A Bankers View, Open Letter To Martin Lewis And His Followers On Bank Charges.

fiveyearplan

Using other people's internet is not just frugal but I won't get into that one. There are many phone providers that give FREE internet access.

hangles_2

Banks don't like people who suggest that they be charged a reasonable ammount for phone calls and letters et. when they make a mistake.They also dislike being reminded that the Office of fair traiding is there to protect both businesses and the general public from unscrupulous traders who rip people off.

Smasher

hangles wrote: »

the Office of fair traiding is there to protect both businesses and the general public from unscrupulous traders who rip people off.

Unfortunately, that remains to be seen..

ANDENA

just to say that since martin lewis has started to fight for bank charges i looked into my accounts more i have just managed to get a loan and paid off hsbc MANAGED LOAN i will not have APR13% ONLY 7% AFTER PAYING OF LOAN i thought the loan was closed 3 days later found it was not and charging interest again onit so went to bank it was this young girl that messed it all up. now if it was'nt for martin to tell us to keep an i on our financies i would of not checked,the banks like when you have money but when your in trouble they just dont want to know.example paid off morg oct 20th first of nov get phone call just be for 9pm saying i am overdrawn by £303 and which was morg payment. this person from call centre wound not except i had paid morg off and took all my wages out of my account also he was going to take money out of my savings. i told him he better not do that and took his name to report him. next day went to bank and gave me overdraft of £350 remember still got M/L it took me 2 months to get back on my feet ,soi dont trust the banks any more with my money so good job martin lewis keep it up i'm glad BBC last saturday brought to light about M/L as i warn people not to take that loan on.

moniker_2

Tim_L wrote: »

As far as CHAPs goes, it is hugely unreliable. I know that, because I need to move large amounts of cash around quickly. I can and do deposit tens of thousands of pounds instantly anywhere in the world with bookmakers. Yet it still takes days to move money between banks. Maybe instead of sneering at your customers you might (again as an industry) address this problem?

If the money arrives every time you make a payment, then it is perfectly reliable. However I do agree that it shouldn't take days. As a counterexample, I often have to make payments to a bank in another EU country. I make the payment at 3.15 pm and log in to the internet bank of the other bank 20 minutes later and find that the money is already in my account there. That's about as long as it should take.

moniker_2

ejones999 wrote: »

My solution - if you don't have enough money to pay a D/D - it is returned and CANCELLED.
If a card transaction takes you over your o/d limit or o/d without a limit then the card is BLOCKED.

No return fees, no unauthorised fees.

To unblock you would have to make an appointment or speak to someone on the phone to review the way the account is run. If you are creditworthy you would get an o/d if not you have to make alternative ways to pay and live.

Why?

I have an account in another mainland Europe bank. If there's not enough money in the account to pay a bill or a D/D the payment is simply rejected. I'm sent an automatic email telling me that there's a message waiting for me. Rejected payments shows up in a separate list. I can simply click on each of them to re-enable them.

Cards are automatically enabled when there's sufficient funds on the account again.

No charges, no hassle, no explanations required.

Why do you feel it would be necessary to make an appointment to review one's finances?

moniker_2

pjttlk wrote: »

The simplest way to settle the debate over the 'fairness' of UK bank charges would be simply to check what happens elsewhere in Europe.

True. UK banking is ancient and terribly expensive when compared to most of the rest of Europe.

jo1980_2

in response to the opening post i find it amazing that someone could actually be brainwashed in to believing that these charges are 'there to help people' manage their money better.
I'm sure that is what banks drum into their staff, but everyone in their right mind knows that is purely for profit.
i only read the first page, there is probably hundreds of examples of disguting charges in the thread, and hopefully somewhere a grovelling apology from the OP for being so blatatantly naive and downwiright insulting to millions of people who live on a tight budget.
i was charged £35 for going 3p overdrawn for 2 days, (the only reason i went overdrawn was because i didn't see in the small print of the previous statement an interest charge on a previous charge) along with a £25 fee for a letter .
so £60 for being 3p over for 2 days :eek:, you think thats fair? don't even dare to try and justify it.
I intend to get all these unlawful charges back, and no i don't feel guilty about it.:beer:

krisskross

moniker wrote: »

True. UK banking is ancient and terribly expensive when compared to most of the rest of Europe.

Banking cost us a monthly fee of ~ €9 plus we had to pay each year for our debit cards, about another €30 in Spain. I prefer the English system where we pay nothing as long as we operate our account responsibly.

rog2

BANKER_GIRL wrote: »

particular thanks to Tootsie Roll for her fantastic stats, figures and comments.

Please could you tell me where to find these 'fantastic stats, figures and comments', BG?

I did ask the question before, but my post appears to have been 'moderated'.

I am genuinely interested to know the 'fantastic stats' that back up your original post.