MSE News: Barclays to revamp current account fees – will you be better off?

P254

I received my letter a couple of hours ago, and I don't think it's done my blood pressure any good - literally.

Everything went belly up for me when the recession struck, and I've been struggling (but managing - just) ever since. I don't use my Barclays accounts anymore, but do have 2 overdrafts with them which I have been very slowly working away at by paying in a little over the interest every month.

This is dreadful news for me as my payments will go up from £45 a month to £69.75 - and I can't see how I can ever pay anything off the actual debt. So will I owe Barclays till the day I die?

I'm limited in ways that I can actually raise any more money due to age and health. However, I'm trying. Let's hope things look a little better tomorrow, but today - I'm gutted.

lxworld

Thanks for everyone's support so far (re: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/barclays-bank-call-to-action)


Don't forget to tell your friends and family!

Blackdog1

I love all the people that come on here gloating about how "you should pay it off and live within your means"

well to you people i can only assume that you work in the financial sector and have been immorally leeching off of the majority for your entire life, or daddy got you the job after you finished dossing around at one of the elitist private schools, having never actually worked hard in your life.

this measure preys on those people that struggle to make ends meat. my partner and i both work, well over our designated hours to support our family,

We have good respectable jobs but still struggle to pay for our lives we live on £31 a week for food to give you an idea (always on the hunt for a bargain. (its always a massive victory when we beat that) we are putting money aside and paying off debts incurred whilst my wife was pregnant/maternity but this is another kick from the greedy bankers. It makes you realise that they aren't interested in customer service, just serving the elites.

If they hadn't have screwed the system in the first place then we would have all been better off. (they always conveniently forget that part). I haven't had a pay rise in four years yet the cost of living has risen by a quarter since the economic crisis.

Once again if you're poor or at least trying to better yourself you get a kicking, if you have money you're fine.

Needless to say i'll be leaving Barclays and never returning. I will be out of debt by next year and so another Bank can benefit from my hard work rather than these parasites.

FireWyrm

I've got nothing better to do...I'll bite.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

I love all the people that come on here gloating about how "you should pay it off and live within your means"

That is the bottom line. It is how we as a society have ALWAYS worked until very recently. It is how 99% of the rest of the world works. If you dont have the money, you cannot buy it. Credit is a privilege, not a right.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

well to you people i can only assume that you work in the financial sector and have been immorally leeching off of the majority for your entire life, or daddy got you the job after you finished dossing around at one of the elitist private schools, having never actually worked hard in your life.

I was 15 years 8 months when I started work. I took over the house (after my mother left for warmer pastures) and paid off my parents debts, their mortgage all whilst simultaneously keeping the same leaking roof over mine and my fathers head....alone. I had no family, no friends, no hope. I made friends with people who showed me stuff. I blagged my way from job to job up the ladder taking anything that came. Night shift, day shift, sometimes back to back, just to keep some food in the cupboard and the creditors from the door. I've been hungry more times than you've had hot dinners and that isnt a cliche. I've literally starved for weeks on end while we struggled from one month to the next. I've literally begged door step collectors (who werent all nice and fluffy back then like they are now) not to take what little we had. I've waded in bins behind big food stores collecting OOD food and we've eaten it. I've walked miles looking for jobs in the pouring rain because I didnt have the money for a bus even.

You have no idea what you are talking about and even less reason to generalise or speculate on the personal circumstances of those who say...live within your means.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

this measure preys on those people that struggle to make ends meat. my partner and i both work, well over our designated hours to support our family,

What do you want...a medal? We all do what we must to survive.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

We have good respectable jobs but still struggle to pay for our lives we live on £31 a week for food to give you an idea (always on the hunt for a bargain.

Perhaps it is time you looked closely at your finances and how much you are wasting. I take it you have no such things as a TV, Sky, Mobile, expensive car (anything over £600), no hire purchase etc...or do you simply have debts due to a lifestyle you couldnt afford then and cannot now which is eating into your budget slack?

Blackdog1 wrote: »

paying off debts incurred whilst my wife was pregnant/maternity but this is another kick from the greedy bankers.

One generally doesnt tend to incure large commitments (children) when you are already struggling. Perhaps you should have thought of that first.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

It makes you realise that they aren't interested in customer service, just serving the elites.

Rollocks. They serve themselves just as you do by borrowing money to fund a lifestyle you cannot afford and bleating that they want it paid back.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

If they hadn't have screwed the system in the first place then we would have all been better off.

Do you really have any idea how finance works or are you just parrotting what you read in the popular press. I suggest you read a book or two before forming an opinion. The credit crunch was the result of world wide problems that have existed since the 70s at least.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

. I haven't had a pay rise in four years yet the cost of living has risen by a quarter since the economic crisis.

The cost of money has devalued as the government tries to keep us from absolute bankrupsy. Believe me, you wouldnt like the alternative had they allowed the banks to collapse. You think life is hard now, try needing a wheelbarrow to buy a loaf of bread and see what that is like. Greece is an excellent example of the hell that happens when a country goes bankrupt. The fact that you have a slightly harder time of it...well, get over it. You are already a million times better off than 90% of the rest of the world. Your belly is full, your house solid and your wife isnt dying of a disease that a 20p pill could cure.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

Once again if you're poor or at least trying to better yourself you get a kicking, if you have money you're fine.

Grow up.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

Needless to say i'll be leaving Barclays and never returning. I will be out of debt by next year and so another Bank can benefit from my hard work rather than these parasites.

Banks do not exist for your benefit. They offer a service which you are free to take advantage of, or not as the case may be. Get over it.

Blackdog1

Thanks for that wonderfully honest appraisal, once again the internet provides a good solid place where people are willing to understand each others viewpoints.

I personally was just letting off steam for what i see as yet another opportunity for a corporation to exploit people who (through theirs or others faults) are in debt. People do not like having an overdraft and its not a choice chosen lightly. however for Barclays to change their end of the bargain is frustrating. (if not totally unexpected)

I'm sorry that i dismay you with my thoughts, and yes perhaps i was venting a little.

Forums usually are for likeminded people or those who wish to offer constructive comment.

I am frustrated with Barclays and shall be moving my finances, that's my entire statement. (with a few perhaps misplaced observations, for entertainment purposes)

I'm not entirely sure of your motivations for your reply, other than perhaps points scoring or trolling i guess. in which case congratulations.

FireWyrm

Blackdog1 wrote: »

Thanks for that wonderfully honest appraisal, once again the internet provides a good solid place where people are willing to understand each others viewpoints.

Some ill judged comments require a healthy dose of cold water.
Just because the popular press says it is so, doesnt make it so.

If you really want to make a change to your life, come over to where I hang out...the Debt Free Wannabe board. We can help you over there, but only if you are honest and committed.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

I personally was just letting off steam for what i see as yet another opportunity for a corporation to exploit people who (through theirs or others faults) are in debt.

Mostly the consumers fault. Sorry. No one put you in debt, each and every decision from age 18 put you there, not some nameless faceless 'banker'. Like alcaholics anonymous...Hi, my name is Blackdog and I'm in debt...this is your first step to freedom.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

People do not like having an overdraft and its not a choice chosen lightly.

Yes it is. It is almost the default position when opening an account these days. My parents were mortified by their puny £350 overdraft back in the 80s. I can rustle up £8000 on OD without even breaking a sweat.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

however for Barclays to change their end of the bargain is frustrating. (if not totally unexpected)

Frustrating perhaps, but ODs have always been payable on demand. Always.

You have the right to pay it off entirely and move your business elsewhere. Those are the terms of this type of lending and always have been.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

I'm sorry that i dismay you with my thoughts, and yes perhaps i was venting a little.

Really.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

I'm not entirely sure of your motivations for your reply, other than perhaps points scoring or trolling i guess. in which case congratulations.

Look under my avatar...does that seem like the behaviour of a troll?

Come over to DFW. Let us help you out of this for real.

To make a start, if you wish, you can download my budgeting spreadsheet from here to get you started : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/58m07i0jklqny0e/n3c1E0QUVw

Blackdog1

Thank you, I'll take you up on that offer. I understand the cold water even if it was a bit of a surprise at the time!

Money is always a sensitive issue for everyone, but i appreciate the considered response.

I think I can be honest about my finances, every day i make steps towards that great debt free day, however yours and those of others would be appreciated on how i can improve speed up the process

FireWyrm

Blackdog1 wrote: »

Thank you, I'll take you up on that offer. I understand the cold water even if it was a bit of a surprise at the time!

Start a thread of your own. I'll be watching for you.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

Money is always a sensitive issue for everyone, but i appreciate the considered response.

It has been a loathsome burden of mine for 20 years. I'm not alone and you wont be either.

Blackdog1 wrote: »

I think I can be honest about my finances, every day i make steps towards that great debt free day,

Possibly not quite as honest you think. I reckon I am honest, but until you actually go through the steps you wont believe your capacity for self denial and dishonesty. I dont think you are Mother Teresa incarnate, so I'm guessing, you are probably like most people when they first get started. You'll be shocked to the core.

however yours and those of others would be appreciated on how i can improve speed up the process

Use this to see just where you are and where you could be : [FONT=&quot]http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx
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Blackdog1

Yep i'm certainly not Mother Theresa and perhaps my misplaced comments are frustration brought about by my own profligacy!

thanks for the brief advice, I'll take on that calculator and start a thread! I can confess to a fair bit of Ostrich syndrome.

FireWyrm

Blackdog1 wrote: »

Yep i'm certainly not Mother Theresa and perhaps my misplaced comments are frustration brought about by my own profligacy!

thanks for the brief advice, I'll take on that calculator and start a thread! I can confess to a fair bit of Ostrich syndrome.

It is the same problem for us all...trust me. You are not alone.

Do one of these first : http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php
and format your results for MSE