lloyds personal banking advisor

podperson

I doubt anyone on here is naive in thinking that the banks do things purely for altrustic reasons - they are businesses and they want to make a profit! But at same time in this case they seem to have acted in a reasonable manner. I have been in the situation that it sounds like the OPs wife was in - struggling to meet outgoings and therefore going over my limit and getting bank charges, which I then couldn't afford to pay so got more bank charges, and so on. I begged my bank to extend my overdraft so I could at least stop the charges cycle and they refused to so I ended up with hundreds of pounds in charges to pay off. If they had acted in the way the OP described I would have bitten their hand off - I certainly wouldn't be complaining about them!!
I have been in the debt situation (still am in that it's not all paid off yet!) but I don't blame it on the banks cause they didn't spend the money I did. It's ok for people to try and avoid responsibility but unfortunately we live in a consumer society now and we do get offered things. If you go into a shop do you HAVE to buy something just because it's 'there'? Of course not, you decide if you need it and if you can afford it. Why should things like credit cards be treated any differently?

nickj_2

patricia50 wrote: »

Ive just put a post on here about the very same thing, Its all very well saying she shouldn't have gone up to the max etc and people can be very smug but I have been in the same position. Far from saving her money they just want you to take out more loans, credit cards etc then when you have trouble paying them you no longer have a "helpful" advisor calling you in to discuss your finances. We are not all the same and I believe they exploit those of us who are not the sort of character who are good at dealing with finances and telling them "NO I DONT WANT ANOTHER LOAN, CREDIT CARD" or whatever. Those people who have said to you that the bank are trying to help you save you money are very naive to the way banks work. Not sure about a complaint but I understand how you feel 100%

that is my point , if you know someone is overdrawn , why would you then suggest to them that they take out a £25 per month account that will take them further in to debt , yes mrs j is one of martins worst financial nightmares , but , yes she should look after her finances, yes she should live within her means ,
since i first posted this i have done a crafty raid and have now destroyed her m+s credit card , which craftily started off being just a loyalty card , and then switched to being a credit card , how convienient for them :mad:

JuicyJesus

nickj wrote: »

since i first posted this i have done a crafty raid and have now destroyed her m+s credit card , which craftily started off being just a loyalty card , and then switched to being a credit card , how convienient for them :mad:

I really very much doubt that M&S "craftily" switched a loyalty card (i.e. earns points when swiped) to a credit card (i.e. allows running up of debt while earning points) without your wife being aware.

Most likely scenario: Your wife applied for the card, after M&S suggested she do so. (They ask everyone who goes through their tills.)

Least likely scenario: They decided to give her a credit card out of the blue, even though she has no prior financial relationship with them and she has consented to no credit checks and signed no credit agreement with them.

As for the £25 a month bank account this is easily cancelled. Lloyds personal bankers are NOT advisers and they would not - could not, legally - tell her that she personally would benefit by taking out the account or do anything other than give her the facts about the product. You may ask why they would sell it to her but your wife agreed to it, so presumably saw some merit in it. If your wife has problems with saying "no" to sales pitches this may be the root cause of her problems, given that she has now magically gained a new credit card without your knowledge. Lloyds were more flexible with your wife than most, and giving her breathing room without charges is an eminently sensible thing to do for both her and the bank. That your wife then proceeded to spunk the money up the wall and take out new credit agreements is nothing to do with them.

Her next step could be a consolidation loan to pay everything back, then cancelling all credit facilities. But unless she stops spending and stops applying for credit then she'll be in the same boat again soon enough.

MonkeyMad

IN BREAKING NEWS:
Banks were revealed today to be selling products which would make them a profit to the detriment of the purchaser. Several leading authorites were shocked to discover that the large High Street Banks did not actually have charitable status and were setting out to maximise their profits. A Bank insider is quoted as saying 'It's easy really, you just find someone on the street, tell them that they need something we sell and they just buy it - we can't throw enough money at them and they keep coming back for more.' Consumer groups responded by issuing a statement that 'some Consumers may be in the unfortunate position of not realising that basic mathematics is the answer to over-spending'.

Jeez.

In my spare time working on local community projects I sometimes see the consequences of real poverty in the community, not 'poverty' brought on by a complete lack of self control which is then projected into the doings of the Big Bad Bank, but real, not two pennies to rub together poverty.

I'll not apologise for what has been called smugness, but I really can't see the problem here. Lloyds have offered a bank account that costs £25/m and which has the prospect of reduced overdraft charges brought on by a complete inability to control spending. If it is not worth £25/m then don't buy it - banks are in the business to make money and they will obviously push their products but I don't recall being forced to buy one before I could leave the branch. If you are so upset,vote with your feet, pay off the overdraft and leave the bank.

If mrsj can't be trusted on her own perhaps you should go with her or get her made a Ward of Court?

nickj_2

MonkeyMad wrote: »

IN BREAKING NEWS:
Banks were revealed today to be selling products which would make them a profit to the detriment of the purchaser. Several leading authorites were shocked to discover that the large High Street Banks did not actually have charitable status and were setting out to maximise their profits. A Bank insider is quoted as saying 'It's easy really, you just find someone on the street, tell them that they need something we sell and they just buy it - we can't throw enough money at them and they keep coming back for more.' Consumer groups responded by issuing a statement that 'some Consumers may be in the unfortunate position of not realising that basic mathematics is the answer to over-spending'.

Jeez.

In my spare time working on local community projects I sometimes see the consequences of real poverty in the community, not 'poverty' brought on by a complete lack of self control which is then projected into the doings of the Big Bad Bank, but real, not two pennies to rub together poverty.

I'll not apologise for what has been called smugness, but I really can't see the problem here. Lloyds have offered a bank account that costs £25/m and which has the prospect of reduced overdraft charges brought on by a complete inability to control spending. If it is not worth £25/m then don't buy it - banks are in the business to make money and they will obviously push their products but I don't recall being forced to buy one before I could leave the branch. If you are so upset,vote with your feet, pay off the overdraft and leave the bank.

If mrsj can't be trusted on her own perhaps you should go with her or get her made a Ward of Court?

thanks for your constructive sarcasm :beer: