Ulster Bank to drop fee-free banking (from July 2013)

murphaph

Narmie wrote: »

So let me get this straight...

I have two Ulster Bank Current Accounts I can access with online banking. One is mine, and one is the joint account I share with my partner.

If I log in to the online banking and move €3000 from the joint account into my own account, and then swap it back--I've met one of the waiver requirements for both accounts? Does the €3000 have to stay in any one account for any length of time--or because they're both Ulster Bank I can just log in once a month to move the money out, and then move it back and consider the fee avoided?

It just has to clear. If you are transfering it online from one UB account to another it should clear instantly. There's no minimum time it has to sit in either account.

UB know that many people won't have the money to do this without it effecting their day to day lives. It's these folks who will pay these charges mostly.

PhilMcGee

I dont understand why anyone would pay a penny in charges to a bank if it can be avoided.
PTSB. Free with lower qualifying conditions. And its so easy to move these days.

This post says otherwise regarding the $3000. The last line says the $3000 cannot be in one transaction.

fussyonion

It says if you are 60 or over, this fee is waived.
So if someone was to add a 60-year-old to their account (to make it a joint account), would you bypass the fee that way?

PhilMcGee

CiniO wrote: »

So summarising.
If my wife will transfer 500 from her Ulster Bank account to my Ulsterbank account, I transfer it back, and we repeat the procedure 6 times every month, we are not going to pay any fees. Am I right here?

Seems like a lot of trouble

Go to PTSB and you only have to do it 3 times. And the banks get the message that people wont stand for it.

CaraMay

It's not a charity they are running and before anyone whinges about bailing out the banks, we didn't bail them out, the residents of the UK did.

You can be sure 99% of people on here pay more than €4 per month for booze or fags yet you don't want to pay for your money to be minded. Stick it under the mattress so.

CaraMay

pclive wrote: »

I just phoned them on 1800 303 069 and told them I will be closing my acount before the fees are introduced.

Going to move to Permanent TSB or KBC when they open a current account.

They will be delighted as accounts with f all money in them actually cost the bank money so a big win for them is for you to move. Don't think you are annoying them with a threat like that.

CaraMay

CaraMay wrote: »

You can be sure 99% of people on here pay more than €4 per month for booze or fags yet you don't want to pay for your money to be minded. Stick it under the mattress so.

I don't drink or smoke so could I get a waiver then!?!?

CaraMay

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't drink or smoke so could I get a waiver then!?!?

No you are in the 1%

In all seriousness, people pay for services all the time eg taxis, yet expect to say nothing to the banks

km79

CaraMay wrote: »

No you are in the 1%

In all seriousness, people pay for services all the time eg taxis, yet expect to say nothing to the banks

I pay for the banks out of every pay packet

CaraMay

km79 wrote: »

I pay for the banks out of every pay packet

Not Ulster bank unless you are in the UK and then the €4 fee won't bother you.

unkel

CaraMay wrote: »

It's not a charity they are running

It seems it is a charity. Did you see the Mercer report on banking remuneration? Their conclusion was that banking staff in Ireland are overpaid

Maybe the banks should look at cost cutting first, before they start thinking about raising charges / fees...

CaraMay

unkel wrote: »

It seems it is a charity. Did you see the Mercer report on banking remuneration? Their conclusion was that banking staff in Ireland are overpaid

Maybe the banks should look at cost cutting first, before they start thinking about raising charges / fees...

Well if you read the papers you would see that they have lost over 3000 staff out of 8000 in the last two years. That is cost cutting.

murphaph

CaraMay wrote: »

It's not a charity they are running and before anyone whinges about bailing out the banks, we didn't bail them out, the residents of the UK did.

You can be sure 99% of people on here pay more than €4 per month for booze or fags yet you don't want to pay for your money to be minded. Stick it under the mattress so.

Lol you'd swear the bank piled your money into their vault and locked the door. The banks need our deposits. They should pay us, not the other way round.

CaraMay

murphaph wrote: »

Lol you'd swear the bank piled your money into their vault and locked the door. The banks need our deposits. They should pay us, not the other way round.

They do pay... The are called deposit accounts.

A friend works there and is not on a big salary for a bank manager .- 50k ... I think that's low given the responsibility. No car, no overtime, no salary protection from next year, no staff loans and no increase or bonus for 3 years. Hardly lifestyles of the rich and famous.... They got rid and are getting rid of a lot of the higher salaries.

murphaph

CaraMay wrote: »

They do pay... The are called deposit accounts.

A friend works there and is not on a big salary for a bank manager .- 50k ... I think that's low given the responsibility.

My bank pays 0.2% on my current account and there are absolutely no fees, regardless of balance etc.

Bank managers these says have little discretion and with it little responsibility. They are not making the decisions they made 30 years ago.

CaraMay

murphaph wrote: »

My bank pays 0.2% on my current account and there are absolutely no fees, regardless of balance etc.

Bank managers these says have little discretion and with it little responsibility. They are not making the decisions they made 30 years ago.

Waffle. He doesnt have final approval but he has to put his name to the proposed loan. Anything that goes wrong then he gets it. Same difference as being able to approve it.

On top of that they have to deal with many aggressive clients. Not worth it for 50k IMHO

BuffyBot

..and, with that, can we drop the hand-bagging and go back on topic, please.

commited

Hi guys,
I just read the email from Ulsterbank informing me about the fee's that are to be introduced. I do not currently live in Ireland, but I like to leave some money there so that I can use a local account when I visit. I currently have 2 accounts set up with them:
- Current account (balance of €10)
- Special Interest Deposit (balance of €5000 currently earning 2.5%)
The accounts are linked and transfers are instant.
Am I right in thinking that I can set up a standing order between these two accounts and just transfer €3000 back and forth to avoid the €4/month charge?
All help/suggestions appreciated.

tomdublin

CaraMay wrote: »

They will be delighted as accounts with f all money in them actually cost the bank money so a big win for them is for you to move. Don't think you are annoying them with a threat like that.

You are wrong here, even current accounts with very little in them cost banks virtually nothing, which is why current account charges are pretty much unknown in almost every other industrialized country. What does cost banks is setting up and maintaining the current account infrastructure. But that's a fixed cost they incur regardless how how many customers they end up having. The marginal cost of taking on additional accounts is almost zero, at least if they are internet-based and involve no mailing out of paper statements. Irish banks charge because a lack of competition means they can.

unclebill98

unkel wrote: »

It seems it is a charity. Did you see the Mercer report on banking remuneration? Their conclusion was that banking staff in Ireland are overpaid

Maybe the banks should look at cost cutting first, before they start thinking about raising charges / fees...

Cost cutting?? UB are probably the most advanced bank at cost cutting that operates in Ireland. 1000's of staff have been made redundant since 2008/9/12 rather than cut wages. They've streamlined how they operate on daily basis. Divisions joined together. Outsourcing of divisions etc. Removal of bonuses for all pay grades. Yes, while basic pay remains the same its certainly not risen for the vast majority of staff as had been the case for many years previous. Its near impossible to gain a pay rise. They've re designed the contracts to favour the bank and have over hauled the pension scheme again at the expense of staff. So maybe you should research before making statements.

A bank account ain't a right. You want one, you pay for it.

faolteam

I opened a few bank accounts many years ago for my nieces and nephews so i have a name on these accounts as it turns out, these accounts are all with zero balance even though i presume they are active, will there be bank charges on these even if they are doormant ???

unclebill98

faolteam wrote: »

I opened a few bank accounts many years ago for my nieces and nephews so i have a name on these accounts as it turns out, these accounts are all with zero balance even though i presume they are active, will there be bank charges on these even if they are doormant ???

I don't think that account type will have the new charges applied. Its best to enquire with them as to what account type they are. If dormant they will not attract charges but you are better of sorting the accounts out before they end up being closed off.

murphaph

unclebill98 wrote: »

A bank account ain't a right. You want one, you pay for it.

Next year people will be able to open accounts elsewhere in the eurozone and pay their direct debits and standing orders in Ireland. Many banks offer free online only accounts.

wmpdd3

unclebill98 wrote: »

A bank account ain't a right. You want one, you pay for it.

You sound like Aer Lingus etc, all fine until a new business model arrives.

Give me an online only account with ads on the website for free and I'd be happy.

unclebill98

It's a business. They have charges, like it or lump it.

I think it is a major mistake, if one of the banks had the balls not to charge they would mop up. Thousands will complain and do nothing about it.

The market needs a serious shake up and while I would welcome over seas banks the fact remains the vast majority of customers want to interact with their local branch, so the overseas option will be a minority.

An ad for I think Halifax best sums up banks, real you in with a promise of greatness only to change it afterwards. This practice is common place in many companies.

unkel

unclebill98 wrote: »

Yes, while basic pay remains the same

That was my point

Pay is too high in the Irish banking sector according to Mercer...

galway4

Hi, I got a letter from Ulster bank saying they are charging me €4 a month for using my current account, I only use it for my direct debit.

Is there any other bank you can recommend that doesn't have these charges (or has the lowest charges?) thanks

BuffyBot

All the banks have some form of charges now (Ulster was the last hold out). A popular choice would appear to the ptsb's new current account offering, which has a lower threshold for avoiding fees. More info here

KeithTS

unkel wrote: »

That was my point

Pay is too high in the Irish banking sector according to Mercer...

Not really how this works though.
The folk at the top get paid loads, while most staff are on fair pay, maybe a bit low if you account for the amount of crap we all give people in the banks these days.

If you average out the pay across all sections in the banks it looks like the people on the ground are getting paid huge amounts because the directors pay brings up the average by a decent amount.

A bank clerk used to earn an okay amount when you took in annual increases, perks and packages. These days if you take all those extras away (which is what their employers did in most cases) it's not great but people still have the misguided view that the nice lass handing you your Sterling over the foreign exchange counter is earning 50k a year or something which is just not the case.

unclebill98

unkel wrote: »

That was my point

Pay is too high in the Irish banking sector according to Mercer...

Its a simple way to look at it, as we all know this "pay is too high" argument is being giving in all sections of work life from Garda to nurse etc.

The fact the business is one of the most active cost cutting ones out there means those lucky to be left can have a decent basic wage. Nothing wrong with that and certainly something the above professions would love to have.

The big wig's get paid many multiples of front line staff and without reading that report I can not say if this is how the averaging impacts the report.

I'll say no more on it unless someone wishes to start a new tread cause this is going off topic.

murphaph

galway4 wrote: »

Hi, I got a letter from Ulster bank saying they are charging me €4 a month for using my current account, I only use it for my direct debit.

Is there any other bank you can recommend that doesn't have these charges (or has the lowest charges?) thanks

BoI might be an option for you with their 28c per transaction account. Not free but if you only have one or two transactions per month a better option maybe.

PhilMcGee

murphaph wrote: »

Next year people will be able to open accounts elsewhere in the eurozone and pay their direct debits and standing orders in Ireland. Many banks offer free online only accounts.

Now that I cant wait for. Same should happen with insurance.

PhilMcGee

unkel wrote: »

That was my point

Pay is too high in the Irish banking sector according to Mercer...

Everyone thinks everyones elses pay is too much though.
People also assume everyone elses job is easier than their own job too.
Funny, very few people think themselves are overpaid though.

unkel

PhilMcGee wrote: »

Everyone thinks everyones elses pay is too much though.

Do I have to mention the Mercer report for the third time in this thread?

PhilMcGee

unkel wrote: »

Do I have to mention the Mercer report for the third time in this thread?

You make it sound like that report actually means something.
You can get a report for anything you want. I wouldnt hold too much faith in one report, but by all means mention it as many times as you like.

If that was a report that said property prices are going up, done by mercer on behalf or estate agents you would be crying "vested interest".

Read who commissioned it. Its in big writing on the report.

iHateManCity

what happens if you have no money in your current account? will you still be charged?
I use mine once or twice a year so the €4 charge is a big no no

BuffyBot

Yes, you will be.

murphaph

iHateManCity wrote: »

what happens if you have no money in your current account? will you still be charged?
I use mine once or twice a year so the €4 charge is a big no no

Close it and move to BoI and pay 28c per transaction.

macplaxton

galway4 wrote: »

I only use it for my direct debit.

Maybe change it to a savings account? That is just a hole-in-the-wall card, and can have standing orders and direct debits on it.

198321

If I got 3000+ a month to my account I wouldn't care about paying 4 euro, since I only get around 1500 I do.

I was with ulster bank mostly because of visa debit card, but also have AIB graduate account (for 2 years) so requested Visa debit replacement of laser and will close my Ulster. I don't think they are going to miss my current account, but they sure will my saving account.

It's funny how a bank can go from best on the market to worst in such a short period.