Pay to be Poor

[LetterBug]

Got sent into an un- arrangement overdraft and it costs £30. So you are fined for having no money. Meaning when I'm paid I will be £30 down from the off. Meaning I will more likely run out of money again. costing another £30.

Pay to be poor.

Seriously change your bank account. Over ten years ago I ended up going bankrupt due to getting into such a mess with bank fees. Every month it was more and more. After bankruptcy I got a basic bank account no overdraft etc but no fees if something bounces. I refuse to upgrade my account despite earning good money and owning my own home. The cycle is too dangerous.

I’ve done that a few times in the past and rang my bank and got it back

The system is so silly.
I had to call EDF this week to say I couldn’t afford their new monthly DD (gone from £84 a month to £190). The person I spoke to said they couldn’t reduce it so my only option was to cancel the DD and I’d have to get in touch in Jan to work out a payment plan.
EDF’s response? They have now put me on a higher rate for gas and electricity so my debt will build up a bit quicker.
Thanks EDF 😡

@thepastisanothercountry

I was thinking about this when I bought my bus pass today and I was shocked when I realised.

I pay £65 for a 28 day bus pass.

A daysaver on the local buses is £4. (basically anything more than a single ticket which is £2.20)

Assuming I use my bus pass for 20 days working and perhaps 2 weekend days I will pay about £3 a day but a person doing the same journey who cant afford the ticket upfront will pay £4... so by the end of the 22 days they have paid £88. They have now paid £23 more than me AND I still have the option to use it on the other 6 days if I want to.

So by the end of the year the person who can't afford the pass up front has spent £299 more than me for the same thing and more if they need to travel on the other 6 days.

Now that's paying to be poor and I'd never thought of it before today.

This is true to another level. But add to it, if you need to get bread but can't afford to get the bus pass for the whole month then you have to buy bread from the local corner shop because it isn't time efficient to go to the supermarket 30 min walk away for one loaf of bread. So I stead of paying 30p for a loaf of bread if you had a bus pass (which as you said costs less than using the bus without one) you now have to pay £1.45 for a loaf of Warburtons in the corner shop. But please god make sure you have the £1.45 in change other wise you will have to buy something else to reach the £5 limit and try not to cry on the way home.

Banks are businesses. How else do you think they operate? As for overdrafts. They are, in essence, lending you that money so are entitled to charge you interest.
Regarding paying car tax over a period of time instead of all in one go, the same thing applies. They are virtually paying it in full and you repay them monthly, plus interest.
I can never understand how people think they shouldn't pay extra in these circumstances. If you want a loan you pay interest commensurate with the amount and length of the loan period. Overdrafts and car tax etc are no different.
I lend money to people in need but the risks of default mean my interest rates are 8% and above, depending on the size of the loan.