Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 19 of 19

Thread: Foreign draft fee at Standard Bank

  1. #11
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    I think that's not going to work either. It now seems very clear this is an established policy, not a mistake or misinterpretation.

    I've just got off a fairly lengthy phonecall with Rita at the Complaints Resolution Centre. Their position is that Citibank N.A. is a local branch of a foreign bank and that Standard Bank has to do a lot of additional work to clear these cheques. She wouldn't be drawn on what this additional work might entail, but they will be raising the foreign draft fee in these situations and that's the end of it.

    That got me thinking what other banks might attract this fee on their ZAR cheques. Doing a bit of research, I found this list of banks registered with the SA Reserve Bank. If you click on the registered branches link you'll find a list of banks which fall in the same category as Citibank N.A. (For anyone who ever wondered why frames have a bad reputation when it comes to website design, this particular application demonstrates the potential design flaw quite well).

    The only angle left was the lack of notification. Rita wasn't having any of that either. The fee is on their rates card (undeniably true). However, she disagreed with me that clients should have been notified of this change of application of the fee.

    May I commend Rita for clearing that up in my head, and to recommend you take Rita's advice - "You are free to deposit these cheques elsewhere."

    Let's hope the other banks don't follow Standard Bank's lead on this anytime soon.

  2. #12
    Moderator IanF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Jhb
    Posts
    2,679
    Thanks
    197
    Thanked 529 Times in 405 Posts

    Hellkom

    I went to hellkom.co.za to get contact details for telkom, as my phone line is dead.
    Anyway they have a similar story to Dave go to hellkom and it is the first full article. It is just past all the headlines.
    This site has Adsense ads smattered here and there for the fun of it, and of course it brings in a trickle of money every now and then. Google sends payment for the Adsense earnings via cheque, as EFT, SWIFT etc is not available for South Africans. So now, once this cheque is received, one merrily prances off to the bank in the hopes of depositing the earnings into one's bank account, where the money will lie for X number of days before being spent on Eskom and Telkom bills. Right. The cheque goes to the cashier who then slams a poor rubber stamp into oblivion a few times, and then hands you the receipt, after which merry prancing continues back home. A few hours later, tired from prancing and sitting in front of the PC, you decide to check the amount of zero's in your bank balance. To utter shock and horror, the internet banking says something along the lines of FEE - FOREIGN DRAFT, and a -R155 appears in the right hand column. Not the column which shows you when you GET money mind you, the column that shows you when money is taken by the powers that be or given to those requiring it.
    So maybe all these banking conspiracies are right!
    Only stress when you can change the outcome!

  3. #13
    Bronze Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Johannesburg
    Posts
    175
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 89 Times in 58 Posts
    I lost all my earnings on an Adsense account I once had. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Can you blame us if we see a conspiracy behind every bush
    Sean Goss We all are scared, but only few are brave.
    www.sgafc.co.za

  4. #14
    Moderator IanF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Jhb
    Posts
    2,679
    Thanks
    197
    Thanked 529 Times in 405 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by sgafc View Post
    I lost all my earnings on an Adsense account I once had. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Can you blame us if we see a conspiracy behind every bush
    Now we need an update it behind every Obama
    Only stress when you can change the outcome!

  5. #15
    Bronze Member Sieg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Durban
    Posts
    126
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 52 Times in 30 Posts
    Bank charges

    Sorry to change the "thread" here somewhat, Dave, but I think most of us are somewhat outraged by the petty nonsense of our banks that charge their customers for every cough, sneeze or f*rt. Why, they are getting as bad as attorneys!

    Speaking of the latter, for years now, when a property is sold and the purchaser has to fund the acquisition by means of a bank (home) loan, the transferring attorneys have simply provided the bond registering attorneys (i.e. the attorneys that the bank has instructed) with a whole bunch of documents that the banks require, such as "certified copies" of the electrical compliance certificate, a conveyancer's certificate as to the purchaser price, and so on. Over time, this list has grown. This was done "free of charge".

    Feeling somewhat outraged that Nedbank charged me R330.00 for a certificate of balance (X 2 = R660.00) because the auditors required these certificates, one for end Feb and one for end August, I decided to get my own back.

    I now send an account to the bank, care of the bond registering attorneys, for all the documentation required of me. It amounts to just under R400.

    The bond attorneys and their client banks are understandably "outraged". I have ignored the tirade and simply say "pay me, then you will get the documents. And, oh, by the way, in the interim I am putting the purchaser on notice to provide guarantees" which then puts the cat by the pigeons, as Gideon from Virginia used to say.

    Sieg

    PS: Should we not all adopt the practice and habit of changing all our banking accounts at least once a year as a show of solidarity to impress upon the banks the notion that their customers are no longer going to tolerate this nonsense?

  6. #16
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by Sieg View Post
    PS: Should we not all adopt the practice and habit of changing all our banking accounts at least once a year as a show of solidarity to impress upon the banks the notion that their customers are no longer going to tolerate this nonsense?
    There's that small hiccup of track record. Fine if you don't need any finance, but for mere mortals, that track record is pretty important.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sieg View Post
    Feeling somewhat outraged that Nedbank charged me R330.00 for a certificate of balance (X 2 = R660.00) because the auditors required these certificates, one for end Feb and one for end August, I decided to get my own back.

    I now send an account to the bank, care of the bond registering attorneys, for all the documentation required of me. It amounts to just under R400.

    The bond attorneys and their client banks are understandably "outraged".
    Raising a fee seems fair enough
    Just who do they propose should be footing the bill?

  7. #17
    Diamond Member wynn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    east london
    Posts
    3,338
    Thanks
    548
    Thanked 625 Times in 524 Posts
    The bank's are only interested in the last three months transaction history and any RD cheque history, other than that open a new account and after three months close the old account, you will feel no pain.
    "Nobody who has succeeded has not failed along the way"
    Arianna Huffington

    Read the first 10% of my books "Didymus" and "The BEAST of BIKO BRIDGE" for free
    You can also read and download 100% free my short stories "A Real Surprise" and "Pieces of Eight" at
    http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/332256

  8. #18
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    4,923
    Thanks
    576
    Thanked 934 Times in 755 Posts
    Interesting stuff, thanks for the info.
    _______________________________________________

    _______________________________________________

  9. #19
    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Durban
    Posts
    4,151
    Thanks
    758
    Thanked 886 Times in 735 Posts
    Blog Entries
    7
    This is just another example of how banks (and sometimes other businesses) slip in some unannounced charges when things get desperate. This is a direct reflection of the ethics (or lack of it) in our business community and society in general. Punish them by moving your account if they do not want to conform.

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Similar Threads

  1. standard bank
    By murdock in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 53
    Last Post: 29-Jan-10, 07:13 AM
  2. standard bank
    By murdock in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 50
    Last Post: 04-Nov-09, 02:19 PM
  3. Standard Bank Declines for Second Day After Breaking Credit Law
    By QUINN in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 01-Jul-09, 07:20 PM
  4. Firefox Vs Standard Bank
    By Marq in forum Technology Forum
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 19-May-09, 08:28 PM
  5. Analyzing your Bank Statement On a Daily Basis.
    By sgafc in forum Business Finance Forum
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 20-Apr-09, 03:01 PM

Tags for this Thread

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •