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Independent Banking Advisory Service |
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Trust in Banking and UK Financial Services
IBAS most recent views and comments at Banking News and UK Comment 2011
It is now 2011 - so how are the FSA investigating HBOS when they have yet to interview Paul Moore, former head group regulatory risk at HBOS-turned-whistleblower? What about the £260bn plus of toxic assets on HBOS’s balance sheet? see Ian Fraser's blog
IBAS has seen the reputations of financial institutions diminish as their profits relentlessly increased year on year. Consumer opinion of these institutions is now at the lowest point ever with profiteering at the root of one crisis after another. IBAS has continued to highlight financial issues and publicize the attacks on UK banking consumers - repeatedly ‘plundered’ by the big financial institutions.
Visit UK Bank News 2011 for most recent Banking News and you will also find our national newspaper comments plus many more in the News and archives sections of our site - see our site map. IBAS has featured in BBC TV and ITV News items and programmes on banking and the banking issues many times since we were established in 1992.
Annual calculation of mortgage interest has been exposed, Pensions ‘holes’ appeared, Endowments never 'added up' and some have now been compensated, Bank overcharging debit interest on overdrafts, loans and mortgages – all further exposed, Underpayment of credit interest to savers, Penalty fees for overdrafts, loans, mortgages and credit cards - all exposed as pure profiteering.
Just a few of the financial ‘cons’ to which bank consumers have been forced to endure over many years at a substantial cost.
Personal Protection Insurance (or PPI as it is often known) joined the long list of financial products miss-sold for profit. Many customers are now being reimbursed and compensated. Some businesses will have paid PPI for loans and then gone bust - losing personal assets in the process or having a Director's Personal Guuarantee 'called ' on for payment by the bank.
How can any industry get it so wrong? Motivation for all these financial services ‘cons’ is greed. Profiteering provides maximum profit whilst showing contempt for consumers and bank consumers have suffered for far too long across a range of too many products.
Consumers want good value and good service at a fair price. But, bank consumers have been slow to change financial suppliers, probably because they have been far too trusting but it is consumers who will force changes on institutions which have caused so much pain.
At last, Regulators have ‘flexed their muscles’, but only because continued pressure from consumer groups and consumer articles over many years forced that to happen. Inevitably, consumers have forced change, because they are no longer accepting shoddy treatment and profiteering.
The institutions 'ripped off' too many bank consumers. There isn't a family in the UK that can claim they are unaware of the problem or which has not been affected in some way by one of the financial 'cons'.
This consumer awareness has built huge mistrust in financial service products but has also confused consumers - they just don’t know who they can trust anymore. But, this offers huge scope for new exciting social ‘concepts’ to grow and replace the cynical and profiteering dinosaurs, those who only want to ‘rip off’ consumers.
New social lending entities should now quickly broaden appeal to gain a larger share of the savings and borrowing market, simply because lender and borrower are being offered a fair price and also because it is transparent.
We need more social business entities to provide a marketplace for lenders and borrowers at fair prices but without the mentality of profit for profit’s sake. Consumers will shape the new social businesses in which they can invest and also trust in for the future.
None of us should just accept what is on offer - we are all consumers and financial services should be a target area where all consumers should be questioning how it can be changed for the better. Written by Eddy Weatherill - Chief executive - Independent Banking Advisory Service
IBAS is the most experienced organization in this field with almost 20 years 'track record' in Banking cases and resolving Director's Personal Guarantee issues. Our aim is to provide the best professional and personal Banking and Personal Guarantee advice service to protect our members at a low and affordable annual membership.
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