Preparedness for when

Hollyberry

greenbee wrote: »

...That's why people keep on patching and trying to hold these systems together with string and sellotape and by parts for their obsolete hardware on ebay...

I'd forgotten the string and sellotape hardware scenario too....aargh! All those screens with green text. :eek:

kezlou

Have to admit I'm sick of narwest so I'm looking elsewhere. Every month something happens, its ridiculous.
I was one of unforunates ones who had they card declined. Didn't £10ish but only had £7 ish cash on me so put stuff back. Luckily, the staff where really nice about it and, said same thing had happened 5 minutes earlier.

I can't wait for the snow, roll on thursday with the forecast. Have to admit I'm like mrs l I like fully stocked larder.which reminds me need dried milk sand, plenty of hot chocolate

GreyQueen

Morning all.

jk0, most mysterious. Have never earned my crust in a banking job, not even clerking, but have some experience of something which might be relevent.

Where our tenants are on DD, the tape containing the details is submitted into the banking system a whole 7 days before the DD leaves the customer's account. Once the DD has been "sent for" we can't cancel or change it at our end, although the customer can cancel it at their bank.

Now here's the thing I found out which might be of relevence to your experience; I have customers call up and say that they've checked their bank account and their rent hasn't left, often due to insufficient funds. But when I check their rent account, it's showing as paid. When I query this with a rents officer, I get told that the money appears, then disappear. The bank will advise them of the transactions which bounce and they will manually reverse them and remove them from the rent account.

So, in it comes, and out it goes about 24 hours later, but it was never really there because it didn't leave the customer's account in the first place. I wonder if something not dissimilar may have happened to your letting agent's accounts?

pumpkinlife, smiling at reference to that article. I too could classify myself as a fool, although I'd be a better-off fool if I'd converted my savings into tangibles before the neglible / negative interest rates eroded them so much. But as they say in prepperdom, better to be a year early than a day late in such matters. I feel we live in precarious times and if there are some aware people watching the portents and waiting to make their preptastic moves at the first sign of real trouble, they may find that a lot of other people will be attempting the same thing and that it will not come out well for them.

After all, media has never been faster or more all-encompassing and when she blows, it'll flash-fire around the globe in seconds. There will be no time to very much at all when it goes wrong.

Memory_Girl

GreyQueen wrote: »

I get the distinct impression you like a good blizzard, Mar. .

My Orcadian friend rates winds on a funny scale

1. Stiff wind - no action required
2. Moderate Howler- consider long sleeves
3. Official Gale - a coat on (maybe .... lets not get overly dramatic here)
4. Blowing so hard you can't breathe outside (think I will put TWO pegs on my washing then) :rotfl:

Mind you they breed them tough up there - I am just a "southern softie" (in that I live in the central belt not near London but its all relative, innit?

MG

GreyQueen

I spent a fortnight on the Outer Hebrides (travelled the whole length north to south), end of August and early September, a few years ago.

It was lairy; started with Gale Force 9 on the first night and stayed pretty wild. It was brilliant and I've never had a more radiant complexion with all that soft water and being buffetted around on the hills all day.

Did a bit of laundry outside one of the blackhouse hostels but even with double-pegging it was too wild and I had to bring my stuff indoors or it would have been over the sea to Skye before you could blink.

Loved it there. Particulary loved the reaction of fellow southern Englishers when asked where I was going on my holibobs; they were more enthralled by OH than trips to Thailand.

Actually, come to think of it, you could have flown to Thailand faster than I made my way up to Lewis.............

Deepfatfriar

greenbee wrote: »

I wouldn't want to be the one moving everything over to a completely new system either. Been there, done that with something a little less complicated but a similar size in another regulated industry and it was NOT fun... (and there were issues for at least 18 months afterwards, even more costs and I seem to recall litigation as well :cool:). That's why people keep on patching and trying to hold these systems together with string and sellotape and by parts for their obsolete hardware on ebay...

I too have had many years in IT and have experienced the enormity of changing things like this.


The major issue is that the Directors of RBS have allowed a situation to develop where they have the worst of all worlds.


Not only have they allowed the use of obsolete hardware and software to continue but a lot of their software will be unsupported (by manufacturers) and unsupportable by anyone because they have "modified" it.


Worse still some high flying managers will have said what does "old" x do in the corner there, no one knows so he is made redundant. It turns out old x could write and produce patches in very ancient computer languages the systems are undoubtedly written in.


Thus in trying to convert to new systems it will very difficult without knowing how the old ones work. Also bear in mind during transfer of data BOTH systems will need to work .


Personally I think what we are now seeing is the start of the end of RBS and Natwest.


The cost of updating their IT systems will be hundreds of millions of pounds, possibly billions and take years. No competitor in their right mind would buy it certainly not at "market value". Offloading to someone else will not get rid of the problems.

The prospect of the taxpayer getting their money back from this dinosaur to ancient technology I would say is zero.


In the meantime all bonuses at RBS should be stopped indefinitely and all that money used (if it is possible) to build up an IT fund to get them out of this very deep hole. This will still be a very long project, many years.


The simplest solution is to advise all customers to move their accounts whilst the bank is progressively run down and eventually closed at a well published date in the future.

[Deleted User]

We've been to the Orkneys GQ and it's just the best place with the loveliest people. We island hopped on the tiny plane to North Ronoldsay and I have to sat it's the most perfect place I've ever had the pleasure of visiting, heaven on earth!!! Lyn xxx.

mardatha

They're talking about the western isles now on the Scots weather forum GQ, couple of ladies up there getting ready for this one. Their windchill is be -19 on friday. The central belt is to get the worst as they say the wind funnels through between the highland line and the southern uplands. So this wee prepper will hopefully be out of the worst of it, albeit 1000ft up in the aforesaid southern uplands
Will wave to Memory Girl through a blizzard of flying trampolines and wheelie bins
I have a Q and don't know where to get the answer. Who owns the big banks? I know the RBS isn't Scottish any more, but whose is it? #LOL that doesnt sound right

Memory_Girl

Tax payers (from the bailouts) and the big Pension Funds seem to be the owners ............... although the "Big Working Horse" Bank is Australian its shareholders are still the big fund investors.

I have a pot of lamb broth on - and one of rice pudding. Don't care if its freezing tomorrow ........... we have hot food, blankets and hot water bottles.

Both kids now go to school within walking distance - so don't see them being off school unless there is a monumental fall of the white stuff.

But I have tucked my wheelie bins into a safe corner just in case.

MG

Mrs_T_M

We are currently with Natwest and are planning to move banks in January. It's a bit more difficult for us, because most banks won't allow me to have an account, since I'm not yet a citizen and there is an expiration date on my spouse visa. We also must keep most of our money in the banks to have it 'on paper' otherwise I will not be granted indefinite leave to remain. I hate it with a passion, but the good news is that I can apply for ILR next year (April or May), and once it's granted, I can switch over to being mostly cash based. ILR will mean that there is no expiration on my stay and I will have every right that a citizen does, other than voting in national elections. I do eventually want my citizenship for ease of travelling mostly, but it can wait a bit after the ILR is granted.