Bank Charges

[metrocammel]

I received a letter this morning from the Halifax, stating that they are charging me £35 for going overdrawn by £4.95, and then on top of that penalising me £28 'unauthorised overdraft fee'. In total £63 for £4.95.

It was 'my fault' that I went overdrawn, as I used the wrong Halifax card at the buffet of an East Mids, but as soon as I noticed my error on my online banking system, I transferred the monies into the account. I assumed that would be the end of it.

Anyway, this letter arrives today, stating that I am going to be charged, with seemingly no way of querying it. All the letter stated was a very patronising sentence 'As we would like to help you avoid these charges in future or if you need help handling your finances, you can make an appointment at any Halifax branch'.

Anyway, I rang up the Halifax Customer Support line, and explained my situation, and the fact it was rather obvious it was a mistake, as I was in credit on my other account- however, the response was 'all accounts are looked at separately, so I can't comment on your other accounts with us'. After a while, I threatened to close all my other accounts with the Halifax- this was the turning point! She then went onto say "We don't want that to happen, and as a result, we can reverse the charges against you this time" She added that it was 'an absolute one off', and 'if I become overdrawn in future, the charges couldn't be reversed'.

Thankfully, this time it was a 'happy ending', however, the fact I was almost charged £63 for being less than a fiver overdrawn seems unjust. The fact that I wasn't getting anywhere until I threatend to pull out of the bank also seems rather wrong.

Has anyone else encountered this type of situation?

 

[Tom B]

To be fair - though I'll sound mean - it was your fault, as you asked the bank to take money out of an account with insufficient funds. The legalities of £28 charges and whatnot are currently being disputed.

What you might like to do is set up a small overdraft - say £50 - such that if it happens again, it'll be an arranged overdraft and thus cost less.

Indeed if you have a Bank of Scotland reward account and go in and out the overdraft on the same business day, you don't get charged at all - I presume the offering down south is the same?

 

[Pumbaa]

That's how Banks make money. It's all in the T&cs when you sign. Halifax does enable you, however, to remove the Overdraft facility over the Net. I suggest you do this - avoids any future lining of their pockets.

 

[Tom B]

Having a small o/d is sensible - for things like when you go a few quid in.

If you don't have an overdraft arranged, and you go into an unarranged one - THAT'S when it costs a fortune, as is presumably the case here.

 

[1D53]

Typical Halifax sadly. They are a bunch of c**ts!

 

[DJ_K666]

Typical Halifax sadly. They are a bunch of c**ts!

IMHO that applies to all of the banks.

 

[Tom B]

When the Royal Bank was in trouble, a chap decided he wanted to move his savings elsewhere. So, he goes and takes his £40,000 out in cash, and walks down to another bank.

"Could I please ask, sir" enquires the teller "why you are depositing such a large sum?"
"Well, you see" says the chap "I used to have it in the Royal Bank, but I don't trust them with my money anymore, I want nothing to do with those stupid jocks ever again, so I'm moving to you"

The teller had to stifle a grin, the guy had just opened an account with the NatWest ...!

 

[Max]

"Could I please ask, sir" enquires the teller "why you are depositing such a large sum?"
"Well, you see" says the chap "I used to have it in the Royal Bank, but I don't trust them with my money anymore, I want nothing to do with those stupid jocks ever again, so I'm moving to you"

The teller had to stifle a grin, the guy had just opened an account with the NatWest ...!

Classic!

Regarding overdrafts, I was overdrawn for a few hours on my account with the Alliance and Leicester (by about £20!), spending whilst waiting for my wages to be paid in. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems. However, if anybody has any issues, this site is definitely worth a read: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/
There are lots of helpful tips to reclaim unfair bank charges!

 

[DJ_K666]

Another thing, the latest appeal on the OFT bank charges case is due to be heard by the House of Lords on the 22nd June. I shall watch with interest.

 

[eos]

The 'con that I found with banks is that they don't take the transactions ( for that day) in the order they happen. I wanted to buy something expensive like a lens, and there was not enough money in the account. So I went to the bank and paid in more than enough 'readies' to exceed the amount the lens cost. That afternoon, I got the best price I could for the lens, and paid by card. Then a few days after a nasty letter saying I had gone overdrawn and charging me some £60. The transactions for the day were ordered as -Payments out for the day- payments in for the day- Net result I was overdrawn, and never at anytime owed them a penny.
I did get the charges reversed, then voted with my feet.. The savings and Credit accounts were closed within a week...

 

[Tom B]

How did you pay it in? If you pay cash in before 3pm, it should be credited on the same day.

 

[Mintona]

I've just checked my internet banking and I have an unauthorised overdraft fee of £20. Now I have 2 problems with that. One, I'm not overdrawn. Two, I have an overdraft of £300 anyway. Hmmm.

 

[eos]

How did you pay it in? If you pay cash in before 3pm, it should be credited on the same day.

Yes it was, tenners taken out of my savings account via the hole in the wall outside the bank. The clue is 'credited the same day' . It was , but not in the order that the transactions are made.. Withdrawls ( and purchases etc) are deducted first, then credits are applied afterwards. Had I left it a day there was no problem, it would have been credited that day , and spent the next..
Winston Churchill to that game of soldiers, the 'new ' bank gave a instant permanent overdraft of £1000 to cover such eventualities in future, bearing in mind that they had a lot more than that in savings and deposits. It was LLoyds who thought they were going to make their Directors bonuses out of me, and they have taken over Halifax now. Perhaps their trading methods have been carried forward.
You may wonder why I went to that trouble- It was because , at the time, there was a special offer that whatever was bought with the card , over a £100 in value , they gave an extended FREE 3 year warantee.

 

[Spaceflower]

IMHO that applies to all of the banks.

Na. Barclays are pretty good. On the occassion i have gone overdrawn i have recieved cletters stating something similat to...' as you have usually kept your accounts in good order we will not charge you this time''

 

[spoony]

Na. Barclays are pretty good. On the occassion i have gone overdrawn i have recieved cletters stating something similat to...' as you have usually kept your accounts in good order we will not charge you this time''

Barclays are terrible, I have seen what goes on there being an ex employee and also a customer. As soon as my student overdraft has been paid off (no where near that mind) Im outta there

 

[Aussie_Rail]

So which is the best Bank to be with in Britain? Think in terms of available ATM's, Branches etc, good customer service and fees and charges.

 

[Tom B]

I don't think any stand out as being hugely better than the others - cf this thread, one person hates Barclays, another loves them!

 

[Metroland]

Banks are pretty horrible, I was charged £35 once for going 2p overdrawn, though I did get my money back. I hate paying bank charges, I'll walk over a mile to avoid paying £1.65 ATM charges (no I'm not tight, but there's something about paying for something for nothing). Overdrafts are the worst idea ever invented, and credit cards are not far behind in terms of consumer debt.

 

[Geezertronic]

I have never had a credit card and am often told by my bank that it has a negative effect on my credit rating by not having one. Personally I don't care because I know people who have considerable credit card bills so I don't want to fall into that trap.

 

[Mojo]

I've only ever had a problem with NatWest who failed to give me an account number or sort code for my account (for some reason unlike every other bank I've used they don't put it on the card) or a PIN for my debit card. I gave up phoning them and going in to get it sorted out so I opened an account with Lloyds TSB. NatWest then had the cheek to write me a letter to ask why I wasn't using the account!

I've never gone into an overdraft (agreed or not) and never had any charges, I find the staff most pleasant and the only complaints I'd have are the queues, but it's so rare I go into the bank anyway I don't really mind, especially if I can go "off peak" or to a quieter branch.

I used to have a current account with Barclays but no longer use it because their student account was quite a bad deal, although I still have my savings with them. They have invented the most stupid way of logging in to internet banking. First you have to type your customer ID and surname in. Then you have to enter the last four digits of your debit card, then put your card into a card reader, enter your PIN and copy an 8-digit code off the LCD screen. It's even harder to arrange a transfer! That was another reason I gave up on them because of the increasing difficulty of doing online banking, and it meant you needed to carry this stupid card reader with you everywhere you go!

 

[Geezertronic]

They (Barclays) have invented the most stupid way of logging in to internet banking. First you have to type your customer ID and surname in. Then you have to enter the last four digits of your debit card, then put your card into a card reader, enter your PIN and copy an 8-digit code off the LCD screen. It's even harder to arrange a transfer! That was another reason I gave up on them because of the increasing difficulty of doing online banking, and it meant you needed to carry this stupid card reader with you everywhere you go!

That has really annoyed me about Barclays and made it so that I can no longer access my account from anywhere other than my house unless I carry that bulky card reader with me (which is slightly smaller than the size of an average calculator for those that don't know). Why they couldn't have done some form of SecurID token that is small enough to be attached to a keyfob rather than a card reader is beyond me.

 

[Mojo]

Or even why they had to do it in the first place? Surely anyone stupid enough to type their details into a spoof website in the first place deserves to have to go through the hassle of getting their money back anyway...

 

[me123]

Oddkly enough, the same happened to me today. I was £0.20 overdrawn. 5 months ago, I had purchased something (I have no idea what) valued at £2.50 on my debit card (bloody Solo). It only came off a few hours after I all but emptied my bank account. I had a nice £20 handling charge. And 2p interest :roll:

I've got a credit card I've only ever used once, on a train. I think I'll start using that in future; at least I'm in control of when it's coming out my account. It's just so frustrating that, had they withdrawn the money 2 hours earlier, I'd not have been in that situation.

 

[Tom B]

Overdrafts are a good idea at times - eg if you get paid on Friday but need to buy some groceries today. (You used to be able to do a bit of a trick with cheques to do this, but many places don't take them anymore). Those who treat them as free money are, of course, stupid.

 

[spoony]

That has really annoyed me about Barclays and made it so that I can no longer access my account from anywhere other than my house unless I carry that bulky card reader with me (which is slightly smaller than the size of an average calculator for those that don't know). Why they couldn't have done some form of SecurID token that is small enough to be attached to a keyfob rather than a card reader is beyond me.

To be fair to Barclays (and I hate them) you can log into your account without the reader. You have to set yourself up a memorable word which is valid for 14 days, the drawback is that you can not transfer money outside of your own accounts.

Staying on the subject of Barclays, I have just recently been charged £22 for going £1.12 over limit. Although they have renamed this charge as a reserve amount where I can access an extra £250 limit for a £22 weekly charge. I used to have a buffer zone where I could go a fiver overdrawn without anything happening. I transferred money in too before the transaction, but Barclays put the debits out first on the statement that day then the credits in at the end. Thus my statement read I was over limit before the money went in, even though in real terms the transfer had been made. Robbing barstewards.

 

[thelem]

I moved away from HSBC because of poor customer service and poor rates, but they did have a good overdraft policy.

You were allowed to go £50 over your limit for something like 5 days per month, or as much as you want if the money is paid back in on the same day. They also promise that the charges never come to more than the debt being charged for.

RE: Card readers. The point of them is they check what you know, as well as what you have. If someone steals your card and card reader they still can't use your account because they don't have your pin. A keyfob would also need some way of entering your pin, and some way of changing your pin, or it could just be stolen too. They don't want you to enter your PIN itself online incase you enter it into a phishing site, or it is intercepted between your fingers and the bank's computer (virus etc).

 

[me123]

Overdrafts are a good idea at times - eg if you get paid on Friday but need to buy some groceries today. (You used to be able to do a bit of a trick with cheques to do this, but many places don't take them anymore). Those who treat them as free money are, of course, stupid.

I've already arranged a £20 overdraft just in case that happens again. And, as I said, I'll be using Credit Card from now on I think. At least that way I'l physically have to pay the money off and therefore I am in greater control. I think that 5 months was crazy; I certainly don't remember what I bought 5 months ago, especially when it only cost £2.50, and I fully expected it to be off before then.

I have £520 in credit and overdrafts now. Quite nice for a student who's only once been in debt to a bank, and then only by a 20p un-arranged overdraft. Now that I'm here, I can see why unfortunate individuals, not just morons, get sucked into debt. It's so easy when your bank is handing you £500 in credit and up to £100 in overdraft (often more!).

 

[Tom B]

The Bank of Scotland offer up to 3 grand to students...!