Banks - the modern day pirates.

[pessimist]

Electronic tranfers are cheap right? Only for the banks. We needed to make a wire transfer of €45 to Poland. No problem sez our bank that'll be £25 for a two day transfer. (Did I mention that they're fast too. NOT). Oh they said there will be bank charges at each end, but we can't tell you what they'll be yet.

They'll also give us a lousy exchange rate.

This with all the extra bureaucracy and tax.

Guess why we're looking at moving our businesses away from this Septic Isle.

Rant over (for the moment)

 

[Sans Bateau]

I said as much as this a few weeks ago, just as the banks were reporting huge profits, my comments did not get much support. A lot of people never have to venture any further than paying a few cheques, a couple of DDM's and running a VISA card, of course banking is cheap for them, its a compeditive market.

In a small business in particular, bank charges can be crippling, as your example. The bank will give you all sorts of incentives to join, then you are at their mercy. Yes I support you in your rant, ask them who gets the interest on the money whilst its in 'transit' to its destination, a question they will be unable to anserw.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

I'm with you on this one as well.... having run my own business for years, I have been stung very hard by the banks... not just in terms of charges, but also, they will do anything to transfer as much of the risk to you as they can..... eg credit card transactions... your risk....
They are also friendly beyond belief, grovelling almost, when things are going well.... and absolute barstewards when things are tough.... threats and demands, raised interest rates.... "you are a higher risk you know sir".... B**ocks... you didn't think I was a high risk last year... and the business does just the same thing......I don't think sometimes that Joe Public realises just how much the banks charge small businesses......

The only consolation for me was when I sat in front of the branch manager I could do so, smug with the Knowledge that most likely he was dreaming about 'going out on his own'... and wasn't ballsy enough to do it... and I was!

Like several other on this forum (JimDew I know for example)... I have now returned to the world of the employed... driven there by intense government bureaucracy.....

 

[npf1]

Seem to recall that the DTI or a similar body have, or are about to, commissioned some research on the issue of monopolistic pricing of banks for small businesses. Part of trying to remove some the things that stifle entrepreneurship in this country. Think it was going to focus on lending, interest rates etc

 

[Spyro]

What really annoys me about banks is the time it takes from when I pay a cheque in till I can actually draw on the funds (clear), usually 4 working days. Why in an age of modern communications and technology is this so????
I don't believe for 1 minute that my cheque sits till the end of the day then gets popped in the postbox to arrive days later at the bank of the person who wrote the cheque before it can be cleared. Can anyone here can tell me different.
They are quick enough to remove the funds from your account as soon as you use switch even if it's thousands of miles away.

 

[starboard]

Had this problem with my bank Bank of Scotland last year, I therfore complained that having served them well for over 30 years I felt this was unfare and maybe the time had come to check out the competitors........strangely within 24 hours the fee's had been returned to my account.....it pays to barter my man!!!

Paul.

 

[cruisingsam]

Not with Bank of Ireland. You pay the cheque in and can draw on it the next day. The only stipulation is that if the cheque bounces you have to pay it back.
But an internet payment to a BoI credit card from a BoI bank a/c leaves your account immediately but takes one working day to get there. Guess it depends on the bank.

 

[PhilF]

Nah, its insurance Companies

I have 3 bikes covered on one policy, they charge 3 admin fees of £21 for each bike, the insurance for the fire blade and scooter is £42 and £20, so the admin fee is 2/3rds of the insurance cost, then there is the tax. The main cover for the Harley seems cheap at £500 plus £60 for odds and sods, what a rip off,

 

[cruisingsam]

Re: Nah, its insurance Companies

You got insurance on a Fireblade for 42 quid??? have a look at hibernian to see what we would pay in ireland!

 

[webcraft]

We had the same Switch payment disappear from our account on two consecutive days. That was last Friday.

Bank says it can't tell where it has gone. Might be a 'phantom switch' (whatever that is. Another girlie sez the payment is on its way to Switch . . . bloody long wires if it takes four days.

They might be able to begin investigating it tomorrow. Meanwhile, I bet that £130 is making someone money somewhere.

However, I reckon solicitors and estate agents are bigger crooks. When we sold our property two years ago our solicitor received the cheque on a Friday. (In Scotland property deals always happen on a Friday - read on and work out why).

Now - this cheque our solicitor received from our buyer had already cleared. The deal can't go through unless it has.

Solicitor says 'We will just post the cheque to your bank'

No, sez I, for we are following the Elves to the West and will collect the cheque on Friday. I duly picked it up and seem to remember the secretary suggesting I didn;t pay it in until l Monday, but I thought nothing of it. (Cheque was dated Friday, that day)

Dropped the cheque in at our bank just before close of play on Friday.

Next Wednesday late am I get a phone call from the bank - my solicitor's cheque has bounced and I will be liable for all interest due (on a six figure sum) until the cheque can be represented, which will be a minimum of four days.

In your dreams, I sez.

Then another phone call - my (now ex) solicitor berating me because I had the nerve to bank his cheque the day he gave it to me. I actually go the impression he was thinking of charging me as well. He too told me it would take four or five days to sort out.

No matey I sez, I believe it is the law in Scotland that issued cheques must be backed by cleared funds, and that to not do so is fraud. You banked a cleared cheque from our buyer - presumably in some sort of interest bearing account - and then issued a cheque on your own account when you knew there were not funds available to cover it. If this is not fixed immediately then the Law Society will be getting a query from me asking if this is standard practice.

Well, what do you know? The money was mysteriously in our account within two hours . . .

Liars and cheats the lot of them. Keep your money under the mattress.

- Nick

 

[Sybarite]

Banks make a lot of money on the float. It is usually much more worthwhile negotiating delays rather than rates. At least we do in France.

The bank has a time - or several times in the day - when it presents cheques for clearing. It goes through clearing normally the following day and the bank should know that same day if the cheque has been honoured.

John

 

[TheBoatman]

Steve
I'm with you on this one. I have run a small busines for 15 years now and the bank charges are completly out of all proportion to the service given.

 

[billcowan]

Yeh I have a small biz.

a) In Scotland on a Friday afternoon I recieve an e-mail from China ordering £900 worth of special components. I order material from Yorkshire immediately, it arrives Monday morning, I finish making them by Tuesday afternoon and hand them to the carrier. They arrive at a place 1,000 miles inland from Canton by Friday lunchtime. 14 Kg - £80

OK I'm doing my bit. Fedex are doing theirs

b) A couple of weeks before Christmas I need to send a £1,000 CHAPS payment from Bank of Scotland to a supplier in Milan. Oh yes sir that will cost you £18 + £40 lost on crap exchange rate and take 10 WORKING days to get there - yes thats right - a fortnight! OK can you FAX/e-mail me an official confirmation for me to FAX to supplier so he will ship my stock in time for christmas selling.

Oh No sir we can only POST it to you, christmas post- your joking why? oh sir its for security!

c) Next time, wadge of euro notes in a padded bag by Fedex

By the way, our banks are said to be the fastest and most efficient by international standards!

I think it was Emperor Hadrian, who built the wall, had I good idea. He loaded all the accountants and lawyers into a boat and set it off down the Tiber in flood. He didnt give them a rudder or oars mind.

 

[Koeketiene]

[ QUOTE ]

By the way, our banks are said to be the fastest and most efficient by international standards!


[/ QUOTE ]

Says who? The banks?

So far I have lived & worked in various countries -> South Africa, the Congo, France, Canada & Belgium. Nowhere was it as bad as here! Even in the Congo the Belgolaise bank was very efficient. A transfer from the Congo to the UK took 3 days, that's less than the time it takes to clear a UK cheque!!

 

[pragmatist]

[ QUOTE ]
Next time, wadge of euro notes in a padded bag by Fedex


[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds a much better bet than a wire transfer.

I'd also mention that we received a Euro cheque from a client (a bank actually /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) and was told by Nat West that it would take 6 WEEKS to clear !

Don't you love 'em ?

 

[Stemar]

It's the banks that are responsible for the assorted Nigerian, etc., scams where they send a draft and it appears to clear, so you send the goods. A month or two later, the bank whips the money out of your account because the draft was stolen.

It appears that as far as the banks are concerned, cheques and such like NEVER clear. They always reserve the right to claw the money back if they feel like it

 

[PhilF]

they do clear, but if found to be fraudulent they can take the funds back, you are never safe accepting a cheque

 

[Lakesailor]

I think banks have always been pirates, in fact they give pirates a bad name.

 

[Das_Boot]

Never borrow money when you need it. When you are flush borrow as much as you can (unsecured). You can allways get your overdraft extended when you have lots in the bank your credit card limit when you have cleared it. This is what I do. Although I dont owe the banks any money at the moment I will.

When I first came to England I had a refund from the Irish Gov on my tax. I took the cheque to the bank to open the account they told me it would take 4 weeks to clear because it was an international cheque. I could have sent a mule train to Ireland in that time. I have banked at the same bank for 7 yrs now establishing a line of credit.

 

[DJE]

You're right about business accounts. As soon as you need something outside the competitive domestic market they feel free to charge what they like. Enjoy your 18 months free banking then drop your pants and bend over.

My favourite recently was when waiting for a large cheque to clear I noticed that the cleared balance was somewhere between the before and after figures. Asked the bank and they told me that because I was a good customer they had decided to release some of the money a day early. Amazing how generous they can be to me with my money.