Build your perfect bank account.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

thought I would stick on topic for this one.

Perfect world so you chose - how would you like your banking account to be structured?

How would you like to see the retail banking sector regulated ?
I think there is a lot of regulation already in there. Maybe an independent arbiter of disputes perhaps(I know we have FOS but maybe a specific bankified one, ie major banks plus Nationwide and building societies and other banks ones)
Would you be willing to pay a monthly fee - for what kind of benefits ?
I would be prepared to pay a monthly fee but would expect perhaps more interest in return.
How would you like your overdraft to be managed ?
Fixed interest rates, maybe base rate + x% agreed across the board. I would like better information as to how to be able to manage my overdraft better.

What facilities would you like to have ?
Insider knowledge on this one, but something similar to an auto sweep facility or monthly sweep that sends a fixed amount of money across to a bills account.

Would you like to see any changes to the Direct Debit system ?
This one I would like to see the DD Guarantee scheme also cover people's charges so that the Bank and not the consumer claims the funds back once the customer has brought that to their attention.


Looking for viable thoughts on models for Basic Accounts and Current Accounts. (ie. no nude bank staff and crates of lager)

You want me naked???(you would not like the sight or maybe you would like it better, pmsl)

[Amethyst]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

better than what?

[argentarius]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

Thanks for that Bert BUT BUT BUT does the 'guarantee for errors' cover early collection, because sure as eggs is eggs they will find some way of wriggling out of it, slippery little suckers.

Right so here's the plan I shall wait till one of my D/D's go out early and even if its just by ONE day I shall complain and see what transpires, because I happen to know that its SKY's policy to apply 5 days before the agreed date and then they rely on the Bank paying on the exact date.

Right carry on peeps, sorry for hijacking the thread.

I am always mystified by people who state that their DDs have been collected early. I have at least 20 DDs going out per month and none has ever been taken early.

Anyone taking a DD from your account has to submit it to their bank in advance, but specifying the date on which the funds should be transferred. Sky's 5 days early is quite reasonable. But there's no good reason at all why your bank should debit the transaction early - and, as I said, it's never happened to me.

The DD guarantee does cover this. Payment should never be taken before the due date. And if it happens, then you could invoke the guarantee and ask for the money back. And you should ask the instigator to refund any associated bank charges.

[BBB]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

I would like to see them sort their act out with regards to electronic transfers. In this day and age it is ridiculous that it can take up to 5 days to transfer something from one account to another. If the funds are there then it should be possible for the transfer to be instantaneous. Another thing that is so outdated is the policy of going by "working days". Why does a a transfer that is done at the weekend not get actioned until the following Monday?

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

I would like to see them sort their act out with regards to electronic transfers. In this day and age it is ridiculous that it can take up to 5 days to transfer something from one account to another. If the funds are there then it should be possible for the transfer to be instantaneous. Another thing that is so outdated is the policy of going by "working days". Why does a a transfer that is done at the weekend not get actioned until the following Monday?

I hope you don't mind me coming back to this point. "Faster Payment System" is already allowing that. The system is being slowly but surely increased and increased. THat is something the OFT worked on(I believe) with the payments task force. The working days thingy means Monday Value and whether we like it or not IS BASED on the Bank Of England clearing the Banks' accounts. The value of the transfer is same day but the banking system shows it as being the Monday.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

I am always mystified by people who state that their DDs have been collected early. I have at least 20 DDs going out per month and none has ever been taken early.

Anyone taking a DD from your account has to submit it to their bank in advance, but specifying the date on which the funds should be transferred. Sky's 5 days early is quite reasonable. But there's no good reason at all why your bank should debit the transaction early - and, as I said, it's never happened to me.

The DD guarantee does cover this. Payment should never be taken before the due date. And if it happens, then you could invoke the guarantee and ask for the money back. And you should ask the instigator to refund any associated bank charges.

I almost took you to task(and I enjoy reading your posts). Do you think that the DD Guarantee Scheme should be reformed so that the bank take on the company re bank charges where there is an error? What pitfalls do you see in this type of system that is not already there within the DD Guarantee scheme where the money is taken?

[TANZARELLI]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

Any banks decided to offer our bank accounts yet? No, well I am surprised LOL

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

Any banks decided to offer our bank accounts yet? No, well I am surprised LOL

Tell me what they are and maybe I can answer

[TANZARELLI]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

Tell me what they are and maybe I can answer

You'll have to read back through here mate lol.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

You'll have to read back through here mate lol.

I did, but am still not sure that everything isn't already there at the moment. A quick summary might help me further.

[argentarius]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

I almost took you to task(and I enjoy reading your posts). Do you think that the DD Guarantee Scheme should be reformed so that the bank take on the company re bank charges where there is an error? What pitfalls do you see in this type of system that is not already there within the DD Guarantee scheme where the money is taken?

I do, very much so. (I might have already posted to that effect somewhere - but it might not have been on LB). DD is such a powerful thing to allow companies to use, that they should absolutely have to compensate that customer, without any equivocation, for the full impact of any error - i.e. refunding the payment taken incorrectly, and any and all associated bank charges.

Changing the rules to this effect would concentrate the minds of companies who do make such errors.

But I genuinely believe that they are very few and far between - there are billions of DD payments each year, and very few that are wrong as a proportion of the total.

The obvious pitfall of changing the rules is that the bank has only the customer's word to go on, that the payment was unauthorised. In some cases, there will be documentary evidence that the payment was taken early. In other cases, there will be no evidence that the payment was not authorised - because it's hard to prove a negative. Banks will have to rely on their customers' word.

And there are grey areas. What if a bill wasn't sent out on time, so the customer didn't have the requisite notice of a DD due? What if the bill WAS sent out on time, but Royal Mail lost it?

Perhaps if there were such a change in the rules for the DD guarantee, banks would or should be permitted to exercise a degree of (documented and even-handedly exercised) judgement. Maybe the first three, or five, or whatever challenges to DD should be given "benefit of the doubt" but the sixth, seventh or eighth might be taken with a pinch of salt?

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

What about if the company who has claimed in error admit their fault and document that, that the bank reclaim the charges from the company and allow a full refund within the same timeframe? That means, potentially, that an area of doubt is clarified and that documentation clearly exists.
Furthermore, should Banks clearly make customers aware either through their monthly statement or online banking facility of DD's set up on their account and not claimed(or possibly new DD's set up).
For example, I work for NatWest, and I can tell a customer if a DD is set up unclaimed for(though not the amount it is set up for) because many DD providers send a dummy payment through of £0.00 to verify that it is set up on a valid account. Something that alerts the customer to something new.

[righty]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

Argen you may be mystified but I can assure you it does happen & far to often

Everyone but everyone we know including ourselves have had DD's taken early & in some cases, again including ourselves, more than once in a single month. It does appear to be more prevalent just before a bank holiday monday. We have found that a payment has been taken on the Friday preceding the bank holiday & not the day after which is what we understand is supposed to happen

It's a privilege we give companies to access your accounts at Will & if they abuse that trust in any way they should be punished & not just by refunding the money & any associated costs but they should, also like us, be required to pay US a penalty charge of the same amount they would charge us in the event of default

As you remark not only would that concentrate their minds it might make them think twice about the level of their charge to us by knowing it could come back & bite them

[Chandler99]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

I agree with a lot of what has been discussed so far - there is, however, one additional small issue I would like changed re banks in relation to credit reference agencies. Currently banks are allowed to raise a "late payment" flag with agencies like Experian if you have insufficent funds to meet a DD or SO payment. Moreover if two payments are declined in a single month they can raise a "two months late payment" flag.

This means, for example, if you pay in on the same day the DD goes out and it is declined but passes on representation to the bank you are, obviously, back in balance by the end of the month. But you could still get a late payment flag from the bank - basically for being 1 day late.

Some subscribers may be surprised by this post and think this is not true. If so, I suggest they check with Experian. It is true that most banks don't choose to exercise this option and, therefore, to most customers, the full extent of the power the banks have may not be apparent. But anyone who has incurred the wrath of a bank to the extent they are set on "trashing" your credit rating will, I'm sure, bear testament to the awesome power they wield in this respect.

[righty]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

Chandler I agree & its worth noting that the 2 worst offenders for flagging up at the slightest error are without doubt the credit card companies & the worst of all by a long way are the catalog companies,

[scoobydoo]

Re: Build your perfect bank account.

yes
I agree this is a good point. Happened to me with A&L even though I transferred money over get
OD back within limit.