Yet another ploy by the banks to rip people off??

[amk1977]

When I paid some money into my credit card account last month, my local branch of Halifax PLC told me that in future, simply handing my card over with the money was no longer going to be accepted???

Their policy now requires you to remove the slip at the bottom of your monthly statement, write on it the date, amount of money being paid in and who is paying the money in. Quite what the reason is for this I am not sure. I mean, if some rogue wishes to steal my credit card, go into my local branch and pay money off it, by all means - go ahead.

The problem for me is thus. I generally pay money off my card twice a month to reduce the outstanding amount quicker and avoid interest charges. As the paying in slip from the bank statement is now required, it means I can only do this once a month. The result is that consumers who do likewise will be forced to do the same and by default end up paying interest on the outstanding amount that previously they could have paid off their card.

For example if you were paying £100 every two weeks into your credit card, you would be reducing the total amount that you were being charged interest on every day, by £200. Now, if you pay £100 off, the other £100 that you would normally pay off two weeks later has to sit indoors and wait until the following month be deposited. Therefore, you are being forced to be charged interest unless you pay the money into your current/debit account and have access to online banking and can transfer the money to your credit card account.

To me, this "policy" seems like an underhanded trick by Halifax PLC of cutting down on administration workload and ultimately cashier staff, by reducing the amount of times people can go into their local branch and pay their bill. It also means that people are forced to incur a full months interest on monies that could other wise be deposited. Fortunately for me, I saw the problem this "policy" presented straight away and had the sense to scan the paying in slip, into my pc and print off another.

My concern is for people, like the elderly or those on low incomes, that do not have access to computers and online banking. With banks recording profits in the hundreds of billions and bonuses being paid to bankers in the billions, it begs the question, when is enough, enough??

Have other banks suddenly implimented these policies??

[Cathus]

oh, don't get me started.

The latest ploy by LLoyds TSB is to take money from another account if you are late paying your credit card bill.
Due to my own mismanagement I sometimes pay a few days late, it;'s not that I don't have a money just that I'm not very organised.

So the day after payment date & often a few days after I've posted my cheque for the month, they take a payment out of my savings account to pay off that month's amount, then charge me a late payment fee for the privilege & then bank the cheque once it takes its 10 days to go through their system, so I pay twice & pay a late payment fee.

No notice, no 'do you agree to the new terms?' nothing. I happen to be a signatory on my mother's bank account for the sole reason that when she dies I can sort out her finances & have access to the account rather than it being frozen, apparently they can take stuff out of there as well as my own savings account because it's on my joint name.

So to avoid it I set up a direct debit, the following month the same bloody thing happens because apparently 5 weeks notice of a direct debit isn't enough to actually set it up & make a payment.

bunch of bloody shysters.

[Stormsong]

Can't you do it online? Besides a direct debit that goes off every month for payment on my credit card, I also pay an additional amount into the card separately using online banking, from my current account, to avoid those nasty charges and the 'orrible tellers working in the bank.

Regards,
Denise

[Stormsong]

And you could also lodge a formal complaint with the Financial Services Authority if you think your bank is being unfair in its approach to getting its money.

[karenoliver]

Does your bank ever do this? I checked my account in the morning, it said I had x amount of money available. Everything that should have gone out had gone and all the dates of them being debited were there. So I thought I had some money to spend, and spent it. Next thing I notice they had taken the money for my mobile phone bill out but then had credited the money back! - the money I had spent! So I am £20 overdrawn, my husband transfers me £20 and it takes an hour to show up. I don't have an overdraft facility as I hate credit so this month the lovely Natwest only goes and charges me £25.50 for 1 hour overdrawn!!! The next day after they had credited me the money back it was back to showing as being debited!!

Karen

[OldBoy]

A friend of mine went overdrawn by 1p. They sent him a letter to inform him of this and charged him £12 for that, making him £12.01p overdrawn. He worked for the bank in question.

[dan123]

errr barclays are pretty bad, i missed a direct debit payment cus i didnt have the money, they charged me 8 quid for that, when they couldt take that 8 they charged em another, that went on for a while,

[KeithT]

AMK, I bank with Halifax and have set up a direct payment for my credit card. That way I don't overspend and the card is cleared automatically every month. No need to go into the bank to do it at all. It might not suit you however, but it is certainly far more efficient way, and convenient way of clearing your card than going to the bank to do it every month. I have a total fear of debt these days, so wouldn’t' have it any other way.

[littlebro]

I paid a credit card last week and because my wife owed part of it she gave me a cheque for her amount and I paid the rest in cash. RBS had me signing two reciepts, new system apparently, the only thing I've ever signed has been the paying in slip. There are never more than two tellers behind the counter and always a queue, waste of peoples time and theirs.