One of the most viewed BBC pages at the moment.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18642323
Sums up in two eloquent minutes what I think of the reptiles at the top of a lot of firms, not just the banks.
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Over the years I have had dealings with a number of branch managers of 'main clearing banks'. Perhaps one in five was more or less serious and at least capable of being polite. Of course these days one never meets a proper manager, just these hapless young 'financial adviser' types, unfortunately not up to advising me on how to get, keep or manage money. Most however have been unspeakable jumped-up egotistical carphounds wallowing in ghastly, supercilious self-esteem and utterly useless to man or beast. Very like main dealer car salesmen actually.
The best-behaved bank in this respect is the Co-op in my opinion. The worst, the one that brought me closer to physical violence than usual, actually within a whisker of it when I stood up and retrieved a document which he had demanded, but didn't need, from the smirking little twerp's desk, causing him to flinch visibly, was a large and grand West End branch of Lloyd's.
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>> . . . a large and grand West End branch of Lloyd's.
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That wouldn't be branch at Waterloo Place, by any chance?
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The golden days weren't that good.
I worked in branches from 1973-78 before I left to avoid brain atrophy and waiting for people to die. Actually it was worse than I thought at the time, because the dead men's shoes jobs aren't even there now.
The few colleagues I am still in touch with have all left. A good friend who stayed the course eventually engineered his redundancy at 48 around 12 years ago, to protect his health. He was a lending manager by then, the branches having been turned into shops; working out of a business park office in the Midlands, an extremely conscientious man who brought a bag full of work home every night and weekend, such were the pressures as costs were relentlessly reduced. It hasn't got any better since he left.
Even in the 70s, comparatively the world of Captain Mainwaring, they were far from perfect unless you were a well off customer. Most ordinary ones were treated as if the bank was doing them a favour.
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My neighbour was a HR manager - he lost his company car closely followed by the issue of a cheap corporate polyester suit, his respect amongst his neighbours exited stage left shortly after that - he's a self confessed time server now, hates the Nat West with a vengeance and can't wait to retire.
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HR? Manager? I hope his testicles swell to an enormous size and he is forced to sit on them for the rest of his working days.
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...he's a self confessed time server now, hates the Nat West with a vengeance and can't wait to retire...
I wonder why he hates the bank?
Looks like it's provided him with a lifetime of employment and he probably has a better pension than most people.
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He once had a job which rewarded responsibility, diligence and self motivation. He's now a form filler.
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I wouldn't doubt that you were one of the properly-behaved 20 per cent, Dugong. Not for a single moment.
The others could be damn cheeky even if you weren't skint though. Perhaps in a grand West End bank their standards are pretty high. But I can't imagine even a stone-rich idiot being able to stay in the same room as the carphound I had to deal with.
Perhaps the bank just set him on me because it didn't like the cut of my jib.
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The best-behaved bank in this respect is the Co-op in my opinion.
Ah, but the customers make up for it, or some of them at least. A few years ago Mrs Beest and I wondered about moving our accounts to the Co-op. In the process we perused its much-touted Ethical Investment Policy, on which the customers get to vote. This they had recently done, and the published results covered statements like (I paraphrase but only slightly)
The Bank will not invest in any organization involved in drug dealing, terrorism or organized crime.
That got 95% support, apparently. So next time you go to a Co-op branch, open the door carefully and count the customers inside. If there are more than 19...
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I have two primary Bank accounts, LloydsTSB which has god-awful customer service, the reliability of a Russian built Chinese car based on a Renault. A laughable complaints procedure and basically useless telephone service, the complete opposite of Smile - brilliant communicators, Warrington based call centre, sensitive in a crisis and easy to deal with. The one complaint I made against them in 2004 resulted in a bunch of flowers and a hamper. Lloyds in complete contrast sent a barely literate letter clearly written by the Gibbon now working for Carphone Warehouse in Chester. I stay with them 'cos all the others are worse.
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We bank with the Co-op for about fifteen years now.A few pound savings and direct debits no problems up to now.
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>> One of the most viewed BBC pages at the moment.
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>> www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18642323
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>> Sums up in two eloquent minutes what I think of the reptiles at the top
>> of a lot of firms, not just the banks.
He spoke nice words. Terribly Naive tho when pressed, and lacking in ideas and solutions.
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>> . . .lacking in ideas and solutions.
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That's part of the point, isn't it? Part of the reason for the anger. The mess that these greedy, narcissistic incompetents have created is so great that the solution (if there is one) is so far out of the bounds of normal human experience as to be almost inconceivable. The numbers alone are numbing - and in this crisis, as opposed to previous financial crises, the scale of private debit is so huge. This places huge political constraints on what can be done in a democracy.
Give Mr Robinson credit for a very eloquent quick sketch illustrating why top bankers deserve our contempt. At least he "gets it". The top bankers and their cronies still don't.
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>> He spoke nice words. Terribly Naive tho when pressed, and lacking in ideas and solutions.
My thoughts too, more or less. A nice man being indignant. It's not as simple as top bankers being evil, they're no worse than any other successful capitalists are when they get the chance.
It's a rampant market economy and incompetent government thing - evolved over about 30 years.
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Oh quite, Baldrick didn't have an angle at all.
But the real true story of what's happened is a bit beyond everyone if you ask me. Bankers included of course.
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Can't disagree. Apparently it was so entrenched and widely known about that they assumed at one point it was sanctioned by Threadneedle Street.
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is a bit beyond everyone if you ask me. Bankers included of course......
I refer you to Alex in the Telegraph today......
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/alex/
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>> Alex in the Telegraph today......
And indeed Matt on the front page.
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I recently came across my father's old bankbook from 1948 when he banked with the Clydesdale. All the entries are hand-written in beautiful copperplate, with full details of cheque payees, etc.
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Not many people delt with banks in 1948,cash payed and spend.Your father must have been comfortable off Cliff.
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Yup, In 1948 banks were for rich knobs.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 3 Jul 12 at 14:42
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People still think that the top banks are for top earners.
A retired good friend of mine has an account with Coutts Bank......the criteria for which is normally disposable income of over £1 million ......not including houses.
He is always given the best of attention whenever he produces his Coutts card or cheque book because people think he is rich...... however he only has the account as an ex employee of RBS group who worked in security at the Coutts offices .
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>> Yup, In 1948 banks were for rich knobs.
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I don't think so necessarily. Anyone on a salary was expected to have a bank account.
Also it was probably a family thing. I opened an account with the District Bank in about 1965 to put birthday present money in.
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I opened a bank account with National Provincial Bank in 1967 which merged with Westminster Bank and became Natwest at which point I closed my account on the spot in the bank because I was told on presentation of a cheque that I could not have my money because they had system problems ( This was in early seventies - nothing changes!).
I then opened an account with Williams and Glyns Bank which became RBS which then took over Natwest....... so back to the same problems some forty years later.
I still have an account with RBS to pay direct debits etc and really have had very little problem with them . I have not visited my branch in over 30 years and I have probably only phoned them twice in that time, I am sent a monthly statement which SWMBO checks with the proverbial fine tooth comb.
The majority of my money now resides safely in the Nationwide who I have found to be consistently helpful. When Father in Law died and we went to close his account the cashier remembered him and was genuinely sorry to hear of his death, we were taken to a private office and dealt with promptly .
Barclays just wanted to know when the loan he had taken out would be repaid.....
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I opened an account with, Nat West in 1973. Nearly 40 years later I can say I have never had a problem with them in any way, even when I stretched their fiscal patience to limits at times!
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 4 Jul 12 at 12:41
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>> I opened an account with, Nat West in 1973. Nearly 40 years later I can
>> say I have never had a problem with them in any way, even when I
>> stretched their fiscal patience to limits at times!
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I can't believe that you would ever stretch anyone's patience, Zero! :-)
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Baldrick on Bankers - Armel Coussine
