Page 1 of Banks lose overdraft charges case

Well as the title states! Good news though as ive been waiting for this day for quite a few months now!! Though its still going to be awhile before anything official happens. But the position im in is that i owe my bank the same amount they owe me, so hoping with this annoucement we may be able to come to some arrangement.

Full story here:

BBC News



"I don`t want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying."
Woody Allen

That`s a result for Joe public!

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"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve (1953-2004)

This item was edited on Thursday, 24th April 2008, 13:03

If the banks respond to this by deciding to impose a monthly fee for having a current account that penalises all of us. I`d rather the obscene overdraft fees stayed.



www.soundalikes.com ~*~ glitterkat.stumbleupon.com

This item was edited on Thursday, 24th April 2008, 13:12

But why should the poor pay for the rich to bank for free?

People who suffer from these obscene charges are the ones that can least afford it, yet the rich amongst us can use the services of the bank and not pay a penny for it...

I`m on benefits, I live within my means, and I want free banking.

I`ve incurred a bank charge once, it was 100% my own fault, and I made sacrifices to pay it. I knew there was a fee if I went overdrawn (which wasn`t intentional of course) when I opened the account.



www.soundalikes.com ~*~ glitterkat.stumbleupon.com

There`s a middle ground here...
How have these `poor` people managed to get charged these fees in the first place?
The bank`s should be lending (e.g. overdrafts etc.) responsibly, but also charging fairly when you use that lending. After all, you borrow money from them, you should expect to pay a price for doing so.

I for one do not want to start having to pay for banking charges, so I would hope that this doesn`t get too far out of control.

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he`ll be warm for the rest of his life."
-Terry Pratchett.

XFG - a valid point about living within your means.
I have no doubt that a number of the charges were incurred by people living beyond their means...but the charges can still be seen as unfair for a lot of them.
I agree that the banks should be allowed to charge for unauthorised borrowing - but there should be reviews in place to limit these amounts.

There is a horrific debt problem in this country, with a general mindset of borrowing (overdrafts/credit cards/loans) to pay for things before the cash is available.
The financial industry itself is partly to blame for encouraging this mentality...but they are now realising the error of pursuing this course of action with the credit crisis being experienced...and the general public have to go cold turkey on their borrowing.

We live in interesting times.

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he`ll be warm for the rest of his life."
-Terry Pratchett.

Quote:
There is a horrific debt problem in this country, with a general mindset of borrowing (overdrafts/credit cards/loans) to pay for things before the cash is available.

It`s the massive debt thats been driving the economy which is now slowing down as more people are paying cash rather than using credit cards

I know from experience that bank charges can be a bit of a vicious circle, getting charged £200 for going over OD after losing my job, getting charged again the month after as I`ve not had enough to cover the initial charge and so on..

No excuses I used to be (am) crap with money, I`m better now but still having problems due to the initial charges about 5 years ago.. That and my OH is even worse than me and goes completely overboard for birthdays etc.


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"But you`re not Judge Judy and executioner...."

It makes me so angry when people make stupid comments like i want free banking i dont wont to pay a fee because people cant "live within their means!". Please take a step back and look at the bigger picture here for a moment!

1. Banks are being unlawful for charging their customers a fee that is no where near what the cost is to them of going over their limit. £25/£35 when it costs £2/£3.

2. No matter the size of your overdraft the bank will generally charge you the same. So if you have an o/d limit of £100 and you go five pence over you will be charged the same as if you have a £3000 o/d limit and go over by £100 (obviously this isnt the same with all banks!) - With this point you must taken in to account that you are paying someone £25/£35 for accidently miscalculating your "means" for that month and going over drawn by 5p, and on top of that say a cheque that you gave as a birthday present has been cashed late which then sets off another charge of £25/£35. So in total you have lost £50/£70 pounds from a slight miscalculation, that has realistically only cost the bank £4/£6. Where oh where is the justice in that!!

3. Dont get me wrong if you go over your limit you should be penalised, and i think you will find that there are few who disagree with this!

4. Wouldn`t it be so nice if we could all live with in our means.

5. Banks go on record to report that they have made profits in the billions!!!

6. I dont expect my bank to give me all the money they have taken in charges, and i think it is wrong for anybody to try and claim all their bank charges back. I believe that the OFT should set a fee of £5 if you go over your o/d with a limit of three charges.

7. And if banks do end up charging people for having an account well blame the banks, not the people who are trying to not be robbed!



"I don`t want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying."
Woody Allen