable posters in debt who are trying to sort their lives out.

As far as I'm concerned you should both be banned for the things you have posted on this site. Why don't you try seeing things from the other side instead of repeating this kind of abuse time and time again?

Orford

Idavies - perhaps you should practice what you have put in your signature or at least change it to something that is not so hypocritical

first timer... please be nice to me!:D