OK..here’s a rant about banks, so I suppose that it will get lost in the other millions of posts on the subject.
Now, here’s some scary information that I have had from the horse’s mouth through the back door. I won’t say which banks this comes from for fear of the bastards having a go at me and getting other people in trouble too.
Recently I was talking to someone from a bank that I may or may not use and I’ll cut the story short. They told me that if you are self-employed your chance of credit is virtually nil and don’t even bother getting audited accounts from the accountant to apply as you won’t get it..even small amounts. Not only that but they will be calling in all current credit soon. They’ve brought in blanket rules by the look of it.
If you’re in the PAYE sector then you’ll be in trouble too for getting credit if the company you work for employs less than 25 people. You might be safe for credit if you work for a multinational…apart from the fact that you might lose your job and not be able to pay it back as they all head East.
Now..the other person I was talking to works in one of our National Banks in the very department that caused a of the problems. Apart from having many colleagues “working from home” It seems that as soon as the government guarantee scheme kicked in they got pay rises that were on hold issued as well as bonuses. They got their Xmas bonus and a nice fat €500 for Xmas festivities per head. This was all thanks to the fact that the Government left every man woman and child in the State liable for up to €135,000 a head..yep..every single one.
So..now we have bankrolled the banks, and they are treating us…the people they owe their existence to..like shite by refusing credit and inflicting extra bank charges wherever they think they can get away with them. I’ve noticed extra charges creeping in on my VISA statement already..like late payment fees, overlimit fees and so on. They were never there before. However, on the current account side their stupid new rules have cost them a few Euro. I used to just go out and use my Laser card and if I went into the red with it ..it was OK..no problem as you just got charged a referral fee and I would go an transfer the funds online to keep things in the black. Now they stop the payment on the card at the checkout..which can be embarrassing but it means they’ve lost the referral fees which last year amounted to nearly a hundred Euro in my case and saved me a few quid. They really know how to blow a hole in their foot for the sake of new policies. They’re just taking advantage of the likes of us who are too feckin busy earning a living to keep on top of things like moving funds from account to account. My sources also tell me that they have junket brainstorming weekends for policy makers in the banks to come up with new stealth bank charges..and why doesn’t that surprise me?
So…what’s the answer to all of this from the point of view of the poor old bank customer? It’s quite simple. We start a campaign where we persuade every self-employed, small or middle size business that has money on deposit to withdraw it and stash it elsewhere..like the Credit Union or even cash. If they are going to deny me credit then I’m going to deny them the same. Why should I have any money sitting idle in their bank when they won’t do the same for me when it’s needed. If we can get this idea out there we could bring them to their knees. I have had enough of hearing about small businesses being brought to their knees by lack of credit by not being able to fulfil the lucrative orders on their books.
So there we are. That’s my reply to the fact I was told that even if I got a multimillion Euro film job or just broadcast docs where I need to hire crew tomorrow, I wouldn’t get a single Euro in credit with which to carry out the work because of their stupid new rules for the self employed and small businesses. It’s not to do with individual status or credit rating either..I’m told and I shouldn’t take it personally..lol. They really are being stupid as once the multinationals have all gone to China or Bangladesh etc then we will be the only ones left on which to run an economy…and I can’t wait.
Do your bit for the downtrodden abused bank customer..get every cent out of the bank now and lets teach them a lesson. They are nothing but greedy self preserving pond life in my opinion. Certainly no better than common conmen, fraudsters, blackmailers and highwaymen. Obviously none of the original Banksters in the US who caused this mess have even been slapped on the wrist let alone incarcerated for the mess they’ve made of the world’s economies and more importantly…people’s lives. These people have proven themselves to be more dangerous than terrorists so I think they should be shipped out to Guantanamo Bay and water-boarded just for retribution and satisfying fun for new dole drawers.
OK..rant over…for now. Part 2 coming soon.