So last week I was in awe of the power of Facebook to organize students to rise up against HSBC in protest over the “we’re going to start charging students for overdraft” campaign.

And while the beer is still flowing and there is some gratuitous victory sex probably going on someplace, (hey, its university students, remember those days?) I couldn’t help but ponder that I’m not all that sure that the students scored a major victory with the “we aren’t going to charge you now” HSBC reversal.

While I certainly applaud the students piss and vinegar for getting the wagons around the campfire that quickly to protect their free overdraft accounts, I think they’ve missed the bigger issue.

Yo! HSBC gives you free overdraft so they can get their hooks into you when you are young. An overdraft is a line of credit and if they let you run it up and you can’t pay it off, they are more likely to keep you around as a customer and make a profit off you with other products. This is the exact reason why credit card companies practically throw cards at students. “Please take our credit card to save a starving child in Chester.”

So I beg you, turn the great mass of your angst and anger towards a bigger social issue, namely demanding that UK banks start treating students, the elderly, people with cats and everyone else fairly.  Sign the online petition now to help prevent the poorest members of society and all consumers from being forced into bankruptcy by creditors, when they want to repay their debt.

“The fact that this U-turn has been forced is a testament to the role of unity and communication in empowering students and encouraging fair deals from student and graduate bank account providers,” says petition founder Wes Streeting. And so it has, but you can do even more good with your drive.

And while it certainly feels like a victory, and I don’t want to rain on your parade or diminish the credit access you’ve fought for and won, just think about this, HSBC caved to 5,000 university students demanding more access to credit but HSBC refuses to drop its policy of preventing people from repaying their debts unless they can make monthly payments large enough that HSBC is willing to accept.

I’d have to go with the cynical fact that the HSBC overdraft policy serves them in the long run since they don’t seem to give a damn about changing their policy of excluding people from access to good solutions for bad debt. Want to know more. Read this.

So Wes Streeting and the National Union of Students, now that you’ve protected your free overdraft, let’s do something together to save tens of thousands of people each year from financial ruin by demanding that the banks treat their customers fairly. Sign the online petition here.