Worrying 'advice' from Lloyds account manager...

Carrie1983

Well I happen to know that you do not need to be highly educated, nor indeed experienced, to become an account manager at Lloyds.

My brother is/was one. He is now 28, and at the time of getting the job was 24ish.

Here is his CV in rough:

GCSEs - a couple of Cs, several Ds (math included)
A levels - failed physics
BTEC - passed Business (or maybe a GNVQ?)
Uni - did first year of Geog, failed, dropped out
Did travel rep jobs around Europe
Got job in customer service in Lloyds call centre in Wales
Met girlfriend from London
Moved to London
Got job in customer service in a branch
A few months later took on role as an account manager
A year later was filling in for branch manager
Then made redundant, and now works as an employment consultant.

So what exactly qualifies these people to tell us all this obvious bull?! I am far better educated than my brother, and am quite capable of researching and looking around for all the best deals and information. They must prey on those who are not as well equipped for doing so.

Thrugelmir

DebtClearer wrote: »

Companies often look at your available credit, so let's say you have used £10k out of £13k you will have 23% of your credit available. It shows you are not desperate. If you had £10k of a £10k limit used you may be judged more harshly as companies will think you are living on the edge of your credit and perhaps more likely to default.

There is also a relationship to income. When individuals have sizable debts any number of unforeseen issues could cause distress before the debt level is under control.

Carrie1983

Such an unforeseen issue got me into this position in the first place. My husband cleared our bank accounts of approximately 7k, then left me, he the full time earner, me the part time earner with us having decided it best for me to work part time until our little girl starts school (which will be September).

I have equity in my house but have decided to wait a year or two before I seriously consider selling.

cynicalgit_2

DebtMagnet wrote: »

I have been summoned in to branch on several occasions over the years by Lloyds because they had 'concerns' about my account or other similar phrases and wanted to 'save me money'. Each time I went I went with my eyes fully open and knowing that they were simply trying to sell me something.

As I follow the MSE principles I am confident they couldn't get close to beating any insurance quotes etc but I went along each time to see if they could genuinely save me money on my existing debts......as after all, that was their claim.

Needless to say they couldn't save me any money and each occasion was a total waste of my time.

My problem is however that on two separate occasions, in two different branches with different 'Account Managers', even though they could see my finances were stretched, they were trying everything they could to push me to a loan at over 20% APR. When I obviously declined they persisted in calling to remind me that the 'offer' couldn't stay on the table for long etc.

And this is one of the reasons why upon starting my DMP just now, the only establishment I don't feel any guilt over giving reduced payment to is Lloyds.

They are by far the worst of the banks IMO and they deserve everything they get!

Remember, never buy anything from somebody who wears a suit.

gettingthehangofthis

Lloyds are awful for doing this, have had an overdraft with them previously and got weekly calls to 'come in and have a chat' and 'did you know we can save you money on your overdraft?' which was basically to sell me a loan. Also got this whenever I popped into the branch which is very wearing. They are there to make money from you. If they genuinely meant it they'd not charge in the first place! :rotfl: Well done for standing your ground.

tallyhoh

Carrie1983 wrote: »

Tallyoh - this product was advised by an IFA when we moved house and changed mortgage 2 years ago (nearly). In the first year it was around 33 a month, and it went up to 44 in May. I argued with them and they got it down to 40. There is a total of £50 cancellation fee; some insurers will pay the fee if I swap to them; I have found the appropriate cover for around £15 pcm, but he just kept laying it on about how this would not be appropriate cover. Unlucky for him, my other brother is an insurance broker (as my mum reminded me earlier), and I am going to call him for advice! His quote was actually £55 pcm!

Have you tried a comparison site? mines a fairly high risk area.

Carrie1983

Hi Tallyhoh,

Yes, I had a list of quotes around the £15 mark, and told him and he said they didn't take specific information into account and didn't provide such comprehensive cover. Load of pap!

iolanthe07

Having been a Lloyds customer since 1964, in my experience, if you tell Lloyds that you do not want to be phoned, they will actually leave you alone.

JimmyTheWig

Carrie1983 wrote: »

Jimmy, I am not using that part of my credit limits, and the guy today did say that lenders look at available credit not just what I am using; I have 13k limit across two cards, but only using 11.5k (which will be 10.5k by January). Why do you think it is better for me to keep the limits higher? As soon as the Lloyds card is paid off, it's a gonner. I need a credit card for emergencies; I don't need 2.

As has been said, being close to your limit is seen as a sign of desperation when applying for more credit.
Imagine you owe money to two friends. They are both happy to lend you more if you want them to. You ask a third friend to lend you some money. They may well say yes.
Now imagine you owe the same amount of money to two friends but both of them say that they refuse to lend you any more money. You ask a third friend to lend you some money. What do you think they will say?

Also, if you have available credit on your cards then you have the option to play them off against each other with balance transfer deals. E.g. when your 0% deal runs out you may be able to shift the debt onto the other card at a lower rate than you will be paying after the deal ends.
MSE calls this the credit card trick.


BUT...
There is always a problem that with available credit you spend it when you don't really need to.
If you think you might fall into this trap then reducing the credit limit might be best.
That's why I asked why you were thinking of reducing it.

Carrie1983

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Having been a Lloyds customer since 1964, in my experience, if you tell Lloyds that you do not want to be phoned, they will actually leave you alone.

That code of practice doesn't seem to have reached my branch then, as they first phoned me three days after 30th Sept (the date I was asked to close by credit card by or go on higher rate). They phoned constantly, I called back and said I was dealing with it all, I still got constant calls.

But that's by the by. I went in for the promised advice, and it was rubbish, and that's why I wrote the thread - people who buy this advice are going to end up in some real trouble.

I've been a Lloyds customer since 1996, when I turned 13, but I'll be going back to Nationwide as soon as I can get into Taunton next week.