How many of us remember the days when we got paid cash for our weeks work, banks cried out for you to open an account, not anymore they have us screwed big time. Now every transaction comes at a cost and they are in total control and nothing governments can do about it except threaten them with idle rhetoric.

hi, westozzie, the banks get mostly all of our money now, if it,s not fees it,s very little interest if we have any savings, my son tells me fees on a pensioners account is ilegal but the bank keeps putting fees on my account, I visited the bank and they claimed it was Gov, fees and the Gov, said it was the banks fees so what do we do ? nothing..... zilcho29

Fees for Pensioners accounts are NOT illegal -



Fees are discretionary - this means they are at the discretion of the individual bank.



There are accounts with no charge - and every bank has them for the purpose of looking like good corporate citizens. Bag of crap all of them - investigate your own bank for full details.



I suggest you check the Choice website for best deals with banks.



The truth is they (the banks) are there to make a profit and certainly not give a benevolent service.

Have a couple of accounts with Westpac and don't pay any fees unless I make a ridiculous amount of transactions, (which I don't). I can't understand that some pensioners are paying fees.

We're with NAB and pay no fees on our retirement account. Telephone banking at no cost either - used to pay for that.

The constitution legally can only be changed b referendum and it clearly states in section or page 30 that payment can only be made in gold and silver. How does that grab yer. Anyone game to tell em.........................The only time the constitution is looked at is to make sure it doesnt interfere with pollies wage rises.

hi all; those interested in big bank fees, they have us where they want us, interested to read that Thomas Jefferson

1743, was having the same problems in America way back when.



my bank, put credit card fees up twice when they increased home fee increases ,now the banks have reduced the homeloan fees but not the credit card fees, so whitchever way we go we are gyped.

smiley

The major banks in this country have formed a cartel and I have no doubt they consult each other about fees they charge. To me, they are exactly the same as Coles and Woolies who are trying to monopolise the food/alcohol/fuel distribution in this country.

I have worked in Credit Unions for most of my adult life and I would never voluntarily deal with a bank......I do business with credit unions or building societies who generally charge lower fees, are owned by their members and dont have share-holders howling for dividends. The only way to beat these leaches is to find alternatives to do business with. They all use "convenience" to trap us......Coles is just down the street, so why travel miles to shop with an independant?

If there is no credit union or building society near you, just find the nearest one and sign up for internet banking......they all have cards that will let you access your funds from any teller machine.

I bank with NAB too and have a retirement account which has no fees. The only time I am charged fees is when I use another banks ATM, which is $2.

Pensioners should make sure they approach their bank and ask about retirement accounts if they are paying fees now.

If your bank does not have a retirement account, it would be wise to change banks. This is sometimes difficult with the points system, but would save money in the long run.

I bank with NAB too and have a retirement account which has no fees. The only time I am charged fees is when I use another banks ATM, which is $2.

Pensioners should make sure they approach their bank and ask about retirement accounts if they are paying fees now.

If your bank does not have a retirement account, it would be wise to change banks. This is sometimes difficult with the points system, but would save money in the long run.

>

There you go that is two of us who recommend NAB.

I have been with them for many years and have never had the bad experiences that I hear or read about the other three big banks.

The NAB has two recommendations, good for them, perhaps we should have them stuffed.