Must watch!!! Panorama 10.15pm Sunday

nrsql

My thoughts about the program (apart from being sure I'd seen it before - maybe excerts have been shown) are

The senior executive must not be senior enough to influence policy and although is upset enough to appear (and get paid) on this program is not upset enough to stop working (and getting paid) by the bank.

The program was less than balanced.

It gave no real information that shouldn't have been available to anyone who thought about it (except the definition of a "revolver" - I didn't know that).

I also thought it gave a very naive view of the way banks operate. OK "revolvers" are valuable but they are also high risk - everyone knows the higher the return the higher the risk.

Turning up on the RBS doorstep reminded me a lot of some of Michael Moore's poorer moments. Seemed that they were struggling to make a point and also to fill in the time.

Overall a program that could have been cut down to about 10 mins.
I feel sorry for the people that thought money was more important than living but this did no service to their memory.

jonnydoe

Totally agree, usual padding and interviews with truly stupid people trying to live beyond their means..

bert&ernie

I don't think that the "senior executive" gave any real insight into the industry at all. It's hardly insider knowledge that the term "revolver" is used to describe the behaviour of a particular customer segment.

Its cheep, badly researched journalism dressed up with a "whistleblower" and the usual human interest sidelines. The show was recycled from the "Streets of debt" programme shown a few weeks ago with a little bit of additional footage including the ridiculous doorstepping at RBS. The sad thing is that Panorama used to be a showcase for quality investigative journalism - now is outlet for the sensationalist drivel that the BBC likes to pass off as news documentary

Shock horror: the banks are trying to make money out of us! Next they will be telling is that some estate agents lie!

gt94sss2

nrsql wrote:

My thoughts about the program (apart from being sure I'd seen it before - maybe excerts have been shown)

It was one of the worst Panorama's I had ever seen - and I'm not suprised you thought you had seen it before - it looked like all they did was edit the BBC series Britain's Streets of Debt and add in one or two crap bits with this presenter like a) trying to go to RBS's HQ and b) walking down a road saying this week is the credit card's 40th aniversary to try and disguise this.

Also, unlike the 'Streets of Debt' series they also avoided showing the bits where some of the people featured explained they had also taken out additional credit cards etc without telling their partners etc...

Regards
Sunil

boy_3

Total waste of my license money. Nothing investigative in nature in there. Was made for the usual stupid people, who end up living on benefits and force their children in there as well.
Funniest thing was when journalist tried to meet a bank CEO by just going to the headquarter and asking the security. Surely, it wasn't a pub. Does she have no idea how professional work? CEO could be anywhere in the world sorting out anything. Why does she expect to be seen by him without any notice or at all? If he does, he is wasting his time in my view.
Why can't they target credit check companies rather than banks. These credit check companies seem to have no proper system in place to track these irresponsible prople.

Spark

I find it a bit unjust to simply blame the ones who are overspending on credit cards and I find you are a bit too lenient on banks. Most of the people who are into debt are the ones who lost their jobs or are forced to accept a lower paid job. When you are used to a certain lifestyle, when your circumstances change it is very difficult for some people to adapt. And don't underestimate the power of advertising, which is a kind of brainwash, you are continuously told which products you can't do without, so you want to buy them (designer clothes, latest products...) On top of that things don't seem to last that long anymore so they have to be replaced more often. Parents have a tendency to give their children everything they want, they just need to ask and don't learn to wait and save first to buy, when they reach adulthood they have no idea of how to budget, so they continue the same pattern of I want it now so I get it, which is what credit cards can give you.
Everything is going up pricewise, you have less and less money every year to live on, so you find an alternative.
It's allright to say that people should be responsible for their own actions, and should use credit cards wisely, but the programs highlighted the fact that it's not people like that that the banks are interested in, it's people who can't handle it and make themselves vulnerable, the "revolvers" I think they call them. They just prey on those people, surely if you see that someone struggle to pay what they owe already, you don't invite them in and offer them a loan.
One of my credit card credit limit started at £1500, three years later it's gone up to 12000, the highest balance I ever had on that card was £400. Then again, if I was struggling and my car which I would need to bring the kids to school, which is 10 miles away, had to break down, wouldn't I be tempted to buy a new car with that money, maybe a brand new car this time, not second hands like the previous ones? (this was just an example).
It could happened to anyone, the circumstances just need to be right.

humfer

I can certainly see justification for having a go a credit card companies that pay off cheaper debt before the more expensive debt and some of the latest balance transfer offers which are only available if you spend so much per month (i.e. guaranteeing that you pay loads more interest). But in an ideal world market pressures should mean that these cards get fewer applications than the better ones. I mean, look at Nationwide - their whole advertising strategy is based on being the 'good guys'

But to try and blame the banks for people getting £20k, £30k... in debt on cards is just not on. In our society today its all too easy to blame someone else. Sorry if you rack up that much debt it is your fault and not the banks.

Programme overall was very poor and not what I would expect from the BBC