Here is a great response from a customer to a US bank's customer service. Very appropriate in these times. See http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2002/bank-p1.php.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Collusion between Australian banks
I transferred some money from Commonwealth Bank to ANZ on Wednesday. Going into Monday I will still be waiting for those funds to be transferred. Rather annoying actually because I want to invest them in the stockmarket, but I have missed my entry. I have trouble accepting that banks need 'up to 48 hours' to transfer those funds. There are a number of reasons why I am suspicious:
1. They can lend funds between banks on the overnight market, which is much more complicated than transferring funds
2. They never transfer funds in less time, its always close to the maximum period. Its like the maximum standard has become the minimum standard; meaning they will take advantage as much as possible.
3. All the banks have the same policy.
I informed the ACCC (regulator) of this rediculous abuse of power. I don't expect any change in policy. The reasons will be lack of substantive evidence, or its not our jurisdiction, or we don't hae the resources, or you should speak to the bank concerned...blah blah, etc.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
1. They can lend funds between banks on the overnight market, which is much more complicated than transferring funds
2. They never transfer funds in less time, its always close to the maximum period. Its like the maximum standard has become the minimum standard; meaning they will take advantage as much as possible.
3. All the banks have the same policy.
I informed the ACCC (regulator) of this rediculous abuse of power. I don't expect any change in policy. The reasons will be lack of substantive evidence, or its not our jurisdiction, or we don't hae the resources, or you should speak to the bank concerned...blah blah, etc.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Bank concentration in Australia growing
Oh great! The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has bought BankWest of Western Australia from the failed British bank HBOS. That's all we need - more concentration in bank services, i.e. less competition. Not a bad purchased for them because its great exposure to the strongest regional economy. The $A is down 30% offsetting commodity price falls. With all that business investment flooding into WA, there must be some opportunities there for banks.
This acquisition of course follows on from Westpac's acquisition of St George Bank.
Such good fortune could not have happened to a nicer group of people than CBA.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
This acquisition of course follows on from Westpac's acquisition of St George Bank.
Such good fortune could not have happened to a nicer group of people than CBA.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Vindication for my complaints
Its interesting how events unfold. People have a history. So when you have bad experiences with people, its not surprising that you will finally be vindicated. I have so little trust in the system that I did not take legal action against Michael Blomfield. I did not want the stress, I was overseas, and its such a negative activity to engage in court action. I'd rather engage in more positive action and leave the scandal to others. Hope she wins.
It comes as some vindication to see this guy involved in a sexual harassment scandal. The allegations are made on the SMH Online website. I lost $10,000 because of the way this guy's department closed down my account after I made a number of complaints about their service. This issue had a huge psychological impact on me years ago because your relationship with your bank is so important, and the law gives little confidence.
I suspect this culture at the CBA is a legacy of its former days of government ownership. The worst cocktail would have to be a privatised state-owned enterprise. Culture-wise it would have to be like a public servant on steroids. Kevin Rudd comes to mind. Yep, that's the image that comes to mind.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
It comes as some vindication to see this guy involved in a sexual harassment scandal. The allegations are made on the SMH Online website. I lost $10,000 because of the way this guy's department closed down my account after I made a number of complaints about their service. This issue had a huge psychological impact on me years ago because your relationship with your bank is so important, and the law gives little confidence.
I suspect this culture at the CBA is a legacy of its former days of government ownership. The worst cocktail would have to be a privatised state-owned enterprise. Culture-wise it would have to be like a public servant on steroids. Kevin Rudd comes to mind. Yep, that's the image that comes to mind.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Do we need banks?
I am glad I wrote this latest blog. It has me thinking - Do we actually need a bank? Well lets consider what I actually use a bank for:
1. Retaining savings - as indicated I could care little about the interest on bank deposits, I seldom keep money in under-performing bank accounts earning 5-8% or less before taxes and inflation
2. International transfers - I could use Paypal to transfer money, but the issue is - from where to where?
3. Convenience of cash - OK this is a big issue. The banks have national branch networks and international affiliations that offer alot of convenience.
4. Stockbroking - Well it used to be nice using Comsec because it meant the proceeds from selling stocks went straight into my bank account. But I can use an independent provider like Etrade if the banks are going to get greedy.
5. Funds Management - Same deal as brokers - though I think its not good to use your bank as a fund manager. Thats just lazy investing because why would the best fund manager be the company that you happen to hold your savings with.
6. Bank loans - Well in this new financial market we now have alot of non-banks lending money to people to buy homes. Unlike banks they borrow from international capital markets. eg. Aussie Home Loans, Mortgage Estate, Wizard Home Loans.
7. Credit card - Well there are alot of institutions offering credit cards these days, eg. Virgin, etc So we dont need banks for that anymore.
8. Financial advice: Well a bank is the last place I would go for financial advice, but regardless there is alot of third party vendors and standards and codes of conduct have improved greatly.
I have pretty high demands compared to most people's financial institution requirements because I go overseas a lot, I trade stocks. If you are living a simpler life, you would be better advised to go to a local bank or credit union that offers better interest rates and less fees.
OK so we have established that I need a bank because the government has pretty tight barriers to entry. The payments system is currently pretty well dependent on banks. But I can see banks loosing their monopoly over money. How you might ask? See my Strategic Directions blog at http://strategicdirections.blogspot.com. I think there is alot of disgruntled customers out there who would readily abandon banks. Lets face it - banks long about signalled that they are not interested in small customers. Thats why they treat you with contempt. They are more interested in corporate deals, home loans and funds management. Managing your cash deposits is really a hassle they dont need. Thats why they charge you high fees for it. So don't use it.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
1. Retaining savings - as indicated I could care little about the interest on bank deposits, I seldom keep money in under-performing bank accounts earning 5-8% or less before taxes and inflation
2. International transfers - I could use Paypal to transfer money, but the issue is - from where to where?
3. Convenience of cash - OK this is a big issue. The banks have national branch networks and international affiliations that offer alot of convenience.
4. Stockbroking - Well it used to be nice using Comsec because it meant the proceeds from selling stocks went straight into my bank account. But I can use an independent provider like Etrade if the banks are going to get greedy.
5. Funds Management - Same deal as brokers - though I think its not good to use your bank as a fund manager. Thats just lazy investing because why would the best fund manager be the company that you happen to hold your savings with.
6. Bank loans - Well in this new financial market we now have alot of non-banks lending money to people to buy homes. Unlike banks they borrow from international capital markets. eg. Aussie Home Loans, Mortgage Estate, Wizard Home Loans.
7. Credit card - Well there are alot of institutions offering credit cards these days, eg. Virgin, etc So we dont need banks for that anymore.
8. Financial advice: Well a bank is the last place I would go for financial advice, but regardless there is alot of third party vendors and standards and codes of conduct have improved greatly.
I have pretty high demands compared to most people's financial institution requirements because I go overseas a lot, I trade stocks. If you are living a simpler life, you would be better advised to go to a local bank or credit union that offers better interest rates and less fees.
OK so we have established that I need a bank because the government has pretty tight barriers to entry. The payments system is currently pretty well dependent on banks. But I can see banks loosing their monopoly over money. How you might ask? See my Strategic Directions blog at http://strategicdirections.blogspot.com. I think there is alot of disgruntled customers out there who would readily abandon banks. Lets face it - banks long about signalled that they are not interested in small customers. Thats why they treat you with contempt. They are more interested in corporate deals, home loans and funds management. Managing your cash deposits is really a hassle they dont need. Thats why they charge you high fees for it. So don't use it.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Do I have high expectations?
My girlfriend told me the other day that I have high expectations. Well yeh, I guess I do. I guess she meant it as constructive criticism, but isn't that a good thing? Who ever achieved anything by having low expectations. Dont people tolerate a lot because they have low expectations. I think my expectations are reasonable. There are a great many banks that offer decent service at least some of the time. Its not as if they can't afford to pay good salaries to attract good people. I dont know the internal politics. Maybe senior executives are all so insecure that they avoid employing people that might compete with them. I worked at a government-owned corporation Australia Post during my university days. The culture was soul destroying. It attracts the worst possible people because of the corrosive structure. I was given 5hours to sort mail. I did it in 2.5-3hours and was paid for 5hrs. Couldn't wait to get out of there. Is this the legacy of a once government-owned CBA. Cultures take time to change, and one wonders if some bad values have persisted.
High expectations need not be some lofty floating abstraction. I have high expectations because I think. I break down problems rather than walk away from them. It requires critical thinking, and a sense of reality that goes beyond petty politics. I was being provocative sending an email to the bank suggesting the MD should be sacked. I expected his to have a sense of objectivity. Of course his future did not lie in pleasing me. I am one customer. Banks offer you a 5% return on your money (before tax) because you have low expectations. I expect 100% an annum. My best return is 3200% over 3 years. That was when I was with Comsec. Maybe they were envious.
I am not imposing my standards on them, they are imposing them on me. They closed my account, they froze my account, they disabled my ability to trade, they sent me duplicated and useless marketing literature. I merely informed them of the uselessness. It was there choice to say: "Andrew, clearly our bank service is not up to your standards', enjoy your life. We will close your account when you ask. Well I can't even do that.
The issue is actually not - low or high expectations - the issue is business model. Which bank believes a good business model is one that screws customers for the highest profit? And which banks believe service is about offering a value in exchange for value. You need only look at the way banks earn revenues - its no longer factors that you compete over like 'the interest rate spread' - its fees. Disclosed in fine print, and applied with contempt because they have no interest in removing the inadequacies in their services which cause you to be levied with fees.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
High expectations need not be some lofty floating abstraction. I have high expectations because I think. I break down problems rather than walk away from them. It requires critical thinking, and a sense of reality that goes beyond petty politics. I was being provocative sending an email to the bank suggesting the MD should be sacked. I expected his to have a sense of objectivity. Of course his future did not lie in pleasing me. I am one customer. Banks offer you a 5% return on your money (before tax) because you have low expectations. I expect 100% an annum. My best return is 3200% over 3 years. That was when I was with Comsec. Maybe they were envious.
I am not imposing my standards on them, they are imposing them on me. They closed my account, they froze my account, they disabled my ability to trade, they sent me duplicated and useless marketing literature. I merely informed them of the uselessness. It was there choice to say: "Andrew, clearly our bank service is not up to your standards', enjoy your life. We will close your account when you ask. Well I can't even do that.
The issue is actually not - low or high expectations - the issue is business model. Which bank believes a good business model is one that screws customers for the highest profit? And which banks believe service is about offering a value in exchange for value. You need only look at the way banks earn revenues - its no longer factors that you compete over like 'the interest rate spread' - its fees. Disclosed in fine print, and applied with contempt because they have no interest in removing the inadequacies in their services which cause you to be levied with fees.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Why am I so angry?
You might ask the question - Why are you so angry?
The reason I am is angry is:
1. Because it doesn't need to be like this. These stuff ups dont need to happen.
2. Banking is important - it is a central pillar to our society, as you realise when central and international banks drive the global economy to the ground and cause massive bank failures.
3. Because I have lost alot of money because of their stuff ups
4. Because they dont acknowledge their mistakes
5. Because they act with disregard for the customer
6. Because they get away with it because of government favours
7. Because those Australians who dont need full bank services stay with them, ensuring there is no competition.
8. Because they don't do anything about the problem
9. Because they earn huge salaries and they cant think
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
The reason I am is angry is:
1. Because it doesn't need to be like this. These stuff ups dont need to happen.
2. Banking is important - it is a central pillar to our society, as you realise when central and international banks drive the global economy to the ground and cause massive bank failures.
3. Because I have lost alot of money because of their stuff ups
4. Because they dont acknowledge their mistakes
5. Because they act with disregard for the customer
6. Because they get away with it because of government favours
7. Because those Australians who dont need full bank services stay with them, ensuring there is no competition.
8. Because they don't do anything about the problem
9. Because they earn huge salaries and they cant think
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
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