Barclays removing overdraft limit

TOP_CAT

Banks are highly regulated because finally people woke up to the fact ..... they cant be trusted at all .

eskbanker

TOP_CAT said:

Banks are highly regulated because finally people woke up to the fact ..... they cant be trusted at all .

That's one way of looking at it, but of course the flip side is that all lending (including overdrafts) became increasingly regulated because of people getting into excessive and unmanageable debt, i.e. it was borrowers who couldn't be trusted to repay what they'd borrowed....

TOP_CAT

The massive fines Barclays received in the past do tell one side of the truth about Barclays past 

Not to mention people were planted with cameras recording bank meetings which were aired on tv which provided interesting viewing !

If the bank cant regulate its own people/employees selling product ...how is that the average punters fault .
Fact is its not its the banks end  .

I see how people favour banks and large corps ....on MSE 

Mse is all about the average punters side of the fence your either on that side or your not .

eskbanker

TOP_CAT said:

I see how people favour banks and large corps ....on MSE 

Mse is all about the average punters side of the fence your either on that side or your not .

Fortunately most are capable of somewhat more nuanced analysis than that sort of facile binary us v them argument!

TOP_CAT

You can argue your side of the fence by all means do so and generally you are fairly neutral with the aim of how to best help others.
 
That isnt the case with many on here though .

kaMelo

Whilst no one would disagree that banks have not always behaved responsibly it always takes two to tango.
Offering an increased overdraft without checking it is appropriate may be irresponsible however it's a limit not a target, there is no requirement to spend it all. A customer who spent their overdraft knowing they were in no position to repay it has also behaved irresponsibly.

Alex9384

stclair said:

Whats your overdraft limit? give them a call and tell them you would like to keep it :-)

I did exactly that with Halifax.
I didn't know the phone call will take 57 minutes and it was basically like an application for a new OD, just to be told at the end of the call that I need to visit a branch... which I didn't. My OD was then reduced.

EricSY

I banked with them since 1975, I have managed my account over the years with no outstanding debts or missed payments, just never used the overdraft facility, and I have a very high credit score (999 out of 999 on Experian, 974 out of 1000 on Equifax). I recived the letter today and I called to ask if I can keep my overdraft facility but the call handler said no, he refused to call his supervisor or escalate my complaint! He said I can appeal the decision to withdraw my overdraft facility but I have to provide details of my other bank accounts, if any, and proof of sufficient additional income to the bank to support my appeal. Obviously to have enough funds to be in credit for decades is not enough for Barclays.
I think the call handler was trying to collect other financial information on me - just banking with Barclays responsibly e.g. good past record, always remain in credit, never missed a loan payment etc etc is no longer sufficient.

Brie

an overdraft is a liability to a bank.  so if they look to the regulators that they may be over extended they are going to try to reduce their liability.  the obvious place to do this easily is with those customers who never or rarely use the overdraft.  

all that said the call handler who refused to log a complaint was completely wrong in what they were doing.  their processes will say that they must log a complaint if the customer insists and even if the customer doesn't insist it should at least be logged as a "concern".  They may then try to resolve the complaint while on the phone as that is the most efficient thing to do for them.  

[Deleted User]

EricSY said:

I banked with them since 1975, I have managed my account over the years with no outstanding debts or missed payments, just never used the overdraft facility, and I have a very high credit score (999 out of 999 on Experian, 974 out of 1000 on Equifax). I recived the letter today and I called to ask if I can keep my overdraft facility but the call handler said no, he refused to call his supervisor or escalate my complaint! He said I can appeal the decision to withdraw my overdraft facility but I have to provide details of my other bank accounts, if any, and proof of sufficient additional income to the bank to support my appeal. Obviously to have enough funds to be in credit for decades is not enough for Barclays.
I think the call handler was trying to collect other financial information on me - just banking with Barclays responsibly e.g. good past record, always remain in credit, never missed a loan payment etc etc is no longer sufficient.

You don't have a credit score in the UK, the gimmick number you see is only every seen by you, it is never a factor in lending.

Never using the OD is a good reason to remove it as it prevents you getting into debt. Them wanting to see proof it is affordable is responsible banking which they are required to do by the FCA