More Consumer Protection

It was with amusement that I watched Mr. LeHunte on TV tonight trying to talk about market forces driving prices. He is obviously disappointed with the Central Bank's new position to regulate bank charges to their customers.

For too long these charges were at the whim and fancy of the bank. Who is Mr LeHunte fooling that there is any real competition in the banking sector. They have always and continue to do thier own thing individually.

At this time when inflation is a factor, there is within reason, a bar beyond which charges should never go because of the nature of the industry. Banks have thousands of customers and to collect even a cent from its customers is a lot of money. Like the gas stations, a gill from every gallon adds up because of the volume of sales. That is why every gas pump should be calibrated by law.

So Mr. LeHunte, I am sorry, It is about time. Next should be the insurance companies. Imaging charging thirty dollars for a returned cheque and less than a dollar if it don't bounce. That is a penalty and I am one who believe that penalties should be paid into the consolidate fund and not go into the pockets of an unscrupulous banking sector to beef up their profits at the expense of small businesses that can least afford it and who always have cash flow problems. If customers did not write cheques, small businesses would not have a cash flow problem.

Not only that, the way banks operate are like thieves in the night. Incur an expense on you and then proceed to take it out before they notify you. Do not give people a change to budget and pay. They just take and don't care what you had planned, so they have their customers feeling guilty and at thier mercy. This is unfair. No other institution gets away with this and the banks should not.

Furthermore, banks just take and take and take without giving back. Of course you don't give back because you are in it for making money. The token things I have seen the banks involved in seem the least they could do to generate some kind of goodwill; if that is necessary.

NGOs for example do not get anything from banks. They are the last we go to and even some when that is so we don't remember them because they have the reputation of being the stingiest. Tried with them a few times and never got pass the talk. Somebody will always pass you onto somebody else who can make the decision only to find out that somebody else has to make the decision who would never likely to be in at anytime that you visit the bank.

So banks do not have goodwill but we tolerate them so we don't have to put our money under the cellar but they are taking advantage and monopolising the situation.

Some Issues with the Bank

Ever notice how when you owe the bank they just take it out of your account before they even give you notice? It could cause you some embarassment, but let's deal with the issue.

The issue is that nobody has a right to just take your money from your account. From my humble viewpoint, that is breaking and entering. It is like somebody breaking in your bedroom and finding your money and taking it because you owe them money. It does not work that way.

This is causing a lot of problems for people trying to use the banking system to conduct business. First, I find it difficult to understand why it should take three clear days to clear a cheque when the banks exchange cheques every morning at 8 a.m. at the Central Bank?

What makes it worse is that the bank will tell you three days but they will not tell you that they are not counting the day of the deposit, so when you check carefully it really takes five days. Yet by the morning after your deposit and at the latest the morning following that, the bank has your money, but would make you wait three extra days to collect it.

It gets even worser, if by chance one of your cheques reaches your bank on the fourth day, when for sure they have your money, they would charge you a Not Sufficient Funds (NSF) Fee or overdraft fee ($25 - $30) if you are depending on your deposit to clear that cheque you wrote two days after making the deposit, which somehow managed to get from another bank to your bank in a day.

So how it could take five days to clear for me but when I write a cheque to a supermarket that is going to deposit it in a bank that night, it only takes them a day to clear on your account? Actually, by the time you write the cheque on the third day, the bank already has your money but because the cheque came in before the dawn of the fifth day, you are penalised.

Worst of all, for that one thing you are penalised twice. First by the bank. Then the business to whom you wrote the cheque puts on up to fifty dollars; even more. But look how the bank gains; the bank put charges on you that wrote the cheque (after bouncing it for you) and then turns around and charges the business that deposit the cheque you wrote. So they induce a bounce and then dip their hands in their customers accounts.

I declare that the money in the bank in your account is "sacro sanctum" and should not be touched by anybody except the account holder and that every transaction which incurs a cost or "penalty" should come to the attention of the customer and he/she should sanction its withdrawal by signature before the financial institution can remove any funds from the customer's account.

Any business sends a bill and gives you time to pay. Why should it be any different with the banks? In the case of penalties, I have always argued that penalties should be paid into the consolidated fund. This is illegal from many perspectives, even if the banks want to declare that it is standard practice. In modern times when the probability of theft is always around the corner, it has to be illegal for anybody to just dip their hands into your money. It is not transparent and it offends the integrity of the security of your money.

Finally, anybody caught dipping their hands in your money should be reported to the police, charged and if convicted made to serve the same time and pay the same penalties as a person convicted of breaking and entering with the intention of theft. It is no different.

Annette Wrote
heh guys:While I was waiting in a bank today , Friday June 27, i was sitting opposite an ATM machine. About 25 persons used the machine and i could not believe my eyes.....At least 20 of them either did not read the receipt or threw it away after looking at it for a second....Come On guys ..Are we serious? Do we think that bank fraud only happen in the USA. That's the only proof you have of your withdrawal or deposit. If the bank claims the deposit never happened or the withdrawal was for 1000 and not 100 what will you do?The receipt is what is says.....You need to keep that receipt until you get a statement from the bank if it is a checking account, or until you check your balance with a teller ..Lets not wait until something happens...the purpose of the receipt is not to full up the waste basket.
Post #2
Kim Jacqueline Young
I keep my receipts because way back at CIBC (back then) Fontabelle, monies "went mising". The manager then had to speak to staff since the money was gone, staff at my then workplace and the money turned up but I had my receipt so had I not been reimbursed in full., well they would have a fight on their hands.What do people think about ATM charges?

I WANT TO COMPLAIN SO THAT WE CAN TAKE ACTION

What people don't want to complain. How about calling RBTT bank and having to be on hold for 20 mins; calling Pizza Man Doc and someone telling me "mek sure yuh send a good tip",; calling Pizza Man Doc and hearing the delivery guy did not come in because of "the rain"; I can write a book
Rip off prices - there is a convenience store in Thorpes selling a chicken for $30.10 cents the price of a pigeon. Every weeks Cavendish potatos are up by $1; The attitudes are horrible. there is a sense of entitlement in this country which makes workers believe they can behave any way. FIRE THEM! Why is N.I.S.E. there - as a silly joke?
How about leaving for Canada and being sexually harassed in security by G4S personnel and I reported it and got no answer (well no satisfactory one); how about the attitude of customs officers when they see my British passport but know I am a legal resident but stamp me a visitor anyhow.
How about the attitude when just shopping or in a bank. OMG, the service sucks, the attitudes suck, the people are angry and miserable and equate service with servitude. How about going to dinner and getting the wrong order everytime from a certain upscale restaurant. How about a barman stealing you change in 2nd St. I can go on. I am not the only one.I think I'll drink my martini at home and travel. I will not tip a soul for poor service! What is the purpose of NISE? C'mon Kim Tudor? I like you, what's up with this and Public Sector Reform or has that gone the way of all flesh!
How about lame journalism in both daily papers and the same on our airwaves. Where did all the tenets of journalism go to make way for sensationalism and the destruction of people in cou cou and flying fish and pudding and souse on Saturdays, is that "we culture" cos it is not mine. I mind my own business.

THIS WAS RECEIVED FROM A MEMBER OF THE CONSUMER WATCH GROUP ON FACEBOOK

DO WE NEED THIS FORUM OR DON'T WE

Hi Everyone:

I must say that although I know of the apathy of my country men, I was hoping that I would be proven wrong. From the response to this blog, it appears that everything is fine in Barbados with respect to consumers. We get great service whereever we go, there are no rip off prices, there are no charges which are blatently unreal etc. etc. You see guys..this is exactly why we are treated as we are. We can't take the time to do anything for ourselves. We are waiting for someone to do it. So we join a consumer group, and sit back and wait for it to work for us.HELLO..IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY...YOU HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE..IF YOU DON'T THEN LET US STOP MOANING AND TAKE WHAT WE GET. I am sure that at least 50 per cent of the persons who visited this blog, has a story to tell. If you don't want to tell it here for what ever reason then email it to us at Bdosconsumer@gmail.com

To those who have contributed so far, thanks and we look forward to your constant input. The comments about the tyres and banking are interesting. Our next step is to put up some actual banking costs for the services rendered so that a comparison could be done.

Thanks to the other blogs which have welcomed us, and we look forward to their input as we grow .

Now start typing!!!!!!!!

It's Your Turn

Hello consumers,

We have suffered for very long at the hands of the banks, the insurance companies, the car dealers, monopolies, etc.

Many unhealthy practices have prevailed and in some cases although there is legislation there is no policing of the legislation. Hence a lot of automarts and supermarkets display goods on their shelves without the prices; which is against the law. I always argue that the customer should not get any surprises when they reach the checkout counter.

It is expected that the three advocates on this blog will bring their own approaches. Mine would be to do the research on the issues raised and present the findings for your assimilation and decision to take action.

Input from visitors are welcomed. Remember that this is a national effort to empower consumers and not continue to simply take all that is being dished out.

The success of this blog depends on you. It is the place where you can get help and education as a consumer. Did you know for example that every gas pump should be calibrated often and that each should carry their calibration certificate with an expiry date that should be clearly visible to customers... and that if a pump does not have the certificate you should not accept gas from it?

So, let' s go!