Ever been criticised for spending your own money?

dealyboy

Oh well that explains it ... a traditional bank ... concerned for it's customers.

Money_and_Travel

I remember Mike Graham, on Talk radio, telling how they were putting info on his statements, informing him how much carbon his spending was causing.

He was not impressed, and vowed to produce even more.   

GeoffTF

Money_and_Travel said:

But I've never been overdrawn, or even close to being overdrawn.

I am regularly close to overdrawn. The alternative would be to have more money than is necessary in my account earning no interest. I overdrew by £1.68 a couple of months ago, got a notification, and avoided paying interest by crediting a few £ the same day.

GingerTim

Money_and_Travel said:

I remember Mike Graham, on Talk radio, telling how they were putting info on his statements, informing him how much carbon his spending was causing.

He was not impressed, and vowed to produce even more.   

Not sure I'd take much notice of the man who grows concrete.

Nebulous2

Money_and_Travel said:

Ballard said:

Your bank have given you a credit card and they wouldn’t do that if they didn’t want you to use it

I use it (for online buying, and I plan to use it for booking hotels, channel crossings etc), but I pay it in full before the statement date.

With all these algorithm and AIs, you'd think they'd spot these facts.

I've had a Barclaycard for many years, with quite a generous limit. My circumstances have changed, I'm now on a pension and working part-time.  I've had some big one-off payments on the house and holidays, which means I've hit it very hard some months. It is always paid in full. 

They seem quite happy to leave me alone, I can't recall them ever offering me advice on my expenditure. 

Rob5342

I can't see the problem really. They might be useful for some people, if they aren't for you then just ignore them.

hugheskevi

Money_and_Travel said:

I remember Mike Graham, on Talk radio, telling how they were putting info on his statements, informing him how much carbon his spending was causing.

He was not impressed, and vowed to produce even more.   

Natwest helpfully contains details of my carbon footprint. 

A recent transfer to an external ISA was allegedly a whopping 3,610kg of CO2 - I wonder did they fly the funds over to the ISA provider?

Most of the 'spending analysis' I've seen from any account is useless as it is dominated by transfers rather than spending, but most banks don't seem to strip that out so monthly comparisons are utter nonsense depending on what transfers were made.

Like the OP, when I started with a recent new Barclaycard it got flagged for possible fraud when I purchased an annual running track membership (in person, with chip transaction). I didn't mind that, what was infuriating is that I have their app, they have my phone number and email, yet the way they informed me they blocked the card is by post...

I've had lots of accounts with many banks in the last few years as I transitioned from a regular job and lifestyle to 16 months of travel and back to normal life again. The competitor banks are just so much better than the traditional ones for functionality and ease of use. I've loved Starling and Chase as well as Moneybox and Chip which have all been flawless and just do what they say without any nonsense, although at the other end of the scale, Zopa were hopeless. Virgin, Santander, Investec, Cynergy, Allica, and Halifax were okay, but their interfaces were not as good as the best accounts. Barclaycard and Natwest feel so old-fashioned and annoying in their approach but do have very good account incentives.