"Kindly machine-gun the choir!"

[chaletian]

I had a letter today from my bank. Well, not today, obviously. It's Sunday. It came on Thursday, I think, but I didn't get around to opening it till today. I get quite a lot of unexpected post from my bank, which always worries me, because I think I've got into banking trouble (even when I know perfectly well that there's nothing wrong with my account).

But anyway, my post today was offering me a £12,500 loan. This loan is, apparently, "ready and waiting just for [me]", because I am "a loyal customer who handles their account particularly well". The bank has "arranged everything": "all it takes is one phone call". They have been at particular pains to point out how easy it would be for me to get this £12,500 loan. How straightforward it would be.

I think this is absolutely appalling. How cavalier are they, to offer this sort of thing to any passing customer? I am *dreadful* with money. I mean, I'm not too bad these days. I have a regular income, which helps, and I budget regularly, and I tend to know exactly how much money I have in my bank account. But I still sometimes make stupid financial decisions, and in the past I have been absolutely unreliable, and frankly it's a miracle I managed to escape my late teens/early twenties without a CCJ. Offers like this make me feel quite threatened, really, because (after the annoyance of more junk mail) my first reaction is, ooh, lovely money, before the voice of reason takes over, but that reaction scares me a lot, because I don't want to be as crap with money as I used to be. Wah. I hate money.

Comments

[donna-k.livejournal.com]

My bank once wrote to me to tell me they had just upped my overdraft limit fromn £250 to £2500, which annoyed me intensely, because if I'd wanted an overdraft that big, I'd have asked for one. And they *knew* I was bad with money, because at the time I still had a £2000 overdraft on my student account with the same bank. I had to go into the branch and force them to reduce it back to the original amount. Banks are just stupid, they just throw credit at anybody without thinking of the consequences. Except when I actually wanted a loan from them to pay off my credit card, I couldn't have that for some reason. Bah!

[nzraya.livejournal.com]

I find that totally irresponsible on their part. Unfortunately it's more and more common these days -- and really no different from all those "free" credit card offers that come in the mail, right? Which are also irresponsible, if less obviously so -- and part and parcel of the glorious unfettered capitalism we increasingly enjoy. The problem is that capitalism treats all "products" and "customers" as equal, and attempts to sell more and more of the former to the latter regardless of whether or not that's actually appropriate. (Am reminded of New Zealand in 1992, when they privatised the electricity board, which promptly tried to sell more of its "product" to its "customers" by running ads telling people to use more electricity -- the most environmentally irresponsible campaign ever, and of course it resutled in massive power cuts all over the country as people tried to actually take them up on it.) Banks shouldn't think of their "product" in the same terms as other "products," esp. because when it comes right down to it that's other people's money they're trying to tempt you with -- it's just asking for trouble all the way around.

[bluebellbicycle.livejournal.com]

I am totally crap at money too. I have a really good budgety advice book though - "The Savvy Girl's Money Book" by Emily Chantiri and I really recommend it - it was the main reason I bought a car this year :)

[cyberpurple.livejournal.com]

Banks are annoying. As a part of my job I advise people who have problems with debts. I'm always surprised by how many people have such huge unmanageable debts and then I read stuff like this and it all sadly makes sense. The reaction you had was totally understandable and at least you realise that it's not a good idea. A lot of my clients don't really understand what they are getting themselves if for when it comes to money and many other things. Which makes offers like these even more dangerous. I have no real budgeting advice tho - I've been put off ever getting a credit card or unnecessary loan through my CAB work

[b-liz.livejournal.com]

Banks are very bad with that. I understand that they're trying to compete with all the companies advertising on TV telling you to take out a loan so you can 'pay off all your debts and have enough left over for a holiday/new kitchen/gas-guzzling car', but they should still act more responsibly. Tony gets letters like that and he's unemployed, so how on earth do they think he'd make repayments?!