Must watch!!! Panorama 10.15pm Sunday

schiff

Sorry for the exclamation marks everybody! This is a MUST-watch for anybody who logs into Pure Money. BBC1 at 10.15pm.

I wonder if one of the monitors could pick up on it and give it greater prominence on the MSE website? I think it warrants it.

schiff

Robert_Sterling

You can say that again !

waveryder

I will check it out!

kuohu

So, two threads about it but I'm still none-the-wiser on what it's about.

lilac_lady

Apparently it's about how banks lure people into debt deliberately.

Welliesorter

More at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/5129514.stm

You can watch past programmes at the same site.

James

Martin warning:

Due to chip’n’pin, you’ll now know your credit card pin number – something unlikely in the past. This increases the temptation to withdraw cash from holes in the wall on credit cards, yet do this and there are massive hidden costs.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1082327662,44861,

Note: You can resist temptation and opt out of the PIN part of Chip & PIN. Keep signing - Get yourself Chip & Signture cards.

schiff

Taken all round I found it a disappointment - a lot of padding, only two banks quoted and two of the three story lines were the inevitable suicide cases to tug the heart strings.

I don't want to sound smug, but as someone who has never taken on debt I cannot afford to pay back, I am just amazed that someone on the programme, from a position of just about getting by, acquires credit cards and runs up debts of £29K. The mind just boggles. Did he never ever - with his background of getting by - seriously think that maybe he couldn't afford the things he was buying. A full tank of fuel was the only thing mentioned but he must have really gone to town with other things. The bank was wrong to push credit cards on to him but, in my view, he must bear the full brunt of the mess he got into.

I suppose running up serious debt must be aligned to drug dependency, addiction to tobacco, alcoholism - when you are hooked you can't stop, even though you know the ultimate consequences.

The whole background to this credit card etc debt thing is that people just want, and are prepared to acquire come what may, things they cannot really afford. Not cutting one's cloth.

My mum was a great example. She saved up till she had the money to buy things, and then bought them. But she was (very) old school and so never had debt worries.

bristol_pilot

I found the programme disappointing too. So banks are out to make a profit. They will target customers from whom they will make the most profit. Debt can cause misery. Gosh! Never knew any of those things!

The so-called whistleblower did not expose any illegal activity. I found it a shame that this person was a woman (or at least was portrayed as being female). By displaying disloyalty to her employer in this way she may have given cause to those who oppose the promotion of women to high office. Women are still under-represented at high levels in many of our biggest Companies and this sort of programme may have done that cause no favours.

ManAtHome

And of course "Senior Executives" have absolutely no say in how the banks run their business?? We have the choice of going back to "the good old days" when you had an hours grilling from the bank manager before you could get a loan you could obviously afford (and both sides had access to your bank statements).

Couldn't understand why it took the couples involved so long to realise they were living well above their means - having been in a similar situation years ago with the ex, I can only think they're in the "oooh isn't this nice, the banks *giving* me heaps of cash" wonderland.

As Bristol said - do people really think that any institution (banks, shops, governments, councils etc) are modern-day Robin Hoods?

Bisoy

I couldn't agree more. The programme just highlights the problem of people who suffer debts on credit card which to my own opinion are the ones who are also directly responsible for their actions. The so-called whistleblower also didn't come up any suggestions, tips or measures as to how to avoid such tactics from banks or any other lending institutions. It is simply to avoid spiralling debts is to live a simple life and be happy.