PFS conference: Bradshaw says banks aren't expected to treat customers fairly
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Nucleus chairman Paul Bradshaw says yesterday’s ruling on overdraft charges shows banks are not expected to treat customers fairly.
The Supreme Court yesterday overturned earlier court rulings that allowed the Office of Fair Trading’s investigation into the fairness of unarranged overdraft charges issued by seven banks and one building society in a landmark victory for banks.
Speaking at the Personal Finance Society annual conference in London yesterday, Bradshaw said: “It has taken years of legal argument, loads of ripped off customers and we have just heard that that the banks are justified in charging the outrageous charges they do for that particular service.
“The FSA talks to us about embedding treating customers fairly in our businesses and for most of us that has not been a big stretch. But how can you conceivably say you have TCF embedded in your business when part of your core business model is that you exploit the poor and the vulnerable who are stupid enough to take unauthorised overdrafts to the benefit of the middle class who get free bank accounts?
“It is unthinkable. The fact the regulator lets them get away with it is pretty much unbelievable. Regulators are in truth, by their actions, much more concerned with protecting the banks’ balance sheet than they are with customers.”
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Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 26 Nov 2009 10:35 am
Absolutely spot on!
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ROD LEONARD | 26 Nov 2009 10:47 am
Well said Paul, but we have known this for years, The regulators are prodominantly Bankers.
Look at the FSA who have hired the Nomura Chairman days after fineing them for system and control failings. It beggers belief.
the sooner the FSA is abolished the better.
The sooner the Banks are broken up in to smaller units, and stop trying to be all things to all men the better. Banks should concentrate on being profesional bankers not loan sharkes, and (Sales Advisors) thanks to RDR.
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You must be joking | 26 Nov 2009 12:01 pm
Absolute nonsense!
TCF is not about changing "historic" terms and conditions...
Let us have a simple example...
If, say five years ago, you had walked into Comet and purchased a 50" plasma TV for, say, £1,000, you entered into a contract for the provision of a service/goods.
If the same TV was currently available at £750 would you return to Comet asking them to refund the difference on the basis that their original price wasn't fair by today's standards?
I doubt it!
Also, who do you think would have funded the £6billion (reportedly) in fee repayments?
The banks?
Don't make me laugh, the banks (in a similar way to governments) don't have their "own" money, they are merely custodians for OUR money, and I certainly don't want to be "charged" by my bank to fund the over-spending of some other customer!
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