Branches to stop selling Credit Cards

[pengelm01]

As titled i have been told today that branches from November will nolong be able to sell Credit Cards and i am not sure if this is a total withdrawal from the market or soley from branches.

Why is this and what does it mean for a company wanting to enter the financial market as a mainstream rival to our convential banks??

Does anyone kow more, does anyone have any ideas.....

Is it possibly that now Bank of Ireland want to be a uk subsidery that they now want to take control of financial servicdes in the uk, will this perhaps be a similar venture like NS&I instead of a partnership between two companies............

[bigjames]

The regulation of the selling of credit cards is due to change for the whole industry sometime soon. Not sure when, or what will change, but I have heard that it will be more akin to getting a mortgage, i.e. more checks on whether you can afford the repayments, taking into account a lot more than at the moment. I believe the withdrawal of credit cards from sale is in anticpation of the changes and the training we will all have to go through to accomodate them.

[Running Man]

From what I've heard branches will shortly just be giving out credit card leaflets to interested customers and there will NOT be any application forms in branches. The leaflets will still have the branch code on them and the branch that introduces the credit card will still get the sale if the customer signs up, which I understand will either be over t'internet or the telephone.

This is being done as a direct result of new credit card legislation that comes into effect soon and, as suggested in previous posts, affects the whole credit card industry and not just POL.

It will of course put the customer in full control as to whether or not they sign up and will protect them from pushy, dare I say aggressive selling techniques.

I have witnessed far too much 'hard sell' of this particular product in our branches because the CAMs and SEMs have viewed the credit card as an easy sale to make (or an easy application to fill in with scant regard for customers' circumstances).

I therefore applaud wholeheartedly this new approach to the selling of a product that quite a large number of customers find unsuitable and do not see as a 'must have' product.

[The BFO]

And about time too. One of my colleagues can often be heard saying ‘I think this would be a really good thing for you to have’, clearly in breach of guidelines, but uncorrected because ‘we need the sales’.

[Running Man]

In response to the BFO's post....

I rest my case m'lud.

[billyhayes]

In response to the BFO's post....

I rest my case m'lud.

I second that motion.

[pengelm01]

I totally agree, but do you/we not think that if the PO/BOI wants to play amongst the big biys then they should do it right.

Banks will not stop selling CC in branch, instead they will adapt FSA changes and make sure what is needed happens.

I choose to work for this company, i choose to still work for POL, but i have to make it clear i am unhappy with this move erm backwards.
I agree this is seeen as an easy sell and i do know what terminolgy is used in branches but if FSA Regulations where as strict as what is in other financial sectors then we would see a very big change and this is from personal expierence from being a bank manager for many years

[billyhayes]

Oh dear. If only it were that simple. See, no matter what the rules are, (and there are already rules being broken on the credit card 'pushing' in branches, as stated by Running Man), the people on the front line will always be 'encouraged' to adapt their language so that the customer will sit down with an FSS etc etc. The managers and CAMs all the way up are complicit in this.
If it ever went tits up of course, the bod on the counter will be left without a chair when the music stops. A bit like Rambo
"The powers that be will deny any knowledge of his actions if caught"

I can hear the conference calls now... "Rules or no rules. Sales are sales."

[pengelm01]

Oh dear. If only it were that simple. See, no matter what the rules are, (and there are already rules being broken on the credit card 'pushing' in branches, as stated by Running Man), the people on the front line will always be 'encouraged' to adapt their language so that the customer will sit down with an FSS etc etc. The managers and CAMs all the way up are complicit in this.
If it ever went tits up of course, the bod on the counter will be left without a chair when the music stops. A bit like Rambo
"The powers that be will deny any knowledge of his actions if caught"

I can hear the conference calls now... "Rules or no rules. Sales are sales."

Billy i agree about pushy sales. However............

Look at a bank for example, you could say that they do the same by going for easy sells. No matter what company the main aim is protitability, grow and survive.

This is done by quality products, public confidence, trust, and it's staff to mention a few.
I know a number of FSA failures that go on in branches, i also know that change in the PO will never change or at least not easily or quickly because so many staff see that they disagree with the change in pace and tactics of the company it works for.

I hear all the time that staff are fed up with selling that they were only brought in to serve customer, get rid of the queue and that was that. In an ideal world i would love those staff to seek other employeement as they would then see that they do have it easier. Change takes place across all diferent types of companies and change is not easy (please read a book, who stole my cheese).

The whole way in which we sell has to change, the company made a start by employing FS, however when the branch still can sell in their absence of when they are busy then that does not solve an issue just reduce. Notto mention that now BM's are resposible for the FS that would mean that this would almost mean that miss selling , hard selling or whatever term you choose will continue.

Managers, many of whom where taken of the counter have not been given any managerial training or any intense coaching themselves.

What is needed in my opion is all managers taking through full FSA compliance, this is not done, then the counterstaff and a newly built team, a centeral quality team who would have more say in what is going on and with that intouch more with what is and isnt happening.

of course this will never happen due to cost in the short term however in the long would save our company if selling financial products is actually what they want to continue to do,


If an FSA audit was actioned without prior notice other then what is legally needed then i can honestly say that we would lose the right to sell many products and along with that huge fines.

I've been there seen it happen when working as a bank manager and i see it happening again put in the PO

[billyhayes]

Just a little bit of background info just dug up for you folks on the book "who moved my cheese" mentioned above.

"Some managers are known to mass-distribute copies of the book to employees, some of whom see this as an insult, or an attemp to characterize dissent as not "moving with the cheese". In the corporate environment, management has been known to distribute this book to employees during times of "structural re-organization," or during cost-cutting measures, in an attempt to portray unfavorable or unfair changes in an optimistic or opportunistic way. This misuse of the book's message is seen by some as an attempt by organizational management to make employees quickly and unconditionally assimilate management ideals, even if they may prove detrimental to them professionally."

So I suggest you go and watch "glengarry glen ross"
I think that about sums up the culture.

[The BFO]

Billy i agree about pushy sales. However............

Look at a bank for example, you could say that they do the same by going for easy sells. No matter what company the main aim is protitability, grow and survive.

This is done by quality products, public confidence, trust, and it's staff to mention a few.
I know a number of FSA failures that go on in branches, i also know that change in the PO will never change or at least not easily or quickly because so many staff see that they disagree with the change in pace and tactics of the company it works for.

I hear all the time that staff are fed up with selling that they were only brought in to serve customer, get rid of the queue and that was that. In an ideal world i would love those staff to seek other employeement as they would then see that they do have it easier. Change takes place across all diferent types of companies and change is not easy (please read a book, who stole my cheese).

The whole way in which we sell has to change, the company made a start by employing FS, however when the branch still can sell in their absence of when they are busy then that does not solve an issue just reduce. Notto mention that now BM's are resposible for the FS that would mean that this would almost mean that miss selling , hard selling or whatever term you choose will continue.

Managers, many of whom where taken of the counter have not been given any managerial training or any intense coaching themselves.

What is needed in my opion is all managers taking through full FSA compliance, this is not done, then the counterstaff and a newly built team, a centeral quality team who would have more say in what is going on and with that intouch more with what is and isnt happening.

of course this will never happen due to cost in the short term however in the long would save our company if selling financial products is actually what they want to continue to do,


If an FSA audit was actioned without prior notice other then what is legally needed then i can honestly say that we would lose the right to sell many products and along with that huge fines.

I've been there seen it happen when working as a bank manager and i see it happening again put in the PO

I think this poorly written, grammatically error strewn piece illustrates one of the problems we face. Too many people of low intelligence throughout this organisation who simply accept without question the current perceived wisdom.

A couple of questions: What is an industry, which takes a large amount of public subsidy, doing selling a product that can be severely damaging in the wrong hands? If someone wants a Credit Card should they not seek one for themselves? I suggest that if we need to persuade a customer that our Card is good for them, then they probably should not have it.

[DGP1]

I've been there seen it happen when working as a bank manager and i see it happening again put in the PO

After reading the entire post I found this the most worrying, it's maybe no wonder that the banks went tits up if this is the calibre of their managers

[Running Man]

I think the last couple of posts are alittle unfair on pengelm01.

Maybe there are a few grammatical errors in his posts but I don't think that they should detract from the detail of his posts. He sounds like a man that has 'been there, seen it, done it, etc.' with the banks and can quite obviously see it happening all over again with POL.

There has been some good, open, honest opinions on this thread so far and I think we are all agreed that we do not sell credit cards in a very customer friendly way, some might even say not very ethically.

I would be very interested in reading about any other similarities pengelm01 has seen between POL and the banks together with any other opinions from our people that have not yet posted on this thread.

This change in the way we sell credit cards, for me, is one of the best moves POL has made recently because quite simply "it ain't right" how we've been going about it!!!

[billyhayes]

This change in the way we sell credit cards, for me, is one of the best moves POL has made recently because quite simply "it ain't right" how we've been going about it!!!

Agreed. Although don't any of you think that this is in any way a bit of breathing space... You will just have to up the ante and push something else on the poor ba####ds!

[pengelm01]

Thank you "running man" for your support.

For those few who want to pick at words etc, maybe you would rather like to look at the bigger picture in the long post i wrote.

for those who simply dont care and just wanted a reaction then you try and look after two children under 2years work full time and try and have a sensible conversation on a message board. I truly wish i had your time to pick.

As for the type of person i am, i think it says more about you then myself. i am not spending time on here to cause arguements but to share knowledge and expeirence.

I wonder what other companies you have worked in and what knowledge you have gained outside of RMG to make an informed decision on the different types of companies.

If i was you i'd be worried at just how slack branches are running against FSA Regulation and i hope for you; you are not opening up one morning to a team of auditors wanting to take over your branch.