Consumers not happy over treatment by banks

A recent report has suggested that many consumers are still furious over how they are treated by some of the nation’s major banks, and think that many of the banks are badly managed. Read more

Tags: bank charges, bank loans, rbs, bank customer service, Citizen Advice Bureau, banks

RBS unveils huge losses

Banking giant, Royal Bank of Scotland, which also owns NatWest, has recently revealed huge losses of around £28 billion, which reflects the biggest loss in British commercial history. Read more

Tags: history, prime minister, confidence, Banking, package, giant

RBS will take action over refunding bank charges

High Street bank Royal Bank of Scotland has reportedly decided that in the event that the ongoing High Court case in to bank charges is lost by the banks it will be pro-active in ensuring that all customers receive a refund on their bank charges that were applied for exceeding the credit limit on the account. The banks, along with seven others, is currently appealing against a ruling made by the courts earlier this year, when it ruled in favour of the Office of Fair Trading. Read more

Tags: bank charges, finance, year, base, bank, rbs, high street bank

Banks find out that their charges are most likely unfair

Over the past couple of years the bank charges applied to accounts by banks have been at the centre of controversy, with some banks charging close to £40 per fee when the customer went over their overdraft limits and for returned direct debits and bounced cheques. Officials from the Office of Fair Trading were concerned because the charges were far too high, because they did not in any way reflect the costs incurred by the bank, which amounted to just a few pounds. Read more

Tags: office, Law Crime, decision, test case, bank charges, rbs, memo, oft

Memo indicated that banks told that bank charges are probably unfair

This year’s High Court test case into bank charges saw round one go to the Office of Fair Trading, with the regulatory body being given permission to assess banks# terms and conditions, including overdraft charges, for fairness. According to the contents of a leaked memo that was sent to senior staff members at RBS and Natwest the OFT has concluded that the charges applied by the UK’s leading banks are indeed unfair. Read more

Tags: August, office of fair trading, bank charges, test case, bill, Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc, rbs, year

Whistleblower claims – “Employees at RBS being trained to lie”

According to an insider from the Royal Bank of Scotland employees at the bank are being trained to lie in order to stop customers from cancelling the Payment Protection Insurance on their credit cards. The whistleblower is apparently from the bank’s Customer Loyalty Team, and said that employees are trained to use a number of practices to stop customer from cancelling PPI on their credit cards. Read more

Tags: cancel accounts, authority, call, consumer, ppi, rbs, Credit card, ongoing investigation

Banks may be acting illegally over bank charges

Over recent months there has been a battle raging between banks, campaigners, and consumers, with the banks standing firmly on one side, and consumers and campaigners fighting in unity on the other side with regards to unfair bank charges.

Campaigners have been urging consumes to fight back against the banks and reclaim bank charges that were deemed unlawful and unfair by UK financial regulators last year, and many consumers have already done this, with some receiving thousands in backdated charges that go back up to six years.

However, although the banks have been paying up, albeit with some pressure in some cases, this is something they have been doing reluctantly. And in the latest move to try and put consumers off from making claims for the refund of charges, banks have been sending out threatening letters.

According to recent reports some banks have been contacting customers that have already been awarded refunds on their banks charges, and have been informing them that if they try to claim again in the future their bank accounts may be closed. However, officials claim that this is a move that could be classed as illegal.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has sent out letters of this nature, and the letter reads: ‘Any charges that properly accrue in the future will be applied to your account in line with our published tariff and in accordance with your agreement with the bank. Should you be unwilling to accept any such charges, then we may need to consider if we are prepared to continue to provide you with your existing banking facilities. Instead, we may offer you a simple account that does not offer borrowing facilities or other services that can result in charges.’

A spokesman for RBS stated: ‘If a customer is unwilling or unable to pay the charges for the services we provide or is considered a particular credit risk, then it is wholly appropriate for us to consider whether their existing account is best suited to their needs. As a responsible lender it may be appropriate to provide them with a more suitable account.’

Tom Smith
1st July 2007

Tags: borrow, scotland, facilities, royal, customer, letter, fees

New graduate deals from RBS

This year’s set of graduates are being offered £2,000 interest-free by the Royal Bank of Scotland so that the pressure is off somewhat during their first three years of work.

Nicknamed the Graduate Royalties offer, it consists of two distinct options. Graduates can either go for a three-year interest-free stepped overdraft facility of up to £2,000 or the aforementioned interest-free loan.

“Many graduates feel under financial pressure after leaving university, so to help in easing that pressure, we have a great team of advisers on hand in our branches,” said Katie Cassidy from the bank’s graduate banking department.

“They can talk to graduates about any concerns they may have with the financial transition from studying to finding employment.”

Other perks that come with the account include a 25 per cent dining discount at over 450 restaurants in the UK, commission-free travel money and ten per cent off selected holidays.

Tags: Business Partnership, work, hand, commission-free travel money, Royal Bank of Scotland, employment, rbs

Motor insurance set to rocket in the UK

Motorists in the UK are set to face huge increases in motor insurance over the next year according to recent reports relating to some of the larger motor insurance companies in the UK. It has been reported that the biggest motor insurer in the UK could be whacking up the cost of premiums in 2007, increasing the gap even further between the prices from some major insurers and some of the cheaper motor insurance companies.

Unfortunately, the large rise in premiums could mean that those companies currently seen as budget insurance companies, which are able to offer huge discounts, could also be forced to push up premiums, making it even more costly to own and drive a car in the UK. Norwich Union has already raised premiums by up to forty percent over the past few months, and other major players are set to follow.

The largest motor vehicle insurer, the Royal Bank of Scotland, is now set to follow suit and push up its insurance premium rates, and smaller companies could follow. One spokesperson from the Admiral Group stated: ‘We believe Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance is the decisive factor in taking the market up in price. If it were to sustain a series of increases over the next 12 to 18 months, that would take rates up substantially.’

According to statistics forthcoming rises could push up an average insurance premium of around seven hundred and fifty pounds to around nine hundred pounds. Officials from the Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance stated that the rises were largely due to the heft cost of claims that had been made over recent years. An AA spokesperson also spoke about the rises, stating: ‘You will find people will shop around even more now. The market is going to be even more polarised between the highest and lowest prices.’

Tags: motor, aa, Insurance, costs, claims, norwich union, premiums, rbs, accidents, increase