ATMs cashing in on the vulnerable

[Beorn]

ATMs that charge people to withdraw their money are cashing in on some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, says Plaid AM Dai Lloyd. Dr Dai Lloyd who is Plaid Cymru’s social justice spokesperson has said that it is high time that charges on ATMs were regulated at a government level. The Plaid AM for South Wales West has been alarmed by recent rapid price increases on charging ATMs which he says are particularly disgraceful under the current economic conditions.
The Plaid AM for South Wales West is calling on the London Labour government to regulate ATM proliferation and charges in order to ensure a fair deal for Welsh communities, particularly for those on low incomes who are hit hardest by these charges. He has also committed to investigate what can be done at an Assembly and local level to protect Welsh communities from unfair charges.
Plaid AM Dai Lloyd said:
“The amounts that are being charged to use these ATMs are ridiculous. We have seen rapid increases in prices recently. Some are now charging as much as £2.50 for every withdrawal - for anybody withdrawing £10 that’s an extra 25%! A cost which many users can ill afford. To make matters worse it would appear that more deprived wards with no free cash withdrawal options are being targeted by these companies. This is disgraceful and unscrupulous behaviour by these ATM companies.
“Very often people living in these communities do not have the luxury of being able to travel to withdraw cash. Their options have been further limited by the London Labour Post Office closure programme. Even in those communities that are lucky enough to still have a post office, the days of withdrawing benefits and pensions directly and over the counter are long gone.
“It is high time that action is taken to protect our communities. It is wrong that unscrupulous companies should profit most from those who can afford it least. I am calling on the London Labour government to take immediate action to regulate the proliferation and charges of these ATMs. I will also be looking at what we can do on a Welsh level to protect our communities from unfair charges.”

Source

About time someone stood up to the extortionate charges for drawing your own cash from a machine which replaced the local bank.

What is it about the fringe, multicultural parties and their low level, working class attention seeking policies of late?

If I was welsh I'd vote for Plaid Cymru.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Do the banks charge for withdrawing from their own ATMs? If not, why don't people use these? If so, why doesn't some bank get smart and stop charging their own customers for ATM usage and thereby attract more customers? Even the smaller banks and credit unions here form networks whereby there is no fee if eachother's customers withdraw from eachother's ATMs.

[Beorn]

Do the banks charge for withdrawing from their own ATMs?

Currently they do not, although it has been bandied around often enough to make us all worry.

If not, why don't people use these?

The ATMs that are under discussion are independent ATMs which charge from as little() as £1.50 to as much as £3 for each transaction.

Outside of the catchment areas like London where money seeps through the pavement, the ATMs are often situated in areas where the poor folk who simply can't afford to have a charge taken from them, but have to grit their teeth as it does tally up, get charged and taken for a ride.

[SwordoftheVistula]

The ATMs that are under discussion are independent ATMs which charge from as little() as £1.50 to as much as £3 for each transaction.

Outside of the catchment areas like London where money seeps through the pavement, the ATMs are often situated in areas where the poor folk who simply can't afford to have a charge taken from them, but have to grit their teeth as it does tally up, get charged and taken for a ride.

Ok, so maybe they should walk to the ATMs that their bank has, or get a different bank? Nip that obesity epidemic in the bud.

[Beorn]

Ok, so maybe they should walk to the ATMs that their bank has, or get a different bank? Nip that obesity epidemic in the bud.

LOL! It makes sense to do that, but some banks have simply closed down and left areas for several miles around without a means to withdraw cash for free.

When you consider the old and infirm who also have the closure of Post Offices and the sort closing, you get the idea of why this is such a big subject in Britain.

[SwordoftheVistula]

some banks have simply closed down and left areas for several miles around without a means to withdraw cash for free.

This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with break-ins and robberies in 'low income' and 'ethnic' areas would it?

[Beorn]

This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with break-ins and robberies in 'low income' and 'ethnic' areas would it?

As much as I would like to bang the drums of war, I have to say that it isn't, but with that said, no one really understands the reasoning behind the closures.

[Fortis in Arduis]

As much as I would like to bang the drums of war, I have to say that it isn't, but with that said, no one really understands the reasoning behind the closures.

I do, it is called rationalisation of a public service, and I am against it.

[Beorn]

A "rationalisation" of what though? I certainly can't see the reasoning behind it.

[SwordoftheVistula]

As much as I would like to bang the drums of war, I have to say that it isn't, but with that said, no one really understands the reasoning behind the closures.

Dunno what the answer is then, other than perhaps a problem with over-centralization which prevents new/local banks from coming into the areas which are not being served by the current banks.

I do, it is called rationalisation of a public service, and I am against it.

ATMs are not a 'public service'. The banks provide them to entice people to deposit their money in that bank, and then the bank invests/loans that money to generate the income to cover the expense of providing the ATM machine.