The more noise this campaign generates, the more the banks will listen. So don’t keep it to yourself!
Write a blog post and let us know – we’ll link to you.
If you’re on Twitter, use our hashtag #changeyourbank.
Change your Facebook status to tell people you’ve joined the campaign.
Most importantly of all – let your bank know.
With over 1.2 million claims waiting on the outcome of a two-year court case into bank charges, last week’s decision by the Supreme Court was little more than insulting to the intelligence (in my humble opinion). They ruled that banks can pretty much charge whatever they like for overdraft facilities.
The laughable parts for me are two-fold:
1. The ruling determined that the Office of Fair Trading does not have the power to decide whether unauthorised charges are fair. Then who does?!? I thought the giveaway was in their title…
2. Now that the FSA imposed moratorium has been lifted, individuals can now try to reclaim charges from their banks on a case by case basis. But all the major banks and the FSA except that only those ‘suffering extreme financial difficulties’ are likely to get any money back. So, I have to be legally impoverished before I can claim a refund.
The video of the announcement makes depressing and laughable viewing at the same time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9mvV-knQhM
Abbey and Lloyds, (of which we are all effectively shareholders) are sticking to the latter point. It almost makes me wish the Treasury had applied the same criteria when they came cap-in-hand for the latest (and third) round of taxpayer-funded bail outs. Almost, because I don’t want to see anyone else out of work due to the greed and incompetence of a few.
This in the same week that Barclays announced its profits for the last quarter were down by 45% on 2008. How will they possibly make ends meet on only £1.56 billion for three months work? HSBC, perhaps sensibly given the sense of public feeling towards banks, declined to publish their figures but stated that they were ‘significantly ahead’ of last year.
Conversely, RBS reported quarterly losses of £2.2 billion, in spite of being bailed out.
The lessons for us mere customers are perhaps unwelcome but clear:
• The banks’ (supported by the UK’s legal framework) know they have the Treasury, and therefore the taxpayer, by the short and curlies
• They know that individual and small business customers do not always find it easy or indeed possible to switch providers in our so-called ‘free market’
• They really don’t care what you think or feel as they are hedging that more of us will stay put than will move, therefore, why reduce the benefit of us as a cash cow?
All I can conclude is that there is definitely one rule for the banks and one rule for its customers. Switch banks if you want to, and I hope I’m 100% wrong on this, but with the power they wield, don’t expect your new provider to treat you like a customer.
You are an asset to be moved around the balance sheet as it suits their business model and little more.