FNB vs ABSA vs Standard bank

[iLLuDeano]

I have been with Standard bank since I was a boy, and so was my dad. My mom is with ABSA, and from previous experience she has had much more trouble with there service than my dad has had with the Service from Standards bank. To this day I have not had a single issue with them. As a student I never paid withdraw fees!

[Justloadit]

Been with FNB for years, can also say little problems. Anyway, this morning I check on my bank statement, R4.10 levied for "#Online payment history", a search I did the day before looking for a creditor I paid to make a new payment in July 2013.

This is now getting ridiculous.

[Blurock]

Looking at Standard's fee price list, you're the victim of yet another subtle change to Standard's fee structure by the looks of things. It used to be they only charged the overdraft management fee on personal accounts when you actually used the overdraft facility.

Another new one for me kicked in this year when I was converted to one of their package deals - a posted statement fee of R9 per month. And it isn't to be found anywhere on their price list. While I was on pay-as-you-transact, I certainly wasn't being hit with that one. And this little extra charge over and above certainly wasn't mentioned by the banker during discussions on the package deal they were offering either.

Trivial, but somewhat irritating and disappointing nonetheless.

Banks are notorious for "slipping in" fees and clauses to a contract that can come back to bite you at a later stage. They will lull you with "these are the standard documents/contract/charges" so that you don't spend the whole day in their offices reading through the fine print and ask silly questions. Nowadays you almost need an attorney to go trough all the fine print.

That is why the NCR has made new rules to protect the consumer. Be aware of your rights and take your time reading through a contract or agreement. If need be, wait until the next day before signing.

[Justloadit]

Some agreements, the bank will not let you take away and bring back.
Any agreement that I sign, I sit and read it to ensure that I accept the T & C's, and if I do not understand something, I never ask them, as their explanation holds no water when there is a dispute, but rather do a google search, or phone a friend/attorney.

9 times out of 10, you will not be able to change the agreement, so you either walk away, or understand the agreement and accept the T & C's and sign. But simply signing with out reading is a cardinal sin!

I have on a number of occasions been able to change one or two clauses, which I felt uncomfortable with. One of those has even been a surety with a bank, where I limited the amount and the amount of collateral to cover the amount. In fact even now after the NCA has been promulgated, many bank sureties have no limit, and cover all dealings with the banks, but if you are wise to this, you inform them before the agreement is drawn up by the bank, to ensure that the agreement is according to the terms negotiated.

[Blurock]

Banks will be more willing to provide finance if they can rely on collateral or a strong surety to back the transaction. This is called "mitigation of risk" but is actually more like pawn broking.

Be careful when signing surety. If you really have to sign, limit the surety to that specific transaction. Get a letter of confirmation from the bank that your surety pertains to that agreement/account only. Should the bank then enter into any further transactions with the borrower, you can not be held liable for those transactions.

There has been numerous cases where someone has signed an unlimited surety, which is then applied to a totally unrelated borrowing years later, only because the surety was never cancelled after the initial debt was repaid.

[ians]

Talking about surety, I had an interesting visit last week. People arrive at my gate and indicate that they are from Ellerines, doing a routine check to verify that I am in fact the employer of the person who has just purchased goods. They asked me to sign a form to verify I am the employer, they handed me 1 page to sign. I signed and made a note on the document that I will not take responsibility for any outstanding debts incurred by the employee. I requested a copy which they could not give me but indicated that they would send me a copy, I am still waiting for it. Anyone else had this experience?

[AndyD]

You must be nuts, I'd never sign any document for any department store. I tell them to send me the details they need confirming by email and I just reply saying that they're true or false.

[ians]

I agree, been doing some dumbass things lately, not thinking, too many other things distracting me. I think that's how these people catch you, they just suddenly in your face all sweet and friendly.

[Justloadit]

I take all requests by unknowns as a scam, this automatically triggers my internal warning bells, and usuall state 'No' before they even complete their sentence. Most times they disappaer immediately.

[ians]

It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

I have done a little research and apparently it is common practise for shops to investigate and verify place of work. They are loosing lots of money selling furniture to people who don't give them correct information, my only concern is that they try recover the money form me if the domestic doesn't pay. I will be following up and get the documentation and read it this week.

I had an employee who gave my physical address and my telephone number to a company, who are now harassing me, because my number is the number he gave and I get letters of demand by the dozen in my post box with his name on. I opened one to see what it was all about, to find it was a letter of demand for outstanding balances for a variety of companies. We wonder why you pay so much to buy clothing etc at places like Edgars, woolworths, etc, it is to cover all the lost revenue.