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READING II
Banking It
Bankers in the spotlight.
1
Pre-reading ave you
Match the words (1 to 6) to the photos (a-f). had a
1. A bank Hproblem
2. A credit card with your bank
3. A bank account lately? Every year,
4. A cashier the Financial
5. A bank manager Ombudsman
a
6. A cheque Service (the
FOS) receives
thousands of
I hate
complaints
banks!
about banks.
b
At the top
c
of the list of
complaints are
e
banking charges.
d
These include charges for going overdrawn, charges
for bounced cheques, and charges for not having
2
Reading I sufficient funds to cover direct debit payments. In GLOSSARY
the Financial Ombudsman Service n
What complaints do you think some cases, banks charge up to Ź 50 for unauthorised
an organisation that tries to settle
f
disputes between consumers and
people have about banks? Think. overdrafts, even though the overdrawn amount is as
UK-based businesses providing
Then, read the article once to check your ideas. little as 2 pence.
financial services (banks, etc.). An
 Ombudsman is a person/organisation
that investigates complaints
3
Reading II Other complaints refer to bank-charge increases. a complaint n
if you make a  complaint , you
Read the article again and say what the numbers refer to. Some banks initially offer customers low rates or
say that you are not happy about
something / a service
1. Ź 50 even zero-banking. However, they later change
a charge n
2. 2 pence this  often without informing clients.  I ve seen
an amount of money you must pay
for a service
3. Ł15 the unauthorised overdraft charge on my account
to go overdrawn exp
4. Ł35 go from Ł15 (when I opened the account) to Ł35 a to take out more money from your
account than you have
5. 50 pence year later. At no point was I consulted or given the
to bounce (a cheque) vb
if a cheque  bounces , the bank
6. 53 chance to agree with these changes, said one angry
doesn t pay the amount
7. Ł1,500 customer.  When I opened my account, they told
a direct debit payment n
an amount of money that comes
me that there were no charges. But now, every time
out of your account every month to
4
Language focus I write a cheque, they charge me 50 pence, said pay for something you have bought
previously
Prepositions + the gerund another customer.
unauthorised adj
without official permission
Look at this extract from the article,  However, they
an overdraft n
later change this  often without informing One woman decided to take her bank to court. Mrs
an amount of money you can
borrow from the bank (sometimes
clients. Verbs that follow a preposition are often followed Reynolds, 53, was so angry about her bank charges
without having to pay charges)
by a gerund:  without informing (in this case). Complete the that she started a claim for Ł1,500. She won the a rate n
a fixed amount of money you must
sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. case  partly because the bank failed to dispute the
pay for something
to take someone to court exp
1. I m thinking about claim. However, the bank failed to pay the money
to start a legal process against
(go) away for the weekend. promptly. So, she sent bailiffs to the bank s head
someone in order to get
compensation
2. They left without office to collect it.  I spent days phoning them and
a claim n
(say) goodbye. trying to resolve the matter, but they did not return a formal demand for something
a dispute n
3. She finished all the work before one single phone call, she explained.
an argument between two people/
parties
(leave).
promptly adv
4. We ll tidy up after (eat). Her actions seemed to work. The bank paid up
quickly
a bailiff n
quickly, and a spokesperson made a public apology,
a law officer who makes sure that
5
Discussion  We d like to apologise to Mrs Reynolds for any decisions of the law are obeyed
to resolve a matter exp
1. What do you most like/dislike about banks? Why? delays. Unfortunately there was an administrative
to find a solution to a problem
an apology n
2. What s the best/worst experience you ve error in sending the payment. However, I can now
if someone makes an  apology , they
had with a bank? confirm that it has been made.
say sorry
a delay n
3. How could banks improve their service to
if there is a  delay , something
customers? So, the cheque is in the post, right? Excuses, excuses! happens later than planned
Really improve your English with the Hot English Method. See subs page 43. www.hotenglishgroup.com 5
I
BANKING IT
ANSWERS ON PAGE 45