I've made £350 this year from credits cards.

whateva

How? By complaining.

I made it clear that I was unhappy with the way Bank of Scotland dealt with a problem I had over the phone. The next day someone called me to talk To me about my complaint. After I told them I hadn't made a complaint they said that if a customer expresses dissatisfaction in a call, they treat it as a complaint. As a result they offered me £50 in compensation.

I had further reasons to be dissatisfied with financial institutions after that and have received 2 further £50 payments, 2 £25 payments and most recently a payment for £200.

Roland_Sausage

That's good then. How can one make money if they are happy enough with their credit card companies?

thebritishbloke

What were you dissatisfied about with all these companies that caused them to compensate you so much?

Bestselling_Author

It's interesting that banks seem to throw money at us like this. I've just closed a credit card account and didn't like the way the representative spoke to me. He was so keen for me to retain the card, he came across as desperate ... So much so he actually insulted me. When the call finally ended, I contacted the CEO of the company and gave them some feedback on my experience - I didn't perceive it as a complaint because I've now closed my relationship with this organisation. But the following day they rang back, having checked the call (it had been recorded) they confirmed the representative had been wrong and paid me £60 to apologise.

Last year I had a problem opening an account with a different financial institution, which required me going into the branch (I'm in a rural area so it's a round trip of 60 miles, and takes 90 minutes as a round trip drive) on four separate occasions to resolve the matter. As a self-employed person this cost me a lot of time, so I wrote to complain and invoiced them for the lost time. Not only did they agree to pay my invoice they added another £50 on top.

So, yes, financial institutions are keen to throw money at us. I'd prefer it if they invested the money on decent customer service and decent interest rates on savings accounts (it's hard work keeping up with all of these interest paying current accounts!).

thebritishbloke

You're what makes them money. In the long run, they'll recoup what they lost from compensating you (most likely). They probably also don't want you bad-mouthing them to other potential customers.

thegreenmonkey

Compensations can be quite frivolously offered.

Without even being able to find records of an incident (phone call, staff who had accessed my account, etc.), I was offered a small payment which I assume was based entirely on my word.

Your £200 payment must have quite eventful!

Whiner

Anyone who claims or is paid compensation is merely taking cash from the rest of us, as it is customers who pay it in the end.

Morglin

Roland_Sausage wrote: »

That's good then. How can one make money if they are happy enough with their credit card companies?

My way is to take out 0% purchase and Cashback combined cards. (A lot of them are being offered, at the moment, and make sure the interest free lasts at least 14 months).

Spend on them for everything you can, put the money you would have spent from your current account into a savings account, pay the minimum payment due, without fail and on time, every month.

A month before the interest free finishes, pay up the card - totally.

Then, you have the interest from the money you had in the savings account, and you have got Cashback from the CC provider.:T

They have actually paid you to borrow their money.:T

Cut up the card, which is now interest bearing, and do the same again.

I never pay interest, and I always get the Cashback ok.

Lin

rev_henry

Banks are the same, and in fact most large companies - utilities, insurance etc. I always try to remember to complain if something goes slightly wrong, no matter how frivolous, as at the very least they'll give me £25 or so.

whateva

I had a building society account with Portman Building Society, which got taken over years ago by Nationwide.

I tried to close the account a few years ago and the branch sent away my passbook so they could pay me the outstanding interest, the account was almost empty. After that I didn't hear anything for a couple of years, then I started getting an annual statement telling me there was around £69 in this account. Armed with an account number I tried to get my money out, but they said I had to have a passbook Another year went by and the passbook didn't turn up. So they offered me £25 and then didn't send the passbook again. They then arranged with my local branch to accept a driving licence instead of a pass book and gave me another £25.

The Bank of Scotland saga was over direct debits. They gave me the wrong details to pay them and kept charging me for not paying. In the end they set it up over the phone but at about the same day they had sent the account to recovery so they denied that I had contacted them. A quick check with my phone records showed that I had. So the £200 payment was for a series of calls over a number of days.

The idea that these kind of payments means "less money for the rest of us" isn't quite true. It means less profit for the bankers.