Any carpet-baggers out there?

toepazz

flossy_splodge wrote:

Not wanting to go off topic but I must admit I'm not sure which are the 'pots' of money that are going to be squirelled away as 'forgotten'. Could it be small sums in B Socs that some of us have put there and deliberately forgotten in the hope of demutualisation? Does anyone know?

:santa2: My point exactly - hope someone knows the answer. I am assuming that if he thinks he is going to grab my £100 in the Portman, etc all I have to do is add another 50p to it and then he can't say it is dormant :rudolf:

steady__eddie

"I am assuming that if he thinks he is going to grab my £100 in the Portman"

Talking about the Portman, I have a basic account with them containing £100 and a few pence. The last time that I "used" this account was in January of this year when I took the book in to a branch to have another couple of pennies interest entered in my passbook.
A couple of months ago, I had a dispute with The Staffordshire (now under the auspices of the Portman), The outcome was that they offered me a couple of bob compo and enquired if I wanted a cheque or if I wanted it paid into a bank a/c., if the latter I was to supply details. I replied that I wanted it paid into my Portman a/c. and supplied the pass book with my reply.
A week later, I had a reply on Portman headed paper asking me to fill in a form which requested the re-activation of a dormant account and my a/c. details had been written on the form. I belive that I only had to sign and date it if my memory serves me correct.
It would appear from this experience that a period of about 8 or 9 months inactivity qualifies an a/c. for dormancy status with the Portman !

carnet

flossy_splodge wrote:

Not wanting to go off topic but I must admit I'm not sure which are the 'pots' of money that are going to be squirelled away as 'forgotten'. Could it be small sums in B Socs that some of us have put there and deliberately forgotten in the hope of demutualisation? Does anyone know?

Believe the account has to have been be untouched for a minimum of 15 years - and even then the institution which holds it has to have made every effort to contact the holder - before Brown can grab it.

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steady__eddie wrote:

It would appear from this experience that a period of about 8 or 9 months inactivity qualifies an a/c. for dormancy status with the Portman !

Overheard at the Portman from a conversation with an upset pensioner, the official length of time before the Portman regard an account as dormant is 2 years.

This old lady was a lifetime customer and didn't look like a paid agent of Osama bin Laden!

Perhaps keen supporters of mutuals, such as your good self,with accounts at both the Portman and the Stafforshire have been singled out for "special measures" :rotfl:.

I see that dear old Bob Sharpe has vastly reduced the interest on your instant access account over the last few years.

toepazz

Went to Portman online and sent an email enquiry. Got this back today:

"Dormancy on Portman accounts is applied when there are no transactions for three years or we get returned mail. This does not correspond to any government rules and is something Portman has in its terms and conditions. If Dormancy is applied to the account, you will still continue to earn interest. To make a deposit you can either go into a local branch or send us a cheque to the head office. You will also need to include your passbook so this can be updated at the same time. If you would like to send a cheque to the head office, please send this to Savings , Portman House , Richmond Hill , Bournemouth , Dorset BH2 6EP"

:xmassign:

Juni_3

Correct me if I'm wrong but I struggle to find anywhere better than ING for my money. I need the monthly interest to live on, there are no regular amounts being payed in and there is no salary to pay in either.

All the better rates I see have all sorts of strings attached such as regular payments, salary, limited time, loss of a whole months interest on withdrawal etc.

MiserlyMartin

Some of you just don't get it. Its a one off payment. A short term gain which will, over the long term, cost you money when you pay more for products over the future years. Perhaps you won't see your windfall totally wiped out in your lifetime but future generations will - if ALL the BSocs convert.

But I can't see it happening. There are too many people me around who will vote to stay mutual. Eg. those for voted to keep Nationwide as it is.

'You have to be in it to win it - Even if you don't want to play the game'. Yes I am against de-mutualisation and would never vote for it to gain a windfall. However, IF a society converted through other members greed (and not my vote) and I didn't have an account with them then not only will I be losing a building society, I would be losing a windfall (which would be some compensation).

Also if I have an account with these building societies then I can help keep them mutual by voting against carpetbagger scum.

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MiserlyMartin wrote:

Also if I have an account with these building societies then I can help keep them mutual by voting against carpetbagger scum.

Don't be ridiculous.

Building Societies will convert only when their managements decide it is in their members' best interests and when the mutual model can't work in the case of that society.

The law currently protects the societies and places the decision making power with the management.

The logic of your comment is that you have many such accounts .

Can you give us your name and the charities that are going to benefit from your donation on conversion so that we can hold you to your word in the highly unlikely event of any such conversions?

MiserlyMartin

Its quite sensible. All it takes is a pro plc person or persons to join the board and here we have a golden opportunity for all those with speculative accounts to go and vote for conversion. Building Societies will convert only when a majority of members vote for it.The fact I have an account means I can vote "No" to conversion.

Yes I do have quite a few accounts. But most of these were opened years ago, for normal consumer reasons, like wanting a high interest savings account or mortgage. NOt carpetbagging. This was before the concept of carpet bagging was even heard of, so sadly the accounts are so old I will not be able to provide with your proof of assignment to charity - the windfalls going to me if it ever happens.

Hopefully NEVER.

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I gather that there are plenty of people who vote with their conscience when the management recommends demutualisation.

It's a good feeling inside. To do the right thing .

BUT it's safe for you to vote against DM as no demutualisation recommended by management has ever failed to go through .

So your conscience is clear :rolleyes: and you collect the money as well.

A double bonus .