RE Banks ? Building societies?

Question

One thing bugs me, my bank doesnt charge me any fees whatsoever as long as my account is in credit, so why do people use banks and or building societies that impose charges. Has anyone any idea what makes a person use a bank that charges when I have a high street bank that doesnt. I have banked with them for now for approx 23 years and never once had any charges been made to me, ok i am a canny scot who is very careful with my finances and have never overdrawn once even though i have an overdraft facility.
I dont want to be one of those people who spend like money is going out of fashion and worry about it later, but it gets out of hand, you lose your home, car, belongings the lot, its not for me, i am in poor health and could be dead within 10 years, so i dont say to myself whats it worth worrying, because if you are a decent family person being the breadwinner then you have to make sure that your family is provided for,

Answer 1

Totally agree with you. I will NOT withdraw money from any bank thank charges for it. Plus, my bank never charges me. I stay in credit. I too am very careful with finances, not because i have to be, but because i don't like wasting it pointlessly. I have NEVER had a credit card in my life (now middle aged), my motto is 'If you can't afford it, then don't buy it'. Its a pity more youngsters don't stick to this motto nowadays. Would save them a load of hassle when they overspend.

Answer 2

Interesting question.

In general I think people do their research when first establishing an account but over time find it a hassle to change banks. Once you set up automatic payments & deposits it could take you months to change.

For some people, there may be special services that they would like to have that require a fee.

Or they don't want to keep a minimum amount in their checking/savings accounts.

Others may want to use a local bank that needs to charge fees to cover their overhead.

Small business may want the bank to provide services so the business doesn't need to handle it on their own.

I understand your point, and I believe that everyone should know what they are getting for the money they are spending and not waste money on services they are never going to use.

It's easy to say that $5-$10 a month isn't very much money to worry about but I would rather have that than let my bank have it.

Answer 3

As you haven't named your bank I cannot check the facts but in general, a bank that charges nothing on current accounts (I assume you must be talking about a current account as loan accounts are unlikely to be interest free), will set off the costs of maintaining your account by levying higher fees on another product. used by other people or businesses. What maintenance charges you might ask? Well if you get statements they are not produced for nothing and every transaction that goes through your account has an associated cost, be it the wage of the teller who accepts your deposits or the payment system used to process payments in/out of your account such as the UK Clearing system or Visa for processing payments made using a debit card. I guess you are lucky that you do not incur charges but I suspect that your banking requirements are limited. Some Banks that charge fees for running accounts offer special discounts on services, for example a reduced rate AA membership or fee holiday insurance - now if you are an AA member or take regular foreign holidays this might be worth investigating - swings and roundabouts perhaps but the bottom line is no business can afford to give its customers something for nothing! Somewhere somebody has to pay.

Answer 4

Hiya from Aberdeen. Some people like myself have to open basic bank account to get our jsa paid into. We don't "qualify" for premier accounts. We get basic direct debit facilities but no overdraft. If we go into the red, bank imposes 3 seperate charges totalling £90. Some of us have no choice basically. Government shutting post offices all over the country, so no Giro, Banks are raking it in from us "poor" people and btw my family is always provided for.

Answer 5

hi, to assert that one construction Society or economic company is extra helpful than yet another is loopy!! A economic company is in basic terms a popularity revealed on the precise of your very own loan fact. What you ought to relatively be drawn to is the interest fee that the economic company is going to cost you, and the words of the internal maximum loan. you're able to desire to take a seat an self sufficient economic Adviser to p.c. what is going to be the perfect product for you.

Answer 6

In your case its whats known as 'loyalty' and not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to have that. We all choose banks that offer this and that and once we've made our choice we stick to it.

Its only when they start messing about that we start shopping around for a better deal, its wether we find it that matters.

Answer 7

is this a question or a forum for you to let us know how "canny" you are? we dont really care....however - to answer what maybe your question - its all about service. Some people require overdrafts for example - you can get up to 10k on an overdraft - that could be a reason to pay bank charges for example.