We regularly hear from Wonga customers with stories about unexpected bank and credit card penalty fees. It’s an issue that’s been widely covered in the media and there are loads of websites now set-up to help consumers reclaim questionable charges from the likes of Barclays.

So this won’t be the first blog to offer views on much maligned overdraft fees, but we’ve recently heard from several people who’ve had a lot to say about Barclays Personal Reserve. So we checked it out for ourselves and had to laugh at this thinly veiled attempt to replace unauthorised overdraft fees with… Personal Reserve fees! 

So what is a Personal Reserve? Well you’re welcome to check out the Barclays site for yourself, but we’d suggest it’s a new name for describing a double overdraft. You see Barclays kindly gave their customers a Personal Reserve earlier this year (you have to opt out, much like Gordon Brown’s recent donor card proposals). It’s essentially an additional “buffer” overdraft that sits on top of your existing overdraft facility. It’s also a potential cash cow for Barclays - you’re not supposed to use it regularly of course, but we rather suspect they’d like it if you did. 

True, the previous unauthorised overdraft fee of £35 was done away with, but a Personal Reserve fee of £22 is payable every five working days you’re using it, even if you’re just a few quid overspent! Compare that to taking a short-term Wonga loan for five days, which will cost you £10.70 - less than half the cost. And we don’t ‘assume’ you’ll want one either. Worse still, imagine going £100 into your Personal Reserve for five consecutive 5-day periods (the maximum allowed) - you’d be charged £110 for the pleasure!

There’s a distinct possibility that banks will be forced to scrap their huge fees for unauthorised overdrafts, so this was most likely a pre-emptive move by Barclays. That might sound like good news for consumers, but the reality is that banks are unstoppable money making machines and, as tough as recent times have been for them, they will always find new ways to generate revenue.

There’s nothing surprising or wrong about that of course - they are businesses after all - but when it becomes harder to generate cash from consumers, transparency is often the first casualty. And there wasn’t too much of that about in the first place! If overdraft fees do bite the dust at any point soon, you can bet that new, potentially even more stealthy ways will be found to make up for the lost income.  

So full marks to Barclays for creativity and proactivity, but bear in mind that at the same time they decided all their customers deserved a Personal Reserve, they scrapped interest paid on positive balances in personal accounts and raised the interest charged on standard overdrafts. It seems a case of ‘giving’ with one hand while taking with the other.

We’re chuffed to have made an appearance on The Sun’s extremely popular website today. They’ve written about Brits seeking short-term credit options during these uncertain times. You can read the article here.

Today we thought we’d do something a bit different and offer our views on a new gadget, rather than the world of finance and loans. It occurred to us that we have some of the finest minds in technology working for Wonga, so when one of the team started a passionate oratory on the new Blackberry Storm, we thought, heh, why not let him proffer his expert views to a wider audience! So please welcome our first guest blogger - take it away Trev!

After much anticipation, I finally got my hands on a shiny new BB Storm…

1. On first glance it was sleek and sexy
2. Setup is easy
3. The device is slow and the interface is not as slick as I was expecting
4. The tactile screen does offer a nice feel and improves on the Apple iPhone’s touch screen, but the speed and response moving between menu items is slow and sometimes cumbersome
5. The screen quality is, in my opinion, better than the iPhone and the demo movie trailer shows the bright high definition colours well
6. Sound is also very good
7. There is NO wi-fi on the Storm!!! Which is a real shame as it means browsing the web in 3G mode when available. It’s painfully slow. In fact there’s no point in using the web at these speeds
8. The built-in browser doesn’t support most websites that have any complicated java scripts, flash etc… So it’s not really good for much surfing
9. The Storm is very heavy, not something you want to carry around in your pocket. But then most crackberry users will have it in their hands all day long, so it may not matter
10. I think you will also see many broken screens, as the device is not easily used with one hand and many may find the floor by accident
11. The battery life seems OK if you just use it for email. I didn’t play with it for more than a few hours though, so I can’t say how long it will last for
12. Why oh why did BB change the charger interface? Old Blackberry chargers don’t work on the Storm, so this means borrowing power from colleagues in the office with older models will not work!

Given a choice between the Storm and the iPhone, I would have to go with the iPhone. Even though the Storm’s keyboard interface is faster and more intuitive. The iPhone has a better browser interface and many more applications. It’s also lighter, sleeker and more sexy to behold. The iPhone is fast and responsive whereas the Storm feels sluggish.

Having used the Blackberry Curve for over a year now I think they should stick to what they know best and that’s email on a simple device that can be navigated with one hand. Upgrading to the Bold would be a better choice for business users. Given my current situation and the ability to upgrade for free to the new Storm or iPhone, I have decided against any upgrades and will be more than happy to keep using my existing BB Curve.

The world is going Wonga crazy. Last month we told you about the good ship Wonga Wonga, a fine Australian steamer from the 1800s with which we’re proud to share our name. And continuing the Aussie theme, we’ve also learnt about the Wonga Wetlands project. The Wonga Wetlands provide fantastic habitat for wildfowl and other animals down under. The organisation also works to preserve vital wetlands around the globe. 

But the Wonga family doesn’t end there… We’ve also gone all Bill Oddie and discovered the Wonga Wonga pigeon! It inhabits, yep you’ve guessed it, Eastern Australia. We’re sure you’ll agree it’s a mighty fine bird! They are apparently quite rare, so once you’ve heard the shrill coo and finally added the Wonga Wonga pigeon to your twitcher’s book, you might want to celebrate with a trip to Wonga beach!

On a less sunny note, there’s also the infamous Wonga Coup - a group of mercenaries (including a hapless Mark Thatcher) accused of plotting to overthrow an African dictator in 2004.  

What’s next? Perhaps we’ll have a rash of babies named Wonga or discover more long lost relatives in Oz. Be sure to tell us if you know of another Wonga namesake we’re missing. And remember there’s only one Wonga.com! We’re here to help with short-term cash flow problems and can deposit up to £200 in your account within minutes. If you could do with a fast cash advance, click here to apply now.

Only a Wonga cash advance is a truly fast loan. ‘Well you would say that’ we hear you cry! But it pays to understand the difference between Wonga and other pretenders to the fast loan throne.

Wonga is not the only website claiming to offer people fast loans at the moment, but sometimes claims can be deceptive. We like to keep abreast of what’s going on outside of Wonga Towers and we like to know what kind of competition we’re up against. So we regularly try out some of the other websites for ourselves and it’s amazing how often boasts about ’same day loans’, ‘loans within an hour’ and ‘instant loans’ turn out to be pie in the sky!

Indeed, there have been occasions when our testers have been waiting for several days for a loan they applied for online - about as much use as a chocolate tea pot if they had genuinely been in need of emergency cash for an unforeseen expense.

So next time you want to tackle an urgent cash flow problem with a fast, short-term loan, trust Wonga to deliver. We’ve talked about some of the other reasons we’re different on this blog before, but speed is undoubtably our main strength if you need urgent funds. We’re the Usain Bolt of the consumer credit world and we’re here to help you in a flash for those ‘Wonga moments‘ when time is everything. If your application is approved we’ll deposit the cash within an hour (usually minutes), no matter who you bank with, what time it is, or what day it is. Now that’s a fast loan! As for the others, don’t always believe the hype!