A petition, initiated by consumer champion Deco, has well over 20,000 signatures of those who are against Portugal’s banks imposing account charges for non-existent services.
It’s not only current account charges which customers are forced to pay, mortgage arrangement fees also come under the same category of paying for a service that has not taken place.
Deco says that both do not correspond to any service provided by the bank to its customers, so it wants parliament again to debate the issue.
The petition and a list of signatories were delivered to the Assembly of the Republic on Thursday with one intention - for MPs to vote to end bank commissions as no service has been carried out.
"We want MPs to define, once and for all, what can be considered as a banking service and what can not," the association argues.
According to the law, Deco says, banks are only allowed to charge fees for "services actually provided," but the law does not clarify what a 'service' actually is.
"So, each bank is interpreting this however it wants and then applies commissions wherever it wants," Deco points out.
Commissions charged by banks have been the subject of debate ever since Portugal's banks started charging for routine banking operations to make up for the money they have been losing on bad debts and poor loan decisions.
Comments
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AL I keep the bare minimum in banks and have done since 2006. I don't invest with any one who is below chartered or fellow status. In other words well educated and well qualified. Yes you pay for this service, but you get what you pay for. Banks are out date and as such employ not the sharpest of people . There services and products are not that attractive when you look into value, or the returns on your assets.
Particularly instructive is the Energy Regulator of the early 2000's - yes, Regulation, another silly Brussels innovation south of the Pyrenees - admitting that, due to 'heavy political pressure', he was not doing any Energy Regulating at the time. Note though from the committee discussion that none of today's politicians consider any criminal offence had been committed; either by anyone pressuring the Regulator not to Regulate or the Regulator himself failing to Regulate. Or the lack of anyone reliable for the Regulator to report pressure to. Or anyone following up the lack of Energy Sector Regulation. Or .....
Thank you AL. There is a never ending stream of comments whining about the inefficient, unproductive, and/or corrupt individuals in "the Government". As we have not yet regressed into a pseudo democracy, like Russia or Turkey, the responsibility remains ours to ensure that the right people are elected to office.
They literally have a license to steal, who has given them that license? Governments. Who elects governments? Us. So we can't really complain can we?
What is there to debate. Banks are poorly operated by self indulging muppets in suits. That feel they have the right to do pretty much what they like with your money. They offer little or no interest on your savings and when they loose everything, They then ask the State to bail them back out with your hard earn't paid taxes.. .