Cash card victim's eight-week wait after thieves clone his plastic, bank customer faces catalogue of errors and is forced to borrow. How long does it take for a new bank card to arrive? Up to two months if you are with Barclays and your name is Guy Lodge. Criminals fixed a skimming device to the cash machine and cloned his card to steal 800 pounds from the account in three days. The bank refunded the stolen cash and told Guy they would send a replacement card. But Guy, a political researcher from Oxford, says: "There was a catalogue of bungles and errors including the security details for my online banking being sent to my neighbour's address" After almost two months, Guy was beginning to despair. Two months to the day on which his card was skimmed Guy received a new card. A good will payment of 300 pounds has been offered. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive at the Independent Banking Advisory Service, says that there is a growing number of complaints about delays in receiving bank cards. 'It is unacceptable for customers to be left without a card,' he says. 'I would like to see a system introduced by the banks so that customers know exactly how their fraud case will be dealt with and when they will receive their new card.' APACS estimate that  fraud involving a card happens every eight seconds. - Financial Mail  28/11/2004

It's the nagging bank. Pay up or else, computer will warn credit card customers. Bank customers overdue on their credit card payments are to be harassed with automated phone calls telling them to pay up. The idea is to help clients avoid more serious money problems but consumer groups say the computer calls will simply frighten people. The technology, developed by UK company Adeptra, allows banks to trigger calls to thousands of people at the click of a mouse. Eddy Weatherill of IBAS, the Independent Banking Advisory Service, warned: "I think many people will feel harassed by these calls. There would have to be careful controls on how many calls can be made in a day or week. It seems to me this is all about putting the frighteners on customers to pay up." - Daily Mail 24/11/2004

Clashpoint. ATM profits rocket with YOUR money. The company at the centre of the cash point rip-off row has TRIPLED its sales. CARDPOINT, which charges between 1.50 and 1.75 for a cash withdrawal, amassed full year sales of 36.8million against 12.2million a year ago. Cardpoint say that three-quarters of customers had used the same machine more than once in the past month. Eddy Weatherill, Chief executive of consumer group the Independent Banking Advisory Service, was appalled at the numbers. He told Sun City: "People are paying a very high price to get their own money out of these machines. We would urge them only to use cash machines where they don't have to pay." - Sun City  23/11/2004

£61m cash and grab. Cash machine crime has soared by an astonishing 85 per cent in the past year. Hole-in-the-wall gangs have stolen £61.1m in the past year using a variety of spying and card cloning tricks. London and the South East recorded a massive 129 per cent higher than the year before and Scotland even higher at 134 per cent. The average taken from an account using a cloned card is £1,800 but the figure can be much higher. Eddy Weatherill, of  IBAS, the Independent Banking Advisory Service accused the banks of 'gross negligence'. 'It is absolutely extraordinary that these gangs are able to fit devices to machines outside banks,' he said. 'These are supposed to be secure buildings. It is disgraceful that they don't have the necessary security in place to pick up the problem and grab the perpetrators. For many years the banks have argued that cash machine fraud is impossible, it cannot happen, yet here we have an admission that it is a huge problem.' He said victims frequently found the banks unsympathetic. 'Customers and their families are often placed under suspicion if they report this sort of fraud.' The card fraud gangs operate using a mixture of shoulder surfing, the Lebanese loop, door skimming and ATM machine skimming with a card reader and remote computers, which are all used to acquire customer pin and card information, together with small cameras and video devices and 'old fashioned' pick pocketing and mugging. - Daily Mail  11/11/2004

Record number of homes being repossessed. The nightmare of home repossession returned to haunt Middle Britain yesterday as actions to evict families reached a three-year high. Mortgage lenders launched confiscation proceedings against 18,513 owners, the highest since the beginning of 2000 and an increase of 15 per cent on last year. The courts also made 11,186 repossession orders between May and August, the highest number since 2001. "These are very significant figures and are extremely worrying," said Eddy Weatherill, of the Independent Banking Advisory Service. "In 1991, more than 75,000 people handed back the keys to their homes and the misery and stress caused was immeasurable. The last thing we want to see is a return to that, not least because any large scale evictions this time round would be even worse. There is now no state help or safety net. Owners only have to miss two mortgage payments to be threatened with repossession." A CML spokesperson said: "We expect repossessions to rise modestly next year because of higher interest rates which feed through to mortgage costs". - Daily Express  28/10/2004

The end of free cash machines - One in three now cost you money. Bank customers are paying 60m for using cash machines in the latest High Street rip-off. Just four years after a Daily Express crusade forced banks to scrap hole-in-the-wall charges, new independent operators have brought them back. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of IBAS, said: "The speed and the scale of the transformation has been amazing with a dramatic increase in the spread of machines that charge for withdrawals. It is quite immoral that the banks are making even more profit from selling their cash machines to companies that will impose fees." - Daily Express  21/09/2004

Cash-point robbery. Banks are accused of profiteering by stealth as hole in the wall fees spread to one in three machines. It is estimated that they will outnumber free outlets within four years. Banks are cashing in both by selling off free machines to companies that charge, and then by buying up those firms. Eddy Weatherill of IBAS said: 'The whole thing is a cynical charade by the greedy big banks. For years they have boasted about the era of free banking and claimed that people could get their cash from machines without paying a fee. But all the time they have been planning to divert the running of this service to somebody else in the full knowledge that their customers will have to pay. The speed and scale of the transformation has been amazing.' - Daily Mail  21/09/2004     

Travellers unhappy about charges for using credit and debit cards abroad should contact the Independent Banking Advisory Service. The financial watchdog says; "We need information to help us pressurise the Office of Fair Trading to investigate." IBAS says banks make £500m a year through hidden charges on the use of credit and debit cards overseas. It adds :"The Nationwide Building Society is the only company that does not charge extra. If it does not need to, neither do the others." - Sunday Times - Directions 29/08/2004

Banks 'Fleece' Holiday Britons. Banks were accused last night of milking holidaymakers and business travellers to the tune of 500 million pounds a year. The cash comes from hidden charges on the use of credit and debit cards abroad. The main charge is a currency conversion fee which typically amounts to 2.75 per cent of the price of everything bought with cards. Rather than detailing the amount on statements , many banks hide it in the conversion calculation. Then there are the extra charges for withdrawals from cash machines. On a credit card the typical fee for a 100 pound withdrawal is 4.75. the debit card equivalent is normally 4.25 per 100. Some banks also add yet another fee each time a debit card is used abroad. The holiday charges were branded 'naked greed' by Eddy Weatherill of IBAS. He said: 'These charges are not clear, not fair and it is about time they stopped. It is expensive enough already to use a credit card, given the extortionate interest rates imposed, but the banks use every trick in the book to squeeze more from customers. If that wasn't bad enough, many of them hide the charges away.' - Daily Mail 24/08/2004

Show more interest in your bank. High street's Big Four make big profits but offer poor service - so it may be time to switch. Britain's biggest  banks continue to make bumper profits, breaking record after record for coining it in. Nor, are these figures one-offs. The combined profits of the Big Four banks rose to almost £20 billion last year. However, while the banks' results are good news for shareholders, campaigners for customers' rights believe the profits have been achieved at the expense of their account-holders. "There has to be something wrong with an industry where companies are continually able to boast record profits," said Eddy Weatherill from the Independent Banking Advisory Service. "This can only reflect profiteering by the banks whose expertise lies in ripping off customers in every conceivable way - poor rates of interest for customers in credit, steep charges on overdrafts and poor value service." That view is shared by the Consumers' Association, which runs the Switch With Which campaign urging customers to dump the big four. - Daily Express - Your Money 04/08/2004

Now it's SIX days to clear Halifax cheques. The interest they earn adds to the £60m 'scam' on customers by banks. One of Britain's biggest banking groups is extending its cheque clearance time by two days. Many customers at Halifax Bank of Scotland - HBOS - will now have to wait six working days to access their money. The change will take place on July 26 and will affect Halifax's Card Cash Account and the Bank of Scotland's Easycash Account, both basic banking accounts. IBAS chief executive slammed the move last night. 'This is prehistoric and obscene,' he said. 'They are being remarkably stupid going against what even the governor of the Bank of England is saying. It makes no sense going backwards. It is greedy and can only be for their benefit, not the customers. There can be no other reason than they need to make a bit more money.' In Sweden, Belgium, Holland and Spain cheques are cleared on the same day. In France and Germany, they take a day to clear. - Daily Mail 13/07/2004

Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim? Watchdog to quiz B&B (See OFT Complaint by IBAS ) on debt tactics. Britain's top consumer watchdog is to investigate complaints about "aggressive and oppressive" debt collection tactics used by Bradford & Bingley. he Office of Fair Trading (OFT) this weekend confirmed it had received a complaint from campaign group the Independent Banking Advisory Service.  IBAS alleged the bank had been using heavy-handed measures in its attempts to recover unpaid mortgage debts. "We have spent a long time looking at Bradford & Bingley," said Eddy Weatherill, head of Ibas. "There are a number of cases in which it is not acting like other lenders. It seems to be out of step with the rest of the industry and its practices are more aggressive." Weatherill said the bank had regularly asked customers to repay debts which were well beyond their means. "Nationwide Building Society, for example, has a clear cut policy to act reasonably and to look at each case sympathetically," he added. Ibas claimed Bradford & Bingley's practices contravened OFT guidelines on debt collection which says lenders must not put debtors under undue pressure by, for example, forcing them to raise funds through selling property or further borrowing. IBAS has sent a number of cases illustrating its allegations to the OFT. "We want the watchdog to look at these situations to make sure its guidelines are being policed properly," said Weatherill. - Sunday Express - Your Money 20/06/2004  See Mortgage Shortfall Debt Resolution

OFT to probe bank's debt collection drill. The Office of Fair Trading is to look at a complaint made against the debt collection practices of Bradford & Bingley, the mortgage bank. The OFT confirmed yesterday it had received a complaint from the Independent Banking Advisory Service, a campaign group, about the alleged tactics used by B & B when collecting outstanding mortgage debts. The complaints relate to customers whose homes were repossessed by B & B some years ago because of mortgage arrears. The Independent Banking Advisory Service wants the OFT to look at whether B & B adheres to OFT collection guidance, which requires companies to follow strict guidelines in recovering debts from consumers. The IBAS alleges that B & B "made unreasonable and unrealistic demands". It has submitted a number of case studies to the OFT. - Financial Times 17/06/2004 

Lloyds TSB customers revolt over fees. Lloyds TSB is facing a customer revolt over changes to its Gold Service account. The scheme is a so-called "packaged" current account that charges a monthly fee. In return, customers get all the facilities of a current account, plus added features such as travel insurance and discounts on holidays. Many of the high street banks offer packaged accounts - and they are big business. Consumers have opened more than 7m packaged accounts , according to Mintel, a market research group. Mintel estimates that fees on these accounts earned the banks £650m in profits last year. Sales of packaged accounts also count towards bonuses for branch staff. Lloyds TSB has 4m customers with fee-based packaged accounts - more than any other bank. Almost a third of its current accounts charge fees. It launched its Gold Service account in 1990 and has pulled in more than 1m customers. But judging by the complaints received by the Sunday Times, many are thinking of switching to another account - or even another bank - after Lloyds changed the terms and conditions. The monthly fee has gone up from £8 to £10. Customers have also been told that if they want to avoid the fee they must maintain a balance of £2,000 instead of £1,500. A Consumers Association study found that 39% of packaged -account holders had used none, or at most one, of the perks in the past year. A number of other packaged accounts have been altered in the Lloyds review. Banks and Building Societies are allowed to change the terms and conditions of accounts at any time, provided they follow the basic rules set down in the Banking Code. Eddy Weatherill of IBAS a consumer group, said: "The Banking Code gives the banks the opportunity to profiteer by increasing their fees at the drop of a hat." - Sunday Times - Money 30/05/2004

We pay for cash at one in 3 ATM's. One in three cash machines now charges customers for getting out their own money. And the figures may soon soar, with the Halifax planning to sell a quarter of its machines to an outside operator that charges up to £1.75 for each withdrawal. At present, some 17,000 machines across the country impose a fee, compared to just 2,946 three years ago. Customers will spend £54 million to use such machines this year. Furious consumer groups last night accused the banks and finance companies of 'introducing charges by stealth'. IBAS accused the industry of 'picking customers' pockets'. Eddy Weatherill said: 'This is about making more profits for the banks through introducing charges by stealth. All the major banks have been announcing record profits yet they are constantly looking at ways to cut costs and squeeze customers. Halifax is clearly making a mint out of dismantling its network of free-access machines.' Four years ago the industry promised to drop plans to impose charges on cash machines in the wake of customer anger and a Daily mail campaign. 'The banks gave the impression that they were consumers' champions in ensuring the survival of free-to-use cash machines, when in reality they are actively participating in a move to charging,' Mr Weatherill said yesterday - Daily Mail 19/05/2004

Marks is accused of loan rate scam. Marks & Spencer is facing claims that it has deviously pushed up interest rates on its personal loans in a cynical money-making ploy. A leaked e-mail from inside the company suggests the scam is designed purely to boost profits at the troubled retailer. It indicates that huge numbers of customers face increased charges on the pretext that they are a higher risk than others. But the reality, it is claimed, is 'purely to increase profitability'. The firm's finance arm - M & S Money - typically charges 19.9% on loans from £1,000 to £2,999. However, many customers will be paying more. The best deals are with Internet banks, such as Egg, at 10.9 per cent. M & S is now facing a furious backlash from customers, while a consumer group has demanded an inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading. The Independent Banking Advisory Service consumer lobby group described the new revelation as scandalous. Spokesman Eddy Weatherill said: 'This is a serious own goal by a once respected High Street name. it suggests  a devious culture, serious profiteering and an abuse of position.' He rejected the claim that the e-mail sender was ignorant of M & s policy.' A manager in the underwriting department is in an ideal position to know what has been happening and the impact on customers.' The e-mail was leaked to the Guardian newspaper. - Daily Mail 14/05/2004

How to hold banks to account. Britain's big four banks are making money at the rate of £60m a day - or £700 per second. By the time it takes you to read this paragraph the profits clocked up by the big four - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and RBS-NatWest - will have risen by more than £10,000. Wonderful news for shareholders but a different story for the customers. More than 60 per cent of us bank with the Big Four but most only get a paltry 0.1 per cent interest on current accounts and pay overdraft rates up to twice as high as necessary. "Banks are collectively benefiting from a whole series of semi-monopolistic practices, which are highly lucrative in a period of record consumer debt and borrowing." Said Lib-Dem Shadow Chancellor Vincent Cable. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of IBAS, says apathy plays a large part in most people's reluctance to seek out better deals. "Too many people pay no attention to their bank statements, while the banks themselves keep their information to themselves and don't allow customers access to it to plan their own financial stability," he says. "Basically, banks need to re-invent themselves in such a way that they can regain the trust and integrity they've lost over the last 10 years." - Manchester Evening News - Personal Finance - 03/05/2004

Can you bank on your bank? Voluntary regulations are leaving consumers at the mercy of the banks. In March the Office of Fair Trading condemned banks' widespread practice of not paying interest on transferred money until a couple of days after a standing order or cheque has left a payee's account. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said that this practice has persisted because banks are regulated through a voluntary code. This means that even if the practice is banned, and the Banking Code changed, banks could simply refuse to subscribe to it..... Jerry Fearnley, director of the British Bankers Association, a sponsor of the code, highlighted that most banks do subscribe. But if the code is tightened too much, banks could simply pull out. There is plenty of scope for tightening the code, as many requirements are set low. For example, instead of promising not to charge for cashpoint withdrawals, subscribers to the code only have to pledge not to charge more than once for each transaction. A review of the code is underway but the jury is still out on whether the changes will make the code more effective. Weatherill isn't convinced: "You can tinker with the engine, but it's worthless when the wheels have fallen off the car." - Moneywise Magazine - April 2004

Banking's big four are still accused of overcharging SME's and stifling competition - despite the Chancellor's order to improve services to smaller enterprise. The odds are stacked against you when you're starting up or expanding a new business, so it would be nice if you could count on the support of your bank to see you through these uneven times. Yet despite the attempts of the Competition Commission in it's 2001 report on UK business banking, little seems to have changed in the attitude of the commercial banks when it comes to backing the smaller enterprise. While the basic measures from the Competition Commission have now largely been implemented, very little seems to have changed when it comes to the overall quality of service small business are receiving. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive at the Independent Banking Advisory Service (IBAS), believes this is because today's banking industry is built on a culture of conservatism and self-interest that does not allow bank managers to genuinely put the customer first." The biggest problem is a historic one," he says. "Bank's still haven't yet got to grips with the fact that they need to assist businesses; they're having to be kicked into it. They have always been able to charge what they liked as they liked." But today's banks are very much businesses in their own right, and are driven by the need to make a fat profit, Weatherill claims. This is a hard mentality to shake off. "They perceive the small business community as a profitable enterprise for them, so they look to massage the margins in every conceivable way," he says. "If a business doesn't perform as it should, it is given a series of unrealistic hurdles, so it declines and develops cash-flow problems. The banks don't do anything to help; they just take the profits where they can." - "This happened a lot in the last recession," Weatherill says. "If the banks had taken a different attitude, perhaps more small businesses would have survived." - The Guardian - Cover Story- Business Solutions 25/03/2004

£2m rise for the banker who doesn't need credit. The bank boss who said credit cards were too expensive saw his total package rise by £2million, sparking outrage amongst consumer groups. IBAS's chief executive Eddy Weatherill, who helps customers deal with banks, said: "It's profits before probity. Barclay's profits were up by 20% last year, Matt Barrett's pay by 100%, and what do the customers get? Nothing." UNIFI the bank trade union said: "Staff at the bank will have difficulty reconciling their pay increase this year with that of Matt Barrett." - Daily Express 25/03/2004

£2m pay rise for Mr Barclays. A £2 million bonus awarded to Barclays chief executive Matt Barrett was slated yesterday. Eddy Weatherill, chairman of the Independent Banking Advisory Group, said: "This is a massive slap in the face for consumers. People are getting pig sick of this kind of greed. It's like sticking two fingers up to customers." The deal emerged the day Mirror readers overwhelmingly voted Barclays Britain's worst bank, with complaints of high charges and poor rates - Daily Mirror 25/03/2004

Barclays boss's pay soars to £5m. Anger over Banker who said credit cards are poor value. The Barclays Bank boss who last year admitted that credit cards were too expensive has had his salary package increased by 65% to nearly £5m. In October the Barclays Bank chief executive told the Commons Treasury Select Committee he did not use credit cards and had advised his children to steer clear of them. His remarks were compared to jewellery tycoon Gerald Ratner's disastrous description of one of his products as 'crap'. Consumer Groups reacted angrily to his huge pay rise. Eddy Weatherill, of IBAS, the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said: 'Mr Barrett finds himself in a remarkably fortunate position to have doubled his money on the back of his customers. While he is raking the money in his customers are being given products that, by his own admission, are poor value for money. His bank, along with most others, has made a huge profit on the back of consumer debt. The banks have squeezed people until they are very nearly dry and pay deals like this are the result.' Barrett's 2003 pay deal is made up of a basic £1.1m salary, a £1.9m performance related cash bonus, a deferred share bonus of £831,000 and a £990,000 contribution to his personal pension. His complete pay deal for 2002, also including a £990,000 contribution to his personal pension, was £2.9m - Daily Mail 25/03/2004

The bank that lost £686m gives its boss a 91% pay rise. Abbey's chief executive was paid £1.7million last year - almost double his predecessor's salary - even though the bank suffered massive losses. The 91% increase comes despite the fact that the Abbey was the only major High street bank to make a loss. Eddy Weatherill of consumer group Independent Banking Advisory Service, said: 'People have had enough. These bosses are plundering huge pay rises while fleecing us using every trick in the book. It is at our expense.' - Daily Mail 20/03/2004

Bank chiefs in new pay scandal. Fat Cat bank chiefs have been handed record pay rises. They come despite growing anger at huge profits made by banks through swingeing charges. At one bank, the Abbey National, boardroom pay and bonuses rose by up to 176% in one year. Typically bank chiefs are enjoying rises of 15% to 20% when average earnings in Britain are rising at 4%. Eddy Weatherill of bank customer group IBAS, said Britain's leading banks were 'plundering' huge packages 'while using every trick in the book to fleece customers'. The accounts show that the total salary, bonus and benefit packages paid to directors at the big banks will exceed £50m this year for the first time.- London Evening Standard 19/03/2004

£4BN Gain at LloydsTSB after its profits soared by 66 per cent to £4.35billion. Unions said it was outrageous that the bank was moving jobs to India to cut costs while raking in £138 every second. UNIFI said: "It's very hard to swallow. Profits are up on the back of 1,000 jobs being exported to India." Consumer Groups also slammed Lloyds, accusing it of encouraging people to get deeper in debt. Eddy Weatherill of IBAS said: "The phenomenal borrowing might be good for the banks but it is bound to end in tears for many consumers." Lloyds new boss Eric Daniels said the bank's recovery from a 17 per cent profit fall in 2002 was down to record borrowing. It lent £135billion to its customers last year, a £12billion or 10% rise. Credit card lending up 18% - personal borrowing up 9% - homebuyers borrowed £24.2billion. Its success means the big 5 banks racked up £26billion between them. - Daily Mirror - 09/03/2004

Bank executive's £12m. Investment chief cashes in as HSBC profits hit £7.7bn. A bank paid one of its executives £12.6 million while raking in record breaking profits last year. Another boss at the HSBC was sent home with £10.5 million, according to the bank's annual report. The two huge earners are not named. Neither was on the board. But the bumper pay packets did stretch to the boardroom where Chairman Sir John Bond received £4.25 million, including a salary and bonus package of £2.15 million - up 14%. The value of Sir John Bond's pension was topped up to £7.9 million from £5.5 million making it one of the biggest retirement pots seen in a British boardroom. He also has shares and share options worth £3.5 million. IBAS said: "This is fat cat pay packets at the expense of customers. It's breathtaking.' The figures added to the fury already felt by consumers as the bank unveiled the biggest profits ever by a British company. - Daily Mail - 02/03/2004

HSBC announces record profit. HSBC today announced the biggest ever profit by a British bank - an extraordinary £7.7 billion. The bank revealed to the City that it had racked up profits before tax at the rate of £244 a second in 2003. That was 37% on its 2002 profits, which were themselves a record. IBAS said: "This follows a very familiar pattern. It indicates to us that there is widespread profiteering at the customer's expense. The banks are making hay while the sun shines." London Evening Standard - 01/03/2004

Banks will be told to end £60m a year rip-off on cheques. Moves to stop the big banks operating a rip-off worth an estimated £60 million a year began yesterday. The huge windfall comes from the delay in clearing cheques and processing electronic payments. Yesterday, the Office of Fair Trading set about ending the scam. The watchdog has declared that the money should be transferred on the same day, so any interest goes to the customer. A bank might make 5 per cent interest on the cash in what the industry calls this 'float', while most current accounts pay less than 1 per cent. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of IBAS, said: 'Greedy banks have made billions out of this rip-off over many years and it is about time the scandal was stopped. There is no doubt bank bosses have cynically used the system to boost their own profits at the expense of their customers.''

'It affects every single person with a bank account who has an array of regular standing orders going out every month. People are totally baffled when they are deprived of their interest as their money takes days to appear in the account of the payees.'

He added: 'Unjustifiable delays in the cheque clearing system are a massively profitable enterprise for banks and they have pocketed an incredible amount of money thanks to it.'

OFT Chairman John Vickers put the banks on notice that he expected them to adopt the measures from 2005. 'Self regulation, provided that is effective, has a key role in ensuring that markets work well for consumers,' he said. 'Customers, not just the banks, should get some benefit from the float.' Lloyds - TSB has already broken ranks with the rest of the industry by saying it will leave money used in electronic transfers in customer accounts until the day of payment. - Daily Mail - 27/02/2004                           

Banks sit on cash and con us out of a fortune. Greedy Banks are cheating customers out of millions of pounds, watchdogs warned yesterday . They are conning customers out of interest cash by taking too long to process simple payments, according to the Office of Fair Trading. Consumer groups believe savers are missing out on an annual £30million in interest payments as a result. Eddy Weatherill of IBAS said: "Failure to pay interest in this way is just another example of the banks being allowed to profiteer. The Government should have put a stop to this years ago." - Daily Express - 27/02/2004

Rip-off bank. Angry consumers have accused banks of cashing in on Britain's soaring debt crisis after the Royal Bank of Scotland revealed profits of £7.15billion. Critics said it was time for banks to behave more responsibly and end excessive charges on letters, transfers, overdrafts and interest payments. Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of IBAS, the Independent Banking Advisory Service, which represents the interests of aggrieved banking customers, said:" It's completely excessive. They are profiteering in almost every way you can think of. Even City analysts are saying the profit increases are so big that it can't be just good fortune or good management. It has to be profiteering. Customers need to vote with their feet."

Eddy Weatherill called on the FSA to tighten up banking regulation to stop consumers being ripped off. But, the FSA rejected the calls to curb profiteering. A spokesman said:" The regulation of excess profits is nothing to do with us. Banks can make as big a profit as they like, so long as they follow the rules." Daily Express - 20/02/2004 

£226 a second - That's how much profit the Royal Bank of Scotland made in 2003 as borrowers and savers struggled. RBS caused outrage yesterday after unveiling profits - the biggest yet by a British bank. It means RBS, which owns NatWest made almost £300 for each of its 20million customers in Britain, where it makes 80% of its profits. Critics accused the big banks of profiteering on the back of a tide of debt which is set to hit £1trillion this year. IBAS called for a Windfall Tax to be levied on the major banks and Eddy Weatherill of IBAS, The Independent Banking Advisory Service said: "It has to be profiteering at the expense of the customer." Daily Mail - 20/02/2004

Bank rings up record £6bn profit - Royal Bank of Scotland today reported the biggest profit ever recorded by a British bank - a £6.16billion surplus before tax. The jumbo 2003 profit delighted shareholders and staff but caused anger among customers. It is equivalent to about £308 for each of the bank's 20 million UK clients and eclipses the record £5.99billion made in 2002 by rival HSBC. Among British companies, only oil giants BP and Shell have ever made money on such a scale.

RBS squeezed more profits from almost every corner of its empire, which includes NatWest, Coutts, Dixon Motors and two insurers, Direct Line and Churchill. The record figure - equivalent to £195 a second - was up 29% on 2002.

IBAS immediately condemned the bank." it's completely excessive. They are profiteering in almost every way you can think of. Even City analysts are saying the profit increases are so big that it can't be just good fortune or good management. It has to be profiteering at the expense of customers." Calling for a Windfall Tax - Eddy Weatherill said: "Chancellor Gordon Brown has a hole in his finances. Why not fill it by penalizing the banks?"

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vincent Cable called on the Government to implement the recommendations of the Cruickshank Review of four years ago, which found banks guilty of operating a complex monopoly and making "excess profits." London Evening Standard - 19/02/2004

Rip-off mockery. Big Four banks defy critics as profits surge on the back of lousy deals, reports David Prosser - Britain's biggest banks are making a fortune from their customers.  The Big Four's profits rose to almost £20 billion last year - £53 million a day. In other words, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) made a staggering £36,800 in every minute of 2003.

However, while the outlook is rosy for the bank's shareholders, many campaigners believe the banks are profiteering at the expense of their customers as they rack up ever-escalating gains.

"There has got to be something wrong with an industry where companies are continually able to boast record profits," says Eddy Weatherill, who runs the Independent Banking Advisory Service. "These banks' expertise lies in ripping off customers in every conceivable way."

The Consumers Association agrees. For three years it has been promoting its Switch With Which? campaign, which aims to persuade customers of the big four to dump their banks for better deals elsewhere. Daily Express - Your Money - 18/02/2004

Bank's credit card 'rip-off'. The bank which admitted its credit card charges are too expensive revealed record profits of £3.85billion today. IBAS, The Independent Banking Advisory Service said today: "Credit card profits are obscene, there are no two ways about it. Banks are profiteering from their customers and the Government does nothing about it." Labour MP Linda Perham said:" From a bank whose chief executive said his credit card was too expensive, this can only be described as a rip-off." London Evening Standard - 12/02/2004 

Great credit card rip-off. MPs threaten probe as bank makes £70 from each customer. Robin Down, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said: "If one or two banks say they are making these sort of returns, you could say it is due to a particular expertise. But when the whole sector is saying it, that is suggestive of excess profits." The Express - 13/02/2004  IBAS say that this is a comment that identifies the truth in its simplicity!  

Barclays profits soar to £3.8bn - Credit card customers pay no heed to Barrett - Barclays, whose chief executive caused uproar by telling MPs that credit cards were "too expensive", yesterday revealed last year's profits ballooned to £3.8bn. Chief executive and chairman designate Matt Barrett told a group of MPs last October:" I don't borrow on credit cards because it is too expensive." The Barclaycard business appears to have been unaffected by the remark, reporting operating profits up 17% to £722m and 1.5m new customers. The average Barclaycard customer paid £98 in interest last year and the bank made £68 profit for each cardholder. Eddy Weatherill ceo of IBAS, which works with small businesses, said Barclays was guilty of profiteering. "Customers have yet to learn how to use their feet to make them (banks) compete." Vincent Cable MP, Treasury spokesman for the LibDems, called on the government to introduce a new regulator to control the banks and for the OFT to be tougher. "We now have about £1 trillion of household debt, which is very worrying for the economy but great news for the banks." The Guardian - 13/02/2004

Abbey Grabit. Lender takes ONE minute to up rates - Banks were accused of "pure greed" last night after rushing to raise the mortgages of millions of home-buyers, the day that rates went up. The Abbey took precisely one minute to announce it was passing the full increase on to its two million lenders. Its ten million savers would have to wait until "towards the end of the month" to learn how they will benefit. Eddy Weatherill, of the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said:" It's pure greed, blatant profiteering. It's them cynically squeezing every bit of profit they can out of customers. It wouldn't be so bad if they were passing it on to savers just as quickly but they're not, they're using it to fatten profits. Customers should show their disgust by moving their mortgages - voting with their feet." An Abbey spokeswoman denied the bank was out to make a killing. She said: "We were expecting the rise, we knew what we were going to do so we were ready to just push the button." Daily Mirror- 06/02/2004

Up to 4pc - and it won't stop there - The Bank of England increased the base loan rate by a quarter percent yesterday, heralding an end to the days of cheap borrowing. The base rate now stands at four percent. Some city analysts predict that it will go up to 5.25 percent over the next 18 months. Abbey, Barclays, Woolwich, Nationwide and First Direct immediately put their mortgage rates up by 0.25 percent yesterday.

However, the industry was not so quick to offer better savings rates, and last night the banks were accused of profiteering. Rising interest rates should be good news for savers. But, last night, the banks would only say that savings rates were 'under review'. Eddy Weatherill, of the consumer pressure group Independent Banking Advisory Service, said:' This looks like the usual profiteering at the expense of the customer. It is amazing how quick they rush to punish borrowers, yet hold back offering rewards to savers.' Daily Mail - 06/02/2004

IBAS Comment: Abbey National expected and had made plans to take advantage of the rate shift as soon as it happened. I'm sure that the 10 million savers all feel better knowing that the Abbey National think that excuse will 'wash'. If they were ready to 'just push the button' for 2 million borrowers for Abbey's own financial advantage then they could just as easily have been  ready for the saver's benefit. This excuse does not hide what is happening. This is pure profiteering by the lenders. Yet another reason for consumers to watch, learn and act by moving accounts. Mortgages, savings and current accounts can all be moved to take advantage of better suppliers and better rates.

Use our links page UK Bank Customers Useful Links to find out how you can obtain better savings rates, better mortgage rates and then move your accounts. Punish the lenders by taking your business to a competitor who will treat you better!

Banks accused of fleecing customers - High street banks are set to announce record profits of £25 billion. Consumer  groups condemned the figure as "absolutely astounding" and said in many cases the profits were being wrung from vulnerable people crippled by debt.

Eddy Weatherill of IBAS, said:" This is just blatant profiteering at any cost. The bank's shareholders must be jumping with joy but the customers certainly won't be. The Government needs to step in to stop the banks fleecing their customers while at the same time driving many of them to misery."

In a worrying trend for the banks, a report said that the number of customers planning to move their accounts to a rival has doubled in the past two years. The report from Mintel said that 13 percent of British bank account holders are considering switching, up from seven percent in 2002. London Evening Standard - 28/01/2004

Dear sir, pardon me for breathing but I'm alive - When a grieving widow tried to help her late husband's hospice, her bank returned the cheque - stamped 'deceased'. It was an insensitive blunder. But, as call centres are moved abroad to cut costs there could be many more.

'It is obvious that banks need to keep their costs down,' says Eddy Weatherill, chief executive at the Independent Banking Advisory Service, the non-profit pressure group that represents bank customers. 'But banks are cynical and in terms of customer service they generally offer as little as they can get away with. Customers should have the right to speak to someone who has all the information about their account and who can deal with problems quickly.'

Abbey promised Financial Mail that it would improve its systems to prevent similar errors in future. The Financial Mail on Sunday - Personal Finance - 11/1/2004