Another time the ANZ directors f***ed up banking
I went to deposit, as I often do, a US dollar cheque into a New Zealand dollar account.
The nice lady, Bev, tells me that there is now a $5 fee for depositing a foreign cheque.
ANZ is totally f***ed up if it believes it can do this.
I already have spoken to Lynne Russell at the TSB and I’ll be opening my account there at the end of March. It seems TSB is one of the few banks left in the country that understand what banking means.
To Sir John Anderson and the other assholes making these decisions at the ANZ: when I deposit money with you, it is not a privilege for me. It is a privilege for you. I am loaning you money.
For that, I expect you to pay me interest.
You do not ask me for money.
Why do you think I left the National Bank when Sir Spencer Russell retired? Because the last of the old guard went and all I saw were hot-shot assholes putting up bank charges across the board.
You were there, Sir John. I know you are a nice guy in the regular scheme of things but why do you have to be the man at the top of banks that make these ridiculous plays?
Dudes, you don’t realize that despite consolidation, you still ain’t the only game in town, though there should be more competition in banking.
Banking management is, on the whole, incompetent in this country, though I understand we are still streets ahead of the UK. We certainly are when it comes to service, though in my experience the Swedes are well ahead again.
You can tell when the Cheques Act 1993 needed to be drafted up because the banks were too incompetent to operate within the law up till that point. We have a perfectly functioning Bills of Exchange Act 1908 that covers cheques, but no—the banks were too confused about it.
I still operate as though the 1993 act did not exist and mark my cheques based on the earlier act, which is still on the books.
Most banks have refrained from charging me fees but they cannot do much about these head-office rules, so I will be withdrawing my deposits at, I mean, my loan to, the ANZ Bank and placing it with a New Zealand-owned operation that seems to understand banking and finance better.
I’d encourage fellow New Zealanders to do the same. There is nothing morally acceptable about these bank fees, especially when it comes to deposits.
When you borrow money from the bank, you pay them interest. When you lend money to the bank—which is technically what happens when you make a deposit—they should pay you. Even if they didn’t pay you and left it at a zero-sum game, that is still fine, but only just.
Someone at ANZ forgot what banking is all about.
Comments
I don’t know about the other banks here but there’s no charge at the TSB, plus they pay me interest! So once the 20th comes I’m shifting. It’s still, sadly, morally wrong—unless we can do the same to the bank when we take out a loan.
I recently left the credit union over poor service, and I'm now introducing myself to the "Banking" industry as a consumer. It's a mess!
I hate the ANZ bank! It doesnt matter how you look at it they are thieves. They steal money from account ‘legitimately’ through unecessary rate rises/fees, and illegitimately though double charging fees then refusing to give the money back. Obviously, as internationally they are majorly stuffed, they are trying to make money by screwing the little people over. I was given the wrong loan 2 times and when the sale was about to fall through, the ANZ insisted I sign the wrong loan forms with a dont worry we’ll take care of it attitude. I was to do this or I wouldnt get the loan. They seemed honest at the time, if I could only take that action back. I was then charged for ‘extra loans’, although I was told I wouldnt be affected by their screw up. I have now been trying to get the money back for over 3 months. The people at the branch told me it was my fault and shouldnt have used their mobile lender. The ANZ mobile lender has said it is not her fault, its mine. The complaints department is overloaded as no one answers my calls, no one answers my emails. In three months I have 3 calls from ANZ. I figure Ive called them about 20, emailed them at least that number. They dont treat me like a customer, I am a problem that has not given up and gone away. To top it off, despite being instructed by the banking ombudsman to return my money they havent! I wish I had never heard of the ANZ bank. I hope they do go into liquidation!!! Then someone, anyone would be better than them to take over my loan!
I told a good friend of mine working at the ANZ (not at teller level) about the charges and she was actually shocked.
I truly believe all these “mistakes” are intentional in the hope no one fights them: I hear about them way more often than can be accounted for by “computer error”. If they ignore the Ombudsman that is actually a serious offence. I think there are some serious repercussions (getting fined?) but I need to look up what they are.