A Tiny Insight into Irresponsible Lending...?

always_amazed

Just wanted to get this off my chest really. Sorry if it's awfully boring.

Yesterday, my younger brother - just turned 18, left school in June, low PT work (earns £200-£300 per month, he's taking a really chilled out gap year back home to try and rid his system of glandular fever) had an appointment with the bank, to 'review the products' he uses. He took me with him, he seems to think I know about money (ha ha ha).

So we sat down, and the banking clerk lady proceeded to push an 18.7% APR rate card on him (no special introductory offers, she said she could probably manage to get him a £600 limit) and a £500 overdraft (pre approved, just sign here, only that was at 15%!).

I was so shocked, I really was. I know she was just doing her job, but it was totally ridiculous. No wonder some of us got into the debt muddle so young!

It just goes to show.


(p.s. he signed up for a £30 O/D for emergencies, and as we left he said 'no wonder you got in trouble with it all'.)

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well the bank lady would get commended for reaching her sales targets but it is not very ethical is it?

To avoid this sort of hard selling by morally irresponsible bank sales staff, people need a lot of financial knowledge and savviness which most of them just don't have!

This site is helping us to gain that knowledge, but I pity the millions out there who don't come on here and are not getting that help.

If only financial knowledge was taught in schools!

fc123

our son at 18; finished A levels and took a "gap" (skive more like ) yr..he had no regular income just some casual work and was planning to save up to "travel"...only he spent any cash he got as he got it...come january,with 0 saved, (+ without us knowing) he went to see the nice lady at Lloyds about funds for his impending tripto S America......instead of shooing him out the door and telling him to go and earn the ££££ he needed...she did a credit check on our household (oh yes, mountains of credit BUT all up to date) and gave him a mastercard with a £1500 limit.......which he spent. We refused to bail him out (as\we had finally reached the LBM) and he worked all summer to clear it...not before they had slapped on some late payment chgs etc..

So NO sub prime problem in the UK????

HairyHandofDartmoor

Oh I think there's a problem all right!!!