Should we be told?

ses6jwg

*sigh* another person on a 1 man crusade against all of societies economic ills

Have you seen what Nationwide pay their execs?

They also offered plenty of dodgy 100% mortgages back in the day.

They're as bad as the rest.

Andystriker

christook71 wrote: »

The thing is opinions4u some things do matter.
If you can buy a tshirt for £2 in the high street it does matter that a 12 year old kid is in a sweat shop being paid 2p to make it.
It does matter that that MI6 send suspected terrorists to Libya to get tortured because its illegal here (allegedly). Sorry to go well off subject here it must of been your comments about outsourcing IT to Mongolia and toilet cleaning which were also clearly off subject.

Excuse me, But is this the right thread for an argument?

I bank with Nationwide and it matters not one jot to me that they use Barclays or Newcastle or whoever, and I certainly don't want them wasting their and my time, by telling me.

opinions4u

christook71 wrote: »

Sorry to go well off subject here it must of been your comments about outsourcing IT to Mongolia and toilet cleaning which were also clearly off subject.

But they're not off topic. They are matters that affect the cost base of the building society - you specifically refer to cost in your first post. These costs are paid for by the members, either through lower returns on savings or higher costs on mortgages.

If the cleaning company or the IT company exploits (subjective) staff in some way (such as your t-shirt example) then surely it matters as much as Nationwide using Barclays facilities' for clearing a few online transactions?

dunstonh

Why therefore if Nationwide are a clearing bank are my funds being paid into Barclays? and more importantly, coming back to my post, am I not entitled to know?

Why should you know?

Do you want to know who they employ to clean the carpets in the branches and how much they pay them?

You are not paying for those services. They do not affect you in any way. Who they choose to use is a commercial decision for them to make.

christook71

It would appear that dunstonh and opinions4u are in disagreement here.
dunstonh says its none of my business who they employ to clean the carpets and how much they pay them as I am not paying for those services whereas
opinions4u says that toilet cleaning and outsourcing IT is on topic as it affects the cost base of the building society costs which are paid by the members.
All I know is I've got an account with Nationwide and when I looked to open a MySave account with them it turns out I am employing Barclays Bank, Newcastle Building Society and Newcastle Strategic Systems (whoever the **** they are) maybe thats why we all get a savings rate which is below inflation.
And by the way ses6jwg if you have nothing relevant to say I suggest you go to bed. The world will pass you by there as indeed it seems to whilst you are awake.

opinions4u

christook71 wrote: »

It would appear that dunstonh and opinions4u are in disagreement here.

Not really. You were worried about what costs were involved in providing something. I was trying to identify where you draw the line.

dunstonh says its none of my business who they employ to clean the carpets and how much they pay them as I am not paying for those services whereas
opinions4u says that toilet cleaning and outsourcing IT is on topic as it affects the cost base of the building society costs which are paid by the members.

As a member (assuming the account confers membership rights) you can raise the subject at the AGM if you like. Personally I think the board has been elected to make this sort of decision, so such interference is unnecessary.

I read somewhere recently that Lloyds Banking Group is looking to reduce the number of suppliers it uses from 17,000+ at present. While I assume Nationwide has less, I'd guess that you could ask them for details of 5,000 - 10,000 commercial arrangements that impact (indirectly) the costs of the products they offer.

All I know is I've got an account with Nationwide and when I looked to open a MySave account with them it turns out I am employing Barclays Bank, Newcastle Building Society and Newcastle Strategic Systems (whoever the **** they are) maybe thats why we all get a savings rate which is below inflation.

Nationwide almost certainly had a need to raise some funds quickly. They may have lacked IT resource to develop a new product at pace. These things usually take 12-24 months to build and distribute. Repricing an existing product is expensive. Newcastle operate and outssource banking platforms to numerous building societies and were doubtless able to deliver what Nationwide wanted at a speed and price that they were willing to pay. So alternatives wwould have made things more expensive for the members. Is that a good thing?

And by the way ses6jwg if you have nothing relevant to say I suggest you go to bed. The world will pass you by there as indeed it seems to whilst you are awake.

Well you've not exactly been clear about your agenda. I still don't really get what the problem is. You bought a product that delivers what it says it will deliver. If you simply want a rule that outs Barclays as having a commerical relationship with anybody, then you may well find few businesses of any size left to trade with in the UK.

dunstonh

dunstonh says its none of my business who they employ to clean the carpets and how much they pay them as I am not paying for those services whereas
opinions4u says that toilet cleaning and outsourcing IT is on topic as it affects the cost base of the building society costs which are paid by the members.

Both bits are correct.

The costs that a company have are not relevant to you as you are not paying them. The costs that are relevant to you are those which you are paying. The cost the company sets to you is influenced by their own costs but what they do or do not pay or who they use is not your concern.

It's bit like going to Tesco, getting to the checked and told the bill costs you £85.20 but then you start asking them how much the staff earn, how much the mops that clean the floors cost or which contractor they employ to change light bulbs or what lorry manufacturer was used to deliver the goods to the store It doesnt matter. Your cost if £85.20 and you get the goods you have chosen.

I am going to guess that you are not self employed and do not run a business. If you did, you would realise that impracticality and irrelevance to you of what you are asking. A retailer/distributor could have hundreds of suppliers/contractors or costs that may apply.

christook71

Its nothing like going to Tesco. When I go there I pick and choose the items I want based on all sorts of information most of which is provided by Tesco like country of origin, contents, whether eggs are battery or free range for example, in fact Tesco comply with no end of legislation that makes them give the consumer as informed a choice as possible. I have never said I want to know how much the cleaner earns or how much they pay a company to change light bulbs and I fail to understand why this has been introduced into the argument.
Your guess by the way about my background is as misguided as your argument. I am retired now after being successfully self employed for thirty years. I'm interested in savings accounts because I have got money to save which was gained by successfully managing several businesses. So it is ill advised of you to suggest that I am unable to understand the overheads of running a business.
If I may venture to make a guess it would be that you are much younger and if that is the case then the way that things are run are
more important to you than me. I've made my pot but you may still
have to and if you allow yourself to be quietly manipulated by the likes of bankers then you never will. As ses6jwg remarked in one of his more lucid moments they are all as bad as each other, so why do we let them get away with it?

Ifts

I'm probably at risk of being told to go to bed early by the OP by posting on this thread! But here goes.....

christook71 wrote: »

All I know is I've got an account with Nationwide and when I looked to open a MySave account with them it turns out I am employing Barclays Bank, Newcastle Building Society and Newcastle Strategic Systems (whoever the **** they are) maybe thats why we all get a savings rate which is below inflation.

I would have thought most of these organisations that outsource various parts of their operations are actually saving money by doing so and it probably works out more economical for them to do so.

I would love to be paid above inflation on my savings (who wouldn't). If I want to protect against inflation then I have to try investing my money to get a return above inflation (hopefully!), although by doing so that does carry investment risks as opposed to the risk of inflation seeing my savings erode away.

As opinions4u said in an earlier post:

If you can get a better rate/service elsewhere move. If not, stay put.

If you really are not happy with the said institution then vote with your feet.

calypso_rhapsody

This thread has got rather heated hasn't it?

My answer to the Op's question is no - i don't care which clearer a BS uses provided they honour the terms of their agreement with me - pay my interest when due and give me my money back when i want it .... as someone has already mentioned the MySave account is particularly slow in doing the latter!