ChatterBank0 min ago
Eu Rules
38 Answers
I see in the Daily Express today, the EU want to scrap our free banking and make us pay for using our credit and debit cards and for using an ATM machine..
I will be interested to hear your comments!
I will be interested to hear your comments!
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by Georgiesmum. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.For those who actually want to read the Daily Express article:
http:// www.exp ress.co .uk/new s/uk/41 1832/Me ddling- EU-stri kes-aga in-Free -bankin g-to-be -scrapp ed-unde r-new-p lan
A couple of observations of my own:
1. The end of free banking in the UK has been forecast repeatedly for over a decade but it hasn't happened yet. (This is just another story in a long line of them).
2. The reports states: "Consumers could pay at least £25 a year to use a credit card and £11 a year for their debit card, says a report from Europe Economics with Mastercard". Given that nearly all bank customers throughout Europe have to pay between £20 and £30 per month simply for having a bank account, £11 per year seems like a bargain to me!
http://
A couple of observations of my own:
1. The end of free banking in the UK has been forecast repeatedly for over a decade but it hasn't happened yet. (This is just another story in a long line of them).
2. The reports states: "Consumers could pay at least £25 a year to use a credit card and £11 a year for their debit card, says a report from Europe Economics with Mastercard". Given that nearly all bank customers throughout Europe have to pay between £20 and £30 per month simply for having a bank account, £11 per year seems like a bargain to me!
The pros and cons of this particular argument are irrelevant.
What is relevant is that how UK banks choose to conduct their affairs with their UK customers should be of no concern to the EU. Their remit (as far as I know) does not extend to seeing that all commercial organisation across the Union operate in exactly the same way. The fact that banks on the continent charge their customers £200-£300 a year to look after their money is their affair and there is no reason to extend that model to the UK. £11 per year is indeed a good deal compared to £300, but it is not such a good deal compared to £Nil.
The EU has taken it upon itself to be the guardian of consumer affairs across Europe. This is not what the UK was told would happen when we joined, was not what we were told would happen when we confirmed our membership in the 1975 referendum and is precisely why anti-EU sentiment is gathering pace. The UK has perfectly good consumer protection under its own domestic laws and its market in (say) banking operates in a free and fair way. Nobody in the UK needs to pay for a personal current bank account. Many people like it thus; many others are willing to pay for a “bundled” account providing them with such things as travel insurance and other “perks”. There is no need for any government or EU interference in that market.
What is relevant is that how UK banks choose to conduct their affairs with their UK customers should be of no concern to the EU. Their remit (as far as I know) does not extend to seeing that all commercial organisation across the Union operate in exactly the same way. The fact that banks on the continent charge their customers £200-£300 a year to look after their money is their affair and there is no reason to extend that model to the UK. £11 per year is indeed a good deal compared to £300, but it is not such a good deal compared to £Nil.
The EU has taken it upon itself to be the guardian of consumer affairs across Europe. This is not what the UK was told would happen when we joined, was not what we were told would happen when we confirmed our membership in the 1975 referendum and is precisely why anti-EU sentiment is gathering pace. The UK has perfectly good consumer protection under its own domestic laws and its market in (say) banking operates in a free and fair way. Nobody in the UK needs to pay for a personal current bank account. Many people like it thus; many others are willing to pay for a “bundled” account providing them with such things as travel insurance and other “perks”. There is no need for any government or EU interference in that market.
A person here who writes an unusual number, dozens, of cheques is treated as a business and the banks certainly charge businesses now for that. They even try to do it for frequent payments in. Everyone who has a bank account pays for it, business or not, but they might not appreciate that or how much.
My French bank charges me a subscription but doesn't have the secret or near secret charges that British banks have.
My French bank charges me a subscription but doesn't have the secret or near secret charges that British banks have.
Right, NJ, I'm moving to Llyolds! Barclays staff at manager level have no more brains than they were born with, and have not the faintest idea about business.I have Lloyds for one business and they have been both realistic and understanding.
But all banks have to make money somewhere and if your account is absolutely free that would be a surprise, however it appears
But all banks have to make money somewhere and if your account is absolutely free that would be a surprise, however it appears