Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
BANKS are coming under growing scrutiny for the complex charges imposed on customers who fall foul of their overdraft rules -- and a good thing, too.
As Money Mail has revealed in recent months, the charges have been growing ever higher while the banks' profits grow ever larger -- and, not surprisingly, customers are complaining.
Two years ago, consumer group Which? calculated that banks make £3 billion a year in charges from customers. Now the figure is thought to be larger.
Over the past year we've seen HSBC increase overdraft penalty charges from £20 to £25, while Natwest raised the figure from £35 to £38. Lloyds TSB increased the charge for going overdrawn by £5 to £30, while the charge for each bounced item went up £3 to £35. Halifax put up the fee for bounced cheques and debits by £4 to £39.
Banks are, of course, commercial organisations and it is in our interests as well as theirs that they make a profit. What is objectionable is the level of profits squeezed from specific groups of customers.
Bank charges often fall most heavily on the least well-off and least financially sophisticated. Money Mail has numerous
examples of young people in their first jobs who have been burdened with hundreds of pounds in charges simply because they slipped a few pounds overdrawn.
Charges are supposed to reflect the cost of administering the overdraft. Instead, they appear to be used as a heavy-handed way of punishing those least able to fight back.
It smacks of murky back-street lending where a loan of £20 can result in five or six times this amount having to be repaid.
The banks insist that we have only ourselves to blame. We demand free banking yet this service cannot be provided for free. So someone, somewhere, has to pay. The result is massive cross-subsidisation of the financially astute by the financially naive or disorganised.
The banks' argument is a spurious one. It should be perfectly possible to devise a system of fair, transparent charging.
But I fear the will is simply not there and that only action by the regulators will stop this profiteering.
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As ever, with (I believe most if not) all advice given on this website, I am not qualified to give any advice and you are duly warned that any decisions are your own decisions made on your own account and no liability will be accepted for any advice followed ! Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified, insured, professional if you have any doubts.
BANKING -- OR BULLYING? - Daily Mail 03/05/06
rules -- and a good thing, too.
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