Current Account Charges - Why I have no sympathy

westernpromise

polajoo wrote:

However, every card is checked to see if it is blacklisted, so why can they not check to see if there's balance at the same time, for the sake of an extra second of connection?

Not sure that's so. When somebody stole my wallet a few years ago, they were able to use my Amex card to spend £99.99 at 30 different Debenhams stores in 2 days without a problem after it had been reported stolen.

This was possible, it transpired, because only transactions of £100 or more were actually authorised with Amex via the machine. Less than that and Debenhams got an authorisation number automatically. So the thieves knew this and knew that they could use a stolen card in complete safety. I'm surprised they stopped at stealing only £3,000.

regularsaver1

I think not enough people think "what would I do if" but they think "it will never happen to me"

one of the posters mentions redundancy and bereavement - was any insurance taken to support this. this is a rainy day coverage if savings were not an option

Dammam

regularsaver1 wrote:

I think not enough people think "what would I do if" but they think "it will never happen to me"

one of the posters mentions redundancy and bereavement - was any insurance taken to support this. this is a rainy day coverage if savings were not an option

The bereavement yes to a degree as my wife had previous insurance from before we met. However, she was diagnosed with cancer within weeks of our marriage so future insurance was not viable. Recovering from losing such a wonderful person was indeed a 'rainy day' and the insurance money was a massive help.
Redundancy, no. The aerospace industry was in pretty poor shape at the time and redundancy insurance was prohibitively expensive given the wage I was on. I tried to get back to Saudi with a private company but they had suspended recruiting. Given that one of my former colleagues was killed by an extremist in Riyadh soon after and accomodation a couple of hundred of yards of my old accomodation was attacked leading to several more western deaths then it's probably as well.

Sometimes it rains, other times it pours.

But this still deviates from the point that the Bank, whilst having no obligation to HELP me, didn't need to PUNISH me.

Phatmouse

michaels wrote:

Do you know how much it costs Sky to provide you with a service? Or your mobile operator? The answer is some tiny proportion of the amount they charge you each month...and yet when a bank wants to set a charge that is several times its direct cost then everyone gets on their high horse and says how unfair it is...to all those who want to deny the banks the option to set the charges they wish - are you going to start fixing every price in the economy? I beleive the last time this was attempted on a large scale the results were not too positive...

You are already paying for the service, the money in my savings account has been there for years, they invest it and I see a tiny proportion of that, to say people are getting on their high horses for being charged twice is a little silly. Charge what is costs or at least close too.

Why don't banks have a three strikes and your out policy, because theyt need us more than we need them!

Phatmouse

Originally Posted by westernpromise
Not sure that's so. When somebody stole my wallet a few years ago, they were able to use my Amex card to spend £99.99 at 30 different Debenhams stores in 2 days without a problem after it had been reported stolen.
This was possible, it transpired, because only transactions of £100 or more were actually authorised with Amex via the machine. Less than that and Debenhams got an authorisation number automatically. So the thieves knew this and knew that they could use a stolen card in complete safety. I'm surprised they stopped at stealing only £3,000.

alexjohnson wrote:

For those worried about exceeding a limit, who not either use one of those bank accounts aimed at 16 year olds which cannot overdraw? Or, why not just withdraw cash, and spend only that? When it's gone, stop spending, and go home. This strikes me as not rocket science. My first current account came with a little book in which I could record all my transactions, apart from cheques, which actually being a little geek I religiously filled in. I still do, using Quicken now. I appreciate this may be dull and that people have busy lives, but that's your choice.

Are you actually suggesting that because there are theives in the world (which are not banks) this man makes his life more difficult by opening a childs account.

Phatmouse

Graham_Devon wrote:

Tim and Dchurch.

You STILL both haven't grasped the need for a small emergency fund for these situations and no matter how many times I say it, and others say it, it doesnt seem to get through.

Therefore, both of you carry on, finding loopholes, finding ways of extracting money. I wish you all the best of luck.

I personally, will carry on having my own small emergency fund and getting myself out of given situations such as this.

Quite frankly, Im proud after reading all this to have taken me own pre-cautions to look atfer myself. I don't have a problem with bank charges purely from the fact that I have prepared myself for most given situations.

Something you can do, just like myself, but decide not to.

In this world, if you prepare yourself, if you look after yourself, you'll be a whole let better off, in any given circumstance.

Did you get your butler to type this for you

Phatmouse

alexjohnson wrote:

No, I'm not. I am suggesting that as there are accounts that prevent overdrafts, those worried about overdrawing have another option. What Amex may or may have done in this case has no bearing, and in fact flies counter to how Amex operate: they charge retailers more on the basis that the charge-back rate is much lower, because they sctutinise transactions more carefully. Why that didn't happen here is neither here nor there, but it certainly doesn't prove that there aren't mechanisms in place for people who can't trust themselves.

So your suggesting he doesn't have an overdraft in case his card gets stolen.

I'm not sure what you are talking about, are you?