# Banks Again!!!!



## Phaeton (31 Jan 2020)

We're going on a family holiday later this year, it's expensive so I took out a 24 month interest free Sainsbury's credit card, seemed logical to let them let me pay them back over time & leave the money in the bank making a tiny bit of interest. Card came & deposit paid on it, they advised me of the details to log onto the web based account. I logged on but couldn't setup a direct debit to make the minimum payment, contacted them to be advised I can't setup a DD until I get my first statement. 

Got an email on 25th December advising payment required by 19th January, on 26th December I logged on & filled in my bank details for the DD, sorted or so I thought, today I got a letter advising I'd missed my first payment, the account was frozen, the interest free offer had been withdrawn & I had been charged £12 for the privileged.

Rang them only to be told that as the statement was produced before the DD was setup it can't take the money via it WTF!!!! Anyway upshot, fine refunded, DD confirmed to take 2 payments on 19th Feb, marker taken off credit report, pis-sups & breweries spring to mind.


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## oldwheels (31 Jan 2020)

I had a similar experience with the Clydesdale Bank. They knew interest rates were about to change so procrastinated until I started agitating by which time the interest rate had changed in their favour. I cancelled the transaction and shifted any money I had to another bank.


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## gavroche (31 Jan 2020)

I received a letter from my bank this morning advising me that my local branch will be closing on June 30th. Luckily, I will be able to use the post office to put money in otherwise it would be a 10 miles round trip to the nearest other branch. Do they really care about their customers?


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## tom73 (31 Jan 2020)

All but given up on the high street "traditional" banks and just a number stuff.
I just want a bank that works with quick simple service mostly all our banking done though monzo now.


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## Phaeton (31 Jan 2020)

gavroche said:


> I received a letter from my bank this morning advising me that my local branch will be closing on June 30th. Luckily, I will be able to use the post office to put money in otherwise it would be a 10 miles round trip to the nearest other branch. Do they really care about their customers?


I doubt it, but to be honest I can't remember the last time I went into a bank, the issue I see for me at least is that instead of closing the physical bank presence they should have good quality call centre teams.


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## oldwheels (31 Jan 2020)

I do not “ need” to go into a bank normally as most things can be done on line. Nevertheless I use our local branch as often as possible on the basis of use it or lose it. Business customers who still get a fair amount of cash are in there regularly paying in money and getting change.


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## Phaeton (31 Jan 2020)

oldwheels said:


> I do not “ need” to go into a bank normally as most things can be done on line. Nevertheless I use our local branch as often as possible on the basis of use it or lose it. Business customers who still get a fair amount of cash are in there regularly paying in money and getting change.


Yes bizarrely they can bank cheques free but cash has to be paid for


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## oldwheels (31 Jan 2020)

Phaeton said:


> Yes bizarrely they can bank cheques free but cash has to be paid for


At one time they charged for providing change for the till. I was not very pleased when the local Show organiser asked me to get change for them. I explained who the change was for but later found it charged on our bank account.


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## DRM (31 Jan 2020)

gavroche said:


> I received a letter from my bank this morning advising me that my local branch will be closing on June 30th. Luckily, I will be able to use the post office to put money in otherwise it would be a 10 miles round trip to the nearest other branch. Do they really care about their customers?


No they don’t,only the profit, our local bank branch no longer opens on Saturday mornings, only Monday to Friday after the majority are at work, they close before the same people clock off, so we had a cheque to pay in which meant a trip to Leeds, in the car, incurring a charge to park up, then when we get there a bank employee suggested he showed me how to use a machine to pay the cheque in & was surprised I refused, he couldn’t see that if this idea took off that machine would do him out of a job, that’s why I wanted to deal with a human being on the counter.


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## classic33 (31 Jan 2020)

DRM said:


> No they don’t,only the profit, our local bank branch no longer opens on Saturday mornings, only Monday to Friday after the majority are at work, they close before the same people clock off, so we had a cheque to pay in which meant a trip to Leeds, in the car, incurring a charge to park up, then when we get there a bank employee suggested he showed me how to use a machine to pay the cheque in & was surprised I refused, he couldn’t see that if this idea took off that machine would do him out of a job, that’s why I wanted to deal with a human being on the counter.


They still have to have a person check the cheques by hand, once they've let the machine do it.


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## Pale Rider (1 Feb 2020)

DRM said:


> he couldn’t see that if this idea took off that machine would do him out of a job,



He may be dense, but I expect he did realise the ultimate impact.

Staff at Barclays in Durham were bugging me to go online.

I remarked it would be a pity if it resulted in job losses.

The lass agreed, but told me they were under strict instructions to push online.

Thus it was a case of not do it and lose your job sooner, or do it and lose your job later.


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## sheddy (1 Feb 2020)

Banks are run for shareholders.

I use a Building Society.


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## Drago (1 Feb 2020)

I thought this thread was about Jeff Banks the fashion bloke.


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## kynikos (1 Feb 2020)

gavroche said:


> I received a letter from my bank this morning advising me that my local branch will be closing on June 30th. Luckily, I will be able to use the post office to put money in otherwise it would be a 10 miles round trip to the nearest other branch. Do they really care about their customers?


Good luck with that. We had a similar letter when HSBC closed in Ossett. Six months later the Post Office closed.


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## Phaeton (6 Feb 2020)

Credit Karma just sent me an email to say that something has changed on my account, logged onto the account to see that Sainsbury's have marked my account as missing a payment Fudging Barstools!!


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## Archie_tect (6 Feb 2020)

I get charged 1.5% [£1.50 per £100 or part thereof!] to pay in cash which is why I refuse to accept cash payments.


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## Drago (6 Feb 2020)

Archie_tect said:


> I get charged 1.5% [£1.50 per £100 or part thereof!] to pay in cash which is why I refuse to accept cash payments.


Cheeky fornicators!


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## BrumJim (6 Feb 2020)

Drago said:


> I thought this thread was about Jeff Banks the fashion bloke.


I thought it was a post-brexit (agreement) thread about Chris EUBank.


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## Archie_tect (6 Feb 2020)

BrumJim said:


> I thought it was a post-brexit (agreement) thread about Chris EUBank.


How long before one of the main banks starts a new over the counter serviced bank account for their elderly customers called YouBank... just to have a quiet laugh at the expense of their retired customers who voted for Brexit...


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## Mike_P (6 Feb 2020)

On line is taking over, my bank now accepts photos of cheques being deposited of upto £500 through its mobile app. Even if you go into the bank you get pointed in the direction of a cash point combi deposit machine.


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## Drago (6 Feb 2020)

Oh lordy, that's torn it!


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## Archie_tect (7 Feb 2020)

Meanwhile, back at the queue for the bank...


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## gavroche (7 Feb 2020)

Mike_P said:


> On line is taking over, my bank now accepts photos of cheques being deposited


I am looking forward to the day when they also accept photos of bank notes as proof of deposit as well.


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## postman (7 Feb 2020)

gavroche said:


> I am looking forward to the day when they also accept photos of bank notes




So am i i'll stay up all night making myself a zillionaire.


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## snorri (7 Feb 2020)

A friend of mine was rather annoyed when he heard of a local bank closure, but I've been using postal and later online banking for nearly 40 years and couldnt see why he was bothered, apart from concern for the welfare of local staff.
As a retired person, goodness only knows why he felt it necessary to vist a bank, I'd like to have asked, but that would have been so wrong.


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## brucers (14 Feb 2020)

Walked into the bank the other day, there were two staff members standing there doing nothing other than asking if they could help. I said yes, your bosses could open up all the counters (where there was a queue) instead of having you stand around doing next to nothing.


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## Shearwater Missile (15 Feb 2020)

DRM said:


> No they don’t,only the profit, our local bank branch no longer opens on Saturday mornings, only Monday to Friday after the majority are at work, they close before the same people clock off, so we had a cheque to pay in which meant a trip to Leeds, in the car, incurring a charge to park up, then when we get there a bank employee suggested he showed me how to use a machine to pay the cheque in & was surprised I refused, he couldn’t see that if this idea took off that machine would do him out of a job, that’s why I wanted to deal with a human being on the counter.


Same thing happened to me with Santander at Bury St.Edmunds. A bank employee told me that they like the tellars to be there for buisness transactions ie shops etc paying in. They even showed me how to do it as I played Mr Dumb. For the same reason I don`t like and try not to use self service in supermarkets. They wonder why people don`t use banks ?


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## Illaveago (15 Feb 2020)

It is a shame that we bailed out them at the time of the crash !


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## Phaeton (15 Feb 2020)

Illaveago said:


> It is a shame that we bailed out them at the time of the crash !


The shame is that they expected & had planned on it, we gave it to them & they haven't learnt, business as normal to them


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## Pale Rider (15 Feb 2020)

Illaveago said:


> It is a shame that we bailed out them at the time of the crash !



Much as it would please some to see the bankers get their just desserts, the reality would be different.

If a major clearing bank went skint, the big losers would be everyone who had deposits with them.

It suits all of us for confidence in the system to be maintained.

The bailouts are a huge topic on their own, but I believe the government - and therefore the taxpayer - turned a profit on most, if not all, of the shares they took in exchange for the cash.

I know praising any government is deeply unfashionable, but it seems to me the bailouts turned out pretty well, particularly given the alternative.


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## sheddy (15 Feb 2020)

Barclays are regularly in the news with dodgy deals.


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## newfhouse (15 Feb 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> given the alternative.


Do you think a more suitable alternative might be to effectively regulate the finance sector?


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## spen666 (13 Mar 2020)

Phaeton said:


> We're going on a family holiday later this year, it's expensive so I took out a 24 month interest free Sainsbury's credit card, seemed logical to let them let me pay them back over time & leave the money in the bank making a tiny bit of interest. Card came & deposit paid on it, they advised me of the details to log onto the web based account. I logged on but couldn't setup a direct debit to make the minimum payment, contacted them to be advised I can't setup a DD until I get my first statement.
> 
> Got an email on 25th December advising payment required by 19th January, on 26th December I logged on & filled in my bank details for the DD, sorted or so I thought, today I got a letter advising I'd missed my first payment, the account was frozen, the interest free offer had been withdrawn & I had been charged £12 for the privileged.
> 
> Rang them only to be told that as the statement was produced before the DD was setup it can't take the money via it WTF!!!! Anyway upshot, fine refunded, DD confirmed to take 2 payments on 19th Feb, marker taken off credit report, pis-sups & breweries spring to mind.


Interesting to ( late in the day) read this.

I had almost identical situation in December 2018/ Jan 2019 with Sainsburys.

They also sent me a statement saying no payment was required then didn't take DD and penalised me for not making payment tht they had said I didn't have to make!

Penalties refunded and £285 compensation


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## Pale Rider (13 Mar 2020)

Three years ago I took out a Virgin credit card to pay for a bike using the interest free period.

I paid the balance within about four months and have not used the card since.

Just before it was due to expire in February of this year, Virgin wrote to me saying they would not renew the card as I had not used it for such a long time.

But they would renew it if I contacted them to ask them to do it.

Fine, I thought, I shall just leave it.

But they sent me a new one anyway.


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## Drago (13 Mar 2020)

sheddy said:


> Barclays are regularly in the news with dodgy deals.


So much so that they're cockney rhyming slang for onanism.


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## BrumJim (13 Mar 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> Much as it would please some to see the bankers get their just desserts, the reality would be different.
> 
> If a major clearing bank went skint, the big losers would be everyone who had deposits with them.
> 
> It suits all of us for confidence in the system to be maintained.



Even worse, with a common factor such as the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, if one major clearing bank went skint, there would be a run on all the others and they would go down too. We're loosing it with a virus with 1% fatality (not that I would want to see 1% of my friends and colleagues choke it) and panic-buying toilet rolls. All major clearing banks going down would destroy most of my savings, prevent me being paid, and stop me and all shops from being able to buy anything. With no paid police force, it would be difficult to exaggerate the breakdown in social cohesion.



Pale Rider said:


> The bailouts are a huge topic on their own, but I believe the government - and therefore the taxpayer - turned a profit on most, if not all, of the shares they took in exchange for the cash.
> 
> I know praising any government is deeply unfashionable, but it seems to me the bailouts turned out pretty well, particularly given the alternative.



Still a cuffing great loss on the worst of them - RBS, which turned into a risk-taking polical animal pretending to be a plc, the like of which we haven't seen since the days of Railtrack. The government had no option, but the lack of any consequence on the banks, such as splitting retail and risky gambling, and the continuation of most of the boards of those same banks smacks of the government rolling over and having its tummy tickled by the banks, rather than keeping them to heel.


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