stricktly speaking, they've haven't lost YET - they're just saying that the OFT can look into the charges - everyone is still going to have to wait. ages.
this could end up being a nightmare if they do loose and have to pay all that money back, the banks apparently may start charging a monthly fee to use them and fees for each transaction/direct debit etc
someone spoke to a wife today who was moaning about charges she incurred for going over her limit by £1000, when asked why she went overdrawn she told my mate "i went to america and got carried away" she didnt like it when my mate basically said well you shouldnt have went on holiday if you didnt have the money. to which she was not happy this is one reason charges are there, if people dont get punished for using money thats not theirs they will take the piss. and if we didnt allow extra money to be used then most peoples mortgages wouldnt get paid and they would have their house taken from them. simple solution, dont spend what u aint got and if you do inadvertantly find yourself up shit creek through sheer bad luck then ring consumer finance debt management, every bank has one
I don't think its the the fact that poeple get charged that poeple are disputing its the fact that the level of the charge's being applied £25 a day for going over your limit by £1 is not realistic. Plus untill recently the banks were making massive profits from exploiting some poeples weakness if they think money is available to them. If the banks simply did not allow poeple to withdraw money when over there overdaft or allow switch to work and actual just charge realistic prices if a d/d or cheque bounces they would not be in this position and would not have to threaten to charge you for banking with them. Banks have encouraged consumers to get into debt for years as they know there was gravy train from exploiting poeple young enough or without willpower to know not to spend money they don't have. Banks make alot of money i really do not have any sympathy for them at all especially the way they have gambled with poeple moneys with the American sub-prime mortagage market.
its because of this i reckon the credit industry could just tighten so much you'd have to own kuwait to get car finance and the housing markets in for a shock as well.
The whole point of this is that the banks are only allowed to charge as much as they are left out of pocket for the customers actions. Someone who works at barclays worked out that it only really cost the bank in the region of £2 to sort out extra lending at the wholesale level per each unauthorised overdraft. That means most banks are making £28 on each overdraft charge. Thats hardly fair. The banks are charging far more than this and the effect is two-fold; firstly they are making a huge profit on other people's borrowing, and secondly they are keeping people in a position where they are more likely to go overdrawn.
defiantely mate, never a truer word typed, alot of people (inlucding my self over a shakey october last year) got stuck in pre-petual skintness for the sheer fact i had to scramble about trying to get the cash together for what was in total over 2 month about 200 quid in charges. plus i wasnt working as much then. what a right fuck on it was. @ Lee, do you work for a bank?
