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Why has it gone to court then? Why are the banks having their butts kicked?
Bank Charges.....they seem fair enough to me
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Why has it gone to court then? Why are the banks having their butts kicked?
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My wife works for a major high street bank. Charges are as follows.
Go overdrawn £15.00
Charge per day: £ 0-50.00 overdrawn £6.00
£ 50-100.00 overdrawn £15.00
over £100.00 overdrawn £20.00
Returned standing orders, direct debits and bounced cheques £20.00.
No it's not just the poor who get hit. Some of these people have ten grand overdrafts. Some of the cases she tells me about, the people are just plain stupid but on the whole it's people just struggling to get by and keep a grip on their financial situation. Before slagging them all you've got to ask why they are in this situation in the first place. It's because they have no choice. They have to deal with the banks. Their wages, benefits or pensions are paid into the banks. They start a job and they have to wait a month to get paid. I'm sure a vast majority of these people would much rather be paid cash on a weekly basis and never have to go anywhere near a bank but it's out of their hands.
Go overdrawn £15.00
Charge per day: £ 0-50.00 overdrawn £6.00
£ 50-100.00 overdrawn £15.00
over £100.00 overdrawn £20.00
Returned standing orders, direct debits and bounced cheques £20.00.
No it's not just the poor who get hit. Some of these people have ten grand overdrafts. Some of the cases she tells me about, the people are just plain stupid but on the whole it's people just struggling to get by and keep a grip on their financial situation. Before slagging them all you've got to ask why they are in this situation in the first place. It's because they have no choice. They have to deal with the banks. Their wages, benefits or pensions are paid into the banks. They start a job and they have to wait a month to get paid. I'm sure a vast majority of these people would much rather be paid cash on a weekly basis and never have to go anywhere near a bank but it's out of their hands.
joe-90";p="799229 said:
Charges look reasonable to me providing they have been well communicated which I presume they have.
The banks are not an extension of the social services.
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The banks use charges as another revenue stream. They do not relate in any shape or form to the actual costs incurred.
I know a guy who works on minimum wage and he went £2.50 overdrawn due to his own miscalculation and was charged £35. (that equates to a day and a halfs wages for him) Surely a charge of £5 plus intrest would have been enough.
Tell me how the banks are helping low earners by fining them that sort of money, it is more like kicking them when they are down.
I do not expect banks to work for nothing but they coin it in (pardon the pun) Does it really take four days to clear a cheque in this hi-tech age. Of course not, the banks use that money to play the international money markets to make a profit. If I take money out of the ATM it is updated on my account at that time no waiting for four days there.
I paid a sum of cash into a building society and needed it back the same day due to purchasing a car and was told it takes 24hrs for cash to clear
I know a guy who works on minimum wage and he went £2.50 overdrawn due to his own miscalculation and was charged £35. (that equates to a day and a halfs wages for him) Surely a charge of £5 plus intrest would have been enough.
Tell me how the banks are helping low earners by fining them that sort of money, it is more like kicking them when they are down.
I do not expect banks to work for nothing but they coin it in (pardon the pun) Does it really take four days to clear a cheque in this hi-tech age. Of course not, the banks use that money to play the international money markets to make a profit. If I take money out of the ATM it is updated on my account at that time no waiting for four days there.
I paid a sum of cash into a building society and needed it back the same day due to purchasing a car and was told it takes 24hrs for cash to clear
I think from a legal perspective the banks aren't supposed to be able to 'fine' the customers, so this is what the court case is based upon. The banks say it's a service charge to cover their costs (no bank yet has been happy to release a breakdown of their costs) the OFT on the other hand are saying that banks use it as a way to make money and are basically taking the ****. If you look at how much the charges have risen over recent years I think it's obviously the latter case.
As Solo explained, it's very difficult to get by without a bank account these days, you often get charged for not paying bills and other outgoings by direct debit.
As an example: Virgin Media, whom I was with until recently charge an extra £5 for customers who don't pay by DD, even though the cost to them if you manually pay by a direct bank transfer is the same, and I don't believe that Paypoint enabled shops and Post Offices get a fiver for every payment they take on behalf of VM.
The customer doesn't have a choice as all the banks charge similar amounts for going overdrawn, even if it's just a few pence. I'd be happy to do everything in cash and keep the money in a safe under the floor boards, life would be so much simpler.
Another thing that annoys me is when transferring money from one bank acount to another, or even paying in cheques, you have to wait at least 3 working days for the cash to appear in the account. Whereas when I use my debit card in a shop the money is gone from my account immediately. One rule for them and another for us, all to keep them in profit. I understand that every business has to make a profit to survive. but as stated before, they are clearly taking the ****!
btw. I managed to claim £300 from Natwest last year. Got another account to claim on but gotta wait for the outcome of this case before I know whether it's worth proceeding.
As Solo explained, it's very difficult to get by without a bank account these days, you often get charged for not paying bills and other outgoings by direct debit.
As an example: Virgin Media, whom I was with until recently charge an extra £5 for customers who don't pay by DD, even though the cost to them if you manually pay by a direct bank transfer is the same, and I don't believe that Paypoint enabled shops and Post Offices get a fiver for every payment they take on behalf of VM.
The customer doesn't have a choice as all the banks charge similar amounts for going overdrawn, even if it's just a few pence. I'd be happy to do everything in cash and keep the money in a safe under the floor boards, life would be so much simpler.
Another thing that annoys me is when transferring money from one bank acount to another, or even paying in cheques, you have to wait at least 3 working days for the cash to appear in the account. Whereas when I use my debit card in a shop the money is gone from my account immediately. One rule for them and another for us, all to keep them in profit. I understand that every business has to make a profit to survive. but as stated before, they are clearly taking the ****!
btw. I managed to claim £300 from Natwest last year. Got another account to claim on but gotta wait for the outcome of this case before I know whether it's worth proceeding.
A few observations on the above from Deluks:-
1.The bank's publish a clear tariff which includes in black and white what the penalty will be if customers exceed an agreed facility. As I have said before it is the customer who issues the cheque, direct debit, whatever.....at some point they have to be responsible for their own actions.
2.The court case in simple terms is whether the charges are for a 'service' or are they a 'penalty' for a breach of contract. The former you can basically charge what you want as long as it is published the later has to be on a 'cost' basis. The jury is as they say 'out' on this one
3.If those who err do not pay for the extra work they cause then those who abide by the rules will have to.....i.e. end of free banking.
4.You don't get charged for not paying by direct debit.....what you get is a discount if you do.....a subtle difference!!
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OK well let's all pay what it costs the banks to carry out the additional work. What exactly IS the cost of a computer generated letter? Whatever the real cost is - we'll pay it. As things stand, those that get hit with charges are paying for YOUR free banking.
What it costs is irrelevant..........the banks tell you what the cost will be and you as an account holder decide if you want to pay by going overdrawn in excess of your facility.
As an example Marks and Sparks will give you as a consumer a price for a garment....they don't then tell you hom much it cost them.I
its all well and good saying you should be responsible for your own actions, but the fact of the matter is lots of people are struggling because banks have lent out money far to easily, now when petrol, mortgages, food, gas & electric etc have all gone up significantly when wages haven't meaning less in the pocket, then people are struggling and may not be able to meet all their commitments, so the banks make more money instead of taking some of the responsibility
Yea.....they lent money to those who would have cried foul if the money hadn't been lent......why oh why do we increasingly seek to absolve people from the consequences of their own actions!
yes so let them cry foul and be a responsible lender, instead of thinking good times are here forever, we can make loads of money.
own actions?????
how does the man in the street make petrol, food, gas electric etc prices go up
these are the actions of big companies who make money at any costs just as banks do,
people who need to borrow money to pay for essentials need to learn the words 'budget' and 'cut back on luxuries'.
oh, we need a car, lets have a brand new one.
oh, we need a new sofa lets have a brand new one.
oh lets have take-away food.
oh lets have a foreign holiday.
people these days are not prepared to save or wait for anything.
banks are a business, and a huge part of that business is lending money. people can easily borrow money that they cannot afford to pay back, sidestepping a bank's vetting procedures, no problem.
i own a 'H' reg car. i now have the money to buy a newer one, because i was prepared to put up with the p**s taking and save some money. this is a concept that is alien to a lot of people today.
i am old fashioned, i agree, but i do like to have a bit saved in case of any unforseen eventualities.
oh, we need a car, lets have a brand new one.
oh, we need a new sofa lets have a brand new one.
oh lets have take-away food.
oh lets have a foreign holiday.
people these days are not prepared to save or wait for anything.
banks are a business, and a huge part of that business is lending money. people can easily borrow money that they cannot afford to pay back, sidestepping a bank's vetting procedures, no problem.
i own a 'H' reg car. i now have the money to buy a newer one, because i was prepared to put up with the p**s taking and save some money. this is a concept that is alien to a lot of people today.
i am old fashioned, i agree, but i do like to have a bit saved in case of any unforseen eventualities.
i think alot of the problems stem from higher house prices, a house isn't a luxury as such, but the prices of the last few years have meant people getting onto the ladder or fear never being able to get on it. if they wait another year the prices have gone up again, so they stretch that bit further than they would have liked and now with everything going up but wages people are struggling.
but some like you say want it today instead of saving.
i think alot of older people whose homes cost just a few thousand to buy would even struggle at the cost of starting out over the last few years
but some like you say want it today instead of saving.
i think alot of older people whose homes cost just a few thousand to buy would even struggle at the cost of starting out over the last few years
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