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

Dylanwing

A bit harsh on OP, I think she was brave to put a contrary view as seen from inside a Branch, or battery farm !!! Call Centre. I also agree with the other poster that it is not the fault of the front-line, they are trained to do a job, and should support their employer. Unfortunately, as I recall from my time in Banking, so many Bank staff are just unaware of reality (Myself included at that time), and cannot appreciate the effect of huge charges on an already tight budget. My experience with RBS allowed me to run up nearly £1,000 in charges in a Month - A whole Months salary! Actual problem was about £100, so work out the APR on that!
Looking at Lloyds new 'fair' charges, unless the OFT do their job properly and slap the Banks hard, this will rumble on, causing more misery, more hassle for Bank staff, and creating ever-larger profits for Banks. I may not agree with OP, but she has the right to defend her Bank, and in fairness, has not said anything that is not said by the 'Smuggies' elsewhere on this Forum.

rog2

reetnproper wrote: »

It wasn't until I had run up and overdraft in excess of £700 (most of which was charges) that my bank SUDDENLY wanted to talk to me about a manageable repayment plan. Suddenly, I could pay some of my bills, with the banks blessing and repay them an interest free amount for an initial 6mths. Why wasn't I offered this at the start when I begged them to help? Because they wanted to make money out of me and this was the way they chose to do it.

I wonder just how many readers, if the truth is known, can relate to this situation, rnp. My guess is more than people would imagine. The whole concept of the 'managed loan' is to make more money for the banks, and one could, quite easily, be forgiven for thinking that there is an 'actual process' which the banks follow in order to 'create the scenario for offering the dreaded managed loan', by inflating actual debt levels with punitive charges.
These 'managed loans' often result in totally unmanageable debt situations as the banks then have virtually 'total' control over the customer's incoming finances, leaving them with no 'flexibilty' whatsoever. Not only does this create a 'nice little earner' for the banks, but it can lay the customer open to the pitfalls of 'sub-prime' and 'doorstep lenders' in order to provide a minimum standard of living - the 'Debt-Free' board has many examples of just how a 'few penalty charges' have grown out of all proportion, creating levels of debt that are no longer manageable by conventional 'debt-management' techniques.
The result of this situation can be 'bankruptcy', which, whilst it does have the effect of 'writing off' unmanageable debts, can impact deeply on a person's life and has no real benefit to the creditor.
In the most extreme cases, this type of 'created debt' has resulted in suicide.
'Punitive charges acting as deterrants?' - I don't think so.

fiveyearplan

Agree with Rog2. I have a bank account with Barclays in the exact same position. Overdraft limit of £250 then they paid one direct debit taking me over that limit then charges upon charges bouncing all other direct debits causing more charges, now the account is about £700 overdrawn all from being roughly £25 over my overdraft limit! I suppose I wouldn't really believe it if someone told me thats what happened to them, but now it has happened to me I know for fact that what the banks do. Yes, I agree also with Rog2 and RNP that this is done deliberately by the bank to make more money. Sadly with my bankruptcy looming, they won't be getting a penny of it back, or any of the £20,000 loan that I owe them.

Dylanwing

When I was in Banking in the early 80's, we had a much a form of managed loans. We would sit down with the customer, work out their debts, work out what they need until pay day, round it up to build in a bit of slack, and put the lot onto personal loan. If there had been a lot of Bank charges, most would be refunded so that it represented a 'fair' amount. Customer was required to keep up loan repayments and keep current account in credit, and we had a personal loan sale and a happy customer. It was simple, and in most cases got people back on track. I also found that a customers account history was far more accurate in determining creditworthiness than any computerised system of credit scoring.

rog2

Dylanwing wrote: »

When I was in Banking in the early 80's, we had a much a form of managed loans. We would sit down with the customer, work out their debts, work out what they need until pay day, round it up to build in a bit of slack, and put the lot onto personal loan. If there had been a lot of Bank charges, most would be refunded so that it represented a 'fair' amount. Customer was required to keep up loan repayments and keep current account in credit, and we had a personal loan sale and a happy customer. It was simple, and in most cases got people back on track. I also found that a customers account history was far more accurate in determining creditworthiness than any computerised system of credit scoring.

Sadly, Dylanwing, times have changed - I, too, remember being able to talk with 'my' Bank Manager - in fact he once told me 'there are no such thing as problems, only solutions'.
It really does annoy me that I am 'expected' to divulge personal information to a 'script-reader' based in a country with an appalling record of human rights, and who is, probably, earning a fraction of the wage that his UK counterpart would receive. Certainly the cost savings, to the Banks, are not reflected by lower charges.

fiveyearplan

I came across a letter from my bank manager in 1987. He said he was sorry to hear that I had lost my job and agreed I could pay £10 per week off my overdraft until I got on my feet again. He was a real person and the overdraft was paid in full. There was no credit checking etc. he just looked at how I had been managing my account and offered me a solution and we both came out winners! How times change.

coops024

Wow ! what an intresting thread !

So anyway heres my 2 pence !

There does seem to be way too much generalisation on these posts (again like i've just done )

everyone on here has some valid points but there will always be points to the contry.

For every person who has tasted finantial hardship through no fault of their own. theres someone who has the attatude that its their right to drive a fast car, eat out every week and have all the latest gadgets

For every person who has lived by the book and tried to make an honest living. theres someone who will scam, lie, cheat and steal to get what they want (I know 3 people currently commiting benefit fraud :mad: ) and alas I'm entitled to nothing

So yeah some people will phone BANK GIRL and shout and swear at her and say I want my money back cos "Martin Lewis says its ilegal" some of those will be genuinly hard up and probably had to make the choice between going overdrawn and feeding the children !

But you can bet there are others that have thought "I'm going to get a new High Defenition TV and it doesnt matter if I go overdrawn cos I can just claim it all back !"

None of us should Judge others on this site !

BANK GIRL how dare you Judge us on here ! - Some people on here will have been charged enormous amounts for a tiny mistake or mis-calculation

And we should not Judge BANK GIRL ! Just because she has only worked in her current role for 7 months and is 21 years old does not mean she isnt good at her job or that she doesnt understand how the bank works

It also does not mean she has not seen or known hard times ! she could have been brought up in poverty for all we know !

Dylanwing

coops024 - Valid points, but you highlight perfectly why the computerised 'One Size Fits All' lending undertaken by the Banks fails so often. Bank call centre staff are virtual automatons with minimal discretion, and actually finding anybody within a Bank who is allowed to use any judgement is like finding the Holy Grail. The problems you highlight could be lessened considerably if the Banks actually allowed common-sense and discretion, and looked at people as individuals, and not cash-cows to be ditched at the first hint of a problem.
BTW, I did not find Bankgirl judgemental, she eloquently expressed an opinion based on her experiences.
Love, peace and penguins to all.

rog2

Dylanwing wrote: »

BTW, I did not find Bankgirl judgemental, she eloquently expressed an opinion based on her experiences.

Not just a 'teeny bit' judgemental, dylanwing?

I do agree that her opening post came accross quite eloquently, however the 'eloquence' seemed to diminish as the thread progressed.

angelwillow

rog2 wrote: »

I wonder just how many readers, if the truth is known, can relate to this situation, rnp. My guess is more than people would imagine. The whole concept of the 'managed loan' is to make more money for the banks, and one could, quite easily, be forgiven for thinking that there is an 'actual process' which the banks follow in order to 'create the scenario for offering the dreaded managed loan', by inflating actual debt levels with punitive charges.
These 'managed loans' often result in totally unmanageable debt situations as the banks then have virtually 'total' control over the customer's incoming finances, leaving them with no 'flexibilty' whatsoever. Not only does this create a 'nice little earner' for the banks, but it can lay the customer open to the pitfalls of 'sub-prime' and 'doorstep lenders' in order to provide a minimum standard of living - the 'Debt-Free' board has many examples of just how a 'few penalty charges' have grown out of all proportion, creating levels of debt that are no longer manageable by conventional 'debt-management' techniques.
The result of this situation can be 'bankruptcy', which, whilst it does have the effect of 'writing off' unmanageable debts, can impact deeply on a person's life and has no real benefit to the creditor.
In the most extreme cases, this type of 'created debt' has resulted in suicide.
'Punitive charges acting as deterrants?' - I don't think so.

Put me down as one of those people...........suicide has been avoided, atm, but have a 5 year depression 'problem' instead..............and no prospect of paying everything off.