Not claimed back bank fees - success thread

mandi

The_Boss wrote:

Selfish nonsense? I find it selfish nonsense that my credit card interest rates have gone up because people are claiming back these fees left right and centre when if they didnt like the terms and conditions they shouldnt have opened the account
.

Then switch to another one.???. BTW A Very well know bank has just tried to charge me 38 quid for an unpaid DD.. that had been requested on the wrong date, by the Originator, and then said I had to fill out an indemnity claim form!!

As DD guarantees this...http://www.bacs.co.uk/BPSL/directdebit/generalpublic/yourrights/.. ie in immediate refund regardless. then why has it taken me 4 days, to get it...:D

Tim_L

MPH80 wrote:

Tim, since that's your assertion ... I'm going to ask some simple questions:

1) Why - if CC rates always go up - have I been constantly taking out new credit cards in the last few years at lower and lower rates (e.g. starting nearer 20% and falling to 16, 12 and now 6?) Right up until the OFT ruling that is - and suddenly my first interest rate rise in ages happened, followed by the second.

2) Why did the main blocks of interest rate rises happen ONLY after the OFT ruling? (check out the CC board if you don't believe me - see if you can find wholesale (multiple bank) increases before that time)

3) Why have interest rates on overdrafts gone up too - and not just by the .25% increase from the BOE - if it's stoozing causing the problem and not reclaiming fees?

4) Given stoozing is so mainstream as you say - how many newspapers have had 'how to stooz' on the front page of their money sections - given the Times who have, several times, and on the last occasion made it a front page of the money section - published articles on reclaiming fees?

So can I point out we have two heads of banks saying they WILL come to fruition ... give it time ... give it time.

M.

The credit card industry went through a very lengthy period of diversification and market share grab - hence the 0% offers and other offers. One unintended consequence of this was that people abused the offers to a very large extent and hopped around between cards. The industry is now in a phase of consolidation and is attempting to make money from its customers, hence part of the interest rate rises. It's all cyclic.

The OFT ruling provided an excuse not a cause - lending money at 18% which you can obtain at 5% provides a decent margin however you look at it, particularly when most of their customers don't have the remotest idea what the rates actually are. To answer the second question, increases in the BoE interest rates are not linked to the OFT statement: these are also triggers to credit card rate interests. There are several circumstances coinciding.

Anyway, if you're borrowing on a credit card there is plenty of choice, but it's a dumb thing to do. It's pretty easy to get debt at around 6% if you really want debt, so why anyone would pay 20% is beyond me. The fact that some - indeed many - people do so willingly is possibly something you should be more irritated about, because it nullifies the effect of competition in the credit card sector. If they don't care what the price is, then it won't go down.

Banks have been trying for years to apply charges to current accounts. But the fact of the matter is that the UK banking industry is far too competitive. It isn't going to happen, and those putting their heads above the parapets a few weeks ago promptly had them shot off.

Blaming customers reclaiming unlawful charges for getting their money back is like blaming burgled homeowners for claiming on their insurance and putting up costs for those who haven't been burgled. The true culprits are those that took the money unlawfully in the first place. In the case of banks, this has targetted those least able to cope with the losses of often quite large amounts of money that have made a marginal situation quite disasterous.

Paul_Herring

Tim_L wrote:

Oh come now, credit card rates have also gone up because (a) interest rates have gone up, and because (b) stoozing has become mainstream.

a) Egg, while putting up their (debit) interest rates more than the BOE increase have *not* put up their (credit) interest rates on their cards. They are not going to either.
b) the cards are recouping their 'stoozing' losses with the introduction of 2.5%+ uncapped balance transfer fees.


Neither of those are viable excuses for the CC companies.

Tim_L

Charges on BTs are not moneyspinners to recoup losses on stoozing. They act to deter stoozing, but ensure that the offers are still attractive to those with actual debt, i.e. the ripe low hanging fruit who were the original targets.

The Egg card is not a remotely attractive savings vehicle, so it will sell to people who are not all that concerned about keeping up with the best interest rates, i.e the financially lazy. In fact it's a classic example of a product that becomes less attractive over time once the initial recruitment is done. If you are saving then there are better rates elsewhere (many from companies that have no concept of penalty charges, which in itself gives the lie to the notion that they are necessary to sustain market leading rates). If you must really borrow on credit cards, then there is enough competition to ensure a spread of rates.

Fundamentally, companies will charge as much as they think they can get away with. They are not nice people sitting back and saying "well, we've made enough money this month, so let's not put interest rates on our cards up". It is a fluid, complex situation, and reducing it to rabble rousing homilies on the evil of those that indulge in luxuries while wilfully ignoring their direct debit dates is ignorant oversimplification at best.

MPH80

Blaming customers reclaiming unlawful charges for getting their money back is like blaming burgled homeowners for claiming on their insurance and putting up costs for those who haven't been burgled.

Since you're going to use this analogy ...

Would you want to pay more on your insurance because someone got burgled because they didn't look after their house well enough to lock it up at night?

I doubt it ...

It's the same thing - I don't want to pay more because there are *some* (n.b. NOT all!) among the reclaiming group who won't manage their finances when they can.

M.

The_Boss

MPH80 hits the nail on the head.

As also said above, lenders are recouping stoozing fees and putting people off this with capped and uncapped fees.

My letter from Morgan Stanley did not disguise anything - they informed me at the same time that while my credit card interest was going up by a third, the "unorganised financial management" charge was going down to £12.

Where were you lot disagreeing with this when you opened the accounts? You didnt object then. If you didnt like it, you shouldnt have signed up.

Now let us organised people backslap each other in the same way as you lot are in your thread.

newlywed

I'm 2. I went over my overdraft just the once and then signed up for free text message alerts to alert me when I was getting near my overdraft limit. my fault.

Now pay £2.50 a month for that but have never had any other charge since!

oldfella

It's the same thing - I don't want to pay more because there are *some* (n.b. NOT all!) among the reclaiming group who won't manage their finances when they can.

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so you are suggesting that these people are paying exorbitant bank charges for not having enough money, could have more if they wanted to, but just cant be bothered ? So instead they decide to spend hours going through the process of reclaiming.

sounds unlikely

Mike

MPH80

so you are suggesting that these people are paying exorbitant bank charges for not having enough money, could have more if they wanted to, but just cant be bothered ? So instead they decide to spend hours going through the process of reclaiming.

I've read "I just wasn't paying attention" so many times on the reclaiming threads it's untrue. I can find you some examples if you like.

M.

oldfella

I've read "I just wasn't paying attention" so many times on the reclaiming threads it's untrue. I can find you some examples if you like.

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so the revenue structure of the banks and credit cards are based on the expectation that people are not paying attention.

does that sound reasonable to you ?

Mike