Unscrupulous Banking Practices!

John_

sourcrates said:

Ask some people that question on these forums, and they will tell you banks are the pillars of our community, who can do no wrong, and the very thought of a mis-sold loan, or credit card, would be entirely the debtors fault for borrowing irresponsibly, as they are grown adults and should all be making sound financial decisions.

Yes, that’s pretty much the top and bottom of it. Expecting a company to act as though you are a child and they are your guardians is ridiculous. Why do grown adults think that they are not responsible when they borrow money and then fail to pay it back?

Malkytheheed

People need to start taking ownership of themselves and their own affairs. Why do some sections of society always assume someone / company / government is going to hold their hand through life. Rely on yourself, better yourself and teach yourself. 

Get a grip. 

Ergates

It's not a matter of people expecting to have their hands held, it's a matter of having the expectation that the companies we allow to operate in our society will behave in an ethical manner.
Taking advantage of someone you know to be vulnerable, and profiting from their loss, is not ethical.  If I run a pub, and I *know* that one of my regular customers is an alcoholic, and I continue to sell him alcohol despite knowing that this is harming him both physically and financially, then that is unethical behavior.
If I am a bank and I lend money to someone I *know* to be in a vulnerable situation, that I *know* they won't be able to pay off in a reasonable time frame, in the hope they I'll reap bit profits in interest repayments, then than is unethical.
Unfortunately, it's not enough to just expect businesses to behave ethically, this is why we have regulations in place to try to force them to do so.

eddddy

From a different angle, maybe part of the problem is social attitude to debt. For example, when you borrow money, lenders call it "credit" rather than "debt".

Perhaps people should see being in debt (e.g. buying things on a credit card or having a bank loan) as more of a bad thing. And you should only go into debt as a last resort, and then aim to repay your debts as quickly as possible.

TBH, it probably is the banks that are responsible for giving debt a positive image - suggesting through their advertising etc, that it's OK to go into debt in order to improve your lifestyle etc (by taking out credit cards, bank loans etc).

Ergates

eddddy said:

Perhaps people should see being in debt (e.g. buying things on a credit card or having a bank loan) as more of a bad thing. And you should only go into debt as a last resort, and then aim to repay your debts as quickly as possible.

Except debt is not inherently bad, it allows society to function.  For instance, very few of us would be able to afford a house without borrowing money.  Very few people would be able to afford the costs involved with starting up a new business.
Without the easy availability of debt, we would all pretty much still be living under the thumbs of a very small number of enourmously wealthy individuals - who would own all the properties and own all the businesses.

afis1904

There's nothing more confusing about the new forum than when people don't realise they are writing in the quote box

Malkytheheed

Cant belive how many snowflakes exsist now. 
Bank are not "taking advantage" of people. They offer products. People choose whether or not to take them! Same way a drug dealer offers drugs. You chose whether or not to buy them. A road has a speed limit, you chose whether or not to obey it. You have a drink problem, you choose to go buy and neck a pint. Im not saying there shouldn't be help for people. There should be. But people cant go blaming banks and saying they are at fault because they went and spent money that not theirs with no intention of paying it back. ...now come the conseqeunces....

Make your choices in life.

phillw

Malkytheheed said: 

Bank are not "taking advantage" of people.

Generally true, but not always. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBOS#Reading_branch_fraud_and_Operation_Hornet

Malkytheheed

phillw said:

Malkytheheed said: 

Bank are not "taking advantage" of people.

Generally true, but not always. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBOS#Reading_branch_fraud_and_Operation_Hornet

Yes. But that is actual criminality. Not just an unfovarable APR.

phillw

Malkytheheed said:

Yes. But that is actual criminality. Not just an unfovarable APR.

So they don't take advantage, except for when they do. PPI as another example.
How they used to charge you £25 to tell you every time a transaction took you further overdrawn, even if it's just pounds or pence.
They only stopped doing that because of pressure from regulators, that hasn't stopped them looking for other ways.