Telemarketing vs Eikaiwa..

[Langslave]

Getting off topic somewhat, but, further to Macs comments about account management fees, yes...if you had above a certain amount of money the fees were waived. Isnt that nice of them? Lets look after the people who have money. Below that amount (being unemployed it was difficult in the extreme to not be so) and you were loaded with F.I.D. and B.A.D. fees (if I recall correctly the first one was Financial Institutions Duties, the other I cant remember). All in all it was nothing more or less than a tax on being poor. To add insult to the injury it was Bob Hawke and a supposedly left-wing government that allowed the theiving cunts to do it.

[Shimano]

This 'poor tax'...

Did you incur it when you were under a certain level of credit on your account, or did it kick in when you were in the red?

[SamhainP8]

Getting off topic somewhat, but, further to Macs comments about account management fees, yes...if you had above a certain amount of money the fees were waived. Isnt that nice of them? Lets look after the people who have money. Below that amount (being unemployed it was difficult in the extreme to not be so) and you were loaded with F.I.D. and B.A.D. fees (if I recall correctly the first one was Financial Institutions Duties, the other I cant remember). All in all it was nothing more or less than a tax on being poor. To add insult to the injury it was Bob Hawke and a supposedly left-wing government that allowed the theiving cunts to do it.

People mostly have themselves to blame though because they mindlessly walk into the big banks and sign up for the first thing that’s put in front of them without doing any research or asking any questions whatsoever.

Even big banks like the Commonwealth will reduce or remove these fees depending on what options you go for: online statements instead of mailed statements, proof of being a student, having your pay going into the account etc.

[Tall Tall Tree]

Getting off topic somewhat, but, further to Macs comments about account management fees, yes...if you had above a certain amount of money the fees were waived. Isnt that nice of them? Lets look after the people who have money. Below that amount (being unemployed it was difficult in the extreme to not be so) and you were loaded with F.I.D. and B.A.D. fees (if I recall correctly the first one was Financial Institutions Duties, the other I cant remember). All in all it was nothing more or less than a tax on being poor. To add insult to the injury it was Bob Hawke and a supposedly left-wing government that allowed the theiving cunts to do it.

Just how little do you need to have in your account before you start getting dinged?

At my credit union, checking and savings accounts are all free so long as I have at least US$50 in them (or somewhere thereabouts); lower than that and they charge a fee. The reasoning, which I don't think is unreasonable, is that, if you have more money in the account, the bank can make more interest off of your money. If you have too little, the amount of money they can make off of your money doesn't cover the cost of keeping your records, mailing you a statement, etc.

[Shimano]

Like I said before, I have never had this happen to me in the UK. It is not common practice.

I understand the theory behind it though.

[Langslave]

Shimano old mate, it may not be common practice in other countries but it certainly was/probably still is in Australia, and yes the fees kicked in when youre account was below a certain amount. That amount was, if I recall correctly, $5,000. I MAY be wrong on that, Im talking about over 15 years ago and it may have changed, but if it has Id guess it wouldve gone up if anything.
TTT, you might think the reasoning reasonable, but perhaps youve never been penniless in the true, extreme sense of the word. Like I said, my account often went negative at the time. Bit difficult paying bills, feeding yourself, and escaping the poverty trap in that situation.
Samhain, as I said, Im talking Way Back Machine here, as in when these fees were introduced. I wasnt really in a position to be shopping around for banks. You dont make much of a prospective new customer for these blood-sucking leeches when you only have fortnightly dole payments to wave at them anyway. Try going in and asking what they can offer you under those circumstances.
Not trying to be insulting guys, but I think its another situation where its easy to look at it with a cool head if you arent, or havent, been in it.
Oops, edited once for mistake.

[Shimano]

Understand what you are saying, and no harm intended, of course.

[Langslave]

[quote="Shimano"]Understand what you are saying, and no harm intended, of course.[/quote]

No wux bloke

[Shimano]

Re-reading what you wrote; 5000 Fosters-tokens does seem to be an excessively high threshold to level things at; That means that pretty much everyone who is using their account as a current account, rather than a savings account is going to incur these charges.

Daylight robbery!

[Langslave]

Like I say I may be wrong about that figure, but Ive an idea its right. And like I said before, it was basically a tax for being poor, levied by a private company, but sanctioned by a SUPPOSEDLY left wing government. Being a PKD fan though I thought it fairly predictable.

[SamhainP8]

A $5000 limit must be for some kind of super saver account...?

I've never heard of this for a regular account and there’s never more than crumbs left in my main account after I move my pay around. I don’t pay any bank fees because I’m a ‘student’….

Like I said, there’s plenty of ways around the fees if you take the time to look for them. Mine involves paying $50 every three years to enrol in an undergraduate degree, getting my 3 year student card and then cancelling my enrolment. Then it is cheap public transport, cheap movies and no banking fees for the next three years.

[angryboy]

A $5000 limit must be for some kind of super saver account...?

I've never heard of this for a regular account and there’s never more than crumbs left in my main account after I move my pay around. I don’t pay any bank fees because I’m a ‘student’….

Like I said, there’s plenty of ways around the fees if you take the time to look for them. Mine involves paying $50 every three years to enrol in an undergraduate degree, getting my 3 year student card and then cancelling my enrolment. Then it is cheap public transport, cheap movies and no banking fees for the next three years.

You evil bastard!

Or you can just walk in to any bank and ask what accounts they have with no fees.As Sam said,they are there.

[SamhainP8]

You evil bastard!

Loopholes are there to be leapt through.

[Shimano]

Like I say I may be wrong about that figure, but Ive an idea its right. And like I said before, it was basically a tax for being poor, levied by a private company, but sanctioned by a SUPPOSEDLY left wing government. Being a PKD fan though I thought it fairly predictable.

I haven't read a PKD book for a while. Thinking about it, that would be just the ticket for GW!

Cheers for reminding me about the man, and legend.

[Langslave]

Time Out Of Joint mate

[Genki Gaijin]

I just logged in to LJ for the first time in years and thought I'd weigh in on this subject - although it looks like it's strayed a bit from the OP's q.

Having worked in both Eikaiwa AND a call centre, I can say that both can frequently suck. However, the call centre (which I must stress is INbound only) is run by an Ausralian company and falls over itself to provide benefits and decent working conditions to its employees.

No one in the call centre has ever chastised me for not unplugging electrical equipment (that's already switched off) from the walls, because the occasional volt might somehow slip through and cost the company a cent or two.

Nor have I had to work on Christmas day. A nice bonus.

But best of all, I've never had to humour a bunch of psychologically unbalanced housewives for hours on end and cowtow to their every eccentricity. If a caller gets fresh, I can always hang up.

Given the choice between Eikaiwa and making outbound sales calls cold though... that'd be a close call.

[Are they the lemmings?]

Oh man! I would gladly pay 2,000 yen to see a show by a band called

The Psychologically Unbalanced Housewives

Nice one, GG

[Genki Gaijin]

"Ladies and Genlemen... give it up for The Psychologically ...Unbalanced ...Housewiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives!!"

Yeah, slap a patent on that.

The other thing I don't miss from the old days is clapping during team meetings, coming up with excuses not to go on extra-curricular excursions with strange old men and little chats with my manager along the following lines;

"We need to make more money, so you need to recommend that Suka-san buy [$200 English Lesson CD]"

At least my current company has the taste to gouge people off in a more subtle fashion, ie with hidden fees and charges, and don't make me wield the hatchet.

[eb0li]

Surely telemarketing/marketers is the bottom of the bottom. Even eikaiwa is providing a service. Drone-like maybe but at least you aren't universally hated unlike telemarketers....Don't get me wrong. A job is a job is a job (especially as it sounds like its only a short term gig for you) but certainly you'd never want to make a career in telemarketing unless you absolutely had no other choice...

Contrary, we have to admit that telemarketing job is a great choice especially for the fresh college graduates. It is because call centers help them to be productive citizens of their own country. Instead of spending their times at home, they should be hired here to develop their other skills like selling and communication.

Trolly Mctrollington, please come show this young foreign whippersnapper who's boss!!!

[Wage Slave]

Say what you like about Trolly and his cohorts they are no spammers like this twat.