Give us your money!

[BankFodder]

If you use this forum to recover your money, then there is a social contract. Your side of the bargain is to help the forum by contributing 5% if you possibly can.

 

 

Does this sound unfair?

 

 

 

 

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This forum was never set up with the intention of making money. In fact until a few weeks ago we never even thought about asking for donations. We were happy to pay for it out of our own pockets. But things changed, expenses went up as the forum became bigger and also we started to run out of money. As a result we decided to start asking for donations and also to start selling a few relevant materials.

We do need the money

 

This forum does not have a culture of Donating. Of course it was never intended that they should be such a culture. However, things have to change. I think that we have to try and establish this culture so that this is something that people talk about openly on the forum without thinking that they are under pressure or that they are merely being asked for handouts. I also think that the culture of donations should extend to the level of donation -- which I think should be 5%.

 

The donations which are being received at the moment are nowhere near 5%. It is clear that most people do not donate and even when they do it is some small arbitrary figure which really has no bearing on the amount of money that they have recovered. So typical donations are £10 or £20 in respect of recoveries of as much as £2000. There have been a few donations of more than £30 and only two as much as £200.

 

When you think that the solicitor's costs involved in organising the recovery of people's charges would be in the region of £2500 a time.... When you think that on average a person comes to this forum with absolutely no idea that about seven weeks later they might be receiving a cheque for several hundred pounds and even several thousand pounds....

 

We don't want people to feel hassled or badgered. However I think one may as well be straightforward and honest with people and come right out and discuss the donation issue. We do not want to stigmatise people who do not donate – and of course many people will have very good and urgent reasons for not making a contribution. I'm sure there are many people who really can't afford it -- and of course that is fair enough. However, we need to create a culture of donating in which people realise that it is expected of them and that it is a kind of social contract into which they enter by taking part in the forum and making a successful claim.

 

Did you know the truth about bank charges before you heard of us?

Did you know how to go about it before you heard of us?

Have you used any of our materials?

Have you been helped by any of the information on our forum?

Have you felt supported and encouraged by our forum?

 

Would you have recovered your money if there had been no Consumer Action Group?

 

 

I think that a fair enough message is:

 

If you use this forum to recover your money, then there is a social contract. Your side of the bargain is to help the forum by contributing 5% if you possibly can.

[bram stoker]

I think that is completely fair, and folks, you don't have to stop at 5%.

[Fred_Funk]

BankFodder,

 

Everything you say sounds eminently reasonable.

 

Without wishing to tempt fate, I'd been thinking in terms of donating £100 if I was successful in recovering the near 5k I'm pursuing NatWest for.

 

In light of what you've said, I'd like to make that £100 a pledge. Furthermore, if finances permit, I will, happily, make it five per cent and would encourage others to do likewise.

 

Thanks for all the help and encouragement.

 

Fred_Funk

[Bovvered]

Totally with you on all you've raised here BF, and 5% I think is a good starting point...

 

Just gonna edit my signature now...

[mechs]

If you use this forum to recover your money, then there is a social contract. Your side of the bargain is to help the forum by contributing 5% if you possibly can.

 

 

 

Does this sound unfair? NO!

 

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We don't want people to feel hassled or badgered. However I think one may as well be straightforward and honest with people and come right out and discuss the donation issue. We do not want to stigmatise people who do not donate – and of course many people will have very good and urgent reasons for not making a contribution. I'm sure there are many people who really can't afford it -- and of course that is fair enough. However, we need to create a culture of donating in which people realise that it is expected of them and that it is a kind of social contract into which they enter by taking part in the forum and making a successful claim. Why should you have to bear the cost for others to gain by?

 

Did you know the truth about bank charges before you heard of us? NO!

Did you know how to go about it before you heard of us? NO!

Have you used any of our materials? YES!

Have you been helped by any of the information on our forum? YES!

Have you felt supported and encouraged by our forum? YES!

 

Would you have recovered your money if there had been no Consumer Action Group? NO! Weell we haven't recovered any yet ... but we will!

 

 

I think that a fair enough message is:

 

 

If you use this forum to recover your money, then there is a social contract. Your side of the bargain is to help the forum by contributing 5% if you possibly can.

 

In absolute agreement, mechs & wife

[NeilP]

Bankfodder (and the rest of the Mods)

 

I think i can safely say that without the help i found from this website, the Moderators and everyone else, that i would not be in the position that i find myself now, which is (if they are all 100% settled) then it will make significant difference to my families life (pay off some debt, take a couple of days off work etc)

 

I know that this isn't the case for everyone but i thought this a prudent thread to express my gratitude to BF and everyone else.

 

A donation WILL be forthcoming ...... i just to get it out of the banks first!!

 

Although a donation to the site is only voluntary, i personally believe that everyone here should donate, however small. Even those people who cannot afford it. Those people didn't have the money before, and even a token gesture of £5 is affordable to everyone. If everyone of the 20,000 members made a £5 donation, it would keep this website up and running for others in the future to benefit from it as we all have.

 

Neil.

[mechs]

I would like to add B F you said that some people cant afford to donate, sorry but I have to disagree here, the money in my eyes was lost as far as alot of us were concerned and using this site has given us all the oppertunity to get it back so giving back a small proportion (5%) in my eyes is well worth it, people will be better off financially by getting their money back.

 

So all I have to say is DONT BE LIKE THE BANKS TAKE ALL ... GIVE SOME BACK TO THIS SITE

[Janet-M]

I recieved an email from someone this morning who is really really struggling financially.They mentioned that they had donated £5 BEFORE they recieved 1p back from their claim and started appoligising that it wasn't a lot but the thing is it was a lot , to them so THANK YOU .Yet there have been some people who have claimed £100's and £1000's back who have not donated 1p to keep this site going so we can continue to help others to reclaim their money back.I for one have always thought it was wrong that 2 people , the administrators, are paying out of their own pockets to keep this site going .They have never wanted to charge people for using this site ,and still don't, but I think it has been made clear enough to everyone that because of this sites success it is seriously hurting their pockets now and gentle hints about donations have fell on deaf ears as the majority have just ignored it.We know the banks would love to see this site closed down but would you ?This site has empowered people and has made a big difference , or will do , to a lot of peoples lives.People are not asking for payment for all the advice they give just SOME help in keeping this site going and I am sure not one person reading this can honestly say hand on heart that they couldn't give some even small contribution.

[Guest Lueeze]

Hear Hear Mjanet!

 

If only all users could show their gratitude in the same way as the ones who have already donated. If you think, we have helped people claim over 400,000 quid, and we have had such a tiny fraction of that from only a few members really makes me sad, especially when the team work tirelessly with no rewards, well apart from knowing we are helping people!

 

Please evertyone understand its not us trying to force you down that avenue, but serously we need this extra income, just to cover our basic outgoings, let alone implment new ideas.

 

Cheers everyone

 

Lou xxxxxx

[jonni2bad]

On a further point, we have had over 20,000 members since starting out. Clearly they are not now all still regular users.

 

A great many users get their money and toddle off.

 

But, I'm guessing we still have a few thousand regular, existing users - if you are one of them and have not yet donated, perhaps because you are waiting for your refund (fair enough) then consider this;

 

If the site closed down, tonight, without notice, would you be able to continue with a sucessful claim? Think about that scenario for a while....

 

I think that generally speaking, the answer is no. If you have not yet donated, consider giving just £1, right now - more if you can safely afford it. You can still donate 5%, or more if you wish, when you get your settlement. You might think £1 is not going to make any difference, but if nearly all of our existing users gave that sum, we would have enough to pay for the running of this site for the immediate future.

 

Donations of 5% will certainly help us grow to new heights, and would likely provide an even better service than we can currently give (surely not possible I hear you say), but we still have immediate needs and this is an expensive business...

 

Please help us to help you - donate NOW if you can.

[mechs]

Hey up Mods I could not agree more with what you have said, the wife and I have donated £10 and have bought an email addy thats all we can afford at the moment but rest assured we will give a minimum of 5% when we win

[Michael Browne]

One common misconception is that running a web site is virtually cost free. That's clearly not the case, yet so far no one has laid out the size of the problem, ie what are the weekly/ monthly running costs against the level of donations. If members could see in black and white just how perilously close the site is to closing, then maybe donations would rise.

 

As Jonnibad has mentioned a lot of people have taken their money and run, so the message needs to be stressed again and again to new members before they do the same.

 

Unfortunately, relying on peoples good nature hasn't worked and unless this changes it will eventually come down to a choice between the site closing or introducing a joining fee. Sad, I know, but that's the reality.

[Tygermoth]

Hello all.

 

Unfortunately I have not been paid out,

 

However I have donated half of my 5% in anticipation - £15 winging its way to you CAG.

 

Will follow with remaining amount when Halifax relent, more if I can get the debt collection agency to come clean.

 

My other half (Pop) and I, would like to thank not just the site but the Mods - you are a damn fine bunch of people!

 

Tyger & Pop

[Guest Lueeze]

Thanks for the support and donations so far, we all REALLY APPRECIATE IT!

[dave]

We truly do appreciate it.

 

It's started to become a problem - for one reason (and this is not the only one - some are legal things that we cannot discuss publically right now, but will become public knowledge soon) - the one single reason is the hosting.

 

We now have a dedicated server because our existing host (and fair play to them) has told us that they cannot cope with the throughput.

 

Dedicated servers are not cheap - I know there are hosts that will accept 8 quid per month etc...etc... but not when you have the level of traffic that this site gets. You will find in the small print of those sites that if they get this sort of traffic the site will be shut down - this is what our existing host has said (in so many words), but they have at least given us a bit of notice and are not being nasty about it, despite us being 15 times over our monthly bandwidth allowance.

 

This means that we have paid up for 2 hosts in advance (cag and bag) and it's unlikely that we will see that money again, plus we now have had to pay for a dedicated host with over 100gb of traffic (per month) a year in advance plus setup fees.

 

Add to that the domain names (ok, not a huge amount, but it all adds up) and the other considerable costs that I cannot yet mention (trust us, it is all for all of our benefit and will become apparent soon), that we are starting to hurt a bit.

 

Add to that the fact that I have had a bloody disaster at home today that is going to cost me thousands - thus leaving any spare cash that I would usually use to fund the site et al. now has to go to getting water and heating in our house again. Sorry.

 

However that said, there is no obligation to donate - this site was set up to *hurt* the banks - the very people who have been hurting us - not those that have been hurt and can least afford it.

 

You might say that it's starting to become a victim of it's own success.

 

Nightmare!!

[Guest Lueeze]

that we are starting to hurt a bit.

 

 

 

To be honest thats putting it mildly, as after all you and Bankfodder have provided this totally out of your own back pockets, I dont know of many people who would do such a selfless act! Thanks guys! You really are Consumer Saints!

[andrew1]

It's not just the bank charges though is it? We learn about so much from people all over the country with so many collective ideas across a whole range of topics. I belong to the Federation of Small Business. They have a mere 145000 members, thats all - you should take a look at their forum - theres hardly anything on it. You guys have opened up a whole new world, but it is typically British to join in the fun and then run when the hat comes around - just go to Covent Garden and watch the buskers. Crowds gather but run when the hat comes around. I would suggest an 'entry fee' - £5 then they can donate if they like but use the site as much as they like without feeling guilt or pressure to give. It's not much for any hard pressed person but x 20000? Thats enough to keep you going. 5% is (isn't) - it's relative - a lot of money. When you're asked to pay out £250 it's different. You have your 3 or 4 or 5k but you've spent it before you have even taken the first step - so being realistic, combine the first part above with the second and you are going to be dissappointed - sorry lads but that's what will actually happen. I've bought the lawpack and the book and made a donation and haven't got any claims paid out yet, but what you have empowered me with is the WILL to do it - it's better value than a lot of things I do in my life. I have learned so much and I have a lot of business experience good and bad, success and lots of it, then liquidators, bailiffs, debt the lot but I've also earned a six figure salary for a few years running so I know a good deal when I see it.

This is going to keep a lot of people alive with new hope and you deserve more credit - (credit ? whats that?!) than some who just take from this site and run -I don't want to make people feel obliged - you didn't set this up for that and those who came early to the site know that, but for all those who benefit just let them feel a tiny bit GUILTY if they run. You guys would help anyone without looking for reward, I have read some moderators replies thinking they were ahead of most of us and more confident and less troubled - I've learned that that is so untrue and I've been shocked to see what some of them have been going through. You deserve respect and £5 a time is no price for entering into this world of hope. Thank you

[elsinore]

Here's a scenario:

You have never heard of BAG but, one day, on a whim, you tremblingly ask your bank to pay back the thousands of pounds that they have deducted from your account. The bank apologises profusely and offers you 95% of the total sum with no strings. When you come round, you almost tear their hand off taking the money. Cue music, 'Money' by Pink Floyd. Fade. Fin.

 

So, what's the difference?

 

I feel guilty that I have, so far, donated nothing and I have pledged to put that right later this week. When I receive my payout I will donate more. 5% is a small price to pay for a REAL SERVICE!!! (did you get that, you bankers?)

Remember, it's money THAT YOU WOULD NOT OTHERWISE OBTAIN without Bank Action Group.

 

Maybe not everybody will read this thread, so why not PM all users with a link?

 

Keep it up BF, Dave and all Mods, you have our undying gratitude.

 

Onwards and upwards

 

Elsinore

[lizzie47]

Flipping heck feel so selfish now.Been waiting for refund,It should not have had to come to this with all your members winning back so much...Why people dont give a bit back is beyond me it realy is.. quite upsetting reading through posts.To be honest i have seen the donate buttons and made big red mental note to do so ,and have your adrress for postal orders cos i no cards or cheques.I will send what i can tomorrow split with you and another site i have used(sure they be in same boat soon)And my promise of 5% minimum or more if i can when i am refunded..And huge thanks to you... I know i will be refunded...I am so sorry chaps/chapesses for not realising how things are.Doing envelope NOW In post tomorrow pm...WHO,S JOINING ME

 

Lizzie xx

[lillboy]

Hi Mods

I cannot wait to donate, that means i have won.

your doing a great job.

Thanks for your support.

However would it be possible to put a spread sheet in library to calculate donations.

you,ll get my 5% of £1169.50 & 5% £499.00

 

PS

I Dont Really need a spread sheet but it may promt people into donating.

[Guest Lueeze]

Thanks everyone for all the continued support.

 

Most of the moderators started life on this forum like any other user. We were apprehensive and didn't realise just what it took to run a site like this. Over time we have reasearched and trawled the site, learning more and more. Now we have so much knowledge about Consumer issues and Bank charges, the Moderators all specialise in different areas, and for that reason there is always someone on the forum to offer help, support and advice!

 

We are no different to you, the only difference is that we give our time up to help the site and its users. That is why we ask people to give in monetry value.

 

We know how much you all aprreciate this forum, lets not see it struggle, It should be thriving!

 

Anyway waffle over, thanks to EVERYONE who has donated even a few £££ they could spare it is all greatfully recieved!

 

Louise xxx

[reload]

/signed - I've always said I'm going to donate 5% when I receive my cash, and I'm going to stick to that. I don't unfortunately have the disposable income to donate that in advance as it'll be in the region of £138 to this site, but when Lloyds pull their finger out...

 

I'll also be launching a couple of other actions once Lloyds give me my cash back - another with Lloyds, and a claim against Capital One. I'll be sure to put 5% in on those, too.

[lizzie47]

Cheque (well postal order ) in post..I know its proberbly been asked loads of times so forgive me if some poor soul has answered loads o times..Can a bank account be set up quick, just anyone anywhere for now an details posted i would as maybe others would set up a SO (am learning bookworm ) a small monthly or weekly donation would make a huge difference..A lot o littlies will soon add up ???

[thewifeandI]

I pledge to pay my 5% as and when I get my settlements - this site has been so useful and I have learned so much from it. I also hope that my contributions have been helpful to others as well.

 

I'm EMPOWERED!!! :D:p:D

[joneshousehold]

OK, we intended to pay out of our successes as so many have also said but have sent £10 now anyway via Paypal. Hope it helps a bit.