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The Unbanked: A national disgrace

13

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  • Hi

    I have had a Lloyds Tsb Basic Bank account for about 2 years. I first got this when I was claiming benefits this was only for about 2 month until I found a job.

    I have since been getting about £1000 to £1500 per month paid into this account. I have been into the branch a couple of times to upgrade but they keep telling me that I cant !! For heavens sake All i would like is a LINK card so I can go to any cash machine to take my money out (with this basic account you can only take money out at LLOYDS Machines)

    I did open a business bank account with Lloyds without any problems and was accepted straight away ! Silly eh.

    where can I go from here ? I have applied to other banks but keep getting declined.

    Is it illegal to open a free business current account and use it for personal use?

    thanks
  • harryhound
    harryhound Posts: 2,662 Forumite
    PROLIANT wrote: »
    But he would still have to pay the tax man else he would be done for tax evaison no?

    There are a significant number of people in this country whose motto is "can't pay won't pay". The only way that the Revenue are likely to get to know this guy, that I knew as Bill, would be if someone "shopped" him. By the time their investigator had staked out his ever temporary address, worked out who he was, photographed him and tried to issue some sort of legal proceedings, he would have moved on.

    Even if they did manage to get him into court they would still be up against the "can't pay, won't pay" problem. So what is the choice, give him a holiday in jail and then benefits on release?
    I don't like it BUT I do think there is a difference between not paying tax on money earned and living as a parasite on benefits and other social support.

    Harry.

    I bet he hasn't got a TV licence either:rolleyes:
  • harryhound
    harryhound Posts: 2,662 Forumite
    rayandy wrote: »
    Is it illegal to open a free business current account and use it for personal use?

    The tax man is likely to get upset if he thinks you are mixing personal and business transactions.
    I remember another self employed acquaintance who went to buy a present for his wife's birthday and discovered he had forgotten his personal bank card, so he used the business credit card. A hawk-eyed tax man spotted the unusual business expense ;) and was not convinced by the above explanation and demanded a copy and explanation of all the transactions on his personal bank account too and combined the two accounts and then gave them the fine toothed comb treatment.
    Poor old "sole trader" could not sleep at night and launched into a diatribe against the "fascism" of the Revenue.
    (I just happened to have met the tax man involved socially but I did not let on - always thought he was the sort of bloke who would take his job seriously and right down to picking the last nit:eek:). .
  • FatherAbraham
    FatherAbraham Posts: 1,024 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hallo Harry,
    harryhound wrote: »
    Another simple question: Why do so many traders not want to take Solo or Electron cards?

    Harry.

    Hopefully a simple answer. Those cards are usually supplied on accounts which have no overdraft facility, no credit facility. That means that any payments made with the cards must be reconciled immediately (in "real time") with the balance in the attached account.

    Real-time reconciliation is much more expensive than batched reconciliation -- there need to be dedicated servers at the bank's data-processing centre which respond immediately to requests for payments, and update the account balance immediately. Acquiring, operating and maintaining those facilities costs money, which tends to be paid for via higher merchant charges.

    Since such cards tend to be used by poor people, who tend to make low-value transactions (ever seen someone pay for a 35p item with a card?), there's little commercial incentive for retailers to accept them.

    Warmest regards,
    FA
    Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People heard it, and approved the Doctrine, and immediately practised the Contrary, just as if it had been a common Sermon; for the Vendue opened ...
    THE WAY TO WEALTH, Benjamin Franklin, 1758 AD
  • poeticpip wrote: »
    I have a disabled friend who is on benefits and DLA. It's an absolute nightmare for her not having a bank account. She has already been declared bankrupt and is struggling to keep solvent. Unfortunately she loves spending money. She recently bought a new bed, which cost £400 but couldn't afford it, so took out a loan (a crazy thing to do in her situation) I couldn't believe it when she told me that the loan cost £272 (that's well over 50% of the cost of the bed) bringing the total to £672. She won't be able to repay that any time soon, it will take ages. After that she went and ordered a new sofa for £420. She also has an outstanding phone bill of £170 so has been cut off and can only get incoming calls. She won't get out of this mess unless someone gives her debt counselling and some willpower to stop spending.
    If your friend needed the bed because of her disabilities, e.g incontinence, haemorraging etc, she might have been eligible for a community care grant. Disabled people can often become isolated and the phone may be the only means of communicating with the outsidfe world. I was completely bedridden ofr over a year and would have gone potty without the phone.
    Be nice to people who are on their way down
    You never know when they are going to pass you on their way back up again
    You cannot light your own candle by blowing out someone else's
  • harryhound
    harryhound Posts: 2,662 Forumite
    Hallo Harry,



    Hopefully a simple answer. Those cards are usually supplied on accounts which have no overdraft facility, no credit facility. That means that any payments made with the cards must be reconciled immediately (in "real time") with the balance in the attached account.


    FA

    Did I hear Simon Calder of the Independent, and inveterate low cost air traveller, saying he could get round the expensive charge for use of a credit card (can be 4.50 GBP) by using an Electron card on the web sites of the likes of Ryanair?

    Harry.
  • Hello

    I think Lloyds TSB may read this forum !!

    I recently posted about my Basic Cash Account and this morning I got a Lloyds TSB Visa Debit card through the post !

    Regards
  • Can anyone help me please.

    My Grandson as yet doesn't have a bank account but now needs one to have his wages paid in.

    He doesn't want to use it for anything else at this time.

    He has recently moved in to live with me.

    Having never lived in a property other than his parents or my house he has nothing like utility bills in his name......but "on the phone" he was assured the Abbey would allow him to open this account with utility bills of mine. You've already guessed they wouldn't allow that when he arrived for his appointment.

    Does anyone have any ideas where/which bank might allow him the account he desperatly needs.

    How do people get to open accounts....like the unemployed who have benefits to pay in.....as an example. Not every one can produce utility bills.

    Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer.

    EP
  • Happy_Girl wrote: »
    Can I add Abbey to the list of banks who were very good in offering a basic account straightaway - full online access, a cheque book and an electron card was provided too

    Sadly they were no help at all to my Grandson recently...He's still looking to find a bank to accept his application.

    EP
  • harryhound
    harryhound Posts: 2,662 Forumite
    I think the problem is not so much the banks' fault but the money laundering regulations.
    Your grandson is being classed as a cross between a terrorist and a drug dealer.
    Does he have a passport?

    Could you open a joint account together? That might get round the problem?
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