Since the financial crisis in October 2008, a number of reports have looked at the causes and consequences of the crisis and suggested possible solutions, but they’ve all been written from the perspective of bankers.
Which? research shows that eight in ten members of the public think banks haven't done enough to ensure that the credit crunch doesn’t happen again and six in ten believe the banks haven't learnt their lesson from the crisis.
We think the strong feelings of the general public must be heard and acted on.
Giving people their say
That's why we're launching the Future of Banking Commission - to put the wider interests of society at the heart of a reformed banking system.
It's aims are to:
* Listen to people's concerns about banking
* Listen to the views and concerns of industry and regulators
* Enable the restoration of rowing public trust and confidence in the banking system
We'll be taking our findings to the government after the 2010 general election to show whoever is in power how people want the financial crisis to be tackled.
Restoring trust between the public and banks
The Future of Banking Commission which was developed will enable all groups to express their ideas for a reformed banking system, by getting ordinary people, bankers, politicians, regulators and business leaders together to discuss the culture and regulation of the banking sector. We believe this is needed to restore trust between the public and the banks.
David Davis MP, John McFall MP and Vince Cable MP have all signed up to the Future of Banking Commission along with Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith.
Other members of the Future of Banking Commission include Philip Augar (formerly a Group Managing Director at Schroders’ and now a writer on the financial services industry), Clare Spottiswoode (former DG of OFGAS), David Pitt-Watson (Chair, Hermes Focus Asset Management) and Roger Bootle (Managing Director Capital Economics).
The Which? Big Banking Debate
Which? will be organising the Which? Big Banking Debate, which will be solely focused on getting consumer views and feeding them into the Commission's discussions.
The Commission will also consist of three further events in early 2010 where bankers, politicians, regulators, trade unions and business leaders will give evidence. A report will then be published later in the year.
We'll have more news in the new year on the events and how you can get involved, but in the meantime, we'd like to hear what you think.
We're delighted to announce that Charity Bank has become the first savings account provider to sign up to our Britain Needs Better Banks campaign.
Supporting the campaign, Malcolm Hayday, Charity Bank’s chief executive, says: 'The Which? research shows that people are angry with the banks for being one of the root causes of the financial crisis and that, despite over £120 billion of taxpayers’ money going into the banking system, not much has improved. This campaign is about changing banking for the benefit of the consumer.
Social as well as financial
'Banks like us, with a social as well as financial motivation, are an antidote to the banking crisis. We offer savers personal service, security and transparency and the knowledge that their money will be used to fund charities and help communities. We put people first and encourage other banks to do the same.'
Do you have a good experience with your bank? Do you or someone you know have an account with Charity Bank? Tell us below, as we’d love to hear more about positive examples so we can show the rest how it should be done.
Over 5,000 bankers are expecting million pound-plus bonuses, the government reveals that an eye-watering £820 billion is set aside to bail out our banks, but are we put off? No, it’s Friday and we’re feeling generous.
So we’ve decided to give away a pair of tickets to see The Power of Yes at The National Theatre on Saturday 9th January. It’s been described by The Sunday Times as, ‘riveting… an exhilarating lecture on the banking crisis’ and 'devastating... a mesmerising dramatisation' by The Daily Mail.
To be in with a chance to win, all you need to do is help us spread the word on Twitter about Britain Needs Better Banks.
Follow us on Twitter
First you need to start following WhichCampaigner on Twitter and Retweet this message:
“RT @WhichCampaigner I believe Britain needs better banks. That's why I support the Which? campaign to reform banking. http://bnbb.org. #bnbb"
The names of everyone who sends the message will be put in a hat, and a winner picked at random. You have until Friday 11th December to enter, so get Tweeting.
Terms and conditions
Entry is free. All entrants must follow "WhichCampaigner" on Twitter, and all tweet messages submitted on Twitter at www.twitter.com that state the following wording: “RT @WhichCampaigner I believe Britain needs better banks. That's why I support the Which? campaign to reform banking. http://bnbb.org. #bnbb" (“Specified Wording”) between the 4th December 2009 (Start Date) and the 11th December 2009 (Closing Date) will be automatically entered into the prize draw.
1. Entry excludes all Which? employees.
2. All information detailing how to tweet on www.bnbb.org forms part of these terms and conditions.
3. There will be one prize and the winner will be selected at random from all re-tweet messages submitted to Twitter with the Specified Wording between the Start and Closing Date. The prize is two tickets to see ‘The Power of Yes’ at the National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX on Saturday 9th January 2010 at 19:30.
4. Incomplete, illegal, misdirected or late tweets will not be accepted for entry into the prize draw. Proof of sending will not be accepted as proof of receipt. Only one re-tweet allowed per person. Multiple retweets will only be counted once. Which? takes no responsibility for tweets delayed, incomplete or lost due to technical reasons or otherwise.
5. The prize winner will be informed no later than 14 days after the Closing Date via a direct message (DM) from us on Twitter. The winner must claim their prize within 7 days of notification of their win and provide Which? with a postal address to send the prize to. The name of the winner will be available by emailing your request to: bnbb@which.co.uk
6. Which? reserves the right to publicly display the name of the winner on any Which? website or publication including www.bnbb.org.
7. Which? reserves the right to revise the promotional period by extending the period for accepting tweets, increasing the value of prize to be won or by cancelling and / or amending any other terms of the prize draw.
8. The decision of Which? is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
9. If any prize is declined, unclaimed or if the winner forfeits the prize under these terms and conditions Which? may at its absolute discretion draw an alternative winner.
10. The prize is as stated and there is no alternative. However, Which? reserves the right to substitute an alternative of equivalent value at its absolute discretion.
11. By submitting a tweet message with the Specified Wording you will be deemed to have understood the above rules and agreed to be bound.
The promoter’s full name and address is: Which? Limited, 2 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4DF.
Good luck, and get Tweeting!
As well as giving you a chance to win, by follwing Whichcampaigner on Twitter you'll be among the first to hear all the news from the campaign as well as rinteresting banking stories that we find, and even some funny things. And of course, you'll be helping to get the word out. Thanks, and good luck!
We’ve heard from people from all over the country now, telling us what they think about banks. Some of the stories, like Danielle’s above, have been about the little day to day things that annoy you about banks – the lunch time queues, the sales questions when you just pop in to pay in a cheque. Some have been about the big things – the bonuses, the bail outs and really, how the financial sector is run.
The Map of Banking Shame
So we thought it would be interesting to see what this looked like on a mapof the UK. Where are all the stories from? Which towns are the most annoyed by banks? And the result of this is our Map of Banking Shame.
It’s a work in progress, and we need your to help make it work. All you need to do to take part is type in the first part of your postcode and click the button. The places with the most clicks will go from green, to yellow to red.
But what if you're happy with your bank? Well we want to hear about the good as well as bad so please have a look at the map (to see how where you live is doing) then follow the link in the bottom left corner to add your story.
Do you live in a hotspot?
Right now the map is mostly green, which means the banks are doing OK, and that doesn’t add up with all the comments and stories we’ve heard so far. Over to you…
Dire Straights… yep, that seems to sum it up. This hasn’t been the greatest week for consumer rights with the bank charges case going in the favour of the banks. But here at BNBB we’re a hardy bunch and won’t be put off. But we do need a little something to cheer us up, so it’s time to catch up with our banking crisis soundtrack competition.
It’s seems Money for Nothing has built up an insurmountable lead in our poll. The votes have poured in (mostly for Mark Knopfler and co. it must be said) and so it looks like Michael Jackson, Elton John and the others are destined to be also-rans.
You can still cast you vote
But, by popular demand*, we’ve decided to extend the voting for a more days. Is it possible that anyone can stage a last minute come back to overtake Dire Straits? Come on Elton fans!
Remember, the winning song will be rewritten as a special ode to bankers then performed in a Top Secret location, so… the stakes are high. You have until Monday 7th December to vote, and we’ll reveal our special cover version of the winner shortly afterwards.
Spread the word!
So please email the Shania Twain, Kanye West or Abba fan in your life and ask them to vote. It’s Friday after all. And if you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to add your name to our demand for action. The events of this week have shown how important it is that we speak up if we aren’t happy – you can do that here. And the more people that do, the stronger the case we’re building will become.
* OK, maybe we aren’t quite ready to get the video of the winning song made, but it will be worth the wait…
The verdict is out and it’s bad news for consumers. The Supreme Court has overturned the decision of both the High Court and the Court of Appeal and found in favour of the banks in the charges test case.
This is a bitter blow for the millions of people who have been patiently waiting to get their bank charges back.
Not only does it give banks licence to charge what they like for unauthorised overdrafts, but it could have ramifications for other areas of personal finance. The banks now have no excuse for introducing other fee charges.
The banks found it third time lucky in the courts but the OFT should now explore other avenues it can pursue to get a fair deal for consumers.
Overdraft charges: ‘an important part of services’
The British Bankers’ Association has of course welcomed the decision. It says, ‘overdraft charges are an important part of current account services which the Banks provide to their customers and that the amount of those charges is not assessable for fairness’. With those charges sometimes as high as £38 it seems they may well be important to the banks.
After yesterday’s ruling in the bank charges test case, the outlook is bleak for anyone with an outstanding claim. The important thing now is to protect yourself.
We’re concerned that unscrupulous claims handlers will now be trying to tempt people into using them. We advise you to avoid these companies. They won’t be able to help you get your money back and they might charge you an admin fee, so it could just end up costing you even more.
If you’re in ‘financial hardship’ you can get help
If you’re in financial hardship tell your bank. They won’t necessarily give you your money back, but they have to take your circumstances into account and may waive any future charges. If your bank refuses to help you, then go to the Ombudsman.
The court decision is unlikely to be the final word on overdraft charges though. The Office of Fair Trading will soon announce if it’s going to look for other angles in response to the ruling, so our advice is, if you have a claim in the system sit tight and wait for now. When we hear more, we’ll tell you here.
There are just two days to go until the Supreme Court’s ruling in the bank charges test case is announced and we think that if it goes in the OFT’s favour, the banks could be facing a mountain of 8 million claims.
Our research shows that since July 2001 (the date you can claim back to) around 12 million people have been hit with bank charges, but only around 63% have actually made the claim. Added to this is the estimated million claims that have been on hold while the case has gone through the courts.
Will you be able to reclaim bank charges on Wednesday?
If you think you might be able to claim be sure to come back here on Wednesday. As well as having the latest on the outcome of the case, we’ll also have advice on what you can do, whichever way it goes.
If it’s good news, we’ll have a step by step guide to making a claim, with template letters so all you need to do is add your details, print and send. And if it’s bad news, then there might be a way for some people to still get a break.
We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that Wednesday 25th is a bad day for banks and a good day for consumers…
What does your bank do that annoys you? According to our recent survey, unexpected charges and poor customer service top the nation’s list of grievances, - 58% for charges and 43% for poor customer service.
Other causes for complaint included errors on people’s accounts, junk mail and increasing overdraft limits without asking. Surprisingly, only 3% of complaints were about overdraft charges. We wonder whether that's set to change with the House of Lords decision on bank charges to be announced next Wednesday. But more on that on Monday, including the astonishing number of claims that the banks could be facing …
Have you complained to your bank?
Does this sound familiar to you, or are you one of the 20% who haven’t felt the need to complain? If you have made a complaint please let us know what it was about and how it went.
We also want to hear about the banks that are doing well with customer services, so if yours helped you when you complained then here’s the place to give them a public pat on the back.
The government has laid out its plans in the Queen’s Speech to reform the banking sector, and it looks like the City’s big bonuses could be affected.
Senior employees are to have their bonuses spread over three years and no bonus can be guaranteed for more than one year. The aim is to reduce risk by linking bonuses more closely with long-term profits and to avoid a repeat of the behaviour that contributed to the financial crisis.
These changes are due to be implemented in January. Too late to hit this round of Christmas bonuses then. And a very merry Christmas is expected in the City this year – the Centre for Economics and Business Research thinks City bonuses will total £6bn in 2009, up £2bn from 2008.
We want to know what you think about bonuses – is this reform just what’s needed or maybe you think it doesn’t go far enough? Do you believe as Which? does that bonuses throughout the banking system should be more closely linked to fair treatment of customers, rather than sales targets? Whatever your view, this is the place to have your say.
