{Replica} How banks manipulate their customers: The tricks of the financial sellers

During the last financial crisis, they demonstrated People worldwide against the machinations of banks. Especially as a small investor it is important to find out about the lousy ones Tricks and persuasion skills of banks.

Banks delete video clips

A WISO documentation entitled “The bank always wins” was about the tricks banks used to steal their savings and their savings from unsuspecting people, especially pensioners assets brought. However, the video on YouTube was shortened by a few minutes due to a legal dispute between ZDF and Stadtsparkasse Bremen

But how can it happen that banks bring people for tens of thousands of euros by pushing them into an unsafe investment?

Cleverly manipulated

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The answer is: Skillful and targeted sales tactics Tampering. Like one Conversation I would like to use my own example to demonstrate how the banks then react to complaints.

Because I, too, was back in March 2008, half a year before the LehmannCrisis, was urged to make a dubious investment in a consultation. It's only a small part of mine money and my losses will hopefully be limited.

A surefire business?

But one fact remains: In retrospect, the investment turned out to be anything but the surefire good thing that was promised Shop out of here. A smooth one lie so! And: The trained bank advisor used targeted manipulation mechanisms that got me to sign the minutes of the conversation and the contract.

But in turn: In March 2009, I received a letter from Citibank, now Targo Bank, asking me to give me a 50 Euro credit if I went for a consultation. That sounded good: 50 Euro - and I wanted to take care of my investments in times of high interest rates anyway.

Just a few crosses ...

Discounts for your success (advertising)!

Supposedly, one is particularly susceptible to manipulation, if one believes to be immune to it. That's how it happened to me. I had been dealing with Postbank's somewhat dubious investment products shortly before, and I thought I was ready.

It started with the risk profile that the consultant created in conversation with me and according to which I am security-conscious but am still inclined to do a few experiments. As an inexperienced consumer, you are inclined to... Significance underestimated by a few crosses - you know that when any surveys are made.

The bank secures itself!

The results are also contradictory: It is true, for example, pension funds and non-pension funds are crossed (probably because I had already heard), but also at the same time that I had made corresponding transactions had never.

Nevertheless, this does not prevent the bank from citing the fact that my system yes corresponded to the corresponding profile.

Sales tactics

The advisor was not a little pushy Seller, but visibly schooled in building a personal relationship: He appeared nice, like someone you like to chat with and trust. And anyway, honey was smeared around my mouth during the whole consultation:

And that is that I am, yes, a little risk and the corresponding financial investments presumably to belong to the club successful Geldanleger. Who does not like something like that? In the same way, the FDP yes at the last Bundestagswahl their promoters lured.

Product Information schön geredet

The product that was sold to me is called Alpha Express Bond. And the friendly banker explained it to me: You invest an amount. On the deadline is looked at whether the DivDAX, that is a stock index, the 15 Companys the DAX with the highest dividend yield, is higher than the DAX (which is the stock index with the 30 largest and top-selling companies).

The whole thing runs maximum 5 years. For every year there are 11% interest. So if the DivDAX is above the DAX after one year on the first cut-off date, 11% interest will be paid out. If the DivDAX is below, it will run for another year and interest rates will increase by 11%. After five years you could possibly get 55%.

Details concealed

But, the friendly bank adviser said, it was completely unlikely that 15's best companies were performing worse than the 5 for years. Sounds synonymous somehow logical. What the bank adviser neatly concealed: It is only a castrated DivDAX without dividends (more precisely is in this FAZ article described), the plant is not so good.

And: The whole investment is completely risk-free, since you would get the full deposit back if nothing happened with the dream interest rates after 5 years. Of the spending premiums and the loss of interest (i.e. real losses) it wasn’t that Rede.

Banks do not go bankrupt!

And the fact that the investment was not covered by the deposit guarantee fund of the Federal Republic of Germany was trifled: Half a year before the Lehmann bankruptcy, it was said joval: "It is completely unlikely that one of the world's largest banks will go bankrupt."

When I then started to complain, first in a personal conversation, then in writing and on the phone, the bank kept using the same excuse ploy: I was told enough about them risks informed, this can be found in the minutes of the consultation.

What does the bank say about complaints?

Representative I quote at this point from the eMailthat Peter Herkenhoff, Press Officer of TARGOBANK AG and Co. KGaA sent to me on 24.11.2011:

In the meantime my colleagues have sent me the documents. This shows that during the consultation in March 2008 we classified you as a “balanced” investor based on your risk profile and your experience […]. Accordingly, the maximum risk share in your case could have been 55 percent. In fact, your risk share was 0, because you have purchased a capital protection product that will be repaid at maturity at face value - less the front-end load.

This is not the case as already stated.

I also understand from the documents that our adviser has informed you of the risks and the operation of the Alpha Express bond; In case you should not have the documents at hand, I have attached the original product flyer again. In it we explain in detail on page 6 (below) the differences between the DivDAX price index and the Dax performance index. And in the Risk Notice on page 8, we explicitly point out that there is no guarantee that the DivDAX will perform better against the DAX during the term of the bond.

Whereupon the conversation was not expressly referred to, the bank staff being fully aware that I had not read the passage in question!

This risk is offset by very attractive return opportunities. In fact, the term of this bond is almost two years, and you and all other investors have the opportunity to earn a return of 2.4.2012 percent and 2.4.2013 percent on two additional key dates (44 and 55). If the bond is not repaid prematurely, even if the DivDAX Index lost to the DAX by as much as 4 percent, you can still earn 55 percent of earnings at maturity. Incidentally, in the worst case, you will receive back the paid-in capital (less the initial charge) as desired.
And minus a corresponding inflation equalization!

What does BAFIN say?

In 2009, I had already applied to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BAFIN) with my complaint. Nils Philipp wrote to me at the 28.04.2009 that he gave me the right, that in my risk profile no knowledge of complex products are documented.

However, without prejudice to the risks of the system in detail in the product flyer I aufmerksam being made and that he could not understand whether the bank advisor had enlightened me about the facts or not.

The customer has the burden of proof

Or to put it another way: the institution that is supposed to supervise the banks can only do something for them customers do if he can prove conclusively that he has been ripped off. Or to put it another way: the bank always wins!

For who is already recording consultations?

Ombudsman civil court and handling money learning

At the end of his letter, Mr Philipp advised me to raise an ombudsman, who, however, would not settle if the agreement of witnesses became necessary, for example because the statement is against the testimony.

Another option is a civil court: however, legal representation is difficult because the entire product is subject to English law. The consultant had also failed to respond to this. Since all of this seems rather cumbersome, I have learned from this experience that I have to deal more intensively with the topic of investment.

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