Student Protest v RBOS

[vwcampavan]

I am a student and a very disgruntled customer of the Royal Bank of Scotland - a bank which in 2002 entrapped me into taking out a high-interest loan to pay off student overdrafts and has also previously screwed money out of me in hidden charges and interest payments.

 

At present, I am looking to take the RBOS to court, through the banking ombudsman, which I hope will highlight the role this bank plays in entrapping vulnerable students into taking high-interest loans and credit cards, causing them to drift further and further into debt.

 

What I want to do is start a national campaign urging current students, young people about to start university/college as well as other people affected by the Royal Bank of Scotland, to mount a boycott of this bank and its services. I am looking to enlist the support of the National Union of Students. Even if we just convince one person not to enter any RBOS building or use its services that will be seen as a success and hopefully the beginning of a snowball effect.

 

This bank makes over £8 billion a year in turnover. One by one, we need to convince people to avoid this bank like the plague.

 

If you are a student affected by any problems relating to the bank please follow the thread. I would like to hear your story. The more people who are willing to come forward and air their problems, the more we can, to coin an ironic phrase, 'make it happen' and bring pressure to bear on this bank and hopefully, run it into the ground to make its employees and fat cat bosses see what it feels like to be shat upon from a great height.

[kao]

I'm not a student, but found myself in a similar position.

I'm currently on a career break looking after two toddlers and as such have no personal income at the moment. They tried to coax me into taking out a loan to pay off my overdraft - which was only £400 - hardly a huge sum.

 

I asked the adviser how I'm expected to repay a loan to them with no income (and how I would qualify for a loan after they dragged my previously perfect credit record into the ground) and was told it 'would be the best option for me'

 

Does this sound like a bank that is concerned about it's customers, or it's profits?

 

Luckily I've paid it back anyway and am in credit so they can't touch me at the moment.

[vwcampavan]

I am glad you are in the black. I can actually believe that this bank tried to do this to you. This bank will try any under-handed technique to try and boost its coffers. Is it any wonder why it made a profitable turnover of £8 billion last year. The fat cats must be lapping it up.

 

I am making it my mission to throw a huge spanner in the works of this bank. I want people to see it for what it really is. The people running this bank do not realise that when you push somebody too far, all hell can break loose. This is a company that has no feelings or empathy towards the plight of those in debt or vulnerable people. To the bank, people like us are easy prey. Not anymore.

 

Ideally, what I would love to do is organise is a blockade of this bank. A nationwide front door protest blocking people from entering the RBOS branches right across Britain would be an ideal way of running this bank into the ground. The harm in terms of negative publicity it would do to the bank and its custom would be irrepairable. It is just a case of unifying people into a common cause.

[Rebecca Bloomswood]

I understand your very deep felt anger but it is a well known fact that people are more likely to get divorced than change bank (or hairdresser!). It is something many people fear and they have unfounded loyalty issues with their banks...

[vwcampavan]

Action needs to be taken. There needs to a protest which removes this fear. The banking industry has similarities with the cigarette industry. It is all one big con trick just to get your money.

 

This website is about empowering people to control of their actions. The bank are monsters who thrive on our custom and in nearly all of the cases of the people who are in this forum, these banks have tried to exert control over them. This website is proof that people can rage against the machine. If the entire student population could send out a message and vote with its feet, other people would see the light.

[sazz]

Hey There

 

I'm a student who has a student account with RBS.

 

To be honest with you, RBS do offer (in my analysis) the best student account available at the moment and the only problems I've had is the charges on my account. I have to say that the account itself is actually quite good (obviously my opinion) and the staff in my branch are helpful and always chatty.

 

The assistant manager at my branch was actually quite impressed and intrigued as to the whole 'unlawful bank charges' issue and she was actually quite supportive of what I was doing. She stated that the bank staff within the branch don't know the legalities and the ins and outs of the charges issue and were starting to see a number of similar claims streaming through their doors. Obviously I was happy about this and told her so

 

This is just my opinion, I'm now on claim number 2 with RBS so I'm not their happiest customer, but they are a HELL of a lot better than HBOS student facilities or HSBC (not that I'd know, I'm only supposed to have 1 student account)

[Guest NATTIE]

In view of your protests against RBS and I am being devils advocate, you need to boycott Cricket NW series, Rugby 6 Nations, Tennis Andy Murray no1 world seeded british player(rbs Sponsor), Formula 1 sponsors f1 team, Golf (some tournaments as well as some SkySports coverage) The queen (banks with Coutts and co), RBS,Churchill, Tesco Personal Finance, Direct Line insurance. Also you need to boycott those who use I do understand your frustration. It is worth making sure that Student Unions do tell students(UK and overseas) about this site and unlawful charges

[vwcampavan]

This is something that a few of us aim to get across. In the coming weeks, global emails are going to be sent to all student union representives right across Britain petitioning them to take action, in particularly during Freshers Week. The students will be informed of this site and currently students especially, should be encouraged to claim back what is rightfully their money.

[Guest NATTIE]

I would suggest that if you can you get it translated into various languages because foreign students are usually the ones who do get charges and may be unaware that they are unlawful.

One point I would disagree with is that if you simply choose one financial institution ie RBS Group to boycott, then you miss HSBC(no1 in profits), Barclays, Abbey, Halifax etc etc who follow a similar regime of charges. If the Students set up their own bank then any boycott of banking facilities could work. I think the best protest is when you empower people with knowledge to claim all charges back from which ever financial institution they are involved with

[vwcampavan]

I totally agree. My initial objective was to target one bank. You are right. All of them need to be targetted in one form or other. The means of production must be attacked at all angles. As for the foreign students. They will be catered for.

[vwcampavan]

Sorry that I could not reply to your message Natweststaffmember in full earlier. I was distracted by my boss at my summer work peering over my shoulder. He was curious about what I was doing!

 

Yes, the idea of an free and independent bank for students is a fantastic thought and would empower many to challenge the system. It would have to be free of charges and accountable to all its members with them being informed of where every pound and penny goes from the bottom upwards. It would also have to be accountable from a perspective that from the very bottom level, people can access those at the very top without question. Accountability would have to stretch right across the organisation. No corners must be cut.

[Guest NATTIE]

I'm not sure about free from charges but charges that reflect the realistic cost returning a DD etc, etc, The site is not about the unfairness of charging per se, but about the amount of the charges involved in relation to the actual cost that is involved in itself.

[vwcampavan]

I have sent out an email to the NUS. You are right about the protest. The plan is to get each and every student to fill out a template which they can get either from this website or it will be globally emailed, which they fill in and hand in to their bank during Freshers Week. Attached to template will be step-by-step instructions which will be translated. In am working on the Spanish version as that is my second language. If the students can do this en masse, this would empower them by throwing one massive spanner in the works of the bank and desevedly so.

[Guest NATTIE]

Good on you!

[vwcampavan]

Cheers. The banks need to be taught a severe lesson.