Just received an arrears warning from Santander Bank

@silock: Is this a spam post? Did your account get hacked? This looks very, very strange.

Is your post a spam post? Did someone hack your account? Seems very, very strange that somebody would make a response like this.

I don't know what's going on in these forums anymore.

He might be referring to the fact that your entire original post looks like it's in a block of some sort for some reason. You also said that you don't know why you felt the need to post this, and I'm wondering that too. Why do you think we care about your overdue credit card fees?

This response doesn't convince me any further that this isn't a spam post...

But, hey, I understand your surprise at a bank overreacting over a small amount. I've had that happen, as well. It's quite amazing the level of fuss banks will make over the smallest things. Though, enough of those small things add up for a bank.

Glad you got it worked out.

@silock: I'm glad everything worked out for ya. Banks can get pretty wild.

@heltom92: The console generation has gone on for too long, I guess.

Exactly! Besides the odd spelling that may just be due to a language barrier, the big block around the text made it seem like one of the weird html spam posts we get around here. I've been here for years, and I don't know how to make my text into a box like that. heh.

I'm constantly shocked to see people say they didn't have $10 (or pounds) to their name during any given time.

I get that you're a student, but what kind of life are you leading where you literally can't afford to pay off a $10 debt. When I was a student and working on the side I'd be nervous when I dropped below $1000 on my account.

At that time I just didn't have the fees, I finished off paying my Uni loans for that year, and was waiting for my next loan to come through (which was 1 1/2 weeks after the bill was due) thats why I didn't have any money to my name.

Sorry if everybody thinks this was a spam post, it wasn't and the only reason I posted it was I was a little freaked out by it and your replies could (and have to some extent) made me feel a little bit better about this whole affair. I don't often use credit cards, I just needed to use it because I had no money what so ever as I previously stated when paying off my Uni Loan, I needed £10 get something sorted and for that I used a credit card, I knew I wasn't going to pay it back on the day it was due but figured it would only be a week late and its just a small amount, there wouldn't be a problem. I did not expect such a fierce resposne from them saying that if I don't pay it back they will:

- Close my account

- Pass the account to a debt collection agency

- Bring legal proceedings against me.

Just, whoa.

@silock: heh. Don't sweat it, Silock. I'm still just confused how you made your comment in a block like that. Glad you got it worked out; I've been there, as well. :)

@silock: tends to be an automatic mail out when you miss a payment. They don't particularly care about the amount. (also you generally get a couple of those warnings before bailiffs get involved, they just like to be scary straight away so people prioritise that bill)

I just came from overseas to the UK (Scotland, specifically) and I did not hear any good from Santander customers. I don't know how you feel about them but maybe it's worth a switch. You can never really win, every bank has its little piss-offs.

@humanity: when I was in college, I often did not have a dollar to my name. My mom was bankrupt and in foreclosure and I didn't talk to my dad. I worked a part time job in one of the university's cafeterias making minimum wage which was $5.15 at the time. When I did get paid, it didn't last very long. Not everyone has it easy.

I lived by myself in a tiny place and went to school full time. 5 days out of the week after I finished classes at 5pm I'd go straight to work to a movie theater where I cleaned auditoriums as an usher from 6pm-1am (3am on the weekends) and also earned minimum wage which was $7.15 in NYC at the time. I'd get home around 2am on weekdays and had to get up at 7am to get to my classes in the morning - and I studied architecture so I had to often stay up all night gluing together models or working on drawings.

I didn't have it easy, I just managed my money properly.

@humanity: Did you work in high school? If not, there would have been at least one point where you said no money unless you got gifts from family. I did work in high school but couldn't save anything because I had to help my mom pay the bills. Point is, you shouldn't make blanket statements about people's finances unless you're able to walk a day in their shoes. And just because people didn't have as much money in the bank as you doesn't mean they can't manage money.

Heh... "rears"...

*ahem* Sorry, was just thinking about Jeff's amusement at "Butt" in Garou, and it activated my inner 12 year old.

Well, if they let you get away with $10, then other people would try getting away with 10. Then 20, 30, so on and so forth. They'd lose a ton of money. So to keep that from happening, they pull out the big guns for the smallest violation in order to set an example.