[OT] What is this country coming to?

LOL

they are in the business of making a profit. You changing notes costs them money.

but not enough for the added service of note exchange.

Wasn't suggesting it could.

It's not as if there would be hundreds of people a day making that particular transaction!

So?

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:26:58 +0000, john boyle mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...

Utter pants. The bank's business is money - that's £5/£10/£20/£50 notes in case you forgot.

Absolute pants. From your comments anybody might think I had taken a large sack of £20 notes into the bank and demanded that the clerk change them all into £10 notes. Let me remind you of the facts:

I think it was a) a very reasonable request to make of the bank clerk (since their ATM don't give me the option of how I'd like the cash dispensed whereas in the past the OTC clerk did) and b) one that any sane person would have carried out w/o hesitation if they weren't bogged down in ridiculous bank rules which operate in the bank's interest not the customer's.

Perhaps in future you think I should queue up at the counter to w/d cash and cost the bank a lot more money. I use their ATMs to save the bank money or have you forgotten that?

Quite right. And I *am* paying for the service indirectly through interest rates and providing the bank with free use of my money.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 07:54:04 -0000, "Tumbleweed" mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...

Doubtless you can explain why. When you've done that, consider how much it might cost them if I always w/d cash OTC in order to get the money in the notes I wanted. I use their ATMs to save *them* money and it's not unreasonable for me once in a blue moon to ask the clerk to change the notes for me into something I prefer.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:50:32 +0100, abelard mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...

'Clutching' and 'straw' come to mind.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:36:31 +0000, john boyle mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...

Yes. And any high street bank which didn't provide a counter service wouldn't be in business for very long. Next.

I pay for everything indirectly, as you presumably do. Of course it's quite possible that you're one of those difficult bank clerks.

-I'd guess about 1-2% of lost interest on my deposits.

-On cheques I lose 3-8 days interest on the amount.

-If I make a foreign payment it costs about £30. The charges go on and on...

Why the "Oh yes, but only indirectly in most cases"? That's how bank's make profit. In return for this free ride, I expect some sort of service level from the bank in return.

You seem to have missed that I wasn't asking for anything *free*.

Pants. You're an idiot, a sheep, a drone. Possibly a bank clerk.

Yet the ones that charge for withdrawing cash at a counter service are still around, as are the ones that put limits on money changing.

er yes you were, you were asking for the money to be changed for free, or did you offer to pay for it?

Jim.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:27:36 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@jibbering.com (Jim Ley) mysteriously appeared thru the usenet mist to inform us thus...

Fools and their money are soon parted.

And exactly how much did that cost the bank? I didn't offer to pay for it because the bank already charge me for keeping my money.

Why don't you, the next time this happens, pay the money into your account over the counter and then withdraw the same amount but ask for it in 10 notes? Or if you realise that you're going to be queuing anyway just withdraw the money over the counter, that way you can specify how you want it? Another, longer, solution, would be to make as many separate withdrawals from the ATM as required asking for 10 each time. There is usually an "Other Amount" option on the screen.

Ian Bailey wrote

It's not Blair. Nobody has yet cottoned on to the fact that Blunkett is a wonderful ventriloquist. Don't watch his lips - watch his eyes.....

hummingbird wrote

Just as the C & P thread was beginning to peter out.......

Yes. Due to the total insecurity of ATMs, and the fact that there is always a camera or hoodlum peering over your shoulder, I choose to get cash in the safer environment of the supermarket, where only the boy scout who is helping you to pack can see over your shoulder. (Aren't some of them tall these days)?

I ask the till operator, often my neighbour's granddaughter, for "10's please, if you have them". They always oblige.

OTOH, if you really want to act suspicious-like, go into a bank wiv your collar pulled up and ask them to change 20s into something else.

Incidentally, I have one of those UV lamps which detect security markings. What should I look for on a £20 note to see if it's genuine?

Does the team think this thread will beat the C&P thread in the Xmas charts?

"hummingbird" wrote

Rubbish - you can claim away to your hearts content. No problem!

And if the bank doesn't listen, the Financial Ombudsman will (it's his job to).

"hummingbird" wrote

If you want a better service, you need to shop / take services from a more up-market provider. If you go to a mass-market provider, you should expect mass-market service!

In other words, if you want the low prices then you need to put up with the lesser service. If you want better service, pay more to get it!

ITYM 'cover their backs' rather than 'pass the buck'. Unless the transaction involved a few thousand pounds I don't think that money laundering regulations are likely to have been an issue, but what do you say is wrong with banks exceeding their minimum legal obligations to make sure that they don't get fined for inadvertently breaking the law? Seems no different in principle from supermarkets asking for ID if the person wishing to buy alcohol appears to be under 21 rather than 18.

Steve

hummingbird wrote

You weren't wasting her time, she was getting paid for it, you were wasting your own and any poor sod waiting behind you. I didn't complain though - I thought it was hilarious.

Stephen Glynn wrote

He could have made separate requests for £10 withdrawals, but with his luck he would probably get it in £7 and £3 notes.

hummingbird wrote

It would appear to me that you are "known" at this bank, in the same way that some people are "known" to the police.