When the banks won't play ball... Treat them like Northern Rock...

ITConsultant

Now... I'm quite sure that I'm not the only person who's thought of this, but I couldn't find any reference on the boards to this idea...

Given the problems Northern Rock are having with mass withdrawals, surely one way to get the banks to stop messing their customers around is to simply all band together and withdraw our money on the same day in protest at the bank charges which are being levied...

While I am aware that some people who've had difficulty with their bank won't have vast amounts of money to withdraw, but the amount of administration involved in handling a withdrawal en-mass would surely show the banks that their behavior isn't acceptable...

Just my thoughts...

ITConsultant

28 views but sadly no replies... Does no one have a view on this...?

Elise1309

a) Many of the people claiming back charges won't have a credit balance to withdraw.

b) Many will be making payments via direct debit and debit cards which they won't be able to honour if the accounts are empty. Remember that often people with charges outstanding may have poor credit ratings and will not necessarily be able to set up an equivalent account (ie debit card, cheque book, overdraft) elsewhere. It's one reason the banks get away with their appalling feee structuring and CS - people know they are being mistreated but are financially trapped.

Nice idea, though 8-)

ITConsultant

Very true - but it would be safe to assume that even on one day in the month people would be able to withdraw some money, even if they had to put it back into the same account the next day...

It would severely impact the banks 'overnight' position

The whole Northern Rock thing is a farce in my opinion - people have no need to withdraw their money, they are just panicking. And yet £1 to £2billion has been withdrawn which has wiped almost 50% from the value of the NR shares since Thursday...

No bank wants that to happen...

SHARRON1000

I totally agree with you, if we all stuck together and had a mass withdrawal it would panic the banks and maybe just maybe they would think hold on we aren't in control anymore.
but sadly we know it will never happen, but if i had one wish*********;)

albertross_2

If you are talking about millions of people doing this on the same day, then you would have to consider the consequences. Bank collapses, higher borrowing rates, more restricted borrowing, and higher charges amongst other things.

If you don't like what banks do, then don't use them.

Elise1309

albertross wrote: »

If you don't like what banks do, then don't use them.

Completely impossible in this day and age.

Most employers will only pay wages directly into a bank account.

Al_Mac

To do this successfully, you'd need nationwide advertising. Bit like Northern Rock have been getting

krisskross

Elise1309 wrote: »

Completely impossible in this day and age.

Most employers will only pay wages directly into a bank account.

This has been said dozens of times but hey ho. You do NOT need a bank account to have wages/benefits paid into. A savings account with a sort code and an account number will be adequate. If you want any of the facilities like DDs, overdraft etc then you will need a 'real' bank account.

Elise1309

How many people have wages paid every month, but don't have a single bill to pay - ever! Not many, I would hazard a guess.

For most people, a savings account is somewhere extra to deposit excess funds - not a replacement for a current account.

Edinburghlass_2

Please read Martin's Article and the resultant discussion thread here..

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=553388