MSE News: CONFIRMED - OFT gives up bank charges battle

marcharrison1979

Right, which bank shall we start with first? I'm up for downing the Halifax? i currently bank with them so it's easy for me to start withdrawing my wage every month, otherwise I'm happy to shift my account to whoever we target. If we can get a few 100,000 people withdrawing funds simultaneously we can flatten the !!!!!!!s. 500,000 x £1500 = £750 Million that should do it.
How do we start this? we'll need a facebook page obviously, could we start a forum to help organise things on here?

Premier_2

orc wrote: »

...FOS have made no comment since the OFT announcement today....
Will you admit please that you were wrong?

The FOS updated the link today!!!

How else could they have included the decision by the OFT not to continue with the battle.

If you show me a historical page in with that link, I will gladly accept I am wrong.

If you can't, will you accept you are wrong?

UncleJaysus

mustrum_ridcully wrote: »

I know a few people who would be classed as poor and oddly enough none of them has had an unauthorised overdraft. One friend suffered from a bad depression for the best part of two years yet somehow managed to survive on the benefits he was given. A couple I'm friends with, their annual household income is well below the national average salary of around £22k, guess what no unauthorised overdraft.

How do they manage? Well, they may be poor but they aren't fools, they know if there isn't enough money in the bank then they can't afford something. They know that when times are tough they have no choice but to cut back, turn the heating down and put on an extra jumper instead of thinking it's a fundamental human right to have a house that is 25'c. Interestingly both examples above made the choice not to have a car and to walk, cycle or take public transport.

Also how do millions of pensioners manage on the state pension (plus other benefits), I'm sure they'd count as being poor?

Do I have pity for those that got into trouble through no fault of their own (i.e. a direct debit error), yes I do and they should be fully compensated for all damages. However, I suspect the vast majority of cases of unauthorised overdrafts are from people who just don't pay attention to their finances and then cry out what must be the phrase of this decade "but it's not fair".

None of us knows for sure what the fallout would have been if the OFT had gone on and won. But I for one wouldn't be surprised if the outcome would have been unpleasant for everyone.

Irrelevant. People shouldn't be exploited because they're not very good with their finances.

You can argue all you like about people being at fault, but at the end of the day, the banks make money off people's misery.

And as for the fallout if the OFT had won? Not the point. The point is, the banks shouldn't be swindling those who live hand-to-mouth each month. Simple.

Anyone who disagrees is someone who hasn't been in a tough financial position. Lucky for them, and they should keep hoping they don't suffer hardship, as they're in for a harsh reality check if they think avoiding financial ruin is as easy as just keeping an eye on your bank account.

orc_2

If I am wrong Premier I will gladly apologise direct to you. I have no difficulty with that.

Premier_2

orc wrote: »

If I am wrong Premier I will gladly apologise direct to you. I have no difficulty with that.

Thank you.

Gorgeous_George

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

The only way to decide is to have an MSE poll.

GG

Mmmm... On reflection, there may be more than one way. Perhaps a poll to decide whether or not we have a poll is the answer. I think it is the only way.

Besides, if we have a poll and don't like the answer we can always have another poll until we get the answer we want (a bit like the Irish EU referendum).

I vote for Barclays.

GG

Premier_2

blind-as-a-bat wrote: »

Just to clarify


OLD

http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:AzE8bq2G6wMJ:www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html+The+Financial+Services+Authority+(FSA)+also+agreed+that+banks+could+suspend&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

NEW UPDATE
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html


Not changed a lot to be fair

The older version is not the same. It doesn't have the link in that I included in the quoted text.

The page has existed for almost 3 years, possibly longer,
http://web.archive.org/web/20070102173308/http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html

but that doesn't mean my post is old news; it was last updated today!

Premier_2

Right, back to my earlier post people hoped to avoid answering

esmerellda wrote: »

As of May 2009 1.2 million had made complaints about unfair charges (FACT) this will have risen since then obviously but I dont have more recent figures to hand. 12 million incurred an average of £240 charges in 2006. (FACT) 54 million active accounts in 2006.

The numbers don't appear to add up compared to what Which? state:

Up to 12 million people have been hit by unfair bank charges since 2001 with 63% of them having yet to ask for their money back...

http://www.myfinances.co.uk/savings/news/up-to-12-million-people-have-been-hit-by-unfair-bank-charges-claims-which--$1342356.htm

That implies that 37% asked for money back, equating to some 4.44m people

I think the answer lies in the first two words "Up to", a bit like those 75% off sale signs in the shops.

orc_2

orc wrote: »

If I am wrong Premier I will gladly apologise direct to you. I have no difficulty with that.

Yes, I was wrong Premier and the FOS article has been updated to make reference to the decision of the OFT today.

For that, I apologise to you directly.

The statement by FOS is, apart from that update, largely unchanged. It does not include anything else new.

The fact is, you presented the link as an announcement that FOS had come to some sort of new conclusion, when it has not. For that, can you apologise?

discoass

musical_norwich wrote: »

This is actually very good news. I am delighted!

Why should those who knew what the bank charges were, but carried on spending money that wasn't theirs, be rewarded retrospectively for their behaviour by the courts?

This country is going to the dogs due to people spending money that wasn't theirs in the first place: banks, consumers and the government. This judgement is a first sign of a return to common sense and normality.

!

i have 2 agree here ...i mean my wifes work payed her wages last thursday into the bank .today(tuesday) it showed in my account .unfortunatly yesterday a dd 4 £17 and a £5 card transaction came out .meaning i will probably get a 50 quid charge of which i am most grateful. if this charge stops me from trying to use MY money that the bank has but wont release then im all for it .... next month i hope the bank keep MY money for another 5 days making me incure more charges ..:beer: