Banks and Computer Maintenance

Tried to open your account to see how much the overdraft is costing you? Bank message says you cannot because they are doing something to the system. My first reaction is hackers. What are they up to, holed up in hotels with laptops, doing evil-ness or evili-ty?

My second reaction is maintenance. Maybe the bank is washing, cleaning, vacuuming, cutting grass or pruning computer roses. What can I say? Everything needs to be buffed at some stage.

What I don’t like about the maintenance angle is the cost. Bank fees. They will definitely transfer the cost to me, as if I said they should do the spring cleaning.

They sold us a lie about all computers great and small. Things will be faster they said. Things will be easier they said. And the cost? It is always passed on to customers, while digital geeks get paid big money. They are like chimney sweepers in old England, they provide regular maintenance.

But who pays for it? Just pass it on to the consumer. Some businesses do it chameleon style, others are quite brazen. Example.

One property management company that controlled many apartment buildings in a certain city introduced a tenants’ portal. Tenants could get updates about everything, rent increase, maintenance requests, tax recipients etc.

The portal also became a mini-bank. Tenants were supposed to pay rent into the portal, not electronically from bank--to-landlord, as they had been doing since internet banking came to the scene. To add insult to injury, there was a monthly fee, one dollar. If your rent was $1 500, you had to add one dollar.

It never saw the light of day. Tenants were up in arms. Extortion. Robbery. Somebody cut a deal with that property management company. No problem, tenants will absorb the cost, every month!!! They said ‘hell no!’

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.