New Banking Code!!!

[BankFodder]

Well isn't life strange. You never see any blue cars and then along come three all at the same time.

 

You never see any official action on penalty charges and then three come along all at the same time.

 

First there was the Which? campaign. Then the OFT announced they were going to make an announcement.

Then a new Banking Code which apparently will contain revisions to do with customer fairness.

What on earth is going to come along next. An OFT announcement maybe?

[monkey_uk]

haha, here's hoping...!

[Spiceskull]

Has the new banking code been publically published yet? I used a large chunk of it in my second LBA, and I feel that I may need to appraise myself of the changes in the relevant parts.

 

However, it is unlikely to be backwards compatible, so my issues stand as far as the bank is concerned.

[BankFodder]

Don't you see the stitch up which is being worked here. OFT statement - tomorrow, apparently. Banks respond almost immediately with new Banking Code next week.

Which? magazine points to its campaign and says we welcome this, their campaign has anticitpated the changes which will be announced. however the OFT announcement will be based upon proportionality in that if you bounce a big DD then you pay a big charge - a little one - you paty a small charge

Customers who consistently run their account poorly will be more deserving of charges than ocassional offenders and a cap will be announced by the OFT

 

And what do you know, it all fits in nicely with the WHich? campaign.

 

new emphasis on responsibilty and culpability etc

[Neo]

I smell a number or Rats.

 

All this new stuff is now, so it cannot be back dated am I correct?

[Spiceskull]

Of course the whole crux of the issue will be in the wording:

 

If the OFT/Which statement is purely 'guidelines,' then nothing will have really changed, and it can therefore still be challenged in court.

 

Regarding the Banking Code - I would imagine that this will remain 'voluntary,' and therefore will still be worth less than the paper it is printed on...

[BankFodder]

The issue of back-dating doesn't arise. None of it is law.

 

It is only when you notice something called The Penalty Charges Abolition Bill going through Parliament that you can start to be concerned - and even then it wouldn't be backdated

[Neo]

I love this forum. It is addictive. Especially the twisted, dry, comments. I expect the banks love this site too.

 

I want to change from IT to law.

[dave]

OFT announcement is due tomorrow.

[Spiceskull]

I expect the banks love this site too.

I expect they hate this site...suddenly they are swamped with thousands of queries, meaning that they actually have to do some work for a change...and the real kicker is that they can't rip us off when doing this work. £5/£10 is all they are able to charge us...ooooh I love that!

[dave]

..and of course - it ultimately ends up with them having to pay back money that they had no entitlement to as well ;-)

 

Nice. Justice for a change.

[Neo]

I have never been happier than the day I went through by bank statements and highlighted everytime I had been charged. How strange...

[Spiceskull]

I have never been happier

There is a certain righteous satisfaction...but I am sure you could think of a happier moment if you tried hard enough...

[dave]

I expect they hate this site

 

I'm not too keen on them either ;-)

[Spiceskull]

Aaaahhh...hate is such a toxic emotion to bear. I don't hate the bank...but I do have utter loathing and contempt for them...these can easily be quenched by them getting down on their knees and licking off the mess they have left on the bottom of my boots!!!

[Spiceskull]

And it is here...and tomorrow I have a meeting with NatWest...for an "account review" When they booked this meeting I asked what the review was for, to which they replied "your £1000 overdraft facility..."

 

"Would that be the £1000 overdraft facility that I specifically stated that I didn't want, and confirmed this in writing, but you still applied it to my account regardless?"

 

"Yes, that's the one..."

 

So, today is the new banking code, and I have found the section that I wanted, in advance of the meeting:

Upgrading your account

 

7.2 We will not upgrade your current account from a free account to a fee-paying account without your permission, unless we plan to upgrade all free accounts of that type.

So, I guess that means we will all be getting 60-day notices that they plan to upgrade all free accounts to fee paying ones...

[Michael Browne]

Upgrading your account

7.2 We will not upgrade your current account from a free account to a fee-paying account without your

permission, unless we plan to upgrade all free accounts of that type.

 

Additional notes from Subcribers (Banks) Guidance:

Subscribers may offer customers the opportunity to upgrade their current account from a free account to a fee-paying account. An upgrade should not take place unless the customer has given their express consent for the subscriber to do so.

 

Express consent is not required where it is the subscriber’s intention to move all customers on the previously free account to a fee-paying service. In these circumstances all customers will be:

• given at least 30 days notice of the subscriber’s intention;

• given the opportunity of 60 days from the date of notice to, without penalty, close their account or switch to

another account; and

• informed of any alternative free current account with equivalent facilities currently marketed by the subscriber.

[Spiceskull]

Well, what a surprise...or not...my "review" consisted of two options: take on a managed loan, or "upgrade" to a fee paying account. I pointed out that "upgrade" implied a positive benefit to me, and that I didn't consider me paying the bank £10 a month either positive or beneficial...

 

"Well, Mr Spice, those are the only two options available to you..."

 

"Is that so...well let me discuss the new banking code, and specifically section 7.7.2..."

 

It is no surprise that "...we haven't seen this yet, and are expecting delivery of copies some time soon...but I see your point about this not being an enforceable option."

 

The only obvious option, one not even considered by the bank, was to continue the account as is, and that is the option we finally agreed on. Two years on, and they still act the ignorant bullies that they are...

[dave]

...of course, the third option would be to walk away and ignore them. Not very much will come of it, apart from the added bonus to you of not being able to borrow any more money from legalised loan sharks by way of buggering up your "credit score" with a few privately run limited companies.

 

It's the option I personally favour to be honest.

 

...and as for the Banking Joke - sorry Code; it's voluntary and there are no penalties for breaching it.

 

Hmmmmm...plus the banks haven't even got a copy, or keep their staff trained up with regards to it's contents.

 

I think that maybe, just maybe, the Banking Code is simply a PR excercise....maybe?

[tifo]

is this thread 2 years old?

 

cos 'spiceskull' posted 4 April 2006 and then next 1st April 2008 ....

 

when did the 'new' banking code come into force?

[Guest wino]

is this thread 2 years old?

 

cos 'spiceskull' posted 4 April 2006 and then next 1st April 2008 ....

 

when did the 'new' banking code come into force?

 

 

We might be trapped in a time warp! I hope we can go back in time cos I would put my claim in well before the OFT case stayed everything

[Michael Browne]

...

 

when did the 'new' banking code come into force?

 

30th March 2008

 

See here:

Banking Code - Consumer Wiki

[tifo]

I hope we can go back in time cos I would put my claim in well before the OFT case stayed everything.

 

I'd put mine a year before that in 2006 when they were paying out quickly!

[Spiceskull]

is this thread 2 years old?

 

cos 'spiceskull' posted 4 April 2006 and then next 1st April 2008 ....

 

when did the 'new' banking code come into force?

LOL - I was excited two years ago about the new banking code of 2006...and as if by magic, two years later, it seems the banks have ignored pretty much everything in it, and hence the new "improved" banking code of 2008...roll on banking code 2010...when things will be just as they are today...and as they were two years ago...

[Spiceskull]

...of course, the third option would be to walk away and ignore them. It's the option I personally favour to be honest.

Yup...although to continue as the account is was my preferred option...I don't mind paying a couple of quid a month in interest, even if it is above the "lower" loan rate...one account, one set of interest, one set of figures, one thing to worry about...keeps it nice and simple.

 

Besides, I am sure you will remember what happened when HSBC closed my account, and I spent about three months as a non-person, completely unable to prove my existence...that was frustrating, and I have no wish to repeat the experience...

Hmmmmm...plus the banks haven't even got a copy, or keep their staff trained up with regards to it's contents.

 

I think that maybe, just maybe, the Banking Code is simply a PR excercise....maybe?

Yup again - isn't that just the biggest joke - "we subscribe to the banking code, but like all other subscriptions, throw it in the bin as soon as it comes through the letter box..." A PR exercise and nothing more...the biggest shame is that they print millions of copies, thick glossy paper, and spare no thought for all the poor trees that died for the cause, and all the wildlife that lose their habitats...