I had a call from my bank this morning – Barclays – asking if I wanted a loan.
The call was quite timely as my son has just broken the oven door and it is going to 
cost more than £300 to repair the shattered glass, with the repair booked for 23rd December, which is cutting it a bit fine.
When I paid a cheque in at my bank last week, I was handed a letter offering me a bank loan which I instantly binned. It was followed by the phone call today asking if I wanted to take them up on their offer, and I found it this very intrusive. It has never happened before, and I have banked with Barclays since I left school.
When I made it quite plain that I was not interested, and found the bank’s tactics objectionable, the girl replied: “It’s just that a lot of people don’t think banks are lending money at the moment, and we want to let them know that we are.â€
If that is the case, Alistair Darling had better not hold his breath about the revenue he hopes to raise from the 50% tax on bank bonuses above £25,000. My bank manger is obviously desperate for his.
Are banks struggling so much that they have to resort to the same cold calling tactics of double glazing salesmen and kitchen suppliers?
Should banks be trying to force money on customers this way and encourage further debt? Like many families, we will be tightening our belts this Christmas, and not seeking to spend more.
funny because i bank with barclays too and when i paid in a cheque last week i was also offered a 25 thousand pound loan there and then,I asked who was going to pay it back as i could not afford too 🙂 But If i was weak I may have took the loan got a new working laptop and phone then have been in terrible debt ….. which is maybe what they want . Its disgusting that they are allowed to offer loans to people that cannot afford to pay back the money
Sally, exactly, my point too.
Too right, Ellee. I work part-time and my bank, which knows exactly how much I earn, regularly sends me invitations to borrow sums they know well I wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance of paying off.
Additionally, my wife was recently shopping when she called into the bank. The refused to give her card back until she’d spoken to a more senior member of staff, who gave her a prolonged hard sell which didn’t let up until she’d taken out a cash ISA. We complained, and were told that the member of staff had been disciplined, and our cash returned. I would’ve never taken the ISA in the first as I’m a stubborn old so-and-so, but in her defence you don’t go for the groceries and expect Guantà namo…
When I retired a got quite a large lump sum, and my bank kept pressing me to see their financial advisor. In the end, in desperation, I saw him, and went through the usual questionnaire about the type of investments that I would like, etc. Towards the end he reached the section about my aims and ambitions, which I declared were to travel the world on cruise liners and to die bankrupt owing the bank at least a million pounds. Funny, he seemed to loose interest and the bank has never offered me a loan since!
Unfortunately, whilst I’ve achieved part of my first aim, I can’t find any way of making progress on my second.
Are banks struggling so much that they have to resort to the same cold calling tactics of double glazing salesmen and kitchen suppliers?
The simple answer is, “Yes.”
I am going to try to become debt free asap.. Banks must think we are all stupid imo
I think banks have always been a bit irresponsible encouraging people to get into debt.
Ah, very timely as we had a discussion about this at a local Coffee Bar. The bartender said that while he has perfect credit, the banks have clamped down on his line of credit. The banks here are very desperate, Ellee. It sounds as if it is global. Sad.