Opening bank accounts - do they want our money or not?

[gbb]

[QUOTE 4500467, member: 9609"]some people were even opening accounts for their dogs in Monaco[/QUOTE]

'Arry Redknapp did that, much to the displeasure of HMRC. If it hadn't been for a jury full of Tottenham supporters...

That really deserves a double like

 

[Vapin' Joe]

First full time job was 1972 15p per hour, or £6 a week.

1968, £5 9/ 4d take home pay out of a gross wage of six quid. Eeh, I felt like a king...

 

[mjr]

USA is threatening Russia with war (latest breaking news) ..... banks in Germany are about to go bust, and the worlds stock markets are long overdue for a crash .... my advice .... keep your cash at home ... stick it in a bank and you may have problems withdrawing it (like we do)

For the opposite view: Why are we still using cash?

 

[Vapin' Joe]

For the opposite view: Why are we still using cash?

Like many self employed people I'm paid on the doorstep by my customers. It isn't viable to carry whatever bit of electronic junk is needed to process a card wirelessly, even if it was possible to get a signal in some remote village at the foot of a mountain.

Cash will be around for a long time yet.

 

[mjr]

Like many self employed people I'm paid on the doorstep by my customers. It isn't viable to carry whatever bit of electronic junk is needed to process a card wirelessly, even if it was possible to get a signal in some remote village at the foot of a mountain.

Cash will be around for a long time yet.

Technically, things like Oyster for small amounts are already possible without connectivity... but the idea of charge-up cards containing money you can't see still scares people.

 

[Starchivore]

I left secondary school in 1993. Suddenly feeling a bit old..

I think that's the same for everyone though, after a certain age. My job is in connection to universities and seeing the birth dates of some of the new students makes me feel that way- and very very soon the kids going to uni will have been born in 2000!

 

[Hugh Manatee]

I have just fallen foul of the bank account brigade as well. I have been collecting pound coins for a while now (I know, not much of a hobby) and what with the design changing next year, I was thinking about getting them to a bank. My mum and dad visited this week and I was again hit with the "what if someone breaks in? It wouldn't be insured you know," argument for the 82nd time. My mum even bagged up one of the bottles so today off I went up to Barclays to open an account. A bog standard debit card account is all I wanted.

"You need to talk with an advisor." "No I don't, I want this account." I had you see, already done a reccy and got a booklet so I knew what ID I would need etc.
"There's no advisor at this branch" said the lad behind the counter. "What are they going to advise me about?" I asked. "Interest rates and different account" said he.
"They all seem to offer a very small slice of sod all" I said. Hardly worth advice.

So now I'm sat here with no account and bags full of coins. I might just stick them back in the bottle.

 

[mjr]

...so today off I went up to Barclays to open an account. A bog standard debit card account is all I wanted.

I've highlighted the key mistake. It seems that account opening checks are now such a PITA that you can't even open simple accounts at most post offices any more, nor many bank branches. You need to check beforehand whether a branch can open accounts. They might call them "advisor" but I wonder if that's because it sounds better than "security officer" or "financial police".

 

[ColinJ]

I have just fallen foul of the bank account brigade as well. I have been collecting pound coins for a while now (I know, not much of a hobby) and what with the design changing next year, I was thinking about getting them to a bank. My mum and dad visited this week and I was again hit with the "what if someone breaks in? It wouldn't be insured you know," argument for the 82nd time.
...
I might just stick them back in the bottle.

I know it sounds unlikely, but it does happen - LINK!

 

[classic33]

I have just fallen foul of the bank account brigade as well. I have been collecting pound coins for a while now (I know, not much of a hobby) and what with the design changing next year, I was thinking about getting them to a bank. My mum and dad visited this week and I was again hit with the "what if someone breaks in? It wouldn't be insured you know," argument for the 82nd time. My mum even bagged up one of the bottles so today off I went up to Barclays to open an account. A bog standard debit card account is all I wanted.

"You need to talk with an advisor." "No I don't, I want this account." I had you see, already done a reccy and got a booklet so I knew what ID I would need etc.
"There's no advisor at this branch" said the lad behind the counter. "What are they going to advise me about?" I asked. "Interest rates and different account" said he.
"They all seem to offer a very small slice of sod all" I said. Hardly worth advice.

So now I'm sat here with no account and bags full of coins. I might just stick them back in the bottle.

Go back, tell them you've looked at their site and have decided the account that meets your needs.

However, since your opening deposit is cash(cold hard cash from the freezer can help), you have to open the account in branch.

You have access to the internet, but it's a public connection, library, internet cafe.

 

[classic33]

And I don't recall being called either a "security officer" or "financial policeman".

 

[Tin Pot]

And I don't recall being called either a "security officer" or "financial policeman".

But you do have KYC tattooed over your heart, right?

 

[Paulus]

Pah - try leaving in 1974 after finishing your A-levels!

(There will be some REALLY old gits coming on now and saying that they finished in 1955, the year before I was born ... )

PS In keeping with what Steve said above ... I remember going out in 1974 with only £2. That was for bus fares, cigarettes, lots of beer, and a bag of chips on the way home!

Same here, I left in 1974, £12.50 a week take home, £17 if I worked a sunday. £5 a week for my mum's house keeping. Plus, You could have a really good night out for a fiver.

 

[Dan Morinary]

I have told my children to avoid banks as much as possible.
I have sat down with my eldest son and explained what was happening to ordinary Greek people as events were reported on the news.
We studied the greed of bankers and the financial sector in this country, and the resulting bailouts we had to pay.
I will ensure all my children understand that we are enslaved to a fiat currency system, and that if they fail to plan, the goverment can steal or devalue all they have worked for in the future.

 

[Tin Pot]

We studied the greed of bankers and the financial sector in this country, and the resulting bailouts we had to pay.

Are you then aware of the difference in operations, and consequent culpability, between retail and investment banking? And the rest of the financial sector?