An idea about a bank protest...

[D8Lady]

For all of the reckless stupidity,economic treason and arrogance that the banks have indulged in, we seem to have accepted the need to bail them out with a submissiveness that I still find hard to understand.
So, I was thinking about how to protest in a way that would actually get at the innards of the banks.

Under consumer protection law, a customer can make a complaint to a financial institution that must be recorded, must be resolved within 5 days, 4 weeks or a further 4 weeks where more investigation is required. All banks have systems to record this information.

Now, what if there was a designated day for making complaints? Say between Christmas and new years, on a Friday. Lots of people off from work, or out of work etc and no leaving early for golf.

If tens of thousands of people turned up at branches or phoned in on a single day, advertised in advance, provision would have to be made for extra staff to be on hand to deal with it. I must hasten to add that complaints must be made politely to front line staff, the yellow packers of the banks.

But where would the extra staff come from? It would have to be from head office.
The ones who fiddle about with forecasts, risk assessments, policy but who never actually deal with real people who have been affected by their appalling behavior.
Its easy to dismiss taxpayers but not if they are right in front of you, queuing out the door.

What would it achieve?
They have to, by law, satisfactorily deal with your complaints. So if there are complaints about directors renumeration, risky lending or whatever else emerges over next few weeks.

It would send a very clear signal that as consumers and citizens we will not accept business as usual from them.

 

[z107]

It's an interesting idea.

Since the people of Ireland now own a chunk of the banks, we'll probably be the ones to pay for this protest.
Unfortunately for us, Irish banks are more important than the people of Ireland, as far as the government is concerned. We'll end up suffering before the hallowed banks do.

 

[micmclo]

I must hasten to add that complaints must be made politely to front line staff, the yellow packers of the banks.

But where would the extra staff come from? It would have to be from head office.

In Ireland yellow packers is an offensive term. If someone has a career as front line bank staff hoping one day to be an officer then assitant manager and maybe, just maybe to a branch manager do they need to be called yellow packers?
I know you said make the complaint politely but you know it's the junior staff who will have to sort this out and the directors won't care. Direct your anger at management, not on staff on 22k a year

But hey, they take abuse from "clients" all day
So can take some more

 

[Ancutza]

Sorry D8 but not too long ago you were out banging on doors in support of Lisbon. Fear prevailed over common sense, the government stayed put and took it as a mandate of sorts to continue doing whatever the heck they wanted to the detriment of the tax-paying public. Now it's full steam ahead to bail out the banks and shackle the populous with generations of debt.

Possibly if Lisbon had have been rejected the government would possibly have fallen to a general election and possibly we'd already have had an administration who would be a little less eager to bail out their mates in the face of public opposition. I use 'possibly' a lot here but wouldn't 'possibly' have been a better option rather than the fait accompli we've been burdened with?

Now you, and everyone else, are going to have to just suck it up.....

 

[smiley]

Is it April the 1st??????

 

[TarfHead]

Say between Christmas and new years, on a Friday. Lots of people off from work, or out of work etc and no leaving early for golf.

If you can find a bank open on a Friday between Christmas Day and New Year's Day .. you have my full support !

 

[ney001]

Yup just what the country needs..... More protests!

 

[D8Lady]

To answer a few of the comments.

Ancutza -The future of Europe and the mismanagement of banks here as two entirely separate things. Money popping out of ATMs is from ECB.

micmclo - most front line staff are in the job for less than 6 months are paid badly and staff turnover is (was) very high and are rather badly treated by customers. Its not the great job that it was many years ago when the now senior management started.

ney001- This would be one single protest.

The main point is that we are consumers of their products and there is a piece of consumer law that the banks have to comply with.

So does anyone else have any suggestions about what to do?

Should there be a campaign using the "public interest" director to find out what recruitment firms are being used to headhunt new executives, how many ads have been placed and how many outside candidates were interviewed for top jobs. Just to see exactly how hard they looked for outside talent.

 

[Lak]

Ahhh the perfect Lisbonite, sold the country down the swanny but picks and chooses just what is and isnt ( supposedly) affected by EU policy by this dispicable Government.
Like a previous poster stated you wanted it and you got it "Suck it up lady"

 

[D8Lady]

Ahhh the perfect Lisbonite, sold the country down the swanny but picks and chooses just what is and isnt ( supposedly) affected by EU policy by this dispicable Government.
Like a previous poster stated you wanted it and you got it "Suck it up lady"

Explain to me how the appointment of an AIB insiderby AIB board is affected by Lisbon treaty?

And lose the personal insults buster.

 

[Ancutza]

Forget about protests outside banks. As Ney said, quite rightly IMO, the last thing the country needs is more protests.

An opportunity to unseat an extremely unpalatable government was lost in the Lisbon 'Yes' vote. The EU was always going to have it's wicked way so why did we vote 'yes' at this particular moment allowing FF to go on their merry way and screw the lot of us? What we should have done was vote 'no', bring about a general election, install a less bank-friendly administration (forced to be so by those dissatisfied masses who elected them) who then, probably, would have pushed thro' Lisbon on a 3rd vote whilst also being a little more deferential to the electorate who put them in power.

Protest all you want outside the banks. They've already been saved by your misguided vote and are now lining the ramparts with FF and the Greens thumbing their noses at you. They know that in short order you'll be too worried about how to make ends-meet, as taxes increase, to bother them anymore with your now futile protests.

History will mark the irish 'Yes' vote to Lisbon as an exercise in misguidedness. The people had the very instrument of their salvation from misrule within their hand but chose instead to hurl themselves over into the abyss thus damning themselves, their kids and their kids kids to generations of debt. Too emotive? I don't think so.

If you really, really cannot yet make a connection between a 'yes' to Lisbon, the continuing existence of this government and being thrown to the wolves of eternal, state-inflicted indebtedness then there is not much hope for you.

 

[jhegarty]

As nama is now going through we need the banks to recover quickly, not have more problems.

The only one your idea hurts is the Irish tax payer.

 

[tiger]

I like the idea of a "filibuster" style protest.
Not sure if the idea above will work, but merits consideration. Will hurt the ordinary staff a little but I think any action would.
Yes we need the banks to recover, but that does not mean we shouldn't clean them up & remove the current snr. mgmt & board also.

 

[Lak]

I got beaten to it D8 lady by Ancutza !!

Suck it up isnt a personal insult in any way, its a statement.
Voting Lisbon is not relevant to single particular issues but massively intertwined regarding the future of this nation, if you can not see the woods for the trees I suggest you quit complaining...in a nice way !

 

[Mpsox]

If you can find a bank open on a Friday between Christmas Day and New Year's Day .. you have my full support !

The banks reopen on Dec 30th and are open as well on Dec 31st, they've always opened between Christmas and the Ney Year, even though it is one of their quietest times of the year as many other businesses are closed

 

[Mpsox]

But where would the extra staff come from? It would have to be from head office.
The ones who fiddle about with forecasts, risk assessments, policy but who never actually deal with real people who have been affected by their appalling behavior.
Its easy to dismiss taxpayers but not if they are right in front of you, queuing out the door.

.

Define "Head office"?? Are you talking about the ordinary workers who work in Call centres. How about those in back office processing centres, internal bureaucracy (eg purchasing, HR, IT) who by definition have little or nothing to do with customers?

No arguement that the policy direction sent by senior leaders in the bank sucked, but there were plenty of people in "head office" who didn't agree with much of the direction banks were taking, unfortunatley, they were never listened to. I know a number of people who worked in risk management areas in 2 banks who left because of what was going on.

In terms of your idea, firstly, your complaints will have to be realistic and not spurious, otherwise the banks will simply devise a general response and get some agency worked to stuff envelopes with the response. Do you really think the new CEO of AIB is going to get involved at this level? Get real

If people really want to give 2 fingers to banks, then stop being so complacent about your financial affairs. Know your rights, check out the best interest rates and move your money to where that is offered. How many people on AAM have money sitting in bank accounts that offers a crap rate of interest and could get more elsewhere but "haven't got around" to doing so?. Likewise, stand up to rubbish customer service and don't accept it. If you're buying a telly or a car, you shop around for the best deal, if we all treated our financial affairs in a similer fashion, the worst banks would soon start to suffer

 

[Locke]

micmclo - most front line staff are in the job for less than 6 months are paid badly and staff turnover is (was) very high and are rather badly treated by customers.

Fail.

You can't use your imagination as a source, so can you back that one up?

 

[Bronte]

The banks reopen on Dec 30th and are open as well on Dec 31st, they've always opened between Christmas and the Ney Year, even though it is one of their quietest times of the year as many other businesses are closed

Aren't they just brillant to do that, the very same banks that don't work normal business hours.

 

[Deiseblue]

All Bank staff are contracted to work a 7 hour day , in the cases of branches that generally means 9.30 to 5.30.
With the need to prepare before opening and the need to balance afterwards there is little scope for offering a 9.30 to 5.30 service.

 

[Purple]

All Bank staff are contracted to work a 7 hour day , in the cases of branches that generally means 9.30 to 5.30.
With the need to prepare before opening and the need to balance afterwards there is little scope for offering a 9.30 to 5.30 service.

9.30 to 5.30 is not standard office hours in any SME that I know. Every SME I know works 8.00 (8.30 at the latest) to 5.30 - 6.00 (some, like mine, work 'till 6.30). Anyone who thinks 7 hours a day is a full days work is living in dream land.