Thin end of the Wedge

Barclays slaps spending curbs on customers – no matter how wealthy they are


Barclays customers are having their overdraft limits slashed  – regardless of how much money they have and how much they earn.

Customers have told the Telegraph that Barclays wrote to say that their overdraft limit will be cut to ensure they “do not borrow more than is manageable”
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But the customers insist they have substantial savings with Barclays and only use their overdrafts for emergencies, or if a surprise bill drags them over their limit.

Christopher O’Hearn, of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, said Barclays wrote to him saying it was reducing his limit from around £3,000 to £490 – despite him having an above-average household income and a large sum of money sitting in the account.

The letter read: “We regularly review overdraft limits to make sure customers don’t borrow more than is manageable.
Based on the income information we have, it looks like your limit might be higher than we’d offer if you applied for an overdraft today.” have had the account for nearly 30 years, and for the past year or so, there has been[/b] a significant balance in the account[/b].

“The bank told us they were reducing the limit so customers do not borrow more than they can afford. And that if we do not like it, we need to send them statements from other accounts and proof of income.

“We know we are well-off compared to most people, and if we are only good for £490, then God help anyone on an average income.”


SOUND FAMILIAR ?

I started on the exchanges May 2001 and have seen the markets change considerably over the years but one thing I'm sure of is that the glory days are well and truly over.
 
Today I've experienced the cash disappear as I tried to place a bet (10 times in succession).  Apparently this is due to seeding of the market by Betfair - the race in question was one of the big televised races on ITV that had £56,000 matched (although I doubt that very much).  Over the last couple of months I've experienced the horse racing markets acting like treacle in the last 5 mins before the off making it nearly impossible to place a bet.  The betfair bot is doing everything in its power to screw me over.  Trading whilst someone is looking over your shoulder is impossible. 

All my local bookmaker shops have shut, they won't take bets from me online, and betfair just wants to empty my pockets.  What used to be an enjoyable hobby has turned sour.  Next year I'll cancel my racing TV subs, my racing post subs and I'll never place a bet again.  The greed (bookmakers) and the woke (government) are together ruining the industry.  RIP racing.

The BHA was run for nearly a decade by a former bookie; the Gambling Commission was chummy with the bookies; the Racing Post is funded by the bookies. With these horseracing entities directly or closely associated or funded by bookies it's inevitable the sole winner is the bookies.

I believe a new entity needs to be set up to replace the Gambling Commission; new faces at the BHA; Racing Post finds a new owner or shutdown; a separate gambling licence for sports and fobt (casino); off-shore bookies banned.

Until the above are instigated I believe British Horseracing will continue its present spiral decline; bookies cannot be allowed to run UK horseracing. This is a fact, and non-negotiable.

@onlooker the overdraft thing and affordability of credit (barclays charge 35% on overdrafts) have nothing at all to do with the betting restrictions.

I really wish people would concentrate on the key issues, which are the gross invasion of privacy and the breach of human rights by restricting spending on a legal activity.

By off-shore I meant those that do not come under the jurisdiction of UK betting/gaming licence and domicile overseas eg Gibraltar. Do Paddy Power shops in Ireland have fobt?

no.sorry i got it wrong.

Ken Bigley RIP

I doubt Blair will give him a thought….imv

is it any wonder the ukgc/govt ignore us, with loons like GEORGE.B endlessly spouting on about Irish cows.

dave1357 • August 13, 2023 8:06 AM BST

''is it any wonder the ukgc/govt ignore us, with loons like GEORGE.B endlessly spouting on about Irish cows.''

Lol.
You a Bliar supporter dave?

I'd a dispute with one regarding id verification after winning on a promotion; I asked it to refer to electoral register for id confirmation. The entity stated as it was based in Malta thus not governed by UK licence governance; I lost £10. I think it was RED a poker site which also offered horse betting.

if it was pre 2014 they could operate using a non-uk license.

whatever - if ppl can't stay on the point and witter on about cows, covid and the great reset, they will be discounted as loons.

The only loons are those who still believe all of these attacks on our freedom from multiple directions are isolated occurrences, and done with best intent.

Later this month, thousands of ostensibly poor people will be taxed for driving their car past the M25 toward London.

Seven cops go into a private home to arrest a distressed 16 year old autistic child, she spends hours overnight in custody, but mobs of feral kids are free to shoplift at will.

A father is let off scot free after beating his child with an iron bar outside her school for wearing make up. After it was discovered she was only wearing the make to disguise the bruises from his previous beatings. You can guess the ideology there.

But, hey, it's all a conspiracy.

The reason why these other attacks are relevant is that people are trying to bring logic to this argument. It's as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

The people bringing in these stringent checks are not stupid. They know exactly what they are doing. They also bring in woodchips from trees cut down in Canada, via huge diesel powered ships, burn it in England (Drax) and call it green energy. More logic.

And you actually think you can convince them not to do it

Google 'sop', CagliariG. That's my tip for the day.

We are in nutter territory if you think strategists at the GC haven't already made their mind up.


I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the new order of things for the establishment is decide what they want to do, and try and find evidence to support what they want to do. And if there isn't any, make it up.


It is not, basing rational decisions on evidence. Alas.

There are dozens of examples of what I said. But I do not wish to completely derail Alan's thread. My general point is, if people really do care, and they absolutely should. It cannot be fought arguing about the minutiae of individual policy suggestions. It is completely missing the point of what is happening. The overarching fight is for the survival of traditional English/Western values. You know, the thing that hundreds of thousands of our betters have died fighting for in the past. I feel it's worth fighting for myself, we're not however putting our lives on the line. Yet.

One thing perplexes me, the winners figure on Betfair used to be 2% if I'm not mistaken ? Yet here we have all but everyone arguing for the right to continue losing on this site. That losing 98% have the easiest solution ever and that is to give up the game. If you can't manage that then you probably do need some protection. That won't be a popular view and I categorically state that I'd no more show BF my private parts than my bank balance. Never has there been a greater incentive to boycott the bookmakers who for many years have been treating punters like vermin. There is a great big world out there outside of gambling...sample it !

The Anorak has made the right call and others need to vote with their feet as well. As for the 2% who DO make it pay, well if this is your only income then you'll likely bite the bullet and show your balances...but for those in the 98%, well it's like turkeys voting for Christmas.  If you continue with these restraints, you will likely lose even more because of the constant concern about showing you can fund your losses. Freedom of choice is something totally different from freedom to fill the pockets of the parasites who have exploited your gambling habit for countless decades.