What should the banks give us in return for the bailout?
November 10, 2008
We have all heard the proposals and plans that the government has put in place to bailout the banking system in the UK, and the bill for the bailout is likely to run into hundreds of billions of pounds. Moreover, the funding is to come from the public purse, which effectively means that it is the taxpayer than is funding the government bailout, and quite rightly consumers are looking for something back in return for the bailout money. In a recent survey a number of issues were highlighted by consumers, and it appears that there are many changes that we want to see made at UK banks.
One of the issues that was highlighted in the survey was how banks deal with customers complaints and problems. Many consumers have said that banks have failed to treat their complaints properly, and this has resulted in pretty basic complaints and problems spiralling right out of control. Consumers feel that employees at the banks fail to take ownership of the complaint, and they end up getting passed from pillar to post before anyone listens to what the problem or issue is.
Another need that consumers have highlighted is the need for more branches in places where they are needed. Over recent months there has been a number of closures when it comes to bank branches, and this has been fuelled by various banking mergers and takeovers. However, it has left many consumers without a branch facility within a convenient distance of their home or work, making it difficult for them to manage their finances.
The subject of bank charges also reared its head in the survey, and consumers expressed that they were sick of banks enforcing rip off charges and applying sneaky rate hikes. Consumers say that they have been charged huge fees for going overdrawn by just pennies, and when they have tackled the banks they have been ignored, or worse still threatened with account closure or penalised in some other way.
Many consumers also said that they wanted their bank to be a bank rather than some sort of sales company. An increasing number of banks spend more and more time trying to pedal various services and products to customers, from home insurance and payment protection insurance to endowments and more. However, all most customers want is a bank that offers advice and banking facilities rather than sales people who are just interested in earning commission.
Finally, another issue that was brought up related to Internet banking facilities. Whilst some customers were happy to use online banking others preferred not to use this method and some had no access to the Internet and so could not use online banking. However, those that are not willing or able to use online banking are forced to contact their banks through premium rate numbers, and are then left holding on for ages through the use of an automated system.
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