For those who have had their Lloyd's fee waiver removed

savers_united

callum9999 said:

savers_united said:

callum9999 said:

You don't come across as a very loyal customer to me! "Give me free stuff or I'm going to make a complaint and attempt to damage your brand"

I think when people say they're "loyal", they actually just mean they've been there a long time. If you're not making them money and there's no realistic prospect of that changing, I don't see why they'd particularly care whether you've been there 5 minutes or 5 decades.

I say loyal has having been with lloyds for over 30 years and held this particular account for over 20, through times of higher IRs and cheaper insurance elsewhere I stuck with Lloyds, through the financial crisis and then having purchased many other investment products through lloyds, even owning Lloyd's shares and opening accounts for my children.

There have been many offers sent my way to move current account and get rewarded with a cash payment, but I stuck with Lloyd's because they were honouring their commitment to the waiver, it's them who have broken that agreement. 

It's not about damaging a brand as that would be counterproductive being a share holder, it's a way of expressing that of the many decisions lloyds have taken over the years this one is a poor decision, the costs involved are fairly small and just feels like penny pinching. 

So you're claiming that you identified better options from other banks yet decided to stay with Lloyds specifically because you have a sense of loyalty to a capitalist business that exists solely to enrich its shareholders? That seems somewhat unlikely (almost incomprehensible in fact!) - are you sure it wasn't just the convenience?

A bit of both I guess, I had a great relationship with the staff at my local branch and the manager on more than one occasion was able to get me funding quickly to secure large ticket items. 
But that was back in the days of an annual account reviews and much more of the in branch interaction. 

So probably more loyal to the local branch than Lloyd's themselves for things that they have done for me over the years, genuinely helping me. 

But now it's mainly over the phone, email and online and even though my branch is still there many of the staff have moved on or retired. But it was convenient for many things even though I was well aware that for some products and services I could of got a better deal elsewhere, but maybe this is now the time to start looking elsewhere. 

savers_united

eskbanker said:

savers_united said:

I along with many others challenged HP when they tried to start charging us for free ink for life, that ended in a U Turn by HP and now myself and many thousands of other HP customers continue to get free ink. 

If Lloyds ever expressly promised that the fee waiver was 'for life' then that would put a different complexion on the current situation - did they?

I never read the terms of the account, and I guess in there somewhere it states "We reserve the right to", all my dealings back then were in branch with an account manager, I went from a Gold account to a Platinum account. Terms back then were rarely discussed you took it at face value and basically told you keep ex amount in the account and you will not need to pay the fee, so did that for 20 years and not ever paid a fee.

It just seems strange that even though in 2005 they removed the option of a waiver for new accounts its taken another 16 years to finally remove it for all existing customers. So for many like myself it does feel like a lifetime agreement. 

callum9999

savers_united said:

callum9999 said:

savers_united said:

callum9999 said:

You don't come across as a very loyal customer to me! "Give me free stuff or I'm going to make a complaint and attempt to damage your brand"

I think when people say they're "loyal", they actually just mean they've been there a long time. If you're not making them money and there's no realistic prospect of that changing, I don't see why they'd particularly care whether you've been there 5 minutes or 5 decades.

I say loyal has having been with lloyds for over 30 years and held this particular account for over 20, through times of higher IRs and cheaper insurance elsewhere I stuck with Lloyds, through the financial crisis and then having purchased many other investment products through lloyds, even owning Lloyd's shares and opening accounts for my children.

There have been many offers sent my way to move current account and get rewarded with a cash payment, but I stuck with Lloyd's because they were honouring their commitment to the waiver, it's them who have broken that agreement. 

It's not about damaging a brand as that would be counterproductive being a share holder, it's a way of expressing that of the many decisions lloyds have taken over the years this one is a poor decision, the costs involved are fairly small and just feels like penny pinching. 

So you're claiming that you identified better options from other banks yet decided to stay with Lloyds specifically because you have a sense of loyalty to a capitalist business that exists solely to enrich its shareholders? That seems somewhat unlikely (almost incomprehensible in fact!) - are you sure it wasn't just the convenience?

A bit of both I guess, I had a great relationship with the staff at my local branch and the manager on more than one occasion was able to get me funding quickly to secure large ticket items. 
But that was back in the days of an annual account reviews and much more of the in branch interaction. 

So probably more loyal to the local branch than Lloyd's themselves for things that they have done for me over the years, genuinely helping me. 

But now it's mainly over the phone, email and online and even though my branch is still there many of the staff have moved on or retired. But it was convenient for many things even though I was well aware that for some products and services I could of got a better deal elsewhere, but maybe this is now the time to start looking elsewhere. 

So you aren't loyal then - you stuck with Lloyds because you got something in return, now you're not getting it any more you're going to look elsewhere.

This isn't a criticism (the opposite in fact, I'd be very concerned if you were!), just an explanation as to why Lloyds don't feel obliged to give you special treatment - there's no loyalty in either direction.

Good luck with your search - hopefully you find a better option.

WillPS

savers_united said:

eskbanker said:

savers_united said:

I along with many others challenged HP when they tried to start charging us for free ink for life, that ended in a U Turn by HP and now myself and many thousands of other HP customers continue to get free ink. 

If Lloyds ever expressly promised that the fee waiver was 'for life' then that would put a different complexion on the current situation - did they?

I never read the terms of the account, and I guess in there somewhere it states "We reserve the right to", all my dealings back then were in branch with an account manager, I went from a Gold account to a Platinum account. Terms back then were rarely discussed you took it at face value and basically told you keep ex amount in the account and you will not need to pay the fee, so did that for 20 years and not ever paid a fee.

It just seems strange that even though in 2005 they removed the option of a waiver for new accounts its taken another 16 years to finally remove it for all existing customers. So for many like myself it does feel like a lifetime agreement. 

So you've had 16 years where you've benefitted from something which has been completely unavailable to customers who don't already have it, and because of that you feel you are entitled to it for life?

Give over, honestly.

eskbanker

savers_united said:

eskbanker said:

savers_united said:

I along with many others challenged HP when they tried to start charging us for free ink for life, that ended in a U Turn by HP and now myself and many thousands of other HP customers continue to get free ink. 

If Lloyds ever expressly promised that the fee waiver was 'for life' then that would put a different complexion on the current situation - did they?

I never read the terms of the account, and I guess in there somewhere it states "We reserve the right to", all my dealings back then were in branch with an account manager, I went from a Gold account to a Platinum account. Terms back then were rarely discussed you took it at face value and basically told you keep ex amount in the account and you will not need to pay the fee, so did that for 20 years and not ever paid a fee.

It just seems strange that even though in 2005 they removed the option of a waiver for new accounts its taken another 16 years to finally remove it for all existing customers. So for many like myself it does feel like a lifetime agreement. 

I can understand why something feels like it's for life if it's survived 16 years, but the point was whether or not there was actually any commitment to permanence from Lloyds, in the context of your comparison with HP's attempt to renege on a clear promise.

savers_united

WillPS said:

savers_united said:

eskbanker said:

savers_united said:

I along with many others challenged HP when they tried to start charging us for free ink for life, that ended in a U Turn by HP and now myself and many thousands of other HP customers continue to get free ink. 

If Lloyds ever expressly promised that the fee waiver was 'for life' then that would put a different complexion on the current situation - did they?

I never read the terms of the account, and I guess in there somewhere it states "We reserve the right to", all my dealings back then were in branch with an account manager, I went from a Gold account to a Platinum account. Terms back then were rarely discussed you took it at face value and basically told you keep ex amount in the account and you will not need to pay the fee, so did that for 20 years and not ever paid a fee.

It just seems strange that even though in 2005 they removed the option of a waiver for new accounts its taken another 16 years to finally remove it for all existing customers. So for many like myself it does feel like a lifetime agreement. 

So you've had 16 years where you've benefitted from something which has been completely unavailable to customers who don't already have it, and because of that you feel you are entitled to it for life?

Give over, honestly.

Not at all, but the longer these agreements go on unchanged the more people build their lives / budgets around them. If you are on tight monthly budget, and for 20+ years have not needed to worry about annual holiday insurance or vehicle breakdown cover, and then out of the blue get told that from next month to retain these same benefits you will need to start paying a monthly fee or get them Individually elsewhere that will come as a shock to many, someone who took out this account in their 50s who is now in their 70s having to arrange these covers is not going to be easy or an extra £5 a week may mean other things have to be missed.

I may add the above does not relate to myself but in the bigger picture this decision after such a long period of time it will mean adjustments for many,especially those in older age groups who are maybe not in the same position they were when the accounts were opened 20 years ago.

Appreciate others have not benefited from this since 2005, but there are many instances like this where cut offs have benefited early adopters, that is nothing new. 

Even if you have a gentlemans agreement with someone, maybe allowing them to use your garage or borrow your ladders, keep their rent the same, the longer it goes on the more difficult it becomes to suddenly change that as you understand the impact it will have, its 20 years in this case. 

Thrugelmir

savers_united said:

WillPS said:

savers_united said:

eskbanker said:

savers_united said:

I along with many others challenged HP when they tried to start charging us for free ink for life, that ended in a U Turn by HP and now myself and many thousands of other HP customers continue to get free ink. 

If Lloyds ever expressly promised that the fee waiver was 'for life' then that would put a different complexion on the current situation - did they?

I never read the terms of the account, and I guess in there somewhere it states "We reserve the right to", all my dealings back then were in branch with an account manager, I went from a Gold account to a Platinum account. Terms back then were rarely discussed you took it at face value and basically told you keep ex amount in the account and you will not need to pay the fee, so did that for 20 years and not ever paid a fee.

It just seems strange that even though in 2005 they removed the option of a waiver for new accounts its taken another 16 years to finally remove it for all existing customers. So for many like myself it does feel like a lifetime agreement. 

So you've had 16 years where you've benefitted from something which has been completely unavailable to customers who don't already have it, and because of that you feel you are entitled to it for life?

Give over, honestly.

Even if you have a gentlemans agreement with someone, maybe allowing them to use your garage or borrow your ladders, keep their rent the same, the longer it goes on the more difficult it becomes to suddenly change that as you understand the impact it will have, its 20 years in this case. 

Lloyds aren't are a business. The products they offer will have terms and conditions attached. These you accept when applying for a particular product. People rarely bother to read the small print. 

WillPS

If one was on a tight monthly budget then one would likely not have nor benefit from the insurances on offer, hence these accounts not being targeted at that group. Bit of a strawman argument.

In any case, Lloyds are not responsible for the ongoing provision of these services. They could, if they saw fit, pull out of packaged bank accounts altogether, give all the customers notice the insurances would end and that would be the end of it. I don't see why it's any different that the bank has chosen to discontinue giving those insurances away for free (in line with every other bank!).

savers_united

Quick update, Lloyds as expected rejected my complaint but did give me an extra couple of months to decide what I want to do with an offer of contribution towards travel and breakdown insurance.