For those who complain about bank fees...................

scottishminnie

For those who complain about what the banks charge in the UK, it could be much worse

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/16/pf/atm_fees/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin:eek:

I'm not defending the UK banks (although I work for one of them) however the fact is that if banks keep having to refund overdraft/unpaid charges to keep the regulators of their backs this is exactly what will happen here too.

Olipro

ah, but you forget the political climate in the UK and people's expectations; any bank introducing fees would most likely be doing so unilaterally and would certainly make itself a target for the press to lambast, and no doubt a number of politicians would certainly also have a pop at them.

NFH

I agree. Until you have bank accounts in other countries, you don't realise what a fantastic deal the British banks and credit card issuers give to their customers. However, this assumes that you keep your bank account in credit and pay off your credit card bill in full every month. Those who don't do these two things subsidise those that do.

DrSyn

NFH wrote: »

I agree. Until you have bank accounts in other countries, you don't realise what a fantastic deal the British banks and credit card issuers give to their customers. However, this assumes that you keep your bank account in credit and pay off your credit card bill in full every month. Those who don't do these two things subsidise those that do.

This is what the banks keep saying. But is it true?

1.For a start there is no "free banking when in credit" in this country, the cost is hidden. As comfirmed by the head of one of the major banks a few monts ago, before a an investigating committee. If I remember correctly.

2.Those that do not overdraw, are giving the banks "free loans" ,
(a) which the banks then charge large interest on,when they loan out this money to borrowers.
Or
(b) they use the money to gamble on the stock markets,knowing the goverment will bail them out if they loose too much.

3. The banks last time I looked into it, get 4% of any card spend from the retailers who accept the cards for purchases made. In addition I understand, the banks also charge the shops a rental fee for use of the actual card machines.

If any of the above is wrong, will some banker please correct. Thank you.

Inactive

I have a bank account in Spain, they charge for almost everything, we are so lucky in the UK.

NFH

DrSyn wrote: »

3. The banks last time I looked into it, get 4% of any card spend from the retailers who accept the cards for purchases made.

No, for debit cards (relevant to banks), it's a fixed fee well under 20p. For credit cards, it's a percentage of around 1% to 2% depending on the merchant. 4% would be more relevant to a very small and infrequent merchant for accepting Amex and Diners.

Alpine_Star

NFH wrote: »

I agree. Until you have bank accounts in other countries, you don't realise what a fantastic deal the British banks and credit card issuers give to their customers. However, this assumes that you keep your bank account in credit and pay off your credit card bill in full every month. Those who don't do these two things subsidise those that do.

This is a myth. In fact the reverse is true.

Banks derive significantly more revenue from those who keep their accounts in credit than from those who don't.