MSE News: Reaction to Halifax's changes

opinions4u

linzp wrote: »

I think it's absolutely disgusting. I'm fed up with the government using tax payers money to bail banks out, only for the bank to then take more money through ridiculous bank charges.

In what way are they making more money overall?

They will make less money from £35 and £28 fees not being charged and £5 Reward payments being made.

This will be offset by charging £1 a day on authorised overdrafts.

I'm a Halifax customer and I can't believe they have done this. :mad: What a rip off. Do they think we are all stupid?? I'm off!!!

There are a handful of threads and hundreds of posts on this board that highlight how to best mitigate the effects of the changes. Most customers who move to the Reward account will be better off.

ElkyElky

There is a simple solution to this problem.

Remove any overdraft facility you have with Halifax. Job done, problem sorted.

opinions4u

ElkyElky wrote: »

There is a simple solution to this problem.

Remove any overdraft facility you have with Halifax. Job done, problem sorted.

That's the best solution on paper, yes.

I do appreciate that for many the ability to open up alternative lines of credit or magic up a cash sum to cover that overdraft might make the reality of removing the facility a little more awkward.

apt

That's not sensible ElkyElky. All removing the overdraft facility achieves is that you get charged £5 per day if you inadvertantly slip into the red instead of £1.

tomasfoley

noh wrote: »

It can.
It almost certainly is one of the reasons it has been bought in.

As I have posted elsewhere I believe it was formulated as a response to this OFT report from July 2008.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/financial_products/OFT1005exec.pdf
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/financial_products/OFT1005.pdf

Im not sure you understand me, It cannot be layed at the door of the Bank Charges Campaign,. Because its clearly the banks responsibility for new charges, not the consumers or the government.

This is not merely a response to the government but a continuation of the same type of charging policys, of which the campaign highlighted. There is nothing new here and so its birth does not arrive in the form of a consumer challenge but the attitude that created that challenge in the first place.

To suggest it is a result of the charging campaign is simply another way of offloading corporate moral responsibility for not ripping off the consumer at every given opportunity to anyone but the banks themselves. The true source of this rip-off attitude is the overpaid, over bloated exacutives of the bank. The relentless pursuit of greed and growth as that entity.

It's exactly the same reason insurance premiums are so high (Though thats another debate)

The banks continue down this road because 1) Nobody stops them 2) They enjoy being bloated and over paid and can't stomach the thought of cutting down its consumption so thats its customers are treated with respect

ElkyElky

opinions4u wrote: »

That's the best solution on paper, yes.

I do appreciate that for many the ability to open up alternative lines of credit or magic up a cash sum to cover that overdraft might make the reality of removing the facility a little more awkward.

I've never used an overdraft before, despite Halifax offering me £4000. Overdrafts doesn't benefit anyone, and leaves you out of pocket from the charges and interest. They are the the result of some nasty evil creation directly from Hell itself.

I don't think anyone has a right to complain about the new charges. It's their own fault for being into their overdraft. Some people I know, have been in their overdraft for years and never had a positive balance. That doesn't benefit anyone, well except the banks.

Halifax has suffered financial blows during the recession, it was only a matter of time before they increased charges, and I imagine there will be more increases coming in the future, not just in the overdraft department either.

ElkyElky

apt wrote: »

That's not sensible ElkyElky. All removing the overdraft facility achieves is that you get charged £5 per day if you inadvertantly slip into the red instead of £1.

Not really. I've never had an overdraft on my account, and I have never been overdrawn or been charged any sort of fees. I've been with Halifax for 4 years, and several accounts with NatWest for 3 years.

It all boils down to how well you manage your own finances.

noh

tomasfoley wrote: »

Im not sure you understand me, It cannot be layed at the door of the Bank Charges Campaign,. Because its clearly the banks responsibility for new charges, not the consumers or the government.

This is not merely a response to the government but a continuation of the same type of charging policys, of which the campaign highlighted. There is nothing new here and so its birth does not arrive in the form of a consumer challenge but the attitude that created that challenge in the first place.

To suggest it is a result of the charging campaign is simply another way of offloading corporate moral responsibility for not ripping off the consumer at every given opportunity to anyone but the banks themselves. The true source of this rip-off attitude is the overpaid, over bloated exacutives of the bank. The relentless pursuit of greed and growth as that entity.

It's exactly the same reason insurance premiums are so high (Though thats another debate)

The banks continue down this road because 1) Nobody stops them 2) They enjoy being bloated and over paid and can't stomach the thought of cutting down its consumption so thats its customers are treated with respect

I don't understand what you are saying because to me it makes no sense.

The new structure would not have been formulated if there had not been pressure from consumer protection groups and the OFT.
Halifax and all the other banks would have been quite happy to leave things as they were.

If you are trying to say that this new structure is unfair and that the charges are excessive then I simply don't agree with you.

I also don't agree with your off topic assertion that insurance premiums are "so high".

noh

ElkyElky wrote: »

Not really. I've never had an overdraft on my account, and I have never been overdrawn or been charged any sort of fees. I've been with Halifax for 4 years, and several accounts with NatWest for 3 years.

It all boils down to how well you manage your own finances.

Yes you are right but it is sensible to leave the overdraft facility in place just make sure you don't use it.

tomasfoley

noh wrote: »

I don't understand what you are saying because to me it makes no sense.

The new structure would not have been formulated if there had not been pressure from consumer protection groups and the OFT.
Halifax and all the other banks would have been quite happy to leave things as they were.

If you are trying to say that this new structure is unfair and that the charges are excessive then I simply don't agree with you.

I also don't agree with your off topic assertion that insurance premiums are "so high".

OK on the Insurance I wont comment, I went off-topic there so take the last word on that one.

But they clearly are out of order, read the Real life impact outlined above. they have moved the goal posts of the account no doubt about it. That impact as stated above in those personal circumstances are a reality of that movement in policy. Its impact is not acciedental, it is totally designed to line Halifax's pockets, the timing of it also.

Its the point of that campaign on bank charges. If you are a low income individual, you will always sail close to the red-line on your incomings and out goings, you may even live in an overdraft especially if at some point for whatever reason, possibly even as an emergency you needed an overdraft. These people did not get this as a freebie, they payed an interest charge for the facility. I hear all this crap about off-setting blah blah. The simple fact whatever your maths formula is, it was being payed for, the charge was a fair reflection of the service offered. It was what you choose when you signed upto the account. It was what you expected of the bank. The option for the bank to withdraw at any time an overdraft facility is irrelevant, because if you have managed your overdraft for the time you have had the facility, no removal is justified (except as a deliberate money maker) because you have shown no evidence of financial negligence and risk to the bank.

In which case to totally transform that, to have no opt-out to be forced to have to pull together the money in response is totally walking over your customers as an institution. Customers who by the way stuck to the rules and paid for their service. And there is absolutely no doubt it has been put together to make significant money for the banks.

Again however you explain offsetting, in this sector of its customer base they are engaging in fraud of their customers, because they force them into a position of paying them money, they at no point consented to do.