Banks! I hate them!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Malachite	30 May 2002
Argh! Why can you not get a debit card when you need one! Sheesh...I've been banking with the stubborn gits for since I was 16, (Ok, I know I'm only 18, but thats hardly my fault..) And both my parents have banked with the same company for YEARS, And I've saved up about £800, for travelling expenses for this summer, which is a reasonably large balance as far as I can see, BUT NO, the bank's computer says I cannot have a debit card, please try again after another month or two. Sheesh, thanks Mr Bank. That's really gonna help me use your bank this year, when I'm starving in a Czech ditch, or being assaulted in an alley in Vienna cos I had to carry half my bank balance around with me in Cash... Hmmm... I feel an angry letter to head office coming on...;)

aeonx	30 May 2002
Hi you. :) Why won't they give you a debit card? It's like a VISA-card yes? In Norway we can choose if we want one, after our 18th birthday. (My only suggestion to you when you're going on vacation, is: travellers cheques. Easy to use and a whole lot harder to use than cash, if it gets stolen. *s*) Anyway, that sucks bigtime! *hugs* ~aeonx~

wavebreaker	30 May 2002
What is a debit card, is it the same as a credit card, like a VISA card? How about an ATM card? If you get one with the Maestro/Cirrus logo on it, you can use it around the world in ATMs with that logo. If you can't get that either :(, I agree with aeonx: get Traveller's Cheques, they are a lot safer than cash money and they are insured.

kayne	30 May 2002
Banks in Australia are really funny about that too... You have to realise that to a bank we are all just numbers. All that counts as far as our history with them is how much money is going in and out...

Jenny-Li	30 May 2002
Couldn't agree with you more - banks are the worst when it comes to irrelevant rules and "service" worth nothing... However, my own personal way of dealing with this problem works very well, and I'd really recommend it: Get engaged to a banker, and tell him the financial stuff is now officially HIS business, at home as well as at work. Perfect! :D *lol*:D Jenny :) PS: Hope you get a really nice summer, travelling around like that - sounds really great. At least, as you say, if you don't have to carry all your money around... But I agree with Aeonx, Traveller's cheques are really a good idea, if you can't get the bank to issue a VISA card for you...!

Diana	30 May 2002
Malachite: you're not married to the bank. Go and find out from another one if you're entitled to a card, transfer your money to it and close your account at the one you're at. And send them a nice rude letter with copy to the President.

Aerin	30 May 2002
Malachite, banks in the UK have debit cards for people under 18, it is credit cards people usually have trouble getting their hands on. And even then not much. Hey, you are IN the UK. There shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes, when you apply for a credit card the system applies a scoring system and you may need your branch to write to the credit card people on your behalf. Unless you do this the bank and the credit card people aren't allowed to talk to each other, it's a whole data protection thing: the credit card people know nothing about your bank account or banking history. They aren't allowed to share any information legally without your express consent. Have you actually gone and found a real person at the branch to talk to about what conditions you can have a card under? Someone may be misunderstanding the situation here. And I agree, traveller's cheques are a good idea, as is having a way of someone transferring emergency cash out to you when you are away just in case. Aerin

Phoenix	30 May 2002
tarotlady, an ATM card is the dame as a debit card, well, at least here in Canada it is.

Malachite	31 May 2002
Thanks guys.. just to clear things up.. UK definitions: ATM card...cashpoint card...withdrawals only.. Debit Card...cheque-guarantee, buys things in shops, takes the money from your bank... Credit Card....buys stuff, and you get billed for it later...and pay interest on it... I've tried seeing real people, and tried other banks...

Aerin	31 May 2002
Malachite, it may be annoying but .... I bet the bank would let you have one if your parents are willing to stand guarantors. Aerin

catlin	03 Jun 2002
Hi Malachite, I also hate banks but not so much for credit cards (I don't have one and normally you can live without one here in good ol' G.) I think the fees are much more annoying. I wanted to transfer 50 € from my German bank account to a French company and guess what? I were to pay 40 € fees for an amount of 50 €!!! That is waylaying, robbery, etc. Of course I did arrange matters in another way and saved the 40 € to invest them in....2 tarot decks

wavebreaker	03 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by catlin I think the fees are much more annoying. I wanted to transfer 50 € from my German bank account to a French company and guess what? I were to pay 40 € fees for an amount of 50 €!!! That is waylaying, robbery, etc. Of course I did arrange matters in another way and saved the 40 € to invest them in....2 tarot decks I hate that too... And they said all this would change after the introduction of the euro, but those were lies, even if you want to transfer money to a bank account in another country that uses the euro, they are still charging huge fees... :(

Aerin	03 Jun 2002
It is actually massively expensive to transfer money from country to country, I never figured why people said it would be cheaper with the euro - converting the currency is the least of it. And some countries (NOT the UK for once, it is simple here) have very very annoying and stupid systems for transferring money from bank to bank within the country which does not help. Trouble is, none of the banking systems talk to each other very well (hardly surprising really, they weren't designed to and they didn't need to). The payments abroad process was originally based on the good old fashioned telegram allegedly. Some UK banks do have cheap transfer arrangements with some European ones though if you ask around. I don't know if that is the case in other countries. And never, ever, ever do it via a cheque drawn on your ordinary bank account. That is really expensive and an absolute pain. Credit card is probably the cheapest way of paying for goods in another currency. Still. Aerin

catlin	03 Jun 2002
Yes, maybe I should also think about getting a credit card but then there where sooo many more tarot decks within my reach and that would be my ruin :P

wavebreaker	03 Jun 2002
I use my credit card for international payments or, if that's not possible, Paypal, which also works quite well. I recently sold something via eBay to someone in Germany, and we looked at different methods of payment, but because they were all expensive we ended up using snail mail: the buyer simply put the money (it was only 15 euro) in an envelope and sent it to me... ;)

Malachite	03 Jun 2002
Tarotlady: Surely you could just have got a cheque?...They usually only get complicated when you have to change currency...

wavebreaker	03 Jun 2002
Cashing a cheque also costs money... :( As a matter of fact, we don't even have cheques here anymore, they were abolished last year. Now we've only got cash or plastic...

jade	03 Jun 2002
malachite, why not open a new account with your parents, have them get a card and you could use it? in light, jade ps and perhaps if you sent the bank lots of light regarding this situation, something could be worked out. i always find that when dealing with large companies that being pleasant and wrapping them in light gets me alot farther :D

Aerin	04 Jun 2002
Malachite, beware of the cheque thing when said cheque isn't drawn on a bank in your country, whether Euros or not. Each country has its own clearing system, and cheques are just horrible to process from another country. Always check with the bank first. A foreign draft is OK, but you need to pay. The Post Office also has a thingy called something like an International Money Order and some people use those. Or Western Union. PayPal's use of credit cards is also a very good and cheap system. Bank charges are very different between countries as well. We actually get off quite lightly in the UK e.g. no charge to cash a cheque in your own branch. Aerin

The Banks! I hate them! thread was originally posted on 30 May 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.