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The banks again: Political or logical decision?
http://tinyurl.com/yfpqz34
Do you think the decision was effected by the recent state of the bank's finances? I mean if they had to refund Billions across the board would that just mean they'd recoup it somewhere else or worse come to the government, ie tax payer to repay the err...tax payer? For myself I can sort of see the reasons why they allowed the appeal but I also have this nagging doubt that political pressure may have been brought to bear behind the scenes.
Do you think the decision was effected by the recent state of the bank's finances? I mean if they had to refund Billions across the board would that just mean they'd recoup it somewhere else or worse come to the government, ie tax payer to repay the err...tax payer? For myself I can sort of see the reasons why they allowed the appeal but I also have this nagging doubt that political pressure may have been brought to bear behind the scenes.
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Logical. This case has been long running and under great scrutiny. I would think the decision was purely done on the basis of law and no commercial or political pressures influenced the result.
I personally think it is the wrong decision. The charges were disproportionate to the actual costs incurred. For going overdrawn without permission they would send a letter and charge £30 for that. It was estimated the costs involved were about £1.25. The banks were greedy.
I personally think it is the wrong decision. The charges were disproportionate to the actual costs incurred. For going overdrawn without permission they would send a letter and charge £30 for that. It was estimated the costs involved were about £1.25. The banks were greedy.
Hello Gromit
re your question "What were those words supposed to be ? " on earlier post re Harriet Harman
There were no extra words - I didnt put ANY words around the person postings name !!
Naomicorlet said that if you get famous on this site your name can be changed automatically by the site to "a special name " !!
re your question "What were those words supposed to be ? " on earlier post re Harriet Harman
There were no extra words - I didnt put ANY words around the person postings name !!
Naomicorlet said that if you get famous on this site your name can be changed automatically by the site to "a special name " !!
I don't think people had much of a choice regarding bank charges - despite collusion being illegal they all seemed to have remarkably similar charge structures didn't they.
(Please don't insult people's intelligence wit the obvious "they could have chosen not to take out a bank account at all" reply - we all know how difficult it is to run your life without a bank account)
(Please don't insult people's intelligence wit the obvious "they could have chosen not to take out a bank account at all" reply - we all know how difficult it is to run your life without a bank account)
8 years ago my husband had to stop working because of a back injury. Our income was immediatly halved. The only benefit he received was £95 a week.It was a struggle but we managed.
My point is-We have NOT been overdrawn for 8 years. We live within our income.We dont go without anything. We eat well,take holidays,have a morgage,all the usual stuff.
If you live from month to month on your overdraft then you need some financial advice.
My point is-We have NOT been overdrawn for 8 years. We live within our income.We dont go without anything. We eat well,take holidays,have a morgage,all the usual stuff.
If you live from month to month on your overdraft then you need some financial advice.
yes samuelcat, correct, live within your means indeed I agree 100%. I do understand the issue though as gromit rightly points out, the costs are a couple of quid at most and they charge £25-40, so the crux really comes down to the deal that's done, so I gues it says somewhere in the small print we all sign that they can charge what they like. I have some sympathy but in the end if you stick to what is agreed the charges are tiny.
Agree with Geezer, if Banks had to refund Billions they'd recoup it somehow from the tax payer to -hopefully - repay the tax payer. Political pressure may well have been brought to bear behind the scenes to save the Government further embarrassment of further funding the banks over this.
Like Gromit and I would guess most others, I think the decision is indeed wrong on the basis that bank charges are heavily disproportionate to the actual costs incurred. Charging £30 for letters that cost an estimated £1 to £2 to produce does indeed make the Banks a greedy load of ********s. Their level of charges should be made proportionate perhaps via legislation - or effective regulation (if such a thing can indeed be made to exist where the banks are concerned)
Like Gromit and I would guess most others, I think the decision is indeed wrong on the basis that bank charges are heavily disproportionate to the actual costs incurred. Charging £30 for letters that cost an estimated £1 to £2 to produce does indeed make the Banks a greedy load of ********s. Their level of charges should be made proportionate perhaps via legislation - or effective regulation (if such a thing can indeed be made to exist where the banks are concerned)
May I apparently insult jake's intelligence by expanding on his dismissal of the counter-argument.
It is not impossible to conduct your finances without a bank account but it would indeed be very, very difficult and time consuming. Banks allow you to forego this personal dedication of time and effort not only without charge but they pay you for the privilege, as long as you stick by the rules you voluntarily agreed to. I query the intelligence of those that complain when having broken the rules they are then charged at the rate they (again) agreed to.
It is not impossible to conduct your finances without a bank account but it would indeed be very, very difficult and time consuming. Banks allow you to forego this personal dedication of time and effort not only without charge but they pay you for the privilege, as long as you stick by the rules you voluntarily agreed to. I query the intelligence of those that complain when having broken the rules they are then charged at the rate they (again) agreed to.
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The banks have us all over a barrel don't they?
If they had lost the case, all banks would have immediately and simultaneously imposed a 'charge' on bank accounts or a 'charge' to access your money from cash machines.
The real losers in all this are the less well off people. The people who run their bank accounts dry every month before getting that next life saving cash injection. I've been there. It's not very nice.
I twice incurred bank charges because I wrote a cheque that would have put my current account into the red by 45 pence. After the bank had bounced the cheque and sent me a letter stating why (and charging me 26 pounds) I was dumbfounded when I received another letter four days later telling me that the cheque had been presented again and I would be receiving another 26 pound charge.
For the sake of 45 pence, I was charged 52 pounds. This was in 1996 at a time when my relationship was on the rocks and I was living alone and struggling to hold down a job, run a car (which was essential to my job), and pay my mortgage and pay all the other costs associated with running a house.
I appreciate that to get a bank account you are signing up to a set of terms and conditions. But no one knows what the future holds and even with the best intentions you can easily find yourself financially embarrassed and on the receiving end of these charges.
I do believe that charges are necessary but I feel very strongly that they are disproportionately excessive.
If they had lost the case, all banks would have immediately and simultaneously imposed a 'charge' on bank accounts or a 'charge' to access your money from cash machines.
The real losers in all this are the less well off people. The people who run their bank accounts dry every month before getting that next life saving cash injection. I've been there. It's not very nice.
I twice incurred bank charges because I wrote a cheque that would have put my current account into the red by 45 pence. After the bank had bounced the cheque and sent me a letter stating why (and charging me 26 pounds) I was dumbfounded when I received another letter four days later telling me that the cheque had been presented again and I would be receiving another 26 pound charge.
For the sake of 45 pence, I was charged 52 pounds. This was in 1996 at a time when my relationship was on the rocks and I was living alone and struggling to hold down a job, run a car (which was essential to my job), and pay my mortgage and pay all the other costs associated with running a house.
I appreciate that to get a bank account you are signing up to a set of terms and conditions. But no one knows what the future holds and even with the best intentions you can easily find yourself financially embarrassed and on the receiving end of these charges.
I do believe that charges are necessary but I feel very strongly that they are disproportionately excessive.
birdie1971
A similar thing happened to me when I was self employed. I only had £10 in my account but didn't have to pay anyone until I knew I would have some money to meet it. Unfortunately, the bank debited my quarterly bank charges of £13 putting me £3 overdrawn. I seem to remember it cost me about £35 when I could least afford it.
It still amazes me that banks can still take my money without first informing me the amounts they intend to take, and without submitting an invoice or a proper receipt. No one else can.
A similar thing happened to me when I was self employed. I only had £10 in my account but didn't have to pay anyone until I knew I would have some money to meet it. Unfortunately, the bank debited my quarterly bank charges of £13 putting me £3 overdrawn. I seem to remember it cost me about £35 when I could least afford it.
It still amazes me that banks can still take my money without first informing me the amounts they intend to take, and without submitting an invoice or a proper receipt. No one else can.
Another View -
I agree that we are signing up to these charges. But do you know off the top of your head what your bank would charge you if you went overdrawn? I suspect you don't without first checking.
And that's the point. Yes, by signing up to have a bank account you are signing up to a set of terms and conditions. But the banks do not make these charges obvious – they bury them in small print.
I have a couple of credit cards. Just the other day, I received through the post a leaflet stating that my credit card terms and conditions were changing. The leaflet is about five pages long and written in a font that can be accurately described as very, very small indeed.
How many people will honestly read and digest this tiny tome? Not very many. Myself included – life's to short.
Would it be that difficult for the banks to produce a leaflet that had in normal sized font (eg. 10 point or above) that put the major points in bullet points? Bullet points such as: how much will I be charged if I go into the red?
I agree that we are signing up to these charges. But do you know off the top of your head what your bank would charge you if you went overdrawn? I suspect you don't without first checking.
And that's the point. Yes, by signing up to have a bank account you are signing up to a set of terms and conditions. But the banks do not make these charges obvious – they bury them in small print.
I have a couple of credit cards. Just the other day, I received through the post a leaflet stating that my credit card terms and conditions were changing. The leaflet is about five pages long and written in a font that can be accurately described as very, very small indeed.
How many people will honestly read and digest this tiny tome? Not very many. Myself included – life's to short.
Would it be that difficult for the banks to produce a leaflet that had in normal sized font (eg. 10 point or above) that put the major points in bullet points? Bullet points such as: how much will I be charged if I go into the red?
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