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The big banks despite making huge profits and announcing that they intend to make even more profit by charging customers an annual fee, also charge inflated and illegal charges when customers exceed their overdraft limit. Unauthorised borrowing by as little as a penny can result in charges of £30-£35 a time up to a maximum of £90 plus an increased rate of interest on any overdraft amount.
I think this is a case of heads you win, tails I lose as far as banking customers are concerned as people have no choice but to use banks to receive wages and pay bills.
The Office of Fair Trading has recently suggested that bank charges including late payment, over limit, returned item and referral fees are legally unfair. This applies on all charges in the past 6 years paid by personal and business customers on credit cards bank accounts and even loans and mortgages. Bank charges are often set at excessive amounts, some as high as £35 for one charge!
Unfair charges are in breach of The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (1999). Basically your bank is not allowed to profit from penalty charges, they must only recover costs. The OFT has suggested £12 is reasonable. So if you go over your overdraft or credit card limit the bank may charge you for their inconvenience but they have to prove the charge is fair and that it actually costs them that amount to put the mistake right.
Banks are unable to justify their excessively high charges.
By: Overcharged Customer
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Gow, My good woman, I'm sure you have real people who you can vent your dreary rhetoric upon. In that case can you leave this site please? Nobody likes you, and your racist, bigoted drivel has of late plumbed new depths. Madam, you are vile.
06/09/13 anon
1
So GD, you seem to spend an awful lot of your time checking your balances.
Mini statement at ATM; not practical when you live 5 miles from the nearest one.
Telephone banking; you must be joking! How often in the day do you have half an hour to spare?
Internet banking; ok if you are at home or have other access but not if you are elderly and on a limited income.
Go into branch; as above.
Ask joint account holder; ok at the end of the day but it may be too late by then if they went for an unexpected fuel tank fill.
Regarding internet banking mistakes; fortunately it's never happened to me but apparently when you set up a payment to another account only the account number and sort code are checked. Although you are asked to give the account name the system doesn't check this; so if you accidentally enter the wrong account number or sort code, that's where the money goes. So, you may be expecting the money to be in your account and it isn't. Because the mistake is the fault of the person paying you, the bank will not refund charges if you go overdrawn.
Cheque paid in being lost; when it happened to us we were never told if they had lost it or paid it into another account. All we know is the money didn't go into our account until I went into the bank and shouted at them, waving my paying in slip under their noses.
Debit card payments; why do they find it so easy to block your card when you buy something for £2.99 from Amazon in December as a "suspicious transaction" (yeah) when there are several hundred pounds in your account; but not block it when you spend £2.99 on the high street when there is no money in your account?
05/09/13 grumpyoldwoman
Mini statement at ATM; not practical when you live 5 miles from the nearest one.
Telephone banking; you must be joking! How often in the day do you have half an hour to spare?
Internet banking; ok if you are at home or have other access but not if you are elderly and on a limited income.
Go into branch; as above.
Ask joint account holder; ok at the end of the day but it may be too late by then if they went for an unexpected fuel tank fill.
Regarding internet banking mistakes; fortunately it's never happened to me but apparently when you set up a payment to another account only the account number and sort code are checked. Although you are asked to give the account name the system doesn't check this; so if you accidentally enter the wrong account number or sort code, that's where the money goes. So, you may be expecting the money to be in your account and it isn't. Because the mistake is the fault of the person paying you, the bank will not refund charges if you go overdrawn.
Cheque paid in being lost; when it happened to us we were never told if they had lost it or paid it into another account. All we know is the money didn't go into our account until I went into the bank and shouted at them, waving my paying in slip under their noses.
Debit card payments; why do they find it so easy to block your card when you buy something for £2.99 from Amazon in December as a "suspicious transaction" (yeah) when there are several hundred pounds in your account; but not block it when you spend £2.99 on the high street when there is no money in your account?
-1
Petra
Okay - I hear your argument - and I am not trying to pick a fight - I am enjoying a good conversation - so please don't be offended - lets discuss.
if the bank doesn't charge you for going overdrawn by just over a pound for 36 hours for the first time in 20 years - then that's you happy - but what do I say to the customer who went overdrawn by 2 pounds for 36 hours after 20 years ?
or - the customer the customer who went overdrawn by 10 pounds for 36 hours after 20 years ? you see where I am going I'm sure.
many banks will and do reverse the charges as good will in the first instance - but not after that - so I would try speaking with them.
as for a charge excessive and disproportionate - what use is a deterrent if it does not deter ? or should banks charge 10 pence if you go overdrawn ?
05/09/13 GD
Okay - I hear your argument - and I am not trying to pick a fight - I am enjoying a good conversation - so please don't be offended - lets discuss.
if the bank doesn't charge you for going overdrawn by just over a pound for 36 hours for the first time in 20 years - then that's you happy - but what do I say to the customer who went overdrawn by 2 pounds for 36 hours after 20 years ?
or - the customer the customer who went overdrawn by 10 pounds for 36 hours after 20 years ? you see where I am going I'm sure.
many banks will and do reverse the charges as good will in the first instance - but not after that - so I would try speaking with them.
as for a charge excessive and disproportionate - what use is a deterrent if it does not deter ? or should banks charge 10 pence if you go overdrawn ?
-3
GD
No, I am of the opinion that the charge was excessive and disproportionate, and that a bank should take into account (pun intended) how one has run one's financial affairs in the past.
There is a difference between people who habitually go into the red and someone who has overdrawn by just over a pound for 36 hours for the first time in 20 years.
I am also of the opinion that you like to rephrase what people say, just so you can pick a fight.
05/09/13 Petra
No, I am of the opinion that the charge was excessive and disproportionate, and that a bank should take into account (pun intended) how one has run one's financial affairs in the past.
There is a difference between people who habitually go into the red and someone who has overdrawn by just over a pound for 36 hours for the first time in 20 years.
I am also of the opinion that you like to rephrase what people say, just so you can pick a fight.
-1
Petra
You seem to be of the opinion that a bank should discriminate in favour of you because you have banked there longer than others
Poor argument - we live in a democracy - not a dictatorship.
05/09/13 GD
You seem to be of the opinion that a bank should discriminate in favour of you because you have banked there longer than others
Poor argument - we live in a democracy - not a dictatorship.
-7
Grumpy Old Woman
I hear your argument and would respond as follows.
Yes i can really keep track of all transactions in my bank account.
I run three bank accounts
one that my salary comes into - one for bills like gas / water / mortgage etc - so I know how much to transfer in as the amounts are always the same but I round up what I move in to the next £100. then the account never goes overdrawn but has a slight excess and a third account for one financial transaction I want to keep totally separate to all my other expenditures (its a Christmas savings account)
keeping track of any / all purchases is very easy.
mini statement at atm
telephone banking
internet banking
go to branch
ask joint account holder
as for the direct debits and standing orders to keep track of, a standing order will never go out early - it will go on for example the 20th lets say - but if the 20th is a Saturday or Sunday or a bank holiday it will go on the first banking day following the 20th - in which case the funds you have ready for it will still be there.
direct debits are an agreement between you and a third party - so if they mess up - and take it too early or for too much - they should redress the situation with you - its nothing to do with your bank
if your employer or their bank may mess up your salary payment - then that's your employers fault and they should redress the situation and cover any out of pocket expenses you incur.
as for cheques - a cheque written 'ages ago' (cheques are only valid for 6 months by the way) will go out as the money in your account will still be there - unless you are not checking your statements and not asking why the payee has not cashed it.
I am not sure what mistakes can be made with internet banking, so you might need to give and example there.
and as for a bank may losing a cheque paid in - difficult - as every branch till has to balance to the penny every night or the branch staff don't go home until it does.
as for a cheque / cash being or pay it into the wrong account, there is a little thing called a receipt - check it.
fraud is resolved - but must be investigated - so it takes time - frustrating - but true.
yes paper statements are a week or more out of date - but by their very nature they are not giving real time info - they are a statement of what has happened over the last few weeks / month - for your records.
as for a bank letting you spend money on a debit card - that's totally incorrect i'm afraid. not sure if you have ever heard of shop floor limits ? or authorised at source ? but if you go to many high street supermarkets for example - who are the worst for this -they will 'allow' card payments to go through without obtaining a visa authorisation code - speeding your transaction up - but taking you overdrawn at the same time. in short if the bank does not know you are spending the money - it cant decline it - and it has to pay the funds to the payee as you have had the goods. if you don't believe me - try it - next time you have no funds in your account - go to the supermarket petrol station shop and spend £10 / £15 on something - it will go through as they only put a request for £1 on the system but then do ask for authorisation for it but do get you to authorise the transaction for the full amount.
if it appears I know lots about it - I do - I've worked for a bank for 20 years.
Finally - and I'm sorry if you don't like this - but its people like you that open accounts but don't maintain them that should be given cash only facilities - then when you run out of cash - you can't ring the bank and start complaining.
05/09/13 GD
I hear your argument and would respond as follows.
Yes i can really keep track of all transactions in my bank account.
I run three bank accounts
one that my salary comes into - one for bills like gas / water / mortgage etc - so I know how much to transfer in as the amounts are always the same but I round up what I move in to the next £100. then the account never goes overdrawn but has a slight excess and a third account for one financial transaction I want to keep totally separate to all my other expenditures (its a Christmas savings account)
keeping track of any / all purchases is very easy.
mini statement at atm
telephone banking
internet banking
go to branch
ask joint account holder
as for the direct debits and standing orders to keep track of, a standing order will never go out early - it will go on for example the 20th lets say - but if the 20th is a Saturday or Sunday or a bank holiday it will go on the first banking day following the 20th - in which case the funds you have ready for it will still be there.
direct debits are an agreement between you and a third party - so if they mess up - and take it too early or for too much - they should redress the situation with you - its nothing to do with your bank
if your employer or their bank may mess up your salary payment - then that's your employers fault and they should redress the situation and cover any out of pocket expenses you incur.
as for cheques - a cheque written 'ages ago' (cheques are only valid for 6 months by the way) will go out as the money in your account will still be there - unless you are not checking your statements and not asking why the payee has not cashed it.
I am not sure what mistakes can be made with internet banking, so you might need to give and example there.
and as for a bank may losing a cheque paid in - difficult - as every branch till has to balance to the penny every night or the branch staff don't go home until it does.
as for a cheque / cash being or pay it into the wrong account, there is a little thing called a receipt - check it.
fraud is resolved - but must be investigated - so it takes time - frustrating - but true.
yes paper statements are a week or more out of date - but by their very nature they are not giving real time info - they are a statement of what has happened over the last few weeks / month - for your records.
as for a bank letting you spend money on a debit card - that's totally incorrect i'm afraid. not sure if you have ever heard of shop floor limits ? or authorised at source ? but if you go to many high street supermarkets for example - who are the worst for this -they will 'allow' card payments to go through without obtaining a visa authorisation code - speeding your transaction up - but taking you overdrawn at the same time. in short if the bank does not know you are spending the money - it cant decline it - and it has to pay the funds to the payee as you have had the goods. if you don't believe me - try it - next time you have no funds in your account - go to the supermarket petrol station shop and spend £10 / £15 on something - it will go through as they only put a request for £1 on the system but then do ask for authorisation for it but do get you to authorise the transaction for the full amount.
if it appears I know lots about it - I do - I've worked for a bank for 20 years.
Finally - and I'm sorry if you don't like this - but its people like you that open accounts but don't maintain them that should be given cash only facilities - then when you run out of cash - you can't ring the bank and start complaining.
-6
Some years ago I set up one of those small monthly payments to a charity. I had forgotten to allow for the first payment and spent a bit more on my debit card than I had intended in a supermarket because of confusing labelling.
My salary went in two days later, and I was overdrawn by just over one pound for 36 hours; the bank still charged me £38 pounds, even though I had been banking with them for 20 years without ever going overdrawn.
03/09/13 Petra
My salary went in two days later, and I was overdrawn by just over one pound for 36 hours; the bank still charged me £38 pounds, even though I had been banking with them for 20 years without ever going overdrawn.
-3
Strange as it sounds, people in the UK are always asking for the plain truth to be told and not to be deceived. Yet when the plain truth is spoken, there are always those that complain because it doesn't suit them. Now you know why those at the top, running your lives, lie to you, cause they know you will all disagree with each other.
03/09/13 jethro
-3
GOW, Yes you are correct with all the incidents you mention that could cause some people to be overdrawn, but, the vast majority of cases happen because of financial ineptitude and lack of common sense in budgeting their money.
03/09/13 GD makes sense
-3
GD, can you really keep track of all transactions in your bank account that well? Is it a joint account and if so can you keep track of every purchase made by the other account holder if you aren't with them at the time?
It really isn't that easy is it? There are direct debits and standing orders to keep track of, which sometimes go out early because of weekends; your employer or their bank may mess up your salary payment; a cheque you wrote ages ago that was mislaid by the payee may suddenly turn up and be paid in.
Mistakes can be made with internet banking, debit card payments, your bank may lose a cheque which you paid in (yes, this happened to us once) or pay it into the wrong account, then there's plain fraud. The banks don't always want to accept that you have been a victim of fraud and you may be overdrawn for quite a while before they sort it out.
Your paper statement will be about a week out of date by the time you get it, providing it isn't lost in the post (yes, many of mine have been). Not everyone can or wants to do internet banking, and telephone banking can be very frustrating.
Then there's the fact that they will let you go on spending money on a debit card when you're overdrawn. Well, it's a nice little earner for them. After all, they've got your phone number, if they're going to charge you £25 or more for going a few pence overdrawn you'd think that would cover the cost of a call! Or they could block your card. But no, then you'd stop spending money and racking up charges at the same time!
03/09/13 grumpyoldwoman
It really isn't that easy is it? There are direct debits and standing orders to keep track of, which sometimes go out early because of weekends; your employer or their bank may mess up your salary payment; a cheque you wrote ages ago that was mislaid by the payee may suddenly turn up and be paid in.
Mistakes can be made with internet banking, debit card payments, your bank may lose a cheque which you paid in (yes, this happened to us once) or pay it into the wrong account, then there's plain fraud. The banks don't always want to accept that you have been a victim of fraud and you may be overdrawn for quite a while before they sort it out.
Your paper statement will be about a week out of date by the time you get it, providing it isn't lost in the post (yes, many of mine have been). Not everyone can or wants to do internet banking, and telephone banking can be very frustrating.
Then there's the fact that they will let you go on spending money on a debit card when you're overdrawn. Well, it's a nice little earner for them. After all, they've got your phone number, if they're going to charge you £25 or more for going a few pence overdrawn you'd think that would cover the cost of a call! Or they could block your card. But no, then you'd stop spending money and racking up charges at the same time!
-7
Sorry for using your handle GD, mine started as "GD makes sense" but "Oi" got so upset by me supporting your logic that she/he dropped ms. Your statements are correct and logical, the only people that get mad at being charged for going overdrawn are those that like to spend too much money they don't have, and then complain about the fact but don't realize that the money they have been spending belongs to someone else. I think bank charges should be a great deal higher, that might teach people to be more responsible.
03/09/13 GD makes sense
-2
Thank you for all the posts saying they are from GD - the only post from me - is the original car analogy - scroll down.
I do have a very simple way to avoid being charged........learn to add and subtract and don't go overdrawn. simples.
people live for today and then pay tomorrow but still moan about it.
why is it that people only moan after they have been charged ?
if you look at your bank statement - you would know how much you can spend and how much you cant. I don't see the difficulty.
whilst on the car analogy - and why not - if your car ran out of petrol - it wont drive.
I think bank should not allow people to go o overdrawn at all - and then who you going to moan at ?
GD
03/09/13 GD
I do have a very simple way to avoid being charged........learn to add and subtract and don't go overdrawn. simples.
people live for today and then pay tomorrow but still moan about it.
why is it that people only moan after they have been charged ?
if you look at your bank statement - you would know how much you can spend and how much you cant. I don't see the difficulty.
whilst on the car analogy - and why not - if your car ran out of petrol - it wont drive.
I think bank should not allow people to go o overdrawn at all - and then who you going to moan at ?
GD
-6
Oi, We're done when I say we're done, until then get on that naughty step and speak only when you're spoken to!
31/08/13 GD
-4
Up to you if you want to say that, doesn't make any difference to me.
Off you trot, I think we're done.
31/08/13 Oi
Off you trot, I think we're done.
-8
GD
Yes indeed - Mini statement at ATM; not practical when you live 5 miles from the nearest one - I hear that - so I tend to use that option when passing one.
Telephone banking; not joking. most calls to telephone banking are on average no more than 5 minutes in length. what if I told you that advisors are given an everage handling time target - usually no more than 300 seconds. as for queuing to get through - if busy - try later. most contact centre iopen about 7am and stay open until 11pm or later.
Internet banking; ok if you are at home or have other access I grant you - but not if you are elderly and on a limited income? nonsense - internet available at library or in bank branch or in internet café or via family.
yes go to branch - what did you do before telephone banking - atm's and internet did you guess your balance ?
Ask joint account holder; yes - communicate - then an unexpected fuel tank fill can be accounted for. and if working on a budget - don't fill the tank - put ten pounds in and discuss when at home before topping up the following day.
Regarding internet banking mistakes; yes - doesn't really happen - its normally the user to blame. when you set up a payment to another account only the account number and sort code are checked. Although you are asked to give the account name the system doesn't check this - correct so if you accidentally enter the wrong account number or sort code, that's where the money goes - also correct. So, you may be expecting the money to be in your account and it isn't. Because the mistake is the fault of the person paying you, the bank will not refund charges if you go overdrawn. also correct - what did the bank do wrong ???
Cheque paid in being lost; cant help you there - account paid into is on receipt.
Debit card payments; cards are blocked if something suspicious happens - for example - you don't have the internet / never make a purchase on the internet then suddenly you do - its unusual so in an effort to protect you and your money - the bank reacts.
your argument appears to be loosing steam - and I mean that in a nice way - but you must realise - you are at the controls of your account - not the bank