ASB Bank: Customer "Service"

You might recall my ups and downs over trying to negotiate new terms for our ASB Bank home loan earlier last year. Well, ups and downs of another kind have got me ruminating again. It appears that the prostitute that indirectly stole $2.5 million from the bank has negotiated a deal with the bank to presumably pay back some of the money she stole.

So let me get this right. First she doesn't have to pay back the entire $2.5 million and she is allowed to negotiate with the bank.

My bank wouldn't even entertain the idea of negotiation and they were going to charge me a fee if I changed the terms of the loan.

I wonder to myself if she is an ASB customer.

Gives new meaning to the word screwed from both sides.

This comes on top of an incident this morning over the phone with ASB where I was refused part of a term deposit up for renewal today because part of the deposit was being used as security for something else. There was a hold on the whole amount that I asked to be removed last Thursday and it has not been done, according to ASB Bank staff at the call centre - "but Darren you can call back on Monday and we might be able to do something then."

So I cant even use my own money when I want to now.

Screwed again.


More Banking Madness @ Share Investor

Bryce the Banker: The Final Insult
Banks not participating in Recession
Bank Guarantees: Time for banks to return the favour
The Return of Bryce
Banking Madness!

Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum

c Share Investor 2010

Aren't those banks just utter Bastards

After getting some shtick recently from my bank, the ASB Albany branch, who have decided, after much arguing by my good self, that they will waive early repayment fees for a loan I made a few years back but didn't agree to any fee charged when initially taking out that loan, I came across a story today in the Nelson Mail that just made my day:



Defiant Mapua artist Roger Griffiths today made a stand against Westpac by withdrawing his $190,000 savings in $20 notes.

The bank provided a red-and-black carry bag to take away the cash after meticulously counting it in front of Mr Griffiths at its Nelson branch.

Mr Griffiths, a loyal Westpac customer for 25 years, decided to withdraw his money after the bank rejected his application for an $80,000 mortgage. "It's about time normal people took a stand."

He said the bank turned down his application because he did not have a regular income as an artist. However, he was a successful artist, exhibiting his paintings at the World of Wearable Art complex, in Christchurch and New York, he said. (Go here for rest of story)

Roger has got it right, you have to fight these bastards because they will walk all over you if you don't.

Incidentally, most good lenders would have lent him the money, and so would I, based on the record with his bank alone. After all, we all remember that Westpac is the bank that will give away millions without any double checking your ability to pay your debts.

My loan payment dispute with ASB has not been rectified to my satisfaction because they have time limited their offer to July 31 and they were not the terms of my original loan.

The fact that they have offered to waive the fees though means I can use that offer against them when I take them to the disputes tribunal.

Fight your bank if you think they are wrong, if you don't get what you want, at least you tried and you might have some fun, like I have had, giving them a hard time.

More Banking Madness @ Share Investor

Bryce the Banker: The Final Insult
Banks not participating in Recession
Bank Guarantees: Time for banks to return the favour
The Return of Bryce
Banking Madness!

Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum

Related Amazon Reading

Customer Services - Marketing & the Competitive Environment (Banking Certificate Study Manual) by Steve Jones
Buy used from: $96.67


c Share Investor 2009

Bryce the Banker: The Final Insult

Every good story deserves at least a trilogy, 1 2 3 and others limp on for a forth far less satisfying installment that is disappointing when compared to the original blockbuster.

This has been the case with Bryce the banker, my own personal banker at ASB Bank in Albany.

This time I called Bruce about a small loan of about $25,000.00 that I wanted to pay off early.

Easy right?

Well no it wasn't.

The upshot is that I will be charged around 500 bucks for the privilege of paying off my loan 2.5 years early.

So what is my beef this time you ask?

Well, when re-negotiating this loan almost 3 years ago I asked some specific questions and got some specific answers from those questions.

My questions were:

1. will I be able to pay off lump sums easily without incurring penalties?

2. can I pay the loan off early without getting slam-dunked with a fee?

Not a problem was the answer to both these questions.

Well apparently it is a problem now and Bryce quite chirpily pointed out that the fees and charges were in my loan document that I signed, and he is right, they are.

But Bryce I asked the pertinent questions, was answered in the affirmative, so trusted the personal banker at the time (not Bryce) that I was getting the deal I thought I was.

But Chief you should have read the fine print in the contract said Bryce.

I know, but your representative at the time told me...you get the fast revolving point and I have had all my business with you for nearly 20 years... wheres the LOVE where is the LOYALTY Bryce!

But the contract Chief, the contract ! - say it in your head with the voice of a very small Mexican with a lisp wearing a white suit and smoking a big cigar.

My point is, regardless of the contract, I was told verbally in the main points of the loan, that no costs would be incurred by me for being a diligent wee boy and paying off my loan early and I went on my merry way with my lovely loan.

Also I have paid off two large lump sums of $10,000 in the past and incurred no fees or charges.

To cut this forth installment short I am taking my bank to the banking ombudsman and the small claims court for breaking the Fair Trading Act - mis-representing a good or service for sale.

The main point of this rather disappointing sequel?

If you have a problem at your bank, don't roll over and ask to be taken from the rear, get on top and try to screw the scrum straight, you will at least feel better and you might even get a positive outcome. You can guarantee if you don't pin them to the wall they will continue to get your pants around your ankles at every opportunity.

Bryce is no longer my personal banker, I fired him for calling me Chief way too many times - once is enough, can you believe that?- and now the manager of Albany Branch is handling my accounts.

I am also looking for another bank.


Banking @ Share Investor

Banks not participating in Recession
Bank Guarantees: Time for banks to return the favour
The Return of Bryce
Banking Madness!

Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum



c Share Investor 2009

Bank Guarantees: The Return of Bryce

I mentioned to one of my email correspondents that I would return in a few months to see my bank manager, "Bryce" at the ASB Bank in Albany after having seen him first late one Thursday at the end of February to re-negotiate the terms of our rather large mortgage.

I did, sort of.

This time Bryce was unwilling to see me after my hard workday so we discussed the matter over the mobile.

I would have preferred to see him in person but he insisted I couldn't.

I pointed out to him, again, that the New Zealand taxpayer was guaranteeing banks in New Zealand so they could borrow cheaper money from abroad to lend to us.

Bryce pointed out to me that it wasn't the taxpayer that was going guarantor,it was in fact the Government.

After pointing Bryce to the error of his ways over the fact that Government and the taxpayer were one and the same (Bryce still doesn't think they are) I thought out loud that wasn't it funny that as a borrower from his bank, the ASB, that I was now a guarantor for my loan but also as a taxpayer I was going guarantor for his bank to borrow the same money to lend back to me.

This seem to confuse Bryce but it was very clear to me.

I added what I said at our Thursday evening meeting in February, that we are clearly living in exceptional economic times, something Bryce agreed with during the mere half dozen times I repeated that same mantra.

Bryce said I would be breaking my contract with the bank if we re-negotiated without an outrageous bank fee and I agreed with Bryce at that stage but had to point out that the terms of our contract had clearly changed because I was now going guarantor for both his and my borrowing, hence making it cheaper for Goldstein and his fat American buddy to borrow money in the first place.

We both became dizzy as I reiterate the above several times (I don't let go once I sink my teeth in) to no effect at all.

The bank will not negotiate at all, that is all he had to say from the get-go

Before we both left the conversation, Bryce pointed out that the bank had been around for 100 and something years and was "very safe" immaterial of any taxpayer/Government guarantees and then I asked him why then did the bank sign up to the guarantee and he kindly pointed out because that is what the other banks were doing and it wouldn't "be fair" to the ASB if they didn't join the party.

Fair... mmm, yes but, why?...

A asked whether the bank had these sort of guarantees during the 1930s, he didn't know, I left none the wiser and Bryce left probably wishing he hadn't returned my call.

I don't think Bryce is going to take another call from me.

I will however have another go in a few more months.



More Banking Madness @ Shareinvestor

Westpac: I'm Thinking of Returning

ASB Bank: Customer "Service"

Bryce the Banker: The Final Insult
Banks not participating in Recession
Bank Guarantees: Time for banks to return the favour
The Return of Bryce
Banking Madness!

Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum

c Share Investor 2009

Bank Guarantees: Time for New Zealand Banks to return the Favour

This week ASB Bank got more publicity milage than Goldstein on speed when they announced via press release that they had NZ$ 1 billion burning a hole in their pocket and they wanted to use it to help out business to "encourage employment" during these hard economic times that all of us are facing.

Cynicism aside the announcement had everyone in Joe citizen land jumping for joy and business writers and politicians verbally clapping ASB on the back.

All well and good you might say, it was a brilliant move by the Bank, genuine or not but it left me thinking-what have you done for me lately.

I have been thinking that for the last 3 weeks when I took it upon myself to go down to my ASB in Albany, speak to my "personal banker" and ask him to see what he could do about my mortgage.

After Bryce reluctantly decided to meet with me "after hours" -6.00pm Thursday when the bank had a late night, I got down to business.

I wanted to renegotiate a lower mortgage interest rate, mine has 2.5 years left to run at 7.25%.

Now before you send me rude emails, yes I did sign a contract for 5 years so you are thinking I have some sort of obligation to my bank right?

Well, yes I do, in "normal" circumstances.

But as I rightly pointed out to Bryce at ASB Albany these sir are not "normal circumstances".

The world is facing financial oblivion, etc, etc( are you weeping yet? I really laid it on with a trowel)

Well, Bryce wasn't having a bar of my sob story ( I really was trying to squeeze him, I'm not hard-up, not yet anyway.) and he said we couldn't negotiate because it "wasn't bank policy", I pointed out to him again that the world was facing financial Armageddon and he gave me a poker face so good it seems he was well practiced at his craft.

I then thought to myself, I really had to pull out the big guns.

So I hit him with it!

But Bryce, the New Zealand taxpayer(what socialists call the Government) is guaranteeing your deposits and your borrowings from overseas (stony faced expression again) which makes your borrowing easier and cheaper, surely we can negotiate my mortgage.

"Its not our policy Darren".

Well, I thought this man is an immovable brick wall and I am wasting my time here. (nice coffee, water and kids games though.)

I then shook Bryce's hand, thanked him for his time and told him I would be back in a few months when things got worse and perhaps his bank would then reconsider their "policy".

Imagine the publicity should Brendan and ASB say yes next time I meet with him.

It would be worth at least a billion or two.


More Banking Madness @ Shareinvestor

Westpac: I'm Thinking of Returning

ASB Bank: Customer "Service"

Bryce the Banker: The Final Insult
Banks not participating in Recession
Bank Guarantees: Time for banks to return the favour
The Return of Bryce
Banking Madness!

Discuss this topic @ Share Investor Forum

• c Share Investor 2009

Ralph Norris will pounce, you can bank on it

Given the recent marriage between Westpac and St George Bank[SG.AX] to forge Australia's biggest bank, to surpass the size of The Commonwealth Bank of Australia [CBA.AX] it seems unlikely that Ralph Norris, the CEO of CBA, will rest on his laurels.

Australia's banking sector has been ripe for consolidation for some time and talk of marriages and takeovers of various Aussie banks has been rife for the last few years.

It just so happens that Gail Kelly, the current CEO of Westpac Banking Corp [WBC.AX], was the former head of St George until August 2007 and she has wasted no time in making her presence felt at Westpac by moving to swallow the fifth largest bank in Australia, St George.

Ralph Norris is going to be biting at the bit to get his hands on one of the smaller sized oz banks as he cannot make a bid for any one of the "big 4" for competition reasons. Suncorp Metway [SUNN.AX], Australia's 6th largest bank and 4th largest insurer, would be a great fit for CBA and given slumping banking company share prices the current economic turmoil conditions would be a good time to pounce.

Even some of the smaller state banks like Adelaide Bank & Bendigo Bank [BEN.AX], merging themselves in August 2007, or the Bank of Queensland[BOQ.AX] would be possibilities for Ralph and CBA. These state banks have a strong presence in their home states but also have smaller niches in neighboring states.

Ralph is the sort of individual who doesn't like to be beaten. As an aggressive head of CBA's subsidiary in New Zealand, The ASB Banking Group, he helped turn that particular company from a strong regional Auckland based bank into the leading countrywide lender for mortgages today.

Whatever happens in the Australian banking sector though you can be sure that owning any of the smaller Australian banking stocks is going to be an exciting time for shareholders and it is only a matter of time before a few good ones are snapped up by Ralphy.

Australia is really a microcosm of what is happening world wide when it comes to banking stocks though. Right at this time in Thailand, where I am presently sunning myself, there is consolidation going on. In the US we have seen troubled banks gobbled up by competitors and Europe is having a good go at it too.

Ralph Norris will be on the hunt in OZ, he loves a bargain, so make sure as a shareholder you hold out for more come offer time!

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c Share Investor 2008