Interest rates

[AtW]

Got statement from bank for last month, and noticed interest rates they've got:

Interest payable: 0.0% per annum.
Unauthorised overdraft: 2.2% per month

That's like 29.8% a year using compound interest rates

[TykeMerc]

That's on unauthorised overdrafts though...

Not money borrowed properly, but taken without permission.

[AtW]

Not money borrowed properly, but taken without permission.

How is it possible to take money without permission from an electronic system that can just refuse to give that money?

[shaunbhoy]

How is it possible to take money without permission from an electronic system that can just refuse to give that money?

If they refused to give you that money then they would be unable to charge you the prohibitive rates they can morally, apparently, get away with.

[AtW]

If they refused to give you that money then they would be unable to charge you the prohibitive rates they can morally, apparently, get away with.

Exactly, so you can't really say you took money without permission (that's theft surely!), effectively this is flexible no questions asked lending rate - ask lots of questions for other "cheaper" "authorised" products and force customers to borrow expensive.

Making cash nicely putting it into risky hands and paying 0% to people who actually own this cash

[Old Greg]

How is it possible to take money without permission from an electronic system that can just refuse to give that money?

Agreed - in the old days it was a disincentive against students going down the boozer with cheque book and guarantee card and writing a cheque for £50 and pocketing the change . Hard to see a justification now.

[Cliphead]

On another note I got a text from one of the two Visa card companies I have cards with, ' congrats blah, blah, blah, we have increased your credit limit to £x'. This is now happening every two months on average with both cards, just enticing people to get into debt I reckon. Then a new card will appear gold, platinum or whatever.

I think you can refuse the increase within thirty days if you write to them in triplicate signed by both parents and one grandparent or something.

[AtW]

Hard to see a justification now.

Hard?

29.8% interest per year!

[RichardCranium]

Yes, it is unfair.

But they're the buggers with all the money.

So they get to make the rules.

[amcdonald]

Hard?

29.8% interest per year!

Thats nothing look at the adverts for Chav loans, they're over 4000% some of them