MSE News: Bank charges: banks win test case appeal

Stephenbw

PadiP wrote: »

No, just wonderfully ironic

No, there is no irony present; the poster correctly identified his own post as sarcasm.

technodup

Miguel1979 wrote: »

And I downsize a 1 bedroom house - how?!!

How can I reduce my outgoings? My mortgage, council tax, fuel bills, commuting costs etc are all fixed! I have cut back wherever possible, but there are some costs that are beyond my control!

Buy a cheaper one in a worse area- sell the better one, reduce your mortgage payments. Your fuel bills shouldn't be fixed, change tariff and USE LESS. I haven't had my heating on yet this year. I could probably give you a hundred other tips but why should I?

I hope the repossesion rate goes up and people who actually HAVE SAVED MONEY can buy and rent back to those who cannot manage or understand the basic principle of mortgages, outgoings, fixed/variable costs, personal responsibility etc.

It is not the job of the state or the taxpayer to bail out those unable to understand personal finances..

sir.chunk

What's fair in this....

I have £25 in my account, i have a DD going out for £26. They bounce the DD so it doesn't make me go over. Okay great. But they fine me £38 and they are happy to put my account over which in turns creates more fee's. This is the start of the vicious circle.

I don't think anyone is saying that fee's should be banned. They are there for a reason. But some sort of common sense needs to be in place and that's where the problem is!!

j19

If you can't manage your money effectively, get a cash card. O2 offer them for free, and you cannot go overdrawn.

gpaul49

berkshirelady wrote: »

Good god, how bad does it have to get? Over the last 15 years we've had endowment mis-selling, PPI scandal, Equitable life, massive taxpayer bailouts, not to mention yesterday's little update from Mervyn King about a secret £62 billion loan to HBOS & RBS that nobody knew about. I would love to know what charges they had to pay on that loan; I bet they wouldn't have had to pay massive default charges back to us, the taxpayers, if they couldn't pay it back?

Those pansies in the Commons (from all political parties) need to get off their !!!!!! and intervene NOW.

DISGUSTED-ANGRY!!!

PS Martin I heard you on Radio 5 live breakfast show, before the judgement was announced. An impassioned speech, good on you.

they work for you website post your comments to labour maggots

basson

I am spitting mad, for years the high street banks have been stalling and making hay with peoples money, charging people £35 admin costs for a letter costing no more than £2.50 according to OFT. Last year they saddled every person in the UK with
thousands of pound in debt through higher taxes. Then today after they had lost in evey court in the land the newly formed Supreme court once again came to the Banks rescue. Halifax HBOS already have a page on their site saying the cases are over and people will be getting letters claiming the end of their complaints. Once again the establishment screw over the working classes and anyone hear gloating that for an individual going £1 overdrawn is entitled to be charged £35 needs their heads testing and I hope their smuggness does come back to bite them if god forbid they should ever find themselves in financial difficulties.

MORPH3US

thundachild wrote: »

2. Overdraft is used for unexpected large payments, such as when two cars needed attention in the same month

Genuine advice here... so please take it constructively.... :beer:

You need to include an amount in your monthly budget for car maintenance... I used to put £75 a month (if I was doing it now I would make it more like £100 depending on the age of the cars) away and so did my girlfriend for our own cars. That £900 per year covered MOT, insurance, tax and about £500 extra for any additional repairs that may be needed.

If you do that then you are covered, ok you may end up needing something major doing costing over £500 but at least its something towards it.

Even for people who budget there are good budgets and bad budgets.... a good budget puts some money aside for unexpected things too - although to be honest I wouldn't call car repairs unexpected anyway, all cars need something doing at some point.... its just a case of when.

You may say you couldn't afford to put £75 a month away - in that case you are living beyond your means and need to make more drastic changes.

gordothegopher

extrakt wrote: »

i really didn't want to get involved with this thread, but i have to say that although i fully appreciate all your points..i have to defend the simple mathematics which are causing many people problems.

when considering charges and how they amount to £1000's, it isn't always a flagrant disregard for your own personal financial management (although in some cases this is true) but rather the amount of the charge. anyone will be able to afford 3 instances in one month where the charge may be 'fair' (ie in the region of £4/£5) but with them being £30 upwards, all it takes is for one charge to carry over and you're charged again..and yes there are instances where you can be charged on a charge. over the course of a year or so, this will undoubtedly add up. the real problem has arisen with the customer not sorting it out that first month..once you're in the loop, it's difficult to get back out.

admittedly though, before all the test case came about, charges were nothing more than a date on a statement..with no offer of support from the bank..you can be cynical if you wish and believe the banks 'allowed' this to happen..as they know exactly how it'll pan out.

as for refunding of bank charges, to everyone annoyed at the thought of paying for the claimants expense when you managed your account properly..you're quite right to be annoyed, however, don't take away the fact they paid for a fairly large proportion of your free banking

I absolutely agree with the above in principal, and it certainly isn't down to every last person being irresponsible with money. There are many aspects to the charging system that indeed must be looked at, in particular with the 'rolling over' of charges'.

However, as it has been pointed out, there is a different between approved overdrafts (approved lending) and unauthorised overdrafts (not approved by the bank). If you have not agreed a lending amount with the bank before hand, and are spending additional money not in your account without notice, why should a charged not be levied? It's tantamount to going to a loan shark to get a short-term loan. Bank charges are meant to discourage irresponsible borrowing, not just to penalise/make a quick buck for the banks.

Anyway, I waffle.... Yes, I agree with what you say. However imho bank charges are fair in principal, but there are certainly areas that need to be addressed.

mojoparrot

Has anyone seen the HOC live feed? Discussion on "secret bank loans". They are talking about the loans given to the banks and fees paid to the government. This info became public yesterday but happened in 2008. Unusual timing with the High Court ruling today

PROLIANT

gpaul49 wrote: »

this must be the way forward

The way forward is to manage our money better and do not accrue fines for being a clutz with money.