I hate banks

[Palfrem]

How do they do it?

Just looking at my Santander current statement on line and there is a debit dated 25.03.13.

How can that be?

 

[developer]

Halifax do the same - it's "the system" again.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

How can that be?

Don't know but don't you think it's good that you can, for free, look up your account details online?

 

[mika]

i dont like them either and i am concentrating my attention to use and rely on them less and less as time goes on
they are truly hopeless when you need them and much the same when you dont

good luck
im sure their reasoning will be hilarious

 

[Palfrem]

Yes, it's a wonderful facility. It probably means they need less staff in the branches though. So that's a bit of a shame.

Not sure about the "for free" bit though but I admit I don't charge charge them for doing their work.

 

[trapperjohn]

I find it wrong, holey wrong, that banks can take money out at the weekend for DDR's and stuff but it works in "working days" to even cash money in.

Grrrrr.

 

[trapperjohn]

Not sure about the "for free" bit though but I admit I don't charge charge them for doing their work.

Here is me having a rant elsewhere (its a copy and paste) about me working for a famous supermarket.

Shopping Rant about Asda (other shops are available) How come the change shoot is so small in the automated checkouts? You cannot get your hand into the "bellend" (for the want of a better word) where the change comes out.The bloody till then starts to nag you if you do not move along quickly enough. I only used to shop at Asda - I now appear to bloody work there. I weigh and price me own veggies. I punch in sticker codes. I "zip" stuff through the self check out. And the latest wheeze is a normal checkout (for say more than ten items) that is now automated too. FFS if you are going to do that put your prices down not up and give me "colleagues" rates at the till. Include me in your pension scheme and invite me to the staff parties. Oh and give me a mop and Ill clean the floor on the way out. Rant over.

 

[Watchcame430]

My online statements always show whats coming out in the next couple of days with dates.
They can tell in advance?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

How do they do it?

Just looking at my Santander current statement on line and there is a debit dated 25.03.13.

How can that be?

I suspect it's a direct debit which fell due over the weekend, and was processed over the weekend, but which will not be paid until the next working day, ie Monday.

The funds will have been earmarked for payment, and your AVAILABLE balance will have changed as a result, but the payment will only happen on Monday. The money is still in your account.

 

[markjay]

It works both ways though - I can see scheduled payment into the account showing over the weekend with Monday's date.

 

[Watchcame430]

Thats how mine works although on a natwest statement they grey out the lines that are going to happen in the future. The available balance figure helps sometimes as well.
The day before i get paid they see it coming so its greyed out and showing available.

 

[Clkrichard]

We really have become a nation of unthinking Daily Mail reading bank bashers haven't we ? They provide a free service, including notification of pending transactions, direct debit services and the ability to make electronic payments, and yet they are hated !
Why ?

 

[grober]

I suspect it's a direct debit which fell due over the weekend, and was processed over the weekend, but which will not be paid until the next working day, ie Monday.

The funds will have been earmarked for payment, and your AVAILABLE balance will have changed as a result, but the payment will only happen on Monday. The money is still in your account.

And that's the crux of the matter- is that money still in the payer's account earning interest??? ---Sure its safe enough it still belongs to you[ on paper] but my guess its in some sort of invisible no man's land [ to outsiders] "holding account" where its earning the bank interest not you. Then at the other end its paid "nominally" to the recipient on the Monday and will show up in their account as indeed there but "awaiting clearance" and the recipients "cleared balance" = "available hard cash money" won't reflect it for another couple of days. So what you may ask was that money doing for maybe 4or 5 days- I'll tell you------ earning money for the bank/s not you or the recipient. Conveyancing lawyers used to do this with money's received for house sales invested overnight in special investment vehicles set up for precisely this purpose they used to call it " bed and breakfasting" The bank faster payments system was supposed to do away with this but I suspect the faster bit refers to the transaction on paper but the " real money" takes a detour as usual. Sounds relatively trivial but multiply it by millions of transactions which actually happen in milliseconds by electronic transfer and you have what Del Boy would call "A nice little earner Rodney"

 

[Watchcame430]

Something has to pay the bonus's!

 

[trapperjohn]

We really have become a nation of unthinking Daily Mail reading bank bashers haven't we ? They provide a free service, including notification of pending transactions, direct debit services and the ability to make electronic payments, and yet they are hated !
Why ?

Because I really do read the Daily Mail. Well a couple of pages anyway.

 

[Clkrichard]

The assumption that interest is actually payable on a current account balance is nonsense ( yes I do know that offset arrangements are different). The second assumption that funds earmarked for a pending direct debit are removed from the calculation of interest on a non interest bearing account is even more bonkers. If we then assume a DD figure in the hundreds not thousands at current interest rates ( if they even applied) over a day or two just how much notional interest are you being cheated of ?
The sole reason you have free banking is because the banks can amalgamate float balances and put the funds to work for their own benefit - its whst a bank should be doing.
If you dont like that they give you free tools to avoid it ! You have online access to balances and funds transfer and could go online every day to move funds so that there is no more in your account than is absolutely needed.
Bonuses of the type criticised are not normally paid in the retail side of banks. They are usual in the investment side either because they are contractual or because someone is being rewarded for excess performance or revenue generation. Banks dont throw profit away but do , like any other business, reward outperformers.
I understand the fashion for bank bashing, and they are from perfect, but lets be informed about our criticism ?

 

[grober]

I've never quite got the bonus system why don't they go for the "full fat version". It's all supposed to be "performance related" the bank does well people get paid a bonus--- fine--- but why stop there surely a better incentive scheme would be to extend this to it's logical conclusion. Bank does well by a fixed set of criteria - bonus of a million paid fine. Bank does badly by same set of criteria - million pounds deducted from salary = simples------- or perhaps also offer the option of getting paid a fixed salary for just turning up every day and doing your job LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!!!!!!!!!!! might then have more appeal.
Yes I know {cue harp music} all these talented people will promptly up stakes and migrate to other countries where their talents will be more appreciated. Well here's a news flash----- these countries' banks are already jam packed with talentless greedy barstewards do you think they will willingly make way for another bunch of talentless greedy barstewards from abroad taking their jobs I don't think so.

 

[DITTRICH]

Here is me having a rant elsewhere (its a copy and paste) about me working for a famous supermarket.

Shopping Rant about Asda (other shops are available) How come the change shoot is so small in the automated checkouts? You cannot get your hand into the "bellend" (for the want of a better word) where the change comes out.The bloody till then starts to nag you if you do not move along quickly enough. I only used to shop at Asda - I now appear to bloody work there. I weigh and price me own veggies. I punch in sticker codes. I "zip" stuff through the self check out. And the latest wheeze is a normal checkout (for say more than ten items) that is now automated too. FFS if you are going to do that put your prices down not up and give me "colleagues" rates at the till. Include me in your pension scheme and invite me to the staff parties. Oh and give me a mop and Ill clean the floor on the way out. Rant over.

Every time the self service ASDA checkout tells me to do something I tell it to sod off in a loud voice.

 

[WesLangdon]

We really have become a nation of unthinking Daily Mail reading bank bashers haven't we ? They provide a free service, including notification of pending transactions, direct debit services and the ability to make electronic payments, and yet they are hated !
Why ?

Because they can loan out your money in your account by a ratio of 9:1
When the good times roll they can "earn" over 9x the derisory amount of interest they pay you. For every £1000 you save they can lend out £9k and will charge a higher interest on each £1k they loan than they pay you. This gives them the ability to create money as if by magic.

 

[Clkrichard]

Grober I hear what you say but you describe the outperforming bankers who receive bonuses as greedy grasping barstewards.
Does that description apply to everyone else in every area of work who is in a similar situation ?i i.e. everyone receiving a bonus deserves that description ?
An employee who does something that significantly contributes to a firms revenue doesnt deserve a reward of a discretionary amount decided by management ?
Businesses operating in a free market economy just dont work like that.
A new "brain drain" ( remember supertax ?) is a reality. With trading, whether in money or tangible commodities, now taking place electronically 24/7, firms can be located wherever they choose and many of my high earning clients are relocating to places like Switzerland, Dubai etc. Whatever your view is of the income tax they are now not paying here there is no debating the fact that their net income isnt being spent in the UK. No VAT take from them, no employment of tradespeople including MB technicians, no RFL, no council tax, the list goes on and on.
I suspect we are going to have to agree to disagree given your description of bankers but they dont all deserve your disapproval which I doubt is based on actual experience. Dont believe all you read in the media !