- Joined
- Monday August 12, 2013
- Location
- North Yorkshire
I've been with First Direct for nearly 20 years and can't fault them.
Banks!
- Thread starter DPTC
- Start Date
- Joined
- Saturday June 14, 2014
I worked for RBS from 1997 to about 2011 and when I recently read a book about their rise and fall even I was surprised at how deceitful Fred was. I was completely in the dark about Hester being almost as bad. We all know how magnanimous he was in giving up his bonus, was he fuck, he was whining that he deserved more and was forced to give it up. He was supposed to create a new customer focused culture and they introduced interest swaps and putting small businesses into administration so they could buy their assets on the cheap.
- Joined
- Friday July 10, 2009
I've nothing but good things to say about HSBC and First Direct, HSBC gave me a hefty free OD when a retailer overcharged me five fold and it took months to resolve. Always thoroughly professional and prompt when I've had any issues and their online and telephone banking is totally sorted. By comparison I've had reason to open a joint account with Barclays recently and they are a bunch of incompetent cnuts.
- Joined
- Monday June 18, 2012
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
Lloyds still haven't changed my current account from a Student Account. On the plus side, the use of a £2000 interest-free overdraft for the last 9 years has been very useful.
- Joined
- Friday March 14, 2014
- Location
- Cotswolds edge
Re: RE: Banks!
Cater Alen is Santander subsidiary, my wife is with FD and yes the online stuff leaves something to desire.joe mcclaine said:
- Thread Starter
- #22
Natwest and First Direct seem to be everyone's choices, not heard anyone say anything bad about them.
I got my money back by the way, least I think I did, as the money was credited back as it didn't show up on the account a few days before.
I got my money back by the way, least I think I did, as the money was credited back as it didn't show up on the account a few days before.
- Joined
- Saturday June 14, 2014
Re: RE: Banks!
Interestingly the book I read started off with a history of RBS and in 1793 the bank was on the brink of collapse after some reckless lending, the government stepped in and bailed them out. In the following years the Bank of England stopped honouring requests to exchange bank notes for gold and silver(specie payments) RBS followed suit and before it took effect the branches were filled with customers demanding gold and silver; they were treated with contempt and loathing by the bankers who called them "the lowest and most ignorant classes" for the crime of "wanting their money". When BOE resumed specie payment RBS didn't. They learned early on how to treat customers.
America wouldn't have got into the mess they did without deregulation. Among other calamities they repealed legislation which prevented institutions from gambling depositor's cash, and legislation which prevented Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac from investing in sub prime.
Gordon Brown congratulated himself on not regulating banks before the recent crisis. He, and Blair, have a lot to answer for, yet somehow, like illegal wars, they don't need to answer. Cameron was elected on promises of punishing the crooked bankers, once elected he seemed to "forget" whilst allowing them to invent new confidence tricks.frankw said:
Interestingly the book I read started off with a history of RBS and in 1793 the bank was on the brink of collapse after some reckless lending, the government stepped in and bailed them out. In the following years the Bank of England stopped honouring requests to exchange bank notes for gold and silver(specie payments) RBS followed suit and before it took effect the branches were filled with customers demanding gold and silver; they were treated with contempt and loathing by the bankers who called them "the lowest and most ignorant classes" for the crime of "wanting their money". When BOE resumed specie payment RBS didn't. They learned early on how to treat customers.
Instead of replacing banking we could always go back to having regulation. Crazy I know, but it could work.joe mcclaine said:
America wouldn't have got into the mess they did without deregulation. Among other calamities they repealed legislation which prevented institutions from gambling depositor's cash, and legislation which prevented Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac from investing in sub prime.
- Joined
- Saturday January 28, 2012
- Location
- Southampton
Aha! don't forget the poor folk and/or with poor credit ratings that wanted their own homes and signed up for mortgages they couldn't afford - sold to them by bankers building a bonus. Then the poor debts were turned into bonds and traded by greedy bankers - the bonuses grew and grew, until the bubble burst with the inevitable defaulters. The banks did not know the extent to which they held bad debt because of the bonds, if you remember.
A lot of council housing went this way. Add credit cards and cars on tick to the mess.
And now you can add the middle classes spending the equity in their homes, fukwits.
A lot of council housing went this way. Add credit cards and cars on tick to the mess.
And now you can add the middle classes spending the equity in their homes, fukwits.
- Joined
- Saturday June 14, 2014
Re: RE: Banks!
I didn't see any mention of greed, but while you raise it as something not necessarily blamed for the problems, it's always been there and while held in check with regulation it works/can work fine.
Combine greed with do whatever the fuck you want because we're in a financial bubble of prosperity and we're just politicians with no fucking clue so we'll just leave you to get on with it, and you get what we got.
Sure there's a lot of people with short term goals i.e. make a fuck ton of cash and not be around when the consequences hit. They certainly exacerbated the problem but could never have done so without the freedom to do whatever they could dream up, the more complicated the better.
So bankers are by no means blameless, far from it, but the government(s) is also culpable due to deregulation (the thing which was cited rather than greedy bankers).
That's an overly simplistic view though. A large amount of blame has to go to hiring people with no banking background (Fred Goodwin, George Mathewson, and Tom McKillop) with huge egos/bullies (Fred Goodwin), and feckless boards/chairmen who don't do their jobs and keep the CEO in check. So that's non bankers who are running banks with no clue.
joe mcclaine said:
I didn't see any mention of greed, but while you raise it as something not necessarily blamed for the problems, it's always been there and while held in check with regulation it works/can work fine.
Combine greed with do whatever the fuck you want because we're in a financial bubble of prosperity and we're just politicians with no fucking clue so we'll just leave you to get on with it, and you get what we got.
Sure there's a lot of people with short term goals i.e. make a fuck ton of cash and not be around when the consequences hit. They certainly exacerbated the problem but could never have done so without the freedom to do whatever they could dream up, the more complicated the better.
So bankers are by no means blameless, far from it, but the government(s) is also culpable due to deregulation (the thing which was cited rather than greedy bankers).
That's an overly simplistic view though. A large amount of blame has to go to hiring people with no banking background (Fred Goodwin, George Mathewson, and Tom McKillop) with huge egos/bullies (Fred Goodwin), and feckless boards/chairmen who don't do their jobs and keep the CEO in check. So that's non bankers who are running banks with no clue.
- Joined
- Tuesday February 19, 2013
- Location
- Kinross-shire
Hairsuite said:
Sadly I remember that level of service from RBS in the local branch - albeit 20 years ago! They now like to phone me - to 'save me money' ie get me to take / buy some of their products and then meet their targets and get their bonuses.
Whankers!
- Joined
- Wednesday August 6, 2014
- Location
- South East
joe mcclaine said:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1531990/Daylight-snobbery.html
