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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 12:11:40 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 4, 2008 12:11:40 GMT
Top five groups of people and/or establishments I would not save during the apocolypse:
5. Catholics 4. Lauren Laverne 3. Dentists 2. Bowling alleys 1. BANKS.
So, I have yet another letter from my bank today, telling me that because I am £1.50 overdrawn (I am able to go £5 overdrawn before they charge me) I've been charged £22 for some bullshit reserve usage fee thingymajig, which I definitely remember opting OUT of when I received the first letter.
Now if this had been the first time, I'd be slightly miffed but accept it's my fault and pay the bastards and move on. But I have had no fewer than TEN bank charges in the SEVEN MONTHS that I have had a Barclays account (before that I had HSBC for ten years without a single charge or hassle) and only ONE of them has been directly attributed to being my fault. The rest are all bank cock-ups, of which only one they admitted to and refunded me.
My phone bill comes out tomorrow, which possibly means another charge. It would have been ok if I ONLY had to pay in my phonebill, that's just £20 to scrounge off a parent until I get a job, but now I have to find £43.50 before tomorrow or else I'll get further charges until I pay it off.
So, Thanks alot and fuck you Barclays, for being a bunch of money grubbing dickwads who really, really like to fuck off customers. The moment my phone bill comes out I am changing my direct debit to my other account, and then will probably set fire to Barclays branches in Peterborough.
I just worked it out, I have had to pay something in the region of £250 - 300 in bank charges in seven months. sigh.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 12:30:29 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 4, 2008 12:30:29 GMT
(I'm still pissed off about this)
I think, I would like the entity of 'Barclays Bank' to be recreated into a human being. This way I can show them how it feels. I'll take this human being out on a nice date, show it the time of it's life, with hundreds of empty promises of good times ahead if it sticks with me. Maybe a little show of flash to start with and a promise of more just to 'hoik' it in. Then, one night we're lying in bed and it complains of having a sore throat from the meatfest it's been having or something (sorry but it does just feel like that sometimes) and before you can blink the bitch is out on the streets, after I've taken all of it's money, it's dignity, livelihood etc etc etc. Rather than have the good sense to just leave it to it's own devices, I'll call it now and again. A few "I'm sorry, I still love you"'s and perhaps a little tough love, or a couple more promises of wonderful times ahead to smooth things over, and then we can repeat the process over and over and over.
You know what's always puzzled me? Charging people money, for not having any fucking money. The fact that my balance now reads "£23.50DR" is surely testament to the fact that I couldn't pay the originaly "£1.50DR" and so logic follows that I sure as hell can't pay the new balance.
I was under the impression that GBP was a currency. A physical representation of monetary value. So why the fuck am I PAYING for MONEY, in any form other than labour, time or goods.
Here's a short open letter to Barclays.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 13:01:42 GMT
Post by Chloe on Sept 4, 2008 13:01:42 GMT
ahh man. that all sucks but remind me NEVER to date you i agree though, the whole charging you money for not having any money is completely stupid.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 13:38:31 GMT
Post by bigospedros on Sept 4, 2008 13:38:31 GMT
you just reminded me to opt out of this crazy scheme!! I'd rather pay the bloody interest than a £22 fee for being overdrawn by a very tiny amount.
If I were you, I would go into your branch and get a meeting with the manager and go through the occassions on which you've had to pay fees. If you can prove that it wasn't your fault then they are duty bound to give you the fees back. You will need to remain calm but firm in your complaint to get anywhere ... resorting to swearing or insults will get you absolutely nowhere.
If I were you, I would also cancel your personal reserve (even though you've already done so, apparently) and get them to confirm it in writing. Get them put to put a small arranged overdraft on your account too, that way, if you do go slightly overdrawn, all you will pay is interest instead of fees.
After that, you'll just have to manage your money a bit better ... going overdrawn is basically borrowing money you don't have, so you can't blame the banks for having fees for this.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 14:08:26 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 4, 2008 14:08:26 GMT
no, I know that, and I rarely do. with the exception of this time, and one previous time it hasn't been my fault. It's been the bank not processing things when they should have done, or taking money out that shouldn't be going out etc. This time was my fault, but I still should have been safe as I already have an agreed (though miniscule) overdraft of £5, which I am definitely not over.
I shall be going in and shouting tomorrow, and I'll definitely try and get my statements sorted so I can go over my charges and tell them to naff orf. in a more polite way. possibly.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 14:17:02 GMT
Post by bigospedros on Sept 4, 2008 14:17:02 GMT
the thing with the personal reserve is that it applies BEFORE your overdraft does - at least as far as I understand it. So, if it's in operation, you will use that first before any overdraft. If you say you opted out and they haven't turned it off, then they are in error.
If you didn't opt out, then it's your own fault and there's nothing you can do about it.
But, as I said, don't shout at them ... that will just put their back up and they'll become defensive and not help you. If you remain calm and express your disappointment as a customer, then they are more likely to help you and cancel fees.
Trust me, I am a good complainer and I've tried the "angry customer" approach and it got me nowhere. The calm and collected approach has got me fees refunded and also compensation, so it's the only way.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 14:25:24 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 4, 2008 14:25:24 GMT
thank you for the advice! will definitely try the calm approach. have to say I can usually manage it with other places - phoned sony up the other day and was very nice on the phone and they sent me a new ps3 and a free controller the next day! something about banks gets MY back up though!
Will try it though, cheers.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 14:36:37 GMT
Post by Stacey on Sept 4, 2008 14:36:37 GMT
It's been the bank not processing things when they should have done My Dad is always having problems with this and Barclays with his Company account. Nat West are a bugger as well. The number of times i asked them to set my overdraft limit to zero and then they wrote to me saying "your overdraft limit has been increased to....". AND i went overdrawn when i changed accounts because they had to hold up closing it so my direct debits came out of Nat West but no money was in there. I'm much happier with Co-operative, i get charged sod all interest on overdrafts compared to my housemate. And they're actually nice when i go into the bank, i mean nice nice, not "oh you have lots of money in your account" nice. I'm not entirely sure where i'm going with this post, so i'll shut up now.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 15:38:40 GMT
Post by Rob on Sept 4, 2008 15:38:40 GMT
Top five groups of people and/or establishments I would not save during the apocolypse: 5. Catholics 4. Lauren Laverne 3. Dentists 2. Bowling alleys 1. BANKS. I disagree with all except lauren laverne. And only the gobshite she talks.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 16:11:24 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 4, 2008 16:11:24 GMT
Top five groups of people and/or establishments I would not save during the apocolypse: 5. Catholics 4. Lauren Laverne 3. Dentists 2. Bowling alleys 1. BANKS. I disagree with all except lauren laverne. And only the gobshite she talks. There should probably a whole new thread just to discuss peoples various top five "people/things I wouldn't save in the apocolypse." I have my reasons for all of them, rest assured. Lauren Laverne is possibly the weakest reason. She just really grinds my gears.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 16:18:02 GMT
Post by Chloe on Sept 4, 2008 16:18:02 GMT
i can't stand lauren laverne.
if you need/want proof she is fairly evil, she smashed my housemates foot with her buggy and didn't apologise.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 16:20:19 GMT
Post by Stacey on Sept 4, 2008 16:20:19 GMT
I hate Lauren Laverne but not as much as i hate Fearne Cotton.
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 17:15:36 GMT
Post by Chloe on Sept 4, 2008 17:15:36 GMT
might be joining you on this one in 10 days time when i have my check-up. especially as one of my fillings has just fallen out.... and i'll get to find out if the emergency root canal i had done 6 months ago needs a crown fitting. god knows what this will cost me, as the root canal was £250.....
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 17:20:24 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 4, 2008 17:20:24 GMT
my dental is free for 22 more days, and i stlil can't bring my self to book an appointment. extractions, root canals etc not fun without anheasthetic!
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BANKS.
Sept 4, 2008 21:22:39 GMT
Post by ludicrouslouisa on Sept 4, 2008 21:22:39 GMT
I really liked my dentist! (he's retired now.) He's a friend of the family who I've been going to since I was small, my Mum went to him when she was young and he was at my parents' wedding!
(something tells me dentists may be a little better here than in the Uk....I have no fillings/cavities/crooked teeth or anything. I got sealants. I asked Chris if he had sealants and he said he didn't know what they were...)
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BANKS.
Sept 5, 2008 21:35:32 GMT
Post by alyssa :) on Sept 5, 2008 21:35:32 GMT
I hate Lauren Laverne but not as much as i hate Fearne Cotton. i hate them exactly the same amount, which is a lot!
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BANKS.
Sept 15, 2008 14:56:07 GMT
Post by jellybean on Sept 15, 2008 14:56:07 GMT
Fearne Cotton is ok as long as she doesn't open her mouth for too long.
Grr, now my OTHER bank is charging me £50 for going 1p overdrawn, due to interest being paid on the account without letting me know! How they managed to get 1p interest on an account which has only ever been in credit for the last eight months or so I don't know!
I don't have much luck with these places. I'm dreading the day I come to sort out my uni finance. ohdear.
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BANKS.
Jul 22, 2009 9:03:20 GMT
Post by Chloe on Jul 22, 2009 9:03:20 GMT
bloody natwest.
2 weeks ago i had one of their automated fraud prevention phonecalls asking me to confirm the last 5 transactions on my account were done by me. this is did and was told me card would be reactivated within 2 hours. thought nothing more of it.... ''cos had this in the past with no issue.
friday i went to use my card to renew my chelsea membership online, chelsea site was being a pain and it refused my card, assumed it was the site and decided to deal with it when back from holiday.
went away friday night, used my card to cash out en route no problem. went to pay with card in supermarket midweek, was refused, had to do the whole embarrassing phonecall thing..... woman on phone told me card was still blocked and i would need to ring natwest to unblock it..... not an option when have no phone signal!
went into branch monday to be told by natwest that there was no block on my card, it should work fine, the block had been removed after the original phone call and there was no problem with me using it.
got cash out with card no problem monday. went to the cinema last night, went to pay on my card and guess frigging what
bloody denied.
going back to branch today to shout at them lots.
then i'm sorting out changing to co-op
nightmare
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BANKS.
Jul 22, 2009 10:13:12 GMT
Post by bigospedros on Jul 22, 2009 10:13:12 GMT
if I were you, I would ask them for compensation and see where you get ... if they know that you're seriously unhappy and thinking about moving, they may offer a gesture amount.
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BANKS.
Jul 22, 2009 12:21:21 GMT
Post by Ben on Jul 22, 2009 12:21:21 GMT
Got a letter this morning saying my Natwest overdraft (outside the interest free student-y bit) is now going to be close to 20%. It was 5%.
>_<
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