BEWARE! THE BANKS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!

[PanBiker]

Apparently this will be the largest repatriation of British citizens since the second World War.

[plaques]

A company of this size and standing doesn't go bust overnight. The directors have clearly failed in their duty to take action long before it reached this stage. They will probably walk away with all their bonuses and dividend payouts intact with no collars felt. Meanwhile the holiday makers will see that they have been scammed with promises about ATOL cover. Also Joe Public (the tax payer) will pick up the bill for getting them back. The Government will promise to 'look at it'. Long grass here we come.

[chinatyke]

A company of this size and standing doesn't go bust overnight. The directors have clearly failed in their duty to take action long before it reached this stage. They will probably walk away with all their bonuses and dividend payouts intact with no collars felt.

I don't agree with you. The directors would have been painfully aware of the true position for a long time and would have been doing their utmost to keep the company afloat, even trying to negotiate a merger. Beg, stealing and borrowing to avoid the eventual outcome, believing in 'jam tomorrow' and hoping against all the odds that things would turn around, earning their salaries the same as every other employee.

[Tizer]

The CEO's £8 million over the last 5 years doesn't sound like `the same as every other employee' to me!

[PanBiker]

Exactly Tiz. It should be law that if a company is in huge debt, 1.9 billion in the case of TC, all top earners should go onto a subsistence pay grade say somewhere around £75K that would be on the generous side. Certainly no bonuses which is basically no different to asset stripping of a failing company. If the CEO is that sorry he could give 7 million back to help pay off some of the debt.

[plaques]

believing in 'jam tomorrow' and hoping against all the odds that things would turn around,

Hoping against all odds doesn't sound very professional to me. This is not some back street two bit firm that casts runes to see what the future may bring they will have market researchers, annalists and accountants to give guidance. Strikes me its another case of 'too big to fail' and was possibly a factor in their calculations. I would sympathise with the small businessman getting into this position but not with Thomas Crooks.

[PanBiker]

Travel industry commentators say that Thomas Cook have been failing to modify their business model to keep up with industry trends since the 1990's. So it looks like a clear case of mismanagement while still stripping the assets through excessive bonuses.

[chinatyke]

believing in 'jam tomorrow' and hoping against all the odds that things would turn around,

Hoping against all odds doesn't sound very professional to me...

You are right, they should have put it in receivership years ago.

[Stanley]

I'm afraid you're wrong on both counts China. The bottom line is that they were arrogant and didn't modernise by switching to the same model as Thompson's (Tui). Cooks had 526 high street shops, Thompson's had none. Bad management and greedy executives. Fankhauser wasn't the only one milking the cow.

[Big Kev]

The bottom line is that they were arrogant and didn't modernise by switching to the same model as Thompson's (Tui). Cooks had 526 high street shops, Thompson's had none.

Do Tui not have 650 shops across the UK? There's one in Burnley...

[Stanley]

You're right Kev. I have mixed them up with Easy Jet I think who sell more package holidays than anyone else.
Perhaps Tui need to re-assess their model....

[PanBiker]

Just received a letter from the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank regarding my claim for a PPI refund. It is regarding a business loan that I took out at Colne Branch when I was self employed. I had completely forgotten that one but the claim firm I engaged to search on our behalf managed to find it.

I instigated the search about 9 months ago and the Yorkshire link about 3 months ago. Since then they have written to me before to say they are investigating and also rung me to check that I am who I am. This latests letter is to tell me that due to unprecedented level of PPI claims against the bank their final decision on my particular claim will take up to another 12 weeks from the date of the letter. They have also sent me details of the financial Ombudsman service for if I want to complain when they eventually get round to contacting me again.

Might be a nice Christmas bonus or a chocolate teapot.

[Tizer]

I hope you get a good result, Ian!
All this PPI money being paid out over many years must have distorted the nation's economic state. I wonder if the ONS take it into account when doing their figures? There might be a recession when the payouts end!

This is a little off topic but it's big business (Sainsbury's) again mucking us about. Just think of all the employees who will be affected, never mind the trouble for customers who'll have to think again about where to do their shopping. And note the mention in passing that `Earlier this month, larger rival Tesco sold its entire mortgage portfolio to Lloyds'. Another case of selling on people's loans.
`Sainsbury's to close 60 Argos stores as profit set to dip' LINK

[Stanley]

I only had one PPI exposure Ian and self-claimed as soon as I heard about the scam. It was paid out very quickly and in full but that was in the early days.
Tiz, competition is fine but the story about the mortgages must be worrying. Hard nosed debt collecting is the only way such deals can be made to work. I didn't know, or had forgotten, that Sainsbury's owned Argos. Good economics to move them in-house but bad for many employees and the High Street I suspect.

[plaques]

Called in at the big 'Screwfix' store in Nelson, it is enormous. A temporary sign on the door said 'CASH ONLY' , within the few minutes I was there to buy my two pennyworth of things I was surprised by the number of people who just turned round and walked out. The whole world seems to rely on cards. This hiccup with their card machine must have cost them a lot of business.

[Stanley]

It's the trend P. On the reverse side of the coin, 30 years ago Macey's in NY refused my cash payment. I was astounded but found out later that it was because I tendered a $50 bill and they were very rare in those far off days!

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz went to a big craft exhibition in Exeter yesterday and the sellers there were having trouble with credit card payment systems failing.

[Stanley]

Sounds like a good case for asking for a discount for old-fashioned folding money!

[PanBiker]

A lot quicker than I thought. I received another letter from the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks today to confirm that they did miss sell me PPI on the bridging loan that I took out twenty odd years ago. They have decided to repay me all of the premiums I paid plus "simple interest" (some kind of figure arrived at to compensate for the ups and downs over 25 years). They have also sent me a calculation of the tax on the interest that I have overpaid so I should be able to claim that back off HMRC. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

It's not an absolute fortune as It wasn't a massive loan but £1800.00 plus the tax paid is better in my pocket than theirs. I won't begrudge paying the search firm their cut either as I had completely forgotten about this odd half hour single day in my life arrangement from over two decades ago.

[Big Kev]

Result, nice one Ian.

[Tizer]

Sounds like a good case for asking for a discount for old-fashioned folding money!

Discounts for cash went out a long time ago because you don't hand over any valuable personal information when you pay by cash (as long as you don't fill any forms etc or tell the retailer unnecessary information).

[plaques]

The big supermarkets don't want cash, this is why they offer 'cash back' it saves counting, storing and taking to banks. Much easier dealing with electrons that sheets of dirty paper.

[Stanley]

"The big supermarkets don't want cash, this is why they offer 'cash back' it saves counting, storing and taking to banks."
Thanks for that P. I have always suspected that was the case. Nice to have it confirmed. Exacerbated now by the demise of the High Street banks and their night safes. (As a lad, I was puzzled by them, couldn't understand what they were for!)
I use cash-back regularly, it's a boon for dinosaurs like me with no local bank, no transport and no trust in cash machines. I used one once when they first came out and it ate my flexible friend. That did it for me and holes in the wall!

[Stanley]

Not exactly in line with banks but I heard a report this morning that said that the average spend on a night out in the UK was £70. I realise that this is an average but it shocked me.

[PanBiker]

Yorkshire Bank have now introduced another level of security when using internet banking. Originally when accessing your accounts online you had to input your account reference (10 digits) followed by 3 randomly chosen characters from your complex (Alphanumeric upper and lower case plus symbols) password then give the answer to a one from 3 questions previously set up. Personal favourite film, meal and place, you selected the 3 questions from a quite long list.

The logon procedure has changed now with the requirement of having to use your mobile phone as part of the process. First two stages are the same when logging on via the internet. Third stage now tells you that you need the YB Mobile Banking App running on your phone to authorise the logon attempt. When you confirm the third step a countdown timer gives you two minutes to authorise the logon. The mobile app is accessed via a simple 6 digit pin and when entered takes you straight into a screen to authorise the internet logon attempt which then completes.

The stupid thing is that the mobile app only requires the single step 6 digit pin and you are straight in to your accounts!

This "security enhancement" has effectively stopped anyone using the internet banking facility unless they have a modern smartphone. You can no longer logon solely using your computer. The mobile app itself only has single level and quite simple security for access.

Progress? I think not.