It's Just Not Working is it Gordon.......

[mattx]

The government tell the banks to lend more etc etc......

I try to get an extra £2000 on my credit card and get refused even though I pay off my bill EVERY month, and I can easily put this on another card or just raise a cheque [ remember those ] for what I need to get.

Another fine example of why I hate financial institutions.

[36Degrees]

Another fine example of why I hate financial institutions.

 

I particularly loved the fact that when the interest rate dropped to an historical low of of 0.5% the rate on my card went from 10.9% APR to 16.9% APR!

[tech_guy]

I hate financial institutions ( I used to work for one as well ). Are there going to be any marches / protests in London on May 3rd that anyone knows of?

[featured_spectre]

I try to get an extra £2000 on my credit card

 

I spent the better part of 3 hours trying to argue my case on the phone to have my limit reduced. At the minute between my 5 cards (none of which are maxed and I always pay more than the minimum by atleast £100 if possible) my limit sits at the following

 

£5000 on Virgin American Express

£6000 on Virgin Mastercard

£11000 on Barclaycard Mastercard

£12000 on Tesco "clubcard" Mastercard

£18000 on Barclaycard Visa

 

I spent an absolute frickin age speakin with barclay card to have both cards reduced by £8000 on the Visa, and £5000 on the Barclays Mastercard, and an age on the phone to tesco to get it reduced by half.

 

Getting it reduced is harder than having it increased!

[jcollings]

I spent the better part of 3 hours trying to argue my case on the phone to have my limit reduced. At the minute between my 5 cards (none of which are maxed and I always pay more than the minimum by atleast £100 if possible) my limit sits at the following

 

£5000 on Virgin American Express

£6000 on Virgin Mastercard

£11000 on Barclaycard Mastercard

£12000 on Tesco "clubcard" Mastercard

£18000 on Barclaycard Visa

 

I spent an absolute frickin age speakin with barclay card to have both cards reduced by £8000 on the Visa, and £5000 on the Barclays Mastercard, and an age on the phone to tesco to get it reduced by half.

 

Getting it reduced is harder than having it increased!

 

No - it's really easy to get it reduced.

 

Step 1 - ring and cancel the account

Step 2 - Cut card into many pieces

Step 3 - Post bits back to company

Step 4 - No limit issue on the card

[mattx]

I dumped my Barclay Card last year after they screwed up my account when the card was cloned - back then I had [ just on one card ] a max limit of £10,000 !!

Now I can't even get an extra £2000 - pathetic. It's ok to pay these toss pot bankers their bonuses for screwing up the county however when Mr Average needs an extra £2000 [ for a one off deposit to save him going down the bank ] they don't want to know.

I would'nt waste my urine on a banker if they were on fire.

[featured_spectre]

cancelling account = bad credit rating...rather have a good one so i can get a decent mortgage rate

[CHR1S]

cancelling account = bad credit rating...rather have a good one so i can get a decent mortgage rate

 

How does this work? I want to cancel and im penalised for all future credit applications? I call BS on that one....

[mattx]

cancelling account = bad credit rating...rather have a good one so i can get a decent mortgage rate

 

Really ? Strange as I get letters everyday asking if I want to take out a loan.....

 

Anyhoo - I've E-mailed Gordon and Alistair informing them the banks still arn't listening to their requests. Not that it will do much good..... I also reminded them that as a Tax Payer I am asking for some extra credit from a bank I actually part own......

[jamesb]

I spent the better part of 3 hours trying to argue my case on the phone to have my limit reduced. At the minute between my 5 cards (none of which are maxed and I always pay more than the minimum by atleast £100 if possible) my limit sits at the following

 

£5000 on Virgin American Express

£6000 on Virgin Mastercard

£11000 on Barclaycard Mastercard

£12000 on Tesco "clubcard" Mastercard

£18000 on Barclaycard Visa

 

I spent an absolute frickin age speakin with barclay card to have both cards reduced by £8000 on the Visa, and £5000 on the Barclays Mastercard, and an age on the phone to tesco to get it reduced by half.

 

Getting it reduced is harder than having it increased!

 

I had this problem as a student. They seemed to take my requests to have the limit reduced as requests for an increase. I was asking for a reduction to £1000, over the course of a year they raised it from £2500 to £15 000. Not sure how that works.

 

Not really a problem now though, the limit on all of my cards totalled together is £50.

[webman]

I get letters everyday asking if I want to take out a loan.....

 

Strange one that as well... last year I had a payment set up with Black Horse Finance, and they sent me offers of loans. At one stage I could have done with one, so I called them to ask further. As it happens, I wasn't approved - despite the letter offering me it and having a current payment with them at the time!

[srochford]

How does this work? I want to cancel and im penalised for all future credit applications? I call BS on that one....

 

Is this because banks say "you're not borrowing any money so we have no info about how you would repay money if we lent it to you so we don't want to take the risk"

 

This, of course, contrasts with the "you borrow money from us every month and pay it back every month. This means we make no money from you in interest so we don't want to do business with you"

 

Keep your money under the mattress - you know it makes sense :-) (Actually, I think this is why bankers get such big bonuses. It's not because they're greedy *&^%S, it's because they're taking it all home to keep safely under their mattresses so that when the revolution comes we can have it all back ...)

[mattx]

Wonder If I will get a reply.....

 

To: [email protected]

 

Good day to you Sir,

I understand you are very busy running the economy but want to make you aware that the request you and Gordon Brown made to the banks in regards to lending money just continue to fall on deaf ears.

I took up the offer of the car scrappage scheme [ very well introduced I must say ] to get the economy rolling etc so made use of this and ordered a new car. Now I have to pay a deposit for this new car so decided I would do that by using my credit card for convenience and also for the bonus of getting points / cash back etc.

My limit on my card is £#####, now as I have a wife and family and ALL our out-goings are put on the credit card for convenience etc so I thought I would contact my credit card company and ask for an extra £2000 so I could put the deposit on the card. They refused.

So on one hand I use the fantastic opportunity of scrapping my old car for a new car however, I now can’t pay the deposit because the banks still aren’t lending. Fantastic.

Please sort them out Mr Darling or better still sack the lot of them.

 

Regards

[CHR1S]

I understand that you have to use credit to get credit but giving you a bad credit rating because you cancel a credit card isnt on.

 

I have a pretty much near as can be perfect credit score and if I cancelled my card and that stopped me from re-mortgaging my house for example I would have some serious issues to take up with that company!

[maniac]

cancelling account = bad credit rating...rather have a good one so i can get a decent mortgage rate

 

Absolutely not true. I've had many many credit cards and accounts over my life, I tend to move the balance around a lot - normally every 12 months or so, and I have an excellent credit score and got a good deal on a mortgage last year. Actually having too many accounts can do the opposite, as if you've already got too much credit in your name, even if you're not using it, they will lend you less on a mortgage.

 

However at the moment I'm a bit miffed at the banks, as I wanted to combine my credit card debt together with another loan I'm already repaying which would lower my overall monthly outgoings by quite a bit, but at last enquiry the bank with the existing loan won't re-finance it or extend it, so got to go elsewhere which is a shame.

 

Mike.

Edited March 10, 2010 by maniac

[jcollings]

I understand that you have to use credit to get credit but giving you a bad credit rating because you cancel a credit card isnt on.

 

I have a pretty much near as can be perfect credit score and if I cancelled my card and that stopped me from re-mortgaging my house for example I would have some serious issues to take up with that company!

 

I have had cards & cancelled them over the years and it doesn't seem to have had an impact on my credit rating as far as I can tell.

[Guest theeldergeek]

I understand that you have to use credit to get credit but giving you a bad credit rating because you cancel a credit card isnt on.

 

I have a pretty much near as can be perfect credit score and if I cancelled my card and that stopped me from re-mortgaging my house for example I would have some serious issues to take up with that company!

 

The problem is, whilst you might have "issues", there is pretty much jack sh1te you can do about it. You can pay to have your credit rating 'corrected', but you can't wipe the slate clean insofar as I am aware.

 

There seems absolutely no flexibility when it comes down to personal circumstances and everyone is lumped in one category or another.

 

Maybe we should start some sort of co-operative. EduBank anyone?

[torledo]

The government tell the banks to lend more etc etc......

I try to get an extra £2000 on my credit card and get refused even though I pay off my bill EVERY month, and I can easily put this on another card or just raise a cheque [ remember those ] for what I need to get.

Another fine example of why I hate financial institutions.

 

Then why don't you, and stop whining about financial institutions in general, it's one decision you don't agree with. What do you want, competition in financial service where you CAN get an increased CC limit from another lender or govt. telling each bank how much to lend and to who.....you could go along to your local branch and hand over a little note from Gordon that says how it's their duty to extend your CC limit because you vote labour every five years.

[mattx]

Then why don't you, and stop whining about financial institutions in general, it's one decision you don't agree with. What do you want, competition in financial service where you CAN get an increased CC limit from another lender or govt. telling each bank how much to lend and to who.....you could go along to your local branch and hand over a little note from Gordon that says how it's their duty to extend your CC limit because you vote labour every five years.

 

How do you know what I vote ? I thought my vote was between myself and the voting booth.

What I really want is a bit of direction in regards to where this country is going - the point I am making is that they want you to spend money - [ get a new car for example ] but then when the offer is in front of you, you can't because the banks are still not lending.

My example is a sarcastic example and like I said I can pull the money elsewhere but not everyone can and this clearly shows you why the current governement strategy is just full of holes.

And I will whine all I like thankyou very much, as we now own the majority of them and if I think they are doing a crap job, I will certainly say so.

Hope that clears it up or would you like me to draw you some nice pictures of flowers instead ?

Edited March 10, 2010 by mattx

[broc]

You should try opening an Internet savings account with Halifax... I go to the website, fill in the details... so far so good. Then you get to the bit where it says because of money laundering regulations you need to provide proof of id...

 

You can send your id by post (original passport & driving licence etc) or visit a local branch..... I decide not to trust my documents to Royal Mail & make a special trip to the branch... queue for 25 mins to show them my documents, they copy them, 'update' something online & everything is supposed to be fine & dandy....

 

A few days later I check online... my account still says waiting for documentation...

 

Another week later ... still says waiting for documents....

 

So I phone the online helpdesk... they say I need to provide documentation to say who I am before they will talk to me as my account is not 'authorised' yet...... can I post my documents to them, or take them into a branch.... despite me telling them I have already done so & asking them to check with my local branch they will do nothing to kickstart the process until I provide documents again...

 

By this time I am getting seriously frustrated... I search their website looking for someone to complain to... yes, they have a complaints procedure, you can phone or write (no email option)... I pick up the phone, dial the 0845 number... & get a recorded message that their complaints dept close at 5pm.....

 

As far as I am concerned, hell will freeze over before I put my money into Halifax.... if they cannot make it easy for someone opening an account what will the customer service be like when they have got my money?

Edited March 10, 2010 by broc

[mattx]

You should try opening an Internet savings account with Halifax... I go to the website, fill in the details... so far so good. Then you get to the bit where it says because of money laundering regulations you need to provide proof of id...

 

You can send your id by post (passport & driving licence etc) or visit a local branch..... I decide not to trust my documents to Royal Mail & make a special trip to the branch... queue for 25 mins to show them my documents, they copy them, 'update' something online & everything is supposed to be fine & dandy....

 

A few days later I check online... my account still says waiting for documentation...

 

Another week later ... still says waiting for documents....

 

So I phone the online helpdesk... they say I need to provide documentation to say who I am before they will talk to me as my account is not 'authorsied' yet...... can I post my documents to them, or take them into a branch.... despite me telling them I have already done so & asking them to check with my local branch they will do nothing to kickstart the process until I provide documents again...

 

By this time I am getting seriously frustrated... I search their website looking for someone to complain to... yes, they have a complaints procedure, you can phone or write (no email option)... I pick up the phone, dial the 0845 number... & get a recorded message that their complaints dept close at 5pm.....

 

As far as I am concerned, hell will freeze over before I put my money into Halifax.... if they cannot make it easy for someone opening an account what will the customer service be like when they have got my money?

 

Good for you, I have a bond which matures this year with them and will be moving it as their customer services is disgusting. I popped in a while back to open up my 'dump' account [ money which I get for private work ] - had a wad of cash in my pocket and they asked me 'to come back later' [ this was 9:30am ] as they were not ready. So I popped to another bank, and opened the account there. On the way back to my bike I popped in the Halifax and said I would be closing my 2 ISAs, savings and will be moving my bond account when it matures because of their attitude.

[webman]

if they cannot make it easy for someone opening an account what will the customer service be like when they have got my money?

 

Even worse, I bet. Shop around and have a look at the current "best rates" on the MoneySavingExpert website for ideas.

[torledo]

How do you know what I vote ? I thought my vote was between myself and voting booth.

What I really want is a bit of direction in regards to where this country is going - the point I am making is that they want you to spend money - [ get a new car for example ] but then when the offer is in front of you, you can't because the banks are still not lending.

My example is a sarcastic example and like I said I can pull the money elsewhere but not everyone can and this clearly shows you why the current governement strategy is just full of holes.

And I will whine all I like thankyou very much, as we now own the majority of them and if I think they are doing a crap job, I will certainly say so.

Hope that clears it up or would you like me to draw you some nice pictures of flowers instead ?

 

yes, but if it's that important to you to spend money you don't have in savings, which is your want obviously, then you can find a CC company that will lend you the money or use another method of raising the finances. So your grievance is with an individual decision/repsonse in regards you your situation.

 

So to make some conlcusion about what the banking sector is/isn't should/shouldn't be doing just sounds like the usual court of public opinion nonsense. Like people complaining about overdraft charges, you know the rules, there is no 'right' to have your CC limit extended or have a charge waived if you go overdrawn without authorisation, nor is there a right to be lent how much you need to start a business or buy a house.....these are private companies which extend credit on a case-by- case basis.

 

you have no voting rights or control of operational decisions as far as the bailout banks, so you or I for that matter can complain as much as we want, we don't get a say in how much they should lend and to who. And that's the way it should be.

[mattx]

Even worse, I bet. Shop around and have a look at the current "best rates" on the MoneySavingExpert website for ideas.

 

Indeed, I was looking yesterday on that site - its crap crap crap - 4.1% for 3 years was the best I could find which is rubbish.

I will be doing a 1 year bond this year as if rates go up I don't want to be stuck in some crappy rate account.

[mattx]

yes, but if it's that important to you to spend money you don't have in savings, which is your want obviously, then you can find a CC company that will lend you the money or use another method of raising the finances. So your grievance is with an individual decision/repsonse in regards you your situation.

 

So to make some conlcusion about what the banking sector is/isn't should/shouldn't be doing just sounds like the usual court of public opinion nonsense. Like people complaining about overdraft charges, you know the rules, there is no 'right' to have your CC limit extended or have a charge waived if you go overdrawn without authorisation, nor is there a right to be lent how much you need to start a business or buy a house.....these are private companies which extend credit on a case-by- case basis.

 

you have no voting rights or control of operational decisions as far as the bailout banks, so you or I for that matter can complain as much as we want, we don't get a say in how much they should lend and to who. And that's the way it should be.

 

I don't want to spend my savings when I get an 0% finance deal though do I ?

And as for the banks, well I own some HBOS shares so I can have a say and if the Tory Boys get in they will do their normal sell off so I may get some more.

In regards to overdraft fees, I agree 100% but in regards to a CC limit, I never said I have a 'right', I stated I would like to have it extended however I was refused which is odd as the government [ and all sides of the political realm agree ] that banks should try and lend more. And this is ironic as we now own the majority share.....

The climate [ in my opinion ] is a mess, the mess was made my greedy bankers and financial institutions, and even now, many months on, they are still screwing it up.