Bank charges ARE fair

SO171NOT

Sorry guys but I have to point something out here....

I REALLY feel passionately about what Martin is trying to do here and people will hopefully recognise that I've also tried to help people on this site and you guys have also helped me a lot....BUT....:eek:

How can you say bank charges are unfair? If you buy a car from a garage costing £10,000, you can't then turn around to the dealership months later and say that because they've made £2000 profit, they need to reimburse you. It's the same for banks. They're in business to make money. The net result of people forcing the banks to repay charges was brought home to me by HSBC tonight....

I asked them to REDUCE my overdraft from £1000 to £100 as I don't use that current account anymore. The guy said that if I ammended my overdraft at all within the next 12 months - up or down - they would charge me a £25 arrangement fee. This is what all banks will do. Some peope on this site are bound to be shareholders with some of the major banks and they just won't stand for the reduction in dividend. It's happened with the introduction of balance transfer fees etc on credit cards and I just wonder if we are all victims of MSE popularity?....

SurefireMJ2040

There should still be a deterrent. 50p is too low, 12 quid is more reasonable. 38 quid is excessive.

southernscouser

Al_Mac wrote: »

Agreed charges are fair, it is the amount of the charge that isn't fair.

Mrs Mac has just been charged £12 for paying a credit card a day late over Easter. Our first charge in years and years. Obviously applied automatically, so true cost nearer 50p.

Spot on Mr Mac.


Yes banks are there to make money. Us as consumers are here to make our money work for us rather than line our pockets. It's the whole ethos of the site. If HSBC want to do that I'd take my custom elsewhere to someone who wouldn't.

pete-in-london

SO171NOT wrote: »

How can you say bank charges are unfair? If you buy a car from a garage costing £10,000, you can't then turn around to the dealership months later and say that because they've made £2000 profit, they need to reimburse you. It's the same for banks.

If you took the garage to court to reclaim the money... would it turn up or repay it 'as a goodwill gesture without any admission of liability and on a purely commercial basis?'

Len_Beach

The end of free banking is looming.

Until last week, I worked for Lloyds TSB and was in a large city centre branch which was due for a £500k refit and branch amalgamation. The work was due to be finished by July 1st with work starting over Easter weekend.

The work never started as Lloyds TSB have scrapped all branch refits in preparation for an OFT ruling on bank charges. Lloyds TSB have estimated that the ruling will cost them £1.8bn in retrospective charge refunds.

As said, it will also lead to the end of free banking. Every other country in the world pays for the use of ATM's, internet and telephone facilities, direct debits. We pay nothing as yet. The banks need to make money and will begin with charging for unused credit cards and eventually introduce monthly or even itemised fees for our banking facilities.

SO171NOT

But I'd have no right to take them to court in the first place as they set out their charges in the terms and conditions. If I don't want to pay those charges, I go to another bank that charge less. My concern is that MSE people are doing this to all banks and therefore it could see the end of free banking for those of us in credit.:eek:

Chesnut1

I agree with the banks making a small profit on charges as we are using their money that is why when I settled with the RBS I asked for £126.00 pounds less than I was due. Having said that there is a world of difference between a small profit and the banks using flintlocks and a mask!

suz75

SO171NOT wrote: »

But I'd have no right to take them to court in the first place as they set out their charges in the terms and conditions. If I don't want to pay those charges, I go to another bank that charge less. My concern is that MSE people are doing this to all banks and therefore it could see the end of free banking for those of us in credit.:eek:

I kinda see what your saying but don't understand why you have posted it on a Bank Charges are Unfair Reclaim them site???? Have you made a claim against a Bank??? There are alot of people on this site and others working to get back money that i personally feel the banks have taken unfairly, again the arguement in my eyes is the actual amount they charge is not in keeping with the actual cost to them and that's what makes it unfair to us as customers. And everyone can have slip ups in their banking from time to time re going overdrawn etc does that mean you've got to be punished over and over???:rolleyes:

catz1ct

Len_Beach wrote: »

The end of free banking is looming.

It's already here tbh!

punkgirlyuk

Am i missing the point here? I always assumed that the banks made their profits through interest? They charge high rates of interest and give low rates back for savings thus making profit? Thats what I always assumed anyway.

I agree that charges for setting up loans, od's etc if you have agreed when taking out the facility but the charges on returned cheques and dd's should not be for their profit and they have been getting away with it for years. The banks don't care about their customers, if they reduced the charges to actual cost then they would probably find that people could manage to pay the fees back straightaway and still have money left for the next bills rather than falling deeper into debt. I know I certainly wouldn't be in as much debt if RBS hadn't charged me £38 for a returned DD, then £30 for going overdrawn, which meant my next DD got returned thus another £38 (even though both dd's only totaled £60!) and spiralling further until my wages were mainly paying charges!

pete-in-london

Despite the fact that these charges are laid out in the T&Cs with regards to breach of contract, it's quite obvious that the charges are unfair, and more importantly, unlawful. Consumer law is there to protect consumers and banks have pushed it too far.

2000+% profit for repeatedly penalising people for exceeding overdraft limits (etc) and compounding the general debt problem within the UK is not an ethical way for a company to generate revenue.