More tinfoil, sir?
Let's divide your criticisms by category:

1) The banks are a bit crap, closing early, going for lunch, sometimes messing up payments.

2) The banks are commercial businesses, so try and sell you stuff and organise their processes in a way that makes them money (trying to sell loans to people, etc).

3) The banks are a hotbed of organised crime, who'll actually steal your money if you put it in them.

Now let's be honest, 1's annoying but true for most businesses; 2's what they're there for, and 3's tinfoil nonsense that you've made up.

[finally on Escom, if they were such a good business then why the fuck didn't Barclays lend them the money to cover the NatWest loan, rather than writing off 10X the money on their existing investment...?]
(stalinism, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 12:47, 3 replies)

I agree
I especially like the comment about understanding people defending banks when they have morals. As you say, they are commercial enterprises, they don't make moral judgements.
(Bazongaloid, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 13:12, closed)

That's like saying
"Oh, stop whining about those muggers who beat you up and stole all your money. They're muggers! That's what they do!"

And if the answer to that is that that's what you have to do to survive in a capitalist system, then maybe it's a problem with capitalism. If we accept the premise that most of the country is run by capitalist organisations, then I don't think it's too much to ask that they have some morals.
(Cuthbert Annihilator, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 22:59, closed)

No, no it's not
that's you making a very poor comparison between a crime and a business.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 20 Jul 2009, 9:41, closed)

I'm not so
sure it's a poor comparison.

A business should be able to sell a fair product or service for a fair price. If it can't then it's not much of a business.

Banks do as they please with impunity - much as muggers now do and can. Rarely will they be caught out, and if they are the punishments are negligible.

I'd say the comparison is very fair.
(dchurch bah, Wed 22 Jul 2009, 9:57, closed)

No, I am sure it's a poor comparison
you're comparing a direct criminal act with a business. You may not agree with the way the business works, that's fine, but it's not setting out to directly commit a criminal act. The comparison is extremely fatuous.

As for your comment about muggers being able to do what they please "now", you're vearing dangerously close to daily mail territory.
(Bazongaloid, Wed 22 Jul 2009, 10:22, closed)

Well, it wasn't
actually me that made the comparison.

However, just two weeks ago, my GF had 30 quid taken from her account without her consent and despite her protestations.

Her account was several thousand in credit, yet they had decided that there wasn't enough in the account to cover a £10 direct debit.

Clearly this is a mistake.

The banks answer: "Sorry, there is a court case regarding bank charges and there's nothing we can do until the case is finished...blah...blah"

So, taking money with impunity, whilst the person having the money taken protests, with no recourse to having the money back.

If it sounds like mugging, smells like mugging...etc...
(dchurch bah, Wed 22 Jul 2009, 15:14, closed)

Escom
Anyone buying the Commodore brand is doomed.
(MrPSB, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 18:17, closed)

Escom
Escom a classic long company run by German thieves.
(nee22 NL ExPat, Mon 20 Jul 2009, 13:08, closed)

and 3's tinfoil nonsense that you've made up.
I only wish this were true.

Have a look through the public records of the number of CCJ that banks have against them that are STILL unsettled - and have a look at the reasons.

You will find, for example, instances where people have withdrawn £5000 from a cashpoint machine, wheras in fact the amount is 500 or even 50, they have refused to refund the money, been taken to court and still blatently ignored the will of the court and still refuse to pay the money back. There are quite a few instances of this.

I personally know of three occassions (all within a mile or two of where I live) where large sums of cash have just 'got lost in the system'.

You continue to believe that I'm making it up if you please, I'm not offended, I just pity those that cannot see it or be bothered to look depite all the evidence being in the public domain.

...as for 2) - I'm not all that bothered about them trying to sell stuff, I am bothered about the way in which they engineer 'defaults' and then abuse the system to maximise the amount they can extract from you without actually providing any product or service. It's far more profitable to be underhand.

I too thought at one point, that it must be paranioa - until my account was frozen every Friday morning and not unfrozen until the following Monday - every week for nearly a year.

It was then that I was informed by (someone who, and I know how this sounds, I am unable to mention) that this sort of thing is commonplace. It's petty and underhand, and it does go on.

At one point, I co-funded a BBC program in which a 'spy' was placed inside Barclays. Lots of this sort of stuff was uncovered.
(dchurch bah, Wed 22 Jul 2009, 9:52, closed)