blonde poker forum

So First Direct, parent HSBC, intends to charge any account holder who does not deposit £1500 per month, a £10 per month fee

Of course this is going to be unpopular

In explaining this, the PR man says "we are doing it to deepen the relationship" with their customers

By this he means ..we'd like to do more with our wealthier customers..loans, mortgages etc

By this he also means, but cannot say...we'd like our less wealthy clients who don't make us money, to leave!

So in fact "deepen the relationship" in fact means  "completely end the relationship with those we don't make money from!"

It's a classic

p.s don't you just love the banks?!!

unbelievable.  If I banked with them I'd take my £1.5k+ a month and deposit it elsewhere out of principle!

How did you find this out tighty?

When does it start?

It was on BBC Breakfast News this morning, but they were a bit vague as to when it was coming in.

there's a release being sent out to all customers.

I heard about it last night, from the man who has to do the PR.  ::)

Whats wrong with a buisness wanting to make money?

In particular banks seem to get a rougher deal than most. There are plenty restraunts, automobile manufacturers, and purveyors of handbags etc. who cater to those with deeper pockets, why aren't we voicing our disgust at them this fine morning?

I've just received a standard letter re: new charges this morning.

Starts 1st Feb 2007.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6148776.stm

(am i allowed to do this?)

I agree in principle, but I'm not a fan of discriminating against existing customers to make your money


p.s if you buy a second product from First direct eg Insurance policy, you are exempt from the £10 charge!

These businesses are usually branded and targeted at the higher end of the market from the outset.  This bank is going to cause lower income customers a lot of hassle when they change their accounts.

Precisely.  There are a range of restaurants, automobile manufacturers out there for people to choose from, whatever ther budget.  And there are banks already that cater mainly for wealthy customers.  I have no problem with that, but if I'd been using my bank for however many years under the same terms and conditions as other banks (no monthly fee), and they decided to impose one, that's a different kettle of fish altogether.  And why not charge it across the board?  Why impose it only one those that can least afford it?  And is it grammatically ok to start a sentence with 'And'?

I suspect First Direct will find that they lose a lot of customers and, therefore, money through this - time will tell, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the idea got scrapped before it even came into force.

I think 1500 quid is too high. Plenty of people don't have jobs that pay that (after tax etc.). They must know this so i think they are discrminating here.

I don't mind the charge as long as their product improves. I would like to know what they plan to spend this money on.

Will they transfer accounts to HSBC without us having to do anything (if we want to leave), that would be the right thing to do. If so, then i think they are just trying to make FD a higher end bank.



No, but who cares.

No its not. However I am not allowed to tell you that.


Please go to the naughty chair for 5 minutes.


Regards

So Comma Crew

If that was the plan and they were upfront about it (and presuming an ex FD customer could get all the same services from HSBC as from FD) then I don't see a problem with that.  Perhaps they have - I've not read anything about it other than what's been posted on here.

 >:?

If you did everthing out of "principle" in life you'd go mad.  


Regards

M  

Ok, breaking hibernation - but just this once.

the solution is simple, my wages do not cover the £1500 per month deposit limit so the moment the cheque clears i go to the ATM, withdraw some of my wages go straight into the branch and pay it back in again.

My account balance remains exactly the same and i do not lose any interest and i will have deposited more than their required £1500 per month to avoid any charges.

There are also tailor made banks for those with deeper pockets too Tank, What you will find in this case is its limited to one particular account, the first Direct current account. Perhaps teacake can shed more light on the subject. Although charging customers for the use of a current account does seem like a step back in banking terms.

I think it's a bad idea because just because someone doesn't earn £1500 a month now, doesn't mean they won't in the future. In particular kids, students, etc.

On the other hand, will they be able to offer more competitive interest rates to high rakers now?

Sadly, I doubt it. Banking is one of those products which has been shown people will hardly ever move however badly the banks treat them - this is the probable reason why FD know they can get away with, and it will provide them with another revenue stream. It's more likely that other banks will follow suit rather than it being scrapped.



Yes, sometimes, but it's not advisable unless you know what you're doing.  ;D

not quite sure what to make of that comment! 

I buy all my clothes out of Principle.

Pink really suits me and makes me feel pretty.

looks like Mpower was right then  >:?

Students and kids have tailor made accounts, it wont affect them. 

OK I'll post this slowly.

If you have been a customer of theres for years and everything was fine, would you honestly
move banks out of principle. think of the Hassle etc.

Regards

M

P.S :respect:      

4000 Posts

The UK banking system makes a fortune out of the inertia of their customers, barriers to moving accounts etc


The competition authorities are investigating barriers to moving accounts

Exactly - the answer should be yes you would move, if everybody did this the banks might actually start considering customer service instead of profit.

Do you understand what principles are? I'll let others elaborate.

A shop that sells ladies clothes?

I think people who sail close to the wind with there finances, are unfortunatly on lower pay ( Or Poker Players LOL) and the charges do seem high for the offence i.e £25 O/D and get a £30 bank charge. I think alot of people think this is bad customer service but it's all in there T&C's . As for Profit.There a Business thats what Banks do.

Regards

M
  

thanks - i get it now.

Cool

Your funny

regards

M

Yes, it is bad customer service, this is why the OFT instructed the banks and credit card companies to reduce their penalty payments as they were making excessive profits from them. The penalty payment is meant to represent the cost to the bank, but was being used as a revenue stream - that's bad customer service.

Also illegal

www.bankcharges.info

Looks like the Banks are having a rough time of it.   

Regards

M

They deserve it

 8)

My commieometer is oscillating heavily when pointed at this thread. :)

Holy, Sh*te

do banks really charge 65 quid for going overdrawn>>>>>?????

get on down to the nationwide....

From the HSBC (who own First Direct) company report.

Total profit for Jan-Sep 2006 = $4.5 billion

No wonder they're tightening their reins - who can get by on accumulating profits of $195 a second?

Those damn pinkos... ::)

Without us, the customers, banks wouldn't have a business.
If this charge is levied on me, I will move my money immediately, hassle or no hassle.
£10 per month equals £120 per annum, would you spend £120 on absolutely nothing?

Without Banks it would be a disaster

You win Euro Lotto £125M. keep the cash under the bed?
Where do you get a Mortgage/Car Loan etc
Mugged every Friday when you get paid cash.

A lot of current accounts charge a Monthly fee.
it's just paying for a service.

Regards

M

Regards?

M?

Phone went

Sorry

LOL

Regards

M

thank you

the natural order of blonde went out of kilter for a bit there

We ALREADY pay for the service.
We all know why First Direct are introducing this extra levy, to weed out the customers who don't deposit regularly and are therefore of little use to the bank financially. Make no mistake, other banks will follow suit.
Customers should fight back, not pander to every whim of big businesses. £10 now, how much next year? And the year after?
I work damned hard to earn a living and I refuse to cower down to these bigots. There is always an alternative and a little hassle is worth it to save £120 a year.

I refer to Mr Ends initial post as that is it in a nutshell really.

BTW annual fees for Credit Cards will be reintroduced not to far down the line either (I'm speaking generally, not HSBC or FD in particular)

There is one way of avoiding the charge.  Get a First Direct credit card, when you receive it cut it up and you won't have to to pay the £10 charge

actually this is partly behind the moves  by banks to introduce account management charges, because people have started claiming back "unlawful" charges levied against their accounts. Which tells you quite a lot about how much bank charges contribute to the profit figures

Most current accounts in the UK are free. Also particular charge does not apply to those who hold a balance of £1500, not just those who pay in that amount.

To be fair, considering the service a normal bank provides if you only use a current account (no loans, credit cards etc.) £10 a month seems reasonable. Phone/internet banking, branch service, convenience of atms, debit cards, direct debits, BACS the list goes on. While some of these services have a low marginal cost, overall provision of these services do cost the bank substantial amounts, without any guarantee of return.

In the case of First Direct though, this argument doesn't hold as their costs are probably substantially lower than rivals (who maintain current account charging is not on its way).So they're just at it.
 Rather than move your account, why not get a credit card and never use it?

£10 a month isn't reasonable. It's almost impossible for you not to make the bank a profit, anything you put in will be invested by them, they'll receive an income from this investment and pay you less than 1% of the profit they've made on it (generally).

The bank's aren't doing this to make a profit when they weren't before, it's so that they make even more profit. And - in the very few cases where your income is so low that that the bank's do only make a negligible profit, it should be part of the bank's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy to accept this as part of their contribution to society as a whole, bearing in mind their vast profit made elsewhere.