Please give your feedback on personal current accounts

richendasc

I have a commercial loan (mortgage) with Lloyds TSB. Unbeknown to me they have forced me to have a current account on which there are service charges. I want to pay the mortgage by direct debit or standing order straight into the mortgage bank account from another bank - they won't let me. Quite ridiculous in 2010! This is totally unjustifiable - their only excuse is that their computers can't deal with other banks putting money into the mortgage account! I wonder if they have computer programmers - more than likely just a way to take more money from us!

footybird

I think it should be easier to see what rate of interest you are earning on your accounts as well as what you earnt historically. It's so hard to know when variable rates change and it would be great if they had to notify customers -via e-mail potentially.

In addition it is hard to check that you are being paid the right rate of interest on your savings. It would therefore be handy if they could show you how the interest you earn has actually been earnt.

bunny71

MrAndy wrote: »

With HSBC (and possibly others?) my biggest gripe is that the "funds available" displayed at ATM machines is frequently inaccurate - it does not seem to take into account transactions which have been authorised but for which the money has not yet left my account.

I used to work for HSBC a few years ago, and the "funds available" always took into account debit card transactions - if the payee had sought authorisation first. Not all debit card transactions require authorisation in advance. This isn't unique to HSBC.

aMIGA_dUDE

Some times with retail's when you use Chip an Pin they will take money instantly then next time go there for some unknown reason it could take 3 days (or even longer) until they debit it from your account.

So you then go and check on your account and think that you have more money then do, then you go on and spend that money which you really do not have but believe you do. This is because of information that you bank tells you. It turn you end up being over drawn.

bunny71

I would just like to see free banking continue for those of us who manage our finances properly and have never been overdrawn. No ATM charges, no bank account charges etc.

Banks should also not assume that just because someone does not pay in £500 per month, that they're incapable of saving regularly. HSBC split their old "bank account" customers into two; those who pay in > £500 per month, and those who don't. Those who don't are now given less banking facilities and are not eligible to open a regular saver.

Bob_the_Builder_5

I grew up in Holland in a village with 1700 inhabitants.

• You could walk into the village bank and get any foreign currency there and then
• I got a debit card and Eurocheques by the age of 13 or something. Stupid British banks had hardly heard of Eurocheques, even though they were really useful
• I don't understand the fuss about chip & pin, the Dutch were doing "magstripe and pin" back in the 1980s
• Paper statements should be free. I opened an account with Alliance & Leicester, not knowing that they don't do paper statements. Of course, when it came to proving my income for the purposes of a mortgage or persuading the Home Office of my income, no one will accept crappy print outs from a web site.
• In Holland, if you went overdrawn, you got charged interest. That's it, they didn't hit you with some stupid fee.
• To this day, I don't understand why you have to keep your account number and sort code a closely guarded secret. In Holland, no one messes about with credit cards. You just do a bank transfer (which is practically instantaneous) and that's that. You don't have to fanny about "sending a cheque in the post" and "waiting for a cheque to clear", you just obtain the account details of the entity you want to pay, and transfer the money.

British banks TOTALLY suck.

td_007

bunny71 wrote: »

Banks should also not assume that just because someone does not pay in £500 per month, that they're incapable of saving regularly. HSBC split their old "bank account" customers into two; those who pay in > £500 per month, and those who don't. Those who don't are now given less banking facilities and are not eligible to open a regular saver.

Why should a bank not provide incentives to someone who pays £500 into their current a/c where the bank have the money (no matter if just for a day) without paying any interest?

td_007

Bob_the_Builder wrote: »

British banks TOTALLY suck.

How else can British banks make ginormous profits and pay humongous bonuses:D

bunny71

td_007 wrote: »

Why should a bank not provide incentives to someone who pays £500 into their current a/c where the bank have the money (no matter if just for a day) without paying any interest?

Equally, why should someone with a good banking history (no overdrafts or charges) be penalised simply because they don't pay in £500 per month - even when they have savings sitting in another account with them?

It was the sneaky way in which it was done. Instead of setting up a new account and having people apply for it, HSBC split existing account customers into two, re-named both accounts, then re-named again the >£500 accounts back to the original name. So now you can't have a "bank account" if you pay in less than £500 per month and those with <£500 per month are made to feel like second class citizens.

typos1

Where do I start?!

Regulate UNFAIR bank charges-imagine if you went to the bank, asked for a loan, they said no and then charged you 30 quid for asking or they say yes and then charge you £30 for asking, on top of the interest-thats effectively what happens if you make a card payment/DD/SO that takes you over your limit, or a DD is not paid and youre charged £30 for the priviledge.

A few years ago a Barclays internal audit found that it cost 9p to return a payment unpaid-it costs nothing or next to nothing to NOT pay something. There should be a 10p limit on NOT paying anything.

The system is set up so its very very easy to go over so they can charge you unfair, profiteering charges.

Ban "floor limits" in shops-these mean small card transactions (usually under a tenner) go through without checking whether the funds are available, meaning theyll pay it whatever and then charge you if you happen to have lost track of your balance or all of your transactions (easily done these days when most people use card for everything)-make it law that EVERY transaction has to be checked and NOTHING can be paid UNLESS the balance is available (whether your money or an arranged overdraft is in place).

Similarly sometimes its possible to get money from a cash machine when you dont have it available, then you get charged!

You should be able to shop/pay your bills by DD/SO WITHOUT having to keep a running total of all your transactions in your head, safe in the knowledge that if the money isnt there, the transaction will be declined for insufficient funds (and they should HAVE to state the reason).

Basically, outlaw banks giving anyone ANY money, unless its their own or theyve arranged an overdraft, no funds=no payment and no charge, simple.

None of this is accidental-its all been engineered over the years by unethical, immoral bankers to deprive us of our money, it NEEDS TO STOP AND REGULATION IS THE ONLY WAY.