Relationship fee - Citibank

will-in-estoril

simax wrote: »

FWIW, I am not naive nor gullible, and have had the Silver account before, and it worked out better value for me at the time. For the next few months the Classic account is better for me so have moved, but will go back to Silver in a few months time.

For your benefit here is a link to a definition of 'often': http://www.thefreedictionary.com/often

This is not to be confused with 'always':
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/always

Finally, a definition of 'prickly':
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/prickly

I would re-iterate that there are those who are naive and gullible and whom financial institutions are preying on, and it is only by exposing them on forums such as this will there be any possibility of change or tighter regulation.

LongTermLurker

will-in-estoril wrote: »

Originally Posted by BarclaysManager
Package accounts are fantastic as convenience items for those that can afford to purchase them and do not care to spend their time on cash back sites etc.

What rot!

They are a nice little earner for the rip off banks, often foisted on naive or gullible customers, who are persuaded that they are so wonderfully fantastic that life without them would be simply unbearable.

They may be easy money for the banks, but to be fair on BM, you clearly didn't understand his point.

To rephrase then, if you can afford the luxury of convenience, they provide a range of services in a tidy package. Convenience is only worth the price one person is willing to put on it.

But no, they're not for me. At £120 for the year:

1. I agree with BM that the ID theft cover is of limited benefit (I suspect they will just contact the relevant lenders and Credit Reference agencies on your behalf and give you a bit of advice that you could read on the web)
2. Card protection means you can call one number and have them cancel all your credit cards if they get stolen - for the portion of £120 it costs, I can phone a few numbers myself
3. mobile phone cover can be added to houshold contents insurance very cheaply
4. worldwide travel insurance can be had fairly cheaply these days

td_007

savingsguy wrote: »

Assuming something similar happened with Citibank, I'm wondering if they would claim no liability, because you decided to opt out of their dubious "relationship" package?

Any advice would be most appreciated!
Kind regards
savingsguy

Basically the answer is NO they cannot shirk liability - Citibank will have to provide whatever support is in place as dictated by the Law/bank policy/bank code etc etc that is available to all bank cutomers.

Extant

will-in-estoril wrote: »

What rot!

They are a nice little earner for the rip off banks, often foisted on naive or gullible customers, who are persuaded that they are so wonderfully fantastic that life without them would be simply unbearable.

As said above, I don't think you've understood my point at all, for the exact same reason as above.

Although, as with all products, there are going to be some customers that do not use the product to its full extent, the vast majority of our customers do.

Part of the sales process is providing an overview of our current account range, including the free accounts. Customers are free to choose and free to cancel as and when they please, so I refute your statement that they are "foisted on naive or gullible customers."

Do they necessarily provide the cheapest service compared to say, arranging them all yourself individually? No. But that doesn't automatically mean they're a rip off. I pay more for my pesto at Waitrose than I would at Tesco, does that mean it's Waitrose ripping me off? No, of course not.

Do people necessarily WANT to arrange each service themselves? No.

Do people value having a single point of contact that the bank can provide, and prefer to pay the optional fee for the services provided? Yes.

Kavanne

BarclaysManager wrote: »

Although, as with all products, there are going to be some customers that do not use the product to its full extent, the vast majority of our customers do.

I would say it is the minority of customer's with fee paying 'packaged' accounts that save themselves money. Sorry.

will-in-estoril

Kavanne wrote: »

I would say it is the minority of customer's with fee paying 'packaged' accounts that save themselves money. Sorry.

Hear, hear!

This forum is dedicated to helping people save money. It is not called convenientbankaccountcostingatennergivingmeaarecovery.com!

Only yesterday I went with an elderly relative to cancel their Lloyds TSB Gold account. They have specialist medical needs and were not covered by the annual travel policy they got as part of their life-changeing account. They were also under the impression this was the account they had to have.

So I will take no lectures from banks and bankers who have brought this country close to financial ruin, and who have saddled generations to come with debt, all by their own greed!

Extant

Kavanne wrote: »

I would say it is the minority of customer's with fee paying 'packaged' accounts that save themselves money. Sorry.

I didn't say anybody saved money through a packaged account; I in fact said the exact opposite (that packaged accounts are a more expensive alternative to arranging it on your own, but a more convenient one).

Kavanne

i would say it is the minority of customers who use their packaged account as a more convenient alternative. Sorry.

Extant

will-in-estoril wrote: »

Hear, hear!

This forum is dedicated to helping people save money. It is not called convenientbankaccountcostingatennergivingmeaarecovery.com!

Yes, and that's fine - but you must also realize that outside of this forum, there are actual customers of these products who purchase them as, amongst other things, a convenience - to save arranging the same cover etc. elsewhere themselves. But back in this forum - a forum is a place for open discussion.

Only yesterday I went with an elderly relative to cancel their Lloyds TSB Gold account. They have specialist medical needs and were not covered by the annual travel policy they got as part of their life-changeing account. They were also under the impression this was the account they had to have.

As with any financial product, there are going to be customers who are not correctly matched to them. I'll never refute that, but I think it's rather arrogant of you to speak for every package account customer when you say it's been "foisted" on them.

So I will take no lectures from banks and bankers who have brought this country close to financial ruin, and who have saddled generations to come with debt, all by their own greed!

As a banker who works in the retail sector in a bank which took no government funding, and was only forced to raise funds as a result of the FSA's increased and imposed ratios I'd like you to tell me how I brought this country close to financial ruin?

hippey

Well, I have a 'packaged' current account, and personally I think I have a good deal, and it's with Barclays.....No I don't work for them (I did 7 years ago) and I have accounts at other banks but for £25 p/m I get:

Worldwide Travel insurance for the whole family (Use it)
Mobile phone cover for both our phones (Use it)
Airport Lounge Access (Actually quite good)
Emergency Home repair service (not used it, but might)
RAC cover for m/cycle and car (Not used it yet, and hopefully never)
Cardholder Protection (Useful)
Interest free overdraft
Cheaper sharedealing (Want to use it but not getting anywhere with it!)

I think in my position we get good value for money, I'm sure if I scoured the internet money saving sites, cashback sites and the like I could get it all cheaper, but I have the advantage of it all being sorted and for £300 per year or less it aint bad! Barclays customer service leaves a lot to be desired though.

Lloyds have a similar account which I used to have.