Bad news for any RBs Group (inc Natwest and all the others) credit card holders

[NATTIE]

I wasn't going to post for a few days but this is 100% correct. Only exception is BANK ERROR and you have to have proof or it is a NO. That means if you cancel a DD or SO make sure you get a reference over the phone or a copy of the cancellation in the branches. Otherwise customers will get a simple and straightforward NO. Telewest as ever, great info!

[Niklowe]

It's not going to stop me!

[The Terminator]

I've got a question for NWSM and it is simple.Do the banks comply or even know what the CCA(1974) is and how it is interpretated because in my opinion none of them comply.On info received from elsewhere and reading the act(I actually work in law) it would seem that in a short time down the road they are all going to pay for over 30years of "pelfring" from the public.Your comments would be appriciated.

[bluecloud]

I think I can answer this one (sorry NWSM).

When was the last time that you performed an action that resulted in you gaining money?

We've all found pennies in the street or even as much as a fiver blowing in the wind. We may even look round briefly to find the true owner.

Next stage is to increase you apparent standing in the eyes of the public. Your once friendly bank manager has been replaced by a cloned university graduate with all charisma and sensibility removed. They don't care about individual customers any more just what they are told by head office.

Then consider that nearly every bank is now a public limited company with shareholders to appease.

The general public are conditioned from an early age to believe that the banks are implacably respectable and are there merely to care for our money. Over the last three decades, the pressure on banks to make a proft for their shareholders has increased such that they have needed to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible and have tried many routes.

I'm sure that there are many readers out there that will remember being charged by the bank for processing a cheque or standing order. I personally remember visiting the bank each week with my parents to withdraw "9 fives and 5 ones please" for the shopping; this had to be done with a chegue made payable to CASH.

Banks came under pressure to gain customers and the concept of Free Banking was introduced for personal account holders.

The problem with free banking is it removes a very large income from the bank so penalty charges have increased inexorably to the ridiculous levels we are faced with today.

The problem with charges are that they only ever affect the poorer members of the public but that doesn't bother the banks as the more affluent account holders provide the bank with an income through the use of their money.

So in the end we have organisations that are trusted by the public, a desire of the owners of the bank to make as big a profit as possible and the ineffectiveness of a legal system that places litigants in rank order of how much money they have i.e. the more money you have the more likely you are to be believed by a court.

Finally, any legislation introduced must be enforced. The legal system in the UK relies on one party suing another. The claimant must show that the defendent has breached the law. Before the ruling from the OFT about bank charges was announced when was the last time you considered taking your bank to court?

It does have a happy ending though as consumer power is coming to the fore, as this site is proving.


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[The Terminator]

Very well presented Bluecloud and I respect your opinions like I do everyone elses.The question I posted was do the finiancial institutions(banks,cc providers) comply with the CCA(1974).My opinion is no they don't.The reasons being: 1) Why is it so difficult to get a straightforward answer from them.2) Why do they tend to cheat and be uneconomical with the truth. 3) Why do they break the law and get away with it.4) Why do they throw their rattles out of the pram when things go against them(good article in todays guardian) I could go on and on.The biggest mistake in my opinion was GB giving all the power to the banks.I see it as a David and Goliath battle and we know what the result was there.

[bluecloud]

I think one simple phrase answers all of the questions.

Because they can.

Rapidly becoming,

because they think they can.






PS. I like being David.


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[NATTIE]

meagain- what telewest has been saying is that unless it is a BANK ERROR for the charges or you are suing, that no refund will be given. As to others issues raised on here, I am merely commenting on Telewest who's information is very accurate in what is actually going on certainly within Natwest in relation to charges. Only comment I would make on managers is that it isn't always University Graduates who are managers, education must surely have told them that they could earn better money elsewhere other than a high street bank.