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a4e bank: deposit your Jobseekers here!

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It has been a rumour been going around for several months now, it deserves a post!

A4e founder Emma Harrison is said to have an ambition to start a bank!

That’s right, she wants to start a bank aimed at poor and disadvantaged communities (or Jobseekers)!

Atomic Unemployment Bomb

If true, this is worrying news. We don’t know when the bomb is timed to go off – it wont be soon but in 5 years…

  1. Flexible New Deal
  2. A4e taking over some Jobcentre Plus offices
  3. Jobseekers don’t get paid by Giro, they pay directly into the a4e bank

  4. A4e bank manages the unemployed’s finance, disallows Jobseekers to withdraw money

Post Office/Peoples Bank

She’s looking to start a bank aimed at poor and disadvantaged communities. The founder of A4E, formerly Action For Employment, plans three trial branches in the next 18 months. The venture could cost up to £100m, and Harrison hopes for as many as a million customers in six years.

Let me guess the next contract a4e will win is to run the proposed bank at the Post Office?




4 Comments

  1. 1
    imatt says:

    With A4e’s fraud now exposed by Radio 5 Live, Channel 4 and the Observer, surely this must question the company’s fitness to run a bank of all things!

    I wonder how many of us would find it easy to find work in a bank if previously found guilty of fraud on numerous occasions?

    People should refuse to deal with A4e’s bank if your Atomic Unemployment Bomb theory comes to pass – and I would not put it past this lousy govt, it’s something I’ve been suggesting could happen myself.

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    • 2
      Ipswich Unemployed Action says:

      Typically, the problem with such processes of contracting out is not being able to use the past to see whether they would do a good job of it – they can only do by value etc.

      I fully agree with all your points, however, judging by the banks who created the recession… a4e would be qualified enough.

      All banks do credit checks on all staff who apply to work there that they consider to employ. Having a poor credit rating score is enough reason not to get a face-2-face customer service role (i.e. dont even handle money), so with fraud under your belt you wouldn’t stand a chance lol

      I think the theory is possible. They plan to privatise the Jobcentre so if a4e had a bank you would have to comply or not receive any benefit.

      I don’t actually think it will be setup as a bank – more of a credit union… if that is the case it would have to be corrupt as you wont have shareholders, the members of the credit union, in this scenario would be the unemployed, would be the ones who benefit from any profits, which get reinvested back in.

      We can expect pricey services outsourced to a4e and huge salaries. This is probably why the plans haven’t come to anything – as there is no financial gain from credit unions (not that they are designed to be).

      I named it that as it isn’t just the destruction caused by the main explosion but the radiation expanding much further and lasting beyond.

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  2. 3
    imatt says:

    Hmmmm….what you says makes perfect sense, esp A4e being set up as a credit union. With no shareholders to answer to, they can be as corrupt as they can be – which in A4e’s case is a lot of corruption!

    I have often thought that A4e would love to run large chunks of the current welfare system. It would be a licence to print AND control money – to the unemployed that it!

    And of course, the added benefit is that those on the recieving end who dared to complain or speak out will as per usual be labeled as workshy idlers who deserve whatever poor services A4e hands out to them!!!

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    • 4
      Ipswich Unemployed Action says:

      How “credible” does that sound?

      Instead of either having to cash a Giro or wait a few days for money to transfer into a bank account, jobseekers can now have money paid in to their a4e account the same day!

      All “members” of a credit union get a “dividend” (the alternative to interest; paid annually) so it would be a4e’s way of giving back to the unemployed (even though the dividend is unlikely to be much more than bank interest).

      In addition, jobseekers can borrow money at low interest rates (or should I say lower than the banks).

      I am sure they will find a way of terminating your benefit claim should you miss a repayment or a way of sticking heavy charges on top i.e. £50 for missing a payment, quite a big chunk of the weekly amount.

      You can only borrow from a credit union in proportion therefore its unlikely to be beneficial anyway.

      I couldn’t agree with your last paragraph more: that is how a4e are getting away with it, well.. unless I and all the others out there, have anything to say about it!

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