Fees, fees, fees

Excuse the rant today, but I've just been looking at bank fees and medical aid costs, and it's ****ing ridiculous.

My bank used to give cheque books free; now I have to pay R17.50. I also have to pay a 'monthly management fee' of R17.50 - just for the privilege of letting them keep my money. If you want to query a debit order after 40 days (which is quite possible, since you only get a statement every 30 days), you have to pay them R125 for the privilege of saying that someone took money out of your account when they shouldn't have! Withdrawals, or using your debit card at a shop, costs R3.10 + 0.6% of the amount of cash you're using, up to a maximum of R14. Same goes for debit orders, too. That's just insane, and I get so angry but there's nothing we can do. And banks overseas prove that it is possible for banks to make money without all these fees - my banking in the UK was 100% free: no cash withdrawal fees, no debit order fees, no debit card fees, no monthly fees, no annual card fees. So why do we just sit here and get ripped off?!

Medical Aids are the next issue. Gone are the days when medical aids actually acted as medical aids, in that they would pay your doctor's bills, and everyone paid into a fund which paid for everyone's claims. It's moved more to a model where you paid a monthly amount for potential hospital cover (which hopefully you'll never use), and the day to day expenses (dentists, doctors) you pay for yourself. But the amount that you're having to pay for this hospital insurance (because that's what it is, even if they don't call it that is insanely expensive and an absolute rip-off. The plan I used to be on before I left for the UK is now R745 per month - and I get absolutely *nothing* from that, unless I'm unlucky enough to need hospitalization. Luckily my salary can cover that without a problem, but what about normal average income earners? And why should I have to pay such a huge amount every single month? Because medical aids now exist for the benefit of their shareholders, and not their members. Same goes for the banks.

And to add insult to injury, try getting details of bank fees from the bank site; or get the details (limits and sublimits) for the medical aid options. Not so easy. Lots of blurb, but very little detail. Take my money if you have to, but don't try to distract me with blurb! If I have to pay the money, I damn well want to know what I'm paying, what I'm paying it for, and what I'm getting for it.